Nebraska’s defense didn’t just survive Saturday night against Bowling Green - it smothered the Falcons from the opening whistle and kept tightening the screws as the game wore on.
The Huskers never let the early threat turn into a problem. They did not surrender a 68-yard pass on the first play, and by halftime Bowling Green had managed only 46 yards of offense. By the end of Nebraska’s 56-7 win, the defense had helped hold the Falcons to 85 rushing yards and just 84 passing yards from quarterback Jay Kastantin.
A total of 41 Nebraska defenders saw the field in Week 2, and several of them left a clear mark on the game.
Jahsear Whittington, the Pitt transfer, turned in the top run-defense grade on the unit and logged a team-high 31 snaps among Husker defensive linemen. He stayed active in the backfield, finishing with two quarterback hurries while helping Nebraska bottle up the run. Through two weeks, Whittington has played 57 defensive snaps and has four tackles, two hurries and a half-sack.
Williams Nwaneri made his limited reps count. The former five-star defensive end played only 12 snaps, but he altered the game in multiple ways by tipping a pass that became a Nebraska interception and forcing a fumble. He also picked up his first tackle of 2026.
Malcolm Simpson delivered one of the game’s biggest defensive moments in just his second college game. The Hitchcock, Texas, native recorded his first sack and forced the strip that Derek Wacker turned into a defensive touchdown. Wacker scooped the loose ball and took it 25 yards to the end zone, a score that came on one of his six defensive snaps.
Owen Chambliss made his Nebraska debut and gave the defense a steadier look right away. The San Diego State transfer, working back from a hamstring issue, played the first 35 snaps of his senior season and finished with four tackles. Nebraska should expect that number to rise as he gets more comfortable.
Dexter Foster also stood out in a big way. The Oregon State transfer finished with five tackles, including one for a seven-yard loss, and looked sharp around the ball. At 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, he played with force when he arrived and showed a natural feel for finding the action.
Vincent Shavers logged the next-highest snap total in Week 2, while the secondary continued to look steady behind him. Andrew Marshall and Donovan Jones both kept their strong starts rolling.
Marshall was targeted once during his 44 snaps and broke up a pass that was later wiped away by a penalty. Jones added five tackles, including one for loss, and picked off his first pass of the year.
At cornerback, Victor Evans III slid into one of Nebraska’s starting spots, replacing Jeremiah Charles after the first defensive drive of the season. But the most noticeable coverage performance came from Danny Odem III. The former five-star defensive back played 26 snaps and did not allow a completion, giving Nebraska another clean outing on the back end.
The overall picture was hard to miss: Nebraska’s defense looked sharp against the pass, cleaned up plays after they got beyond the second level, and spent most of the night making Bowling Green work for every inch.
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Nebraska's 2-0 Start Has Fans Asking One Big Question
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Still, the first two games have also left room for the kind of questions that follow any fast start. Penalties have been an issue, and the defensive pressure has not always matched the teams overall dominance, which means Nebraska is hardly finished product heading into Big Ten play. The schedule is about to get more demanding, and what the Cornhuskers do next will say a lot more about their ceiling than the smooth beginning has so far. [Read more 🡒]