Yup, that defense was good
14 comments so far
December 17, 2009 by
Way back in October, at the mid-way point of the season, I projected out Nebraska's totals in total defense and scoring defense and compared them to the best 10 statistical seasons since 1990.
With the final numbers in, I thought it might be worth another look.
In my mid-season projection, Nebraska was on pace to finish with the fifth best performance in terms of total yards since 1990 (that's the era encompassing the highest of highs and lowest of lows in modern Nebraska football history). The fell off the pace slightly there, finishing sixth after 13 games.
This particular half of the stat might say more about the 90's than it does this particular season. Remember how dominant this year's defense looked? Then realize that in five out of the ten years encompassing the 90s the defense, measuring by total yards, was better. In three other years--'95, '93, and '98--the defense was essentially in the same ballpark as this year's unit. Only the 1991 defense, which gave up about 350 yards per game, was far behind the 2009 Blackshirts. It's easy to forget, but a defense like what we saw this year really was the norm during the glory days.
Scoring defense is another matter entirely. Here, this year's unit truly shines. The 146 points the Huskers have given up thus far is 16 points better than the second place finisher, the '94 team and currently ranks second in the country, three points behind Alabama. (Damn that throwaway touchdown to end the Colorado game!) To put it in even better perspective, Mike Rozier scored 174 points by himself in 1983.
So if you're looking for something to watch during the Holiday Bowl, watch the point total. Think the Huskers can hold Arizona under 16 points? Only two teams legitimately scored 16 or more (again, CU) against Nebraska all season.
Of course the bigger question--especially considering the departure of Suh--is can this become the yearly occurrence it once was? Next year will be a good one to find out.
Did you enjoy this article?
Get Husker news by email
Follow us on Twitter
Related Stories: Defense
Post a comment
Dwayne Dec 17 09
It would be interesting to devise some sort of system which combined yards per game and points per game. If you look at your heading of your chart, how could one not consider points per game the main subject point to strengthen the argument for your heading? Next season will be interesting. I'm exciting to see the defense emerge again without Suh, but also the development of that offensive line with additional personel involved. One reason why our defensive line played so well throughout the season is the development of the defensive back 7. Case in point, Texas. Many of the sacks came not because of quick pressure, but because McCoy couldn't release the ball to a receiver.
WyHuskerFan Dec 17 09
There's been little doubt that this year's defense was one of the best ever to wear the Blackshirts. With a healthier offense, it will be interesting to see if they can play significantly better. I expect they will and the bowl game will lead into a more balanced team next year. I like most fans are excited to see the progression of the defense without Suh just to validate Pelini's coaching style. I expected the offense to make huge strides with better depth on the line.
Brandon Dec 17 09
Dwayne,
I agree with you: scoring defense is the ultimate, bare bones measure of defensive tenacity. It's the stat that shows up directly on the scoreboard and I, personally, value it more.
That said, total yards has always been the old standby for measuring a defense. I sorted by that simply to be consistent. That's how I sorted it the first time.
nu-isu-fan Dec 17 09
Defense wins football games. We've all heard it, but I'm convinced after this year. Top 10 D and bottom 20 O, yields 9 (maybe 10) wins. Our special teams did their part too. In 2007, we were in the area of a top 10 O and bottom 20 D and we all know how that turned out.
I say, keep up with the strong defenses; work to build an outstanding offensive line; and the rest falls into place.
James Moore Dec 17 09
Could we get a feature on BRN that allows us to e-mail links like this?
"It's easy to forget, but a defense like what we saw this year really was the norm during the glory days."
That's a great quote, and so true. Defensively speaking it sure seems safe to say that we are "Back." About that offense. . .
jacob Dec 17 09
Interesting perspective. One thing to remember in the 90s was how often 2nd and 3rd string players were able to get great experience in the 3rd and 4th quarters of runaway games. This can lead to giving up more yards/points, making the low numbers even more impressive. To be fair though, our offense did eat up a lot more time off the clock in previous years.
kw Dec 17 09
I agree with Jacob. It would have been interesting to see where our defense would have ended up if we would have had any offense at all. It would be interesting to see what the TOP stats were in those years compared to this year. I hope this kind of output becomes the norm. I think the way we're recruiting on the defensive side, it's possible.
Anybody see that Chris Williams has been released from his scholarship? No real news on it other than the fact he has been released. I hate to see that.
There were some reports earlier that maybe our offense was going to transition into a more smash mouth offense like Alabama, or even like Ol' Nebraska featuring more option, but not necessarily option based. Now Watson's saying he wants to get back to running the type of offense we had last year, which makes me want to puke. We don't have the skill players to do it and we're not recruiting any either! What a stubborn a$$!
Chuck Dec 17 09
Here's what I'd like to see, as a simple metric of hwo good the 2009 defense was despite the offense: rank the defenses listed above based on yards/points surrendered per minute on the field. (Sort of like RPI in baseball, I guess.)
Remember, those 90's defenses, while great, had the advantage of an offense that consistently controlled the clock. As I recall, NU used to be ahead in time of possession nearly every game. How well could the 2009 defense have done--and what would those numbers look like--if they hadn't been thrown back on the field so quickly?
Even measuring per minute doesn't account for the effects of fatigue on a defense that had to carry the load as much as 2009's did. But it would be interesting nonetheless.
As an aside, just based on the subjective eyeball test: this is as good a Nebraska defense as I've seen in 30 years. Some others may have been just as good. But I've seen none better.
Mark Dec 17 09
What about yards or points per play? I'm guessing the 2009 defense would really stand out in that stat, since I'm sure they were on the field a lot more than those glory days defenses.
Mark Dec 17 09
What about yards or points per play? I'm guessing the 2009 defense would really stand out in that stat, since I'm sure they were on the field a lot more than those glory days defenses.
wm c martin Dec 17 09
wk Josh Williams O8 not Chris O9 I think was the one who decided to go elsewhere, a mutually agreed upon decision. A excellent DE who had a tough bunch ahead of him.
kw Dec 17 09
wm c martin...According to Husker Extra it was Chris Williams. Lots of speculation about him never fully recovering from his horrific knee injury. But, they could have gotten it wrong.
http://my.journalstar.com/post/Husker_Extra_Group/Husker_Extra/blog/williams_no_longer_on_team.html
FischAlum'83 Dec 20 09
Nu-isu has a good point. If you build one side of the ball first it is the defensive side of the ball. Trust me, Bo believes this. In addition to that Bo was hired primarily for his ability to restore the defense and I bet T.O. made that Bo's top priority. 2 years & that mission is accomplished. No on to offense as a higher priority, 1st O.line. Look we just didn't have the tallent to have a full turn around in 1 year. My money is on 2010 being a top 10 team and 2011 or 2012 being top 5 depending on the development of some key skill positions.
We are on track.
Ed Dec 27 09
I would like to see how this D stacks up against all time nebraska D's, not just through 1990. It seems incomplete to me.
Only two teams legitimately scored 16 or more (again, CU) against Nebraska all season.
What does this mean???
4 teams scored 16 or more on us.