Nebraska defense shows maturity in win over Owls
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Breakdowns?
Yeah, there were breakdowns.
Blake Lawrence owned up to one of them.
“I want to apologize right now on that wheel route,” said Lawrence, the Nebraska junior linebacker.
That coverage bust left Willie Rose open for a 38-yard reception in the second quarter Saturday night.
Now, for the good part. That play was one of only two very obvious mental mistakes in No. 24 Nebraska’s 49-3 victory against Florida Atlantic.
On the other, Cortez Gent was left uncovered on a 27-yard reception in the third quarter.
Not that there weren’t other miscues, some of which the Owls may not have capitalized on. But compared with last season, the oh-my-gosh-what-just-happened moments were far fewer.
“The breakdowns last year, they were simply not knowing what to do,” Lawrence said. “The breakdowns (Saturday night) were more a focus thing. We can always focus, we can always execute better. Those things are fixable.”
Another notable difference, Lawrence said, is how the team responds to mistakes in year two of the Bo Pelini era.
“We handled it very maturely,” Lawrence said. “A lot of times last year, there was a lot of anxiety with mistakes and breakdowns.
“This year, I came to the sidelines and Coach Bo said, ‘Blake, you’re better than that. Let’s do it the next time.’ Those kinds of things. There’s a more positive feeling.”
The bottom line: Florida Atlantic quarterbacks Rusty Smith and Jeff VanCamp had more incompletions than completions. And the Owls had no touchdowns.
“I like where we’re starting from right now,” Nebraska defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “Any time you hold a team to three points, it’s a great place to start.”
Never mind that Nebraska’s ballyhooed defensive front, led by nose tackle Ndamukong Suh, didn’t abuse Smith or VanCamp. The Owls played things close to the vest, using maximum protection with two-back sets much of the night.
“They weren’t going to let our rush get to (Smith),” Carl Pelini said. “He threw on rhythm and he threw it away when he needed to. We knew that going in, he was a smart, talented quarterback.
“They just deadened up the blitz game and the rush game. We just relied on good coverage.”
That coverage helped Nebraska grab two interceptions (by Prince Amukamara and Matt O’Hanlon), with another that was called back because of a penalty. Toss in Cameron Meredith’s fumble recovery, and that’s three turnovers for a defensive unit that emphasized more turnovers in fall camp.
Save for some minor issues later in the game with the second unit, the defense’s communication was sound, Carl Pelini said.
That’s significant, given the number of new players on defense. Will Compton and Sean Fisher started at linebacker, and Baker Steinkuhler and Meredith saw extensive snaps as backups. All are redshirt freshmen.
“It’s great to get a lot of new guys on the field and get them seasoned a little bit,” Carl Pelini said. “We’ve got to do a heck of a job of coaching this week and just cleaning up the little things we saw.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at brosenthal@journalstar.com or 473-7436.
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