HUSKER FOOTBALL: Blackshirts Look to Bounce Back Against Hoosiers

LINCOLN–(NU Athletics Oct. 22)–The Nebraska football team worked out in full pads for two hours on Tuesday splitting time inside the Hawks Championship Center and outside on the Ed and Joyanne Gass practice fields.

Defensive Coordinator Erik Chinander addressed the media following the conclusion of practice and talked about how the defense looked over the bye week.

“Yeah we had a good bye week,” Chinander said. “I’m sure Coach Frost talked about it but we went back to basics a little bit. Fundamentals a little bit. Tackling, some base defense, ‘good on good’ reps. So we got to go against our offensive line, our skill players. I thought that was really good to see some sped and some ‘good on good’ blocking.”

He went on to talk about what challenges the Indiana offense presents.

“I think they’ve done a really great job on offense,” Chinander said. “I know they’ve got [Offensive Coordinator] Coach DeBoer there who did a nice job at Fresno State last year. They’re a West Coast spread offense, they use the tight end very well, they’ve got a nice slot receiver then they have some big guys on the edge. They’ve played both quarterbacks, both guys can run, both guys can distribute the football but they’ve got a nice offensive scheme, they spread the football around a lot which a lot of times there’s a main target. Indiana does a good job of getting a lot of players involved and a lot of players the football.”

Chinander was asked if his defensive scheme would change depending on which quarterback Indiana decides to use.

“I don’t think the scheme is much different,” Chinander said. “[Michael] Penix has been banged up a little bit but I think they’re going to run their offense, whether one guy wants to pull a little more in the quarterback read stuff is one thing, but the offense isn’t going to dramatically change.”

Chinander was also asked about Nebraska wearing alternative uniforms on Saturday that are designed to honor the Blackshirt tradition.

“Obviously any time you put that shirt on it better mean a lot,” he said. “You put those things on and go out and have a great day, that’ll set the tone for what it’s supposed to be from here on.”

The Huskers will continue preparations for Indiana with a practice on Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. and will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network