Tad Stryker: Hardy Defense, Sluggish Offense for Nebraska

Blackshirts carry heavy load but are up to the task in road test at Illinois

Tad Stryker | Oct 7, 2023

Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

In a Big Ten West postseason elimination game that was every bit as ugly as it sounds, Nebraska packed a first-rate defense, a decent kicking game and a third-rate offense. It was enough to give Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers their first conference win of 2023.

The Husker defense made all the difference on a night when Illinois honored recently deceased native son Dick Butkus, The Blackshirts bullied Bret Bielema’s team, held Illinois to just 21 rushing yards and produced a victory Nebraska had to have to get to .500 and keep its pathway to a bowl game open.

For Nebraska’s defense, outclassing Illinois did not seem difficult. The main problem the Blackshirts had Friday night in Champaign was carrying the dead weight of the Husker offense throughout the second half. Can it continue to do so with home games against Northwestern and Purdue and a road game at Michigan State coming up next?

Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer passes the ball against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at Memorial Stadium.

Illinois running back Kaden Feagin runs through an opening in the Nebraska Cornhuskers defense during the first half of the game.

Nebraska defensive back Phalen Sanford brings down Illinois wide receiver Isaiah Williams as he lunges to the goal line during the first half.

Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg hands the ball to running back Anthony Grant during the first half against the Fighting Illini.

Nebraska kicker Tristan Alvano watches his field goal during the first half of the game.

Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg passes the ball as defensive lineman Alec Bryant applies pressure during the first half of the game.

Nebraska kicker Tristan Alvano celebrates a recovered fumble during the first half.

Nebraska's punt coverage players celebrate a recovered fumble by the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half.

Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg runs for a touchdown during the second quarter.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule on the sidelines during the first half of the game.

Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant catches a pass for a touchdown in front of Nebraska defensive back Quinton Newsome during the first half.

Illinois wide receiver Pat Bryant catches a pass and falls into the end zone as Nebraska defensive back Quinton Newsome drags him down during the first half.

Kaden Feagin runs through an opening in the Nebraska defense during the first half

Illinois coach Bret Bielema talks with an official during the first half.

Mikai Gbayor tackles Illinois running back Reggie Love III during the second half.

Dylan Rosiek tackles Nebraska running back Anthony Grant during the second half.

Wide receiver Isaiah Williams tries to elude the tackle of Nebraska defensive back Malcolm Hartzog during the second half.

Mikai Gbayor reacts after making a stop during the second half.

Heinrich Haarberg tries to get past Illini defensive back Tahveon Nicholson during the second half.

Nebraska defensive back Tommi Hill runs with the ball after an Illinois turnover in the second half.

Nebraska Matt Rhule on the sidelines during the second half.

Quarterback Luke Altmyer is pursued by Nebraska defensive lineman Ty Robinson during the second half.

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer gets a pass away during the second half.

Heinrich Haarberg is pursued by Illinois defensive back Xavier Scott during the second half.

Illinois defensive back Xavier Scott intercepts the ball in front of Nebraska wide receiver Alex Bullock during the second half.

Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson tries to elude Illinois defensive back Nicario Harper during the second half.

Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg smiles with teammates on the bench during the second half.

Good thing there’s a bye week ahead for the defense to recuperate, because it did almost all the heavy lifting in the 20-7 win. Unfortunately, the Husker offense did all it could to pump new life into an Illinois team on life support throughout the second half, when the only scoring was a 32-yard Tristan Alvano field goal midway through the third quarter. The Illini (2-4) kept trying to throw in the towel, but the inept Husker attack kept inviting them back into the game, piling up a concerning number of pre-snap penalties and turning the ball over on three consecutive series when they should have been nailing down the outcome.

The Huskers scored their only two touchdowns in a 10-second span of the second quarter, and built a 17-0 lead before a 46-yard pass from Luke Altmyer to Pat Bryant pulled Illinois to within 10 points.

Then the second half happened, when Nebraska had a parade of opportunities to take control of the game, but could not, squandering excellent field position at every turn and leaving at least three more touchdowns on the field. Complementary football? Heinrich Haarberg and his offense turned down each and every compliment.

