Nebraska’s defense spent the first half chasing Maryland around, then spent the second half slamming the door.
That turnaround was the difference in the Huskers’ 25-point win, and it showed up everywhere in the numbers. After giving up 300 yards and 23 points before halftime, Rob Aurich’s unit held the Terrapins to just 95 yards and no points after the break. Nebraska also forced three turnovers, which has been a stated goal for Aurich’s group in every game.
The result wasn’t clean, and it didn’t feel clean for long stretches, but Nebraska moved to 5-0 for the first time since 2016. Twenty-seven Husker defenders got into the game, and Pro Football Focus’ grades and snap counts help tell the story of how the Blackshirts pieced together the win.
The defensive front did a lot of the heavy lifting. Nebraska registered only one sack on Maryland quarterback Malik Washington, but the line still produced nine of the Huskers’ 14 pressures on Saturday. Washington ended up with just 16 rushing yards, though he was every bit the slippery quarterback Aurich had described before the game.
Even so, Nebraska made him uncomfortable. After Maryland piled up 207 yards in the first quarter, the Terrapins managed only 188 the rest of the way. That was no accident, and the front was a big reason why.
Kade Pietrzak had one of the defensive highlights of the day when he dropped into coverage and picked off the first pass of his career. Williams Nwaneri added three quarterback hurries, Riley Van Poppel chipped in two more, and Mason Goldman logged 16 snaps, his most since September 2024.
At linebacker, Nebraska kept the rotation tight again. Owen Chambliss, Dexter Foster and Vincent Shavers handled most of the workload for the second straight week, while Dawson Merritt and Derek Wacker filled in behind them.
Chambliss continued to look like the most trusted tackler in the group. Over the past two weeks, he has piled up 16.0 tackles while playing 112 defensive snaps. He has clearly become Aurich’s go-to linebacker, and he’s been a major boost to the Blackshirts.
Shavers delivered the kind of stat line that jumps off the page. He had Nebraska’s only sack, added four tackles and forced a fumble. For him, it was the best game of his junior season so far.
The biggest swing play came from Dwayne McDougle. The San Diego State transfer picked off Malik Washington and took it 81 yards for a touchdown, the first pick-six of his college career.
It came with Maryland leading 23-14 and the ball at Nebraska’s 25-yard line. McDougle jumped a slant, turned the interception into points, and flipped the game on its head.
What looked like it might become a 16-point Maryland lead instead became the jolt Nebraska needed. The Huskers went into halftime up five and never surrendered the lead.
There were still rough edges, though. Missed tackles were a problem, and six of Nebraska’s nine misses were charged to defensive backs.
That kind of sloppiness could be costly against better teams, especially with Indiana up next. McDougle and Donovan Jones had two missed tackles apiece, and Jones also gave up catches on all nine of his targets for 75 yards.
Nebraska has at least already dealt with a receiver in Chris Durr Jr. who profiles as an All-Big Ten-caliber threat. Whether that experience carries over against Indiana’s wideouts on Saturday afternoon will be one of the questions facing the Huskers’ defense.
In Other News...
Maryland Collapse Puts Mike Locksley Questions Back In Focus
Maryland had a chance to build on a promising start against Nebraska, and for a while it looked like the Terps were answering some of the familiar complaints about this team. The offense and defense both showed more life than they had in recent weeks, enough to suggest the game could become a turning point if Maryland could keep the pressure on and avoid the kind of late letdown that has tripped it up before.
Instead, Nebraska seized control after Dwayne McDougle IIIs interception return swung the momentum, and the Huskers rolled from there with 34 unanswered points. The collapse only sharpened the larger concern around Maryland, which has repeatedly been outscored in the fourth quarter, and it put Mike Locksleys future back into the conversation as the season wears on and the questions around the program keep piling up. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Has A Third Down Problem That Keeps Making Everything Worse
Marylands latest Big Ten trip followed a familiar script, with the Terps coming home from Nebraska after a 48-23 loss that stretched their conference skid to 10 straight games. The offense showed a little more life with Dejuan Williams back in the mix, but the ground game alone was not enough to keep the pressure off a unit that spent too much of the afternoon chasing the game.
The biggest problem was the same one that has been sinking drives for weeks. Maryland went just 1 of 14 on third down and has converted only 2 of 30 over the past two weeks, leaving too many possessions dead before they ever had a chance to matter. Add in a defensive front that could not consistently bother the quarterback, and the Terps were left with little margin anywhere on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Pharrel Payne Just Raised The Pressure On Marylands New-Look Roster
Pharrel Payne is back in the spotlight before Maryland has even tipped off its new season. The veteran big man was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team by the league office, a recognition that underscores how much the Terrapins are counting on him after he missed most of last season because of injury. Now entering his fifth year, Payne is expected to be one of the anchors for a roster that has been reshaped around him.
Marylands lineup will look different this fall, with several new faces joining the mix and an early schedule that will start revealing how quickly the pieces fit together. The preseason honor only adds to the attention around Payne and the pressure on the Terrapins, who also have ticket sales underway as interest builds for what could be one of the more closely watched seasons in the Big Ten. [Read more 🡒]