LINCOLN — Dana Holgorsen set his jaw and nodded his head. The Nebraska offensive coordinator knows what awaits his quarterback and line once NU rolls into College Park this weekend.
The heat of the Big Ten’s top pass rush, which currently resides at Maryland.
“Oh yeah,” Holgorsen said when asked if the Terrapins (4-1, 1-1) would try to pressure Dylan Raiola, the sophomore Nebraska quarterback who’s been sacked 12 times over the last eight quarters. “Yes. Especially this bunch.”
Who have 19 sacks and nine interceptions in five games. Better than Michigan State and statistically stronger than Michigan, both of which ate the Huskers’ lunch in Memorial Stadium.
Two true freshman anchor the Terrapins’ front seven.
“I’ve never seen young kids like that with that much explosion,” Holgorsen said.
One, 6-foot-2, 255-pound Sidney Stewart, is the only Big Ten pass rusher, according to Pro Football Focus, with at least 20 combined quarterback sacks, hits and hurries. The other, 6-6, 222-pound Zahir Mathis, has 17 such plays. And 6-2, 303-pound nose tackle Cam Rice — whose grandmother was Holgorsen’s secretary at West Virginia — provides an interior push.
Linebackers from depth? Maryland will bring them; one might even drop down and rush from the line of scrimmage. And the Terrapins’ highest-graded defenders, linebacker Daniel Wingate and safety Jalen Huskey, are right in the middle of the field.
Maryland toppled Wisconsin and dominated Washington until a bad fourth quarter. UW has a running quarterback. Raiola is a pocket passer.
“They play super hard and do everything right,” Raiola said of the Terps. “They create havoc on the quarterback and their DBs have ball skills. They know exactly what they’re doing.”
For the second and third quarters against Michigan State, Nebraska didn’t so much.
In six drives — three of which started in Spartan territory — NU netted 19 yards. Raiola got sacked three times during that stretch, had his helmet ripped off after picking up a bad snap, and threw an interception.
MSU, one of the nation’s lowest-ranked pass rushes and pass defenses headed into the Nebraska game, got sacks during the game off of three, four, five and six-man pressures. By World-Herald count, the Spartans brought at least five men nine times.
“It’s everything,” Holgorsen said of the cause for MSU’s sacks. “It’s everything. Not one time have I pointed the finger at the O-line. It’s everything. It’s the entire offense. One of the sacks, it was a bad playcall.”
Another, Emmett Johnson failed to get a key block. On yet another, left tackle Elijah Pritchett missed sunk down toward middle pressure, missing the edge rusher, who came clean toward Raiola. The quarterback himself, Holgorsen said, was responsible for one, too.
“We had a wide open ‘in’ cut and he didn’t trigger it,” Holgorsen said. “Got to be in the proper headspace to get rid of the ball.”
As Nebraska’s quarterback, Raiola has a lot on his shoulders, Holgorsen said — pressure of the crowd, the pressure of “him wanting to be great,” too.
“And when he is getting the crap knocked out of him, you’re going to get loopy,” Holgorsen said. “He was loopy and didn’t play the way he knows — and we all know that he can play. I’m just proud of him for snapping out of it.”
That would be Raiola’s “blood in the eyes” moment, as referenced by coach Matt Rhule two different times. On a third down late in the third quarter, Raiola evaded pressure and hit a 45-yard pass to Jacory Barney down the seam. NU scored 24 straight points after that play.
“He needs to continue to handle it professionally” Holgorsen said, “and I know he will.”
Meanwhile, Nebraska (4-1, 1-1) prepares for all the defensive looks and pressure packages Maryland may serve up. The Huskers have already seen quite a bit from the Wolverines and Spartans.
Michigan, which sacked Raiola seven times, brought five-man pressure at least 15 times and used exotic, twisting blitzes — often delayed by a second or two — to give Raiola trouble.
While NU’s offensive tackles struggled, Rhule and Holgorsen said, to hold their own with UM’s edge rushers, Raiola threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns. Rhule described one of Raiola’s touchdown passes, to Jacory Barney, as “elite” for his ability to change plays and beat UM’s blitz bluff.
“All those blitzes you pick up on Saturday, you really pick ‘em up Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,” guard Henry Lutovsky said. “Just finding any possible way to take the next step in our preparation. Making sure we’re all on the same page with the quarterback and backs about how we’re calling this protection vs. this front.”
Said Raiola: “We’ve got to be ready and if we need to adjust, we’ll adjust.”
Holgorsen, who will be calling his 10th overall game as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator, understands the “big challenge” at Maryland.
“Can we improve to the point where we can protect that quarterback? My job is to protect the quarterback,” Holgorsen said. “I’ve got to put him in position to get the ball out, I’ve got to get those guys to protect him.”
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Sam McKewon
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