The Nebraska Cornhuskers are preparing to host the Maryland Terrapins this Saturday at Memorial Stadium. A significant focus of the preparation has been on the offense of the Terps.
Maryland boasts the second-ranked passing offense in the Big Ten, with an average of 280 passing yards a game. Starting quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has thrown for 2,486 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions on the year.
Head coach Matt Rhule says that his team is excited by the challenge.
“Yeah it’s a heck of a challenge and an opportunity. The great thing about Maryland is that all of our guys know how good they are. They’ve seen them and they know who Maryland is. It was 17-17 against Ohio State late in the third quarter. They are an excellent, excellent football team. To me the challenge for us has always been to humbly prepare for the other teams and the opponent but to never make it about the opponent. To not sit there and say, ‘What if they do this and do that?’ Instead make it about us.
Through nine games this season, Nebraska has been surrendering 221 passing yards a game while boasting the third-best rushing defense in the country, only allowing 70.4 rushing yards per game. Rhule said that his team knows what to expect this weekend.
“So again the lessons always go back to just, ‘Hey guys trust yourself. Trust your technique. Do your assignment. Play hard. Play together.’ And we are probably going to have a chance to win games. And even though we didn’t do that the whole game it’s still 20-17 late in the game. So you still had a chance with the ball to win the game. So let’s just build off of that. It’s a really explosive offense. It’s a real challenge for our guys. They know what’s coming and they won’t be surprised. They will have to play their best to have a chance against this offense.”
Nebraska will next take the field this Saturday when the Huskers host the Maryland Terrapins. Kick-off is at 11:00 a.m. and can be seen on Peacock.