LINCOLN — John Butler didn’t have a raucous crowd to drown out his words. So he could relay to his defensive backs, in real time, what was happening before the snap. He could call out plays — and be right.
This was in 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic, when Butler worked for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. He’s long had the skill of “seeing things quickly” and adjusting accordingly.
It’s the same in press conferences. He’ll see the trajectory of a question and meet it behind the line of scrimmage.
Asked about NU’s ability to cover tight ends, Butler interjects “I think we’ve done a good job of taking all their pass catchers away if you look at our statistics in that regard.”
And he has an equal grasp of Nebraska’s struggles in run defense, which reared its head in a 30-27 loss to Michigan. A team allows a 75, 54 and 37-yard touchdown run, and it’s both a challenge to the stat sheet and the core character of a defense. Even “Captain Obvious,” as Butler said this week, can see where the Huskers excel and where they need work.
“It’s not like they’re running the ball for 50 yards and throwing the for 50 yards,” Butler said.
The fixes, as Nebraska (3-1, 0-1) hosts Michigan State (3-1, 0-1) may not be as quick as Butler’s mind works.
“A lot of times, pass defense is about scheme and structure,” Butler said Tuesday. Which is something he can and has controlled effectively through one-third of the season. “But run defense is about an attitude.”
To hear Butler and others talk, that word — attitude — encapsulates more than just a player’s mental mood toward the task. It includes their physical ability, their tenacity, relentlessness and stamina for the chore.
“The right defense, with the wrong player, is never as good as the wrong defense with the right player,” coach Matt Rhule said. “Defense is, to me, about warriors getting off blocks, making tackles, knocking balls out, hitting quarterbacks, picking balls up.”
These corrections play out as the league goes through a renaissance of offense — mostly in the passing category.
Ten offenses — including Nebraska, which leads the league — average more than 250 passing yards per game. Two years ago, just three league teams did. The Big Ten has a 3.53:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2025; it was 2.08:1 last season. And the league’s cumulative completion rate is currently 3.6% higher. Twelve league quarterbacks are completing more than 65% of their passes.
“The Big Ten’s a special league, and people are starting to see that now,” quarterback Dylan Raiola said. “At the end of the day it’s all football — the guy who gets the ball every down to people who make plays.”
Butler’s defense, thus far, has excelled at preventing quarterbacks from making hay. NU’s allowing just 3.4 yards per attempt, which ranks first nationally. The 50.6% opponent completion rate ranks fourth. And only NU and Arizona have yet to allow a touchdown pass.
NU has good corners — Ceyair Wright, Andrew Marshall and Donovan Jones — and aggressive scheme that asks a lot of Nebraska’s corner trio, safeties and linebackers.
“We have guys who can challenge routes,” Butler said. “You’re not going to be a very good pass defense if you live in a zone coverage world — you’ll probably get a couple more interceptions, plays on the ball, but you have to be able to be in man coverage or match coverage to be able to challenge routes.
“Make the quarterback — make it hard for him to throw into tight windows, to the tight ends the backs in the screen game and the receivers outside.”
MSU, with quarterback Aidan Chiles and two standout receivers — Nick Marsh and Omari Kelly — will be one of Nebraska’s toughest tests of the year, Butler said. It’ll be another thing on his plate as the week’s most fundamental questions are posed again.
“Can they block us?” Butler said. “Can we tackle them?”
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Sam McKewon
Sports Editor
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