Nebraska’s defense took a real step in the right direction in Week 2, and Rob Aurich came away encouraged by more than just the box score.
The Huskers didn’t surrender a 68-yard bomb on the first snap against Bowling Green, and they didn’t allow 68 yards total in the first half either. That kind of clean start matters, but Aurich made it clear Tuesday that the unit is still in the middle of its climb. Nebraska now turns to what should be its toughest challenge yet, with North Dakota coming to town Saturday night.
A big part of the buzz around the defense has centered on Williams Nwaneri, who has played only 36 snaps for Nebraska in 2026 while dealing with an unspecified injury. Even with the workload limited, Aurich said the former five-star edge rusher made his presence felt.
“Williams played 11 plays (against Bowling Green) and had two ball disruption reps,” Aurich said. “Guys get paid big bucks to do that stuff, and I thought he took a major step from Week 1.
He was battling a little bit of an injury in Week 1, but it was good to see him go out there and play, even though we monitored his workload. He really impacted the game.”
Nwaneri, a junior, led all Husker defensive linemen with 2½ sacks in 2025, and the expectation is that his snap count will keep growing as the season goes on. If that happens, the production may follow.
Aurich also singled out a pair of younger defensive linemen who made noise in Week 2: Dylan Berrymon and Malcolm Simpson.
“Berymon brings something unique to the table, because he’s so big,” Aurich said. “But he can still move.
I think he’s 360 (pounds). I don’t know if he’ll ever be 330 or 325, I don’t know if that’s just in his gene sequence.
He’s just a big boy, man. We love dancing bears; he’s a little bit of a dancing bear.
So, we’ll keep him coming along.”
Simpson’s path has been a little different, but Aurich liked what he’s seen from him behind the scenes and in practice.
“And the thing about Malcom is, he was on our White group, which is really, you’re servicing the offense a lot during practice,” he said. “But he’s been giving them hell down there.
We watch that every day… We’ve seen him be disruptive against our own offensive line, so we had to give him some run. I expect both of their roles to increase, because they’ve worked for it; they’re earning it.”
Nebraska has only four sacks through two games, but Aurich isn’t sounding any alarms. He pointed out that the Bowling Green offense simply didn’t create many chances for a pure pass rush.
“There were five drop-back passes that entire game (against Bowling Green) that weren’t off play action, run action, or a version of a screen on third down," he said. "So, a little bit is about the opportunities.”
“We had two forced fumbles on the quarterback, two sacks, and we hit him one other time and forced a holding penalty,” he continued. “I think our guys are, when they’ve had the opportunity to tee off and go and pass rush it, it’s been there.”
For Aurich, the bigger takeaway from Week 1 to Week 2 was the speed of Nebraska’s play. He said the defense looked more decisive and more in tune with its keys.
“I thought we executed at a higher level than what we did the previous week,” he said. “I thought our guys played on their keys; read and reacted at a higher clip.
Now, it’s not perfect. There are areas where I think we can still take massive leaps… but I was pleased with the improvement.”
“The standard that we are looking for, although we play good football, is a high standard,” he continued. “And we’ve got to get better every week.”
North Dakota is no mystery to Aurich. Before arriving at Nebraska, he spent four years at South Dakota, a Missouri Valley program that regularly lined up against the same kind of football the Fighting Hawks play. That background has given him a clear read on what the Huskers are about to face.
“If you know anything about this region of football, you know every Dakota team you play is going to be ready to compete,” he said. “I think you’re going to see a prepared football team that’s ready to prove that they can compete with anyone nationally.”
“They’ve had three blowout wins this year against, I would say, lesser competition than what they are,” he continued. “But I think they’re excited to prove what they can do on the main stage.”
North Dakota comes in putting up 540.0 yards and 50.3 points per game, so Nebraska’s defense will need another sharp outing. Kickoff is set for 6:15 p.m. CDT, and Aurich is expecting his group to carry the same mindset it has preached all week.
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