The Unknowables: What if the Blackshirts get better, maintain or get worse in 2024?
Defense is the big, valid assumption everyone makes about Nebraska entering this season, but nothing is a sure thing in college football.
A team’s perceived strengths get taken for granted in the offseason. Just how it has to be—maybe how it should be—when every fan wants to have hope for the year ahead.
Return four starters from a strong offensive line? Should be strong again. Have a freshman All-American back at quarterback? Should be even better as a sophomore.
These are reasonable bets to make, but they are still bets, propositions with uncertain outcomes.
The most reasonable bet to make on Nebraska in 2024 is on the defense, and it forms the backbone of the most optimistic offseason in Lincoln this decade. The Blackshirts were a top-15 scoring defense a year ago. They return most of their production from that defense and could be particularly strong up front. Perhaps most important, the Huskers retained Tony White despite the up-and-coming defensive coordinator earning head-coach overtures last winter.
Offseason conditions don’t get much more favorable than that, but improbable things can and do happen in season. So far, The Unknowables1 has focused on offense—the side with more questions—but today we tackle defense.
What does growth, maintenance or regression look like for the Blackshirts in 2024 and what would any of them mean for a promising-on-paper season?
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