From the opening drive of Saturday’s game against the Oklahoma Sooners, the Nebraska Cornhuskers made their intentions known.
Defensively, coordinator Erik Chinander would not get beat by OU throwing deep. The Huskers routinely played 2-4-5 personnel, showing OU soft zones in coverage with deep safeties. The NU cornerbacks also gave the OU receivers generous cushions.
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Essentially, NU conceded short throws and dared the Sooners to run the ball. The plan was for NU defenders to keep the ball in front of them and then rally to it.