Nebraska’s defense is holding up its end of the bargain so far in 2021. The Blackshirts have played well enough to win more than two games this season. There are two other phases to the game and those haven’t been up to par. The defense is still hungry for more after another good performance on Saturday.
Linebacker Luke Reimer says there is more to play for.
“It was good. We played a really good game I thought,” Reimer said. “Just in the end we just didn’t quite do enough I guess to win the game. That’s really all that matters.”
Reimer agrees with JoJo Domann. The defense could have done more by forcing more turnovers. The team did have an interception but did not force any fumbles. Reimer says the defense can get better at being ball aware. The defense does work on punching the ball out when the second defender arrives at the ball carrier.
The defense is playing at a high level right now. Creating more turnovers is something all defenders want to do. It was interesting to hear Reimer explain where else the defense needed to go from here.
“Just go win games. We need to bring up the other side of the ball and the special teams too,” Reimer said. “Just hold them accountable. By doing that, hopefully we’ll get more wins. I think just bringing the rest of the team up to our standard is kind of what we’ve been trying to do. I think that’s the next step. Just for the end result. We just have to win. That’s the end result we got to get to.”
Bringing the rest of the team up to the standard the defense has set is no easy task. Reimer recognizes that but said that it needs to be done in order for something to change. He understands that the team can only be close to winning games for so long. It will be interesting to see how the players on defense go about motivating their teammates.
A different tactic can be the push the team needs heading into the matchup with Northwestern.
More news and notes:
>> Defensive lineman Damion Daniels is playing well this season for Nebraska. Linebacker Luke Reimer enjoys playing behind him and has seen a lot of growth out of Daniels.
“I think he’s always been a good player ever since I’ve been here,” Reimer said. “He’s always been a very good player. I think he’s just stepped into a leadership role. That’s the biggest step for me I think I’ve seen from him is he’s an extremely good leader and very vocal. He gets the defense going so we follow him so he does a really good job.”
>> Linebacker Chris Kolarevic gave everyone a little insight into the film room. Watching film back after tough plays can be an uncomfortable experience.
“Yeah it’s hard,” Kolarevic said. “It’s hard to see a game that could have gone a completely different direction and see a play that completely changed it. It’s hard to see that. It’s hard to watch that but you have to and you have to see what you can do better for the next week and move on.”
>> Nebraska’s offense has done a better job this season of possessing the ball. That allows the defense to stay fresh when they are on the field. Reimer thinks that is a big positive playing in the Big Ten.
“I think it’s a really good thing when we’re playing complimentary football,” he said. “I think that’s when we’re the best as a team. When we’re playing complimentary football and not just getting 10-minute drives on the defense. Then the offense goes out and has a three and out. We have to play complimentary football in the Big Ten especially because everybody’s so technically sound and fundamental in the Big Ten. You have to play complimentary football and we just haven’t been doing a good enough job of that recently with all three phases of the game.”
