Nebraska took its first hit of the season against Michigan, and it brought out some glaring issues for Matt Rhule to work on. The third-year charm is currently on hold at Lincoln, as the Huskers plan their comeback against the Spartans. There is, however, one particular flaw that was always suspected to be a problem for them down the line. Much to fans’ dismay, that is exactly what happened in their tough loss against the Wolverines.

Joel Klatt’s ballpark prediction for the Michigan vs. Nebraska clash came close to the real deal. He predicted the scoreboard to go 34-21, which ultimately ended up 30-27. But Klatt had also highlighted one major question mark for the Huskers’ defense. “I think everywhere outside of their defensive tackle position has improved,” he said in a September 22 episode of his show. This season, the John Butler defense debuted a new-look D-line, having lost star tackles Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher.

The new Nebraska D-line had a direct impact on the run defense against Michigan. The Huskers were able to restrict Bryce Underwood to 105 passing and 61 rushing yards. But Justice Haynes? A completely different story. “That’s exactly what crept up to bite them against Michigan as Michigan ran it for almost 300 yards,” Klatt noted. Nebraska’s run defense was among the best last year. After losing to Michigan, the Nebraska D-line has dropped to No. 106 on rush defense. Butler could’ve approached this aspect a lot better, considering the Wolverine offense is counting on the backfield’s success.

The loss of Nebraska’s D-line stars brought a new mix of talents to the forefront. Freshman Williams Nwaneri had the most snaps in this department for the 4 straight week, while sophomore Elijah Jeudy brought some balance to this new D-line. He has the highest individual PFF grade after the Michigan game, for bringing in 3 tackles and a forced fumble. But what’s disappointing here is that this unit has faltered right since the very first game, against Cincinnati. Bearcat QB Brendan Sorsby made away with 96 rushing yards alone.

Unfortunately, the troubles don’t just end here for Matt Rhule. On the other side of the ball, Dylan Raiola’s talents seem to be threatened by the alarming state of the offensive line.

Matt Rhule’s offensive trenches are just as problematic as the D-line

The star Nebraska QB got sacked 7 times. Dylan Raiola was pretty much running for his life in the game. He needs a push from the run game around him. The D-line can still play the age card when it comes to their fallacies. But the offensive line does not have that luxury this year. Michigan’s defense deserves the appreciation, considering the beating it went through against Oklahoma. The run game at Nebraska from the trenches was nearly absent.

The Huskers brought in 9 TFLs and couldn’t score in the red zone despite getting there multiple times in the game. Donovan Raiola is in his 4 year at Lincoln, coaching the O-line. Lapses in this unit don’t have a lot of excuses. Nebraska will now be off for a week, and both sides will be looking to attack these problems for their next bout against Michigan State.

Games are won and lost in the trenches, and we can see how true this came for Rhule’s squad. The Michigan loss added to the towering heap of losses to ranked teams, which is another bump the Huskers are trying to get over. Sure, Nebraska fans are hoping for the 3rd-year charm to break through at Lincoln. But when persisting problems continue to plague the program, how much of that factor really matters?