Finally, Rob Aurich’s defense gave in.
Although Nebraska allowed 300 yards and 23 points to the Terrapins in the first 30 minutes, the Huskers held Maryland to just 95 yards and zero points after halftime. By the end of the game, they had also forced three turnovers, which Aurich identified as a goal for his unit on each play.
It was far from pretty and left a lot to be desired for fans, but NU is 5-0 for the first time since 2016. A total of 27 Husker defenders participated in NU’s 25-point victory. Here are their final tallies and grades, courtesy of Pro Football Focus. (Go here for offensive ratings.)
Player | Class | Snaps | Execution note | Tackle | Rush pass | Blanket | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whittington | 3rd | 54 | 73.2 | 71.9 | 59.3 | 58.8 | 65.8 |
A.Jones | 5th | 49 | 54.3 | 29.5 | 59.9 | 63.5 | 50.0 |
Nwaneri | 3rd | 44 | 67.1 | 44.1 | 55.5 | 44.9 | 54.1 |
Van Poppel | 4th | 44 | 65.9 | 70.2 | 57.9 | – | 63.1 |
Stoudmire | 6th | 22 | 61.8 | – | 55.4 | – | 58.1 |
Pietrzak | 2nd | 17 | 60.9 | – | 54.9 | 69.8 | 70.1 |
Golden Man | 4th | 16 | 51.1 | – | 63.0 | – | 53.4 |
Lenhardt | 4th | 13 | 65.3 | 72.7 | 63.0 | 68.8 | 76.6 |
Simpson | 2nd | 9 | 60.5 | – | 64.9 | 60.0 | 66.1 |
J.Jones | 2nd | 9 | 61.9 | 78.4 | 56.1 | 61.0 | 61.2 |
Ochoa | 3rd | 6 | – | 73.0 | 54.3 | 60.0 | 56.5 |
Hoffken | 3rd | 5 | 59.4 | – | 58.4 | – | 48.4 |
Léfotu | 4th | 4 | – | – | 65.0 | – | 65.6 |
Defensive line
Despite sacking Maryland quarterback Malik Washington just once, NU’s defensive line accounted for nine of the 14 pressures the Huskers generated Saturday. While Washington finished with just 16 rushing yards, he proved to be the elusive signal-caller that Aurich described him as before the game.
Despite this, Nebraska managed to give him fits. Aside from the 207 yards the Huskers allowed in the first quarter, Maryland totaled just 188 yards the rest of the game. Much of that had to do with the defensive front.
After shining at times in 2025, Kade Pietrzak moved into coverage and secured the first interception of his career, while Williams Nwaneri recorded three quarter hurries on his own. Riley Van Poppel added two more, while Mason Goldman’s 16 snaps were his most since September 2024.
Player | Class | Snaps | Execution note | Tackle | Rush pass | Blanket | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chambliss | 4th | 57 | 85.2 | 81.2 | 62.1 | 78.0 | 84.2 |
To favor | 3rd | 34 | 42.4 | 40.5 | 66.8 | 81.6 | 75.2 |
Razors | 3rd | 33 | 62.4 | 55.0 | 65.6 | 70.2 | 71.5 |
Merritt | 2nd | 16 | 61.0 | 73.2 | 57.2 | 55.7 | 55.4 |
Wacker | 3rd | 6 | 60.0 | – | 57.8 | 61.4 | 61.1 |
Linebacker
The Huskers’ linebacker rotation was down to just five for the second week in a row, with Owen Chambliss, Dexter Foster and Vincent Shavers accounting for the vast majority of snaps, while Dawson Merritt and Derek Wacker filled the spelling roles.
Chambliss once again ranked as the team’s leading tackler. He has totaled 16.0 tackles over the past two weeks while playing a total of 112 defensive snaps. He is by far Aurich’s most reliable linebacker, based on his workload, and he has been a welcome addition to the Blackshirts defense.
Shavers accounted for the Big Red’s only sack while also being credited with four additional tackles and a forced fumble. From a production standpoint, this was the best game of his junior season thus far.
Player | Class | Snaps | Execution note | Tackle | Rush pass | Blanket | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jones | 3rd | 67 | 65.3 | 55.9 | 53.6 | 62.3 | 62.4 |
Marshal | 4th | 66 | 62.6 | 72.6 | – | 68.4 | 68.7 |
Connecticut | 4th | 64 | 50.0 | 55.9 | 60.0 | 65.1 | 61.4 |
McDougle | 5th | 64 | 40.9 | 27.1 | 60.0 | 84.8 | 75.5 |
Odem | 1st | 41 | 61.0 | 47.3 | – | 63.1 | 63.4 |
Evans | 4th | 39 | 55.9 | 78.5 | 65.7 | 68.4 | 69.1 |
Benning | 3rd | 12 | 60.9 | 78.9 | 59.7 | 42.2 | 47.7 |
Shiggs | 3rd | 6 | 60.0 | – | 57.8 | 61.4 | 61.1 |
Rhett | 4th | 6 | 60.0 | – | – | 62.6 | 63.5 |
Defensive backs
Dwayne McDougle was undoubtedly the star of the show, as the San Diego State transfer recorded the first pick six of his college career. This also came at a pivotal time. Malik Washington and Maryland led the Huskers 23-14, with the ball at the NU 25-yard line, when the fifth-year senior defensive back jumped in front of a pass attempt on a slant pattern and returned it 81 yards for a score.
He turned a potential drive that could have given the Terrapins a 16-point lead into one that provided NU with the exact type of spark it needed to ultimately win the game. Thanks to McDougle’s play, Nebraska found the momentum it needed to go into halftime with a five-point lead, a lead it took and never relinquished.
The missed tackles were concerning, however. Six of the Huskers’ nine missed tackles were attributed to defensive backs. Against the best teams on Nebraska’s schedule, namely Indiana this week, that could lose them the game. McDougle and Donovan Jones totaled two each, while Jones also allowed receptions on each of his nine targets for a total of 75 yards.
There is room for improvement within the group, but at the very least the Huskers have now faced a potential All-Big Ten caliber wide receiver in Chris Durr Jr. Hopefully this experience will better prepare them to face Indiana’s wideouts on Saturday afternoon.
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