Nebraska’s defense came out of East Lansing with a clear checkpoint hit: three takeaways in one game.
That mattered to Rob Aurich, who said Tuesday the Huskers had set that goal after managing only three turnovers total through their first three games. Against Michigan State, they finally reached it, and the first-year defensive coordinator liked both the result and the message it sent.
“Well, we met a goal,” Aurich said. “I think any time you set a goal, you can achieve a goal.
It’s important to see that you can come to the realization so it can be a reality going forward. I really liked the way our guys attacked the ball.
I still think there were some opportunities on the tape where we can continue to improve that, but I'm pleased it happened.”
He added, “I thought it was a vital part of the game,” he continued. “As they started to pick up an offensive rhythm a few times to get off the field that way and provide the short field, I was pleased to see it.”
The turnovers were part of a broader defensive performance that helped Nebraska produce 10 tackles for loss and six sacks. Aurich pointed to the front, especially defensive tackles Riley Van Poppel and Jahsear Whittington, as a group that keeps growing.
“That room is growing in their capabilities," he said. “They started playing a little bit more on third down last week in that four to six (yard) range, where we normally go to our sub package, our cheetah package. It was good to see them execute.”
“I know we’ve talked a lot about Jahsear throughout the year, and his ability to impact the quarterback, and you saw that again,” he continued. “But I’ve been really pleased with that group as a whole and how reliable they’ve become. So, it’s good to see.”
Nebraska’s next test is a big one, and Aurich didn’t soften his assessment of Maryland quarterback Malik Washington. The 6-foot-5, 227-pound passer was the No. 5 quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class, and he threw for 249 yards in the Terps’ narrow loss to Nebraska in College Park last year.
“He’s a talented kid,” Aurich said. “Big arm; long, does not take sacks. That’s been the one thing I’ve watched from the tape throughout the last two years is his sack avoidance rate is off the charts.”
“We’ve got to do a great job, if we’re able to get a hand on him, to get him down,” he continued. “I know last week wasn’t the showing they were looking for [a 54-3 loss to UCLA], but going back and watching the 12 games from last year and their four from this year, there’s a ton that he’s done that makes you really think about how you attack him... Tremendous thought has gone into how we attack that player.”
Nebraska will also have to be sharper against tempo after Michigan State used it to create movement.
“I think Michigan State had an excellent plan to change their tempo on us to try to generate some movement,” Aurich said. “Didn’t handle it as well as we could.
But we’ve seen tempo almost every game last year at San Diego State, and we see it from our offense all the time. We’ve just got to execute better.”
The Huskers, who rank fifth nationally in total defense, now turn to Maryland with kickoff set for 3 p.m. CDT Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The game will be shown on FS1.
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