Nebraska seeks redemption

Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb.

Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said last spring that this could be the best of the four defenses he has coached at Nebraska.

Right now, it is on track to be his worst.

The 14th-ranked Cornhuskers (4-1, 0-1 Big Ten) go into Saturday night’s game against Ohio State (3-2, 0-1) putting up numbers similar to those of the porous 2008 defense and well off those of the dominant 2009-10 units.

Nebraska is allowing 27 points and 377 yards a game. The Huskers have had an opposing running back go over 100 yards in three games and are giving up 152 yards on the ground. They’ve surrendered 10 touchdown passes vs. four interceptions and allowed 224 yards a game through the air.

The same unit Pelini praised for its speed, physicality and leadership has been sporadically aggressive, occasionally confused and reliant on arm tackling.

Coach Bo Pelini, Carl’s younger brother, said the pitfalls of youth and immaturity showed up last week on the big stage in a 48-17 loss at No. 4 Wisconsin.

“It’s one thing to do it in practice and another when the bullets are flying,” Bo said. “You have to do it. At the end of the day, we were in position. We just didn’t make a play. It’s not magical.”

The defense has an opportunity to get well at home against the Buckeyes, who are struggling on offense and reeling from a series of off-field problems involving several players.

Ohio State center Mike Brewster said he’s not fooled by Nebraska’s defensive statistics.

“I know they’ve got some great guys over there,” he said. “I know their big thing is the Blackshirts. They take a lot of pride on the defensive side. They’ve got Jared Crick who is highly touted and [Baker] Steinkuhler who’s a really good guy and [Lavonte] David at linebacker. It’s going to be a battle and those guys are coming to play.”