Thankfully for Husker Nation, the Blackshirts just kept humming and swatting away the Illini. A goal-line stand on the game’s opening drive and another fourth-down stop at midfield with three minutes left in the third quarter helped slam the door on Illinois. Almost half of the Illini’s 310 total yards came on the opening and closing drives of the game, which produced no points.

It would be an overstatement to say the Blackshirts were spectacular, but they produced two takeaways, three sacks and six tackles for loss. They got a decent pass rush at times, and the secondary held up relatively well. Their open-field tackling was more than reliable.

The Blackshirts patiently, time and time again showed the offense how to close out a team, but the offense simply was unable to comprehend what they were seeing. This likely will be a major theme throughout the rest of Rhule’s first season. It’s hard to conceive of this offense returning the favor and bailing out the defense by winning a 45-42 shootout any time soon.

Marcus Satterfield’s offense will need every minute of remedial work it can get its hands on over the next two weeks. Will a fully healed Jeff Sims reappear on the field, and if so, what changes will he bring? At this stage in his development, Haarberg is not reliable on short to midrange throws, that much was apparent.

Still, it was an accomplishment that’s been relatively rare for the Big Red in the last seven years. Of Nebraska’s nine conference road wins since 2017, three have come in Champaign, so this one felt like a must win to simply gain back a small patch of ground ceded by the Huskers over the years.

It’s true that last six sub-.500 years are not on Rhule, but he carries their weight. Did a bit of that weight just melt away? After all, Husker Nation has finally found someone who can beat Bielema. That’s at least a small step in the right direction.

Rhule was deliberately and unflinchingly optimistic about everything his team did, talking up his defense and even covering the offense with praise. It left me wondering, will Satterfield’s unit will learn to walk Rhule’s talk any time soon?

Rhule is keeping his focus on the process that brought him success at Temple and Baylor. He urged Nebraska fans to put their focus there as well.

“I hope people enjoy this ride,” he said in his postgame press conference. He called his team’s ongoing development an “innocent climb” and said, “The kids are out there giving their all. It’s not perfect, it can be a little bit frustrating, but it’s a beautiful thing to see young players fight for each other and learn how to win.”

I’m looking for beauty. I see a defense that’s figuring it out under Tony White. I see a kicking game that shows signs of life under Ed Foley. I’m squinting hard at Satterfield’s offense, finding it difficult to measure progress. I see a bunch of experienced offensive linemen who should be the team leaders, but instead are still having an incredibly tough time figuring out how to get out of their own way. At the season’s halfway point, more often than not, I get an underachieving vibe from offensive line coach Donovan Raiola.

Was the pass blocking a little better? Perhaps. But Satterfield needs to figure out how to get the ball to Thomas Fidone, who could be a real playmaker on the offense this year. Only three catches for 42 yards. I get a bad feeling about Marcus Washington’s injury. If serious, it will further curtail this handicapped offense. The true-freshman wideouts, Malachi Coleman and Jalen Lloyd, will have to grow up quickly.

Anthony Grant has receded from being a September playmaker last season to a puzzle in 2023, and Haarberg’s main accomplishment Friday night — at least in the second half — was simply avoiding throwing a pick-six.

Yet Nebraska compiled 312 total yards and 37 minutes of possession time, staved off postseason elimination, broke a three-game losing streak to Illinois and now has two weeks to figure out how to make progress toward the six-win mark. To fans accustomed to watching the Big Red lose games to mediocre competition, there’s a certain beauty in that.

More coverage & commentary: HuskerMax game page

Published Oct 7, 2023

TAD STRYKER

Tad Stryker, whose earliest memories of Nebraska football take in the last years of the Bob Devaney era, has covered Nebraska collegiate and prep sports for 40 years. Before moving to Lincoln, he was a sports writer, columnist and editor for two newspapers in North Platte. He can identify with fans who listen to Husker sports from a tractor cab and those who watch from a sports bar. A history buff, Stryker has written for HuskerMax since 2008. You can reach Tad at tad.stryker@gmail.com.