A group text went around in the Gophers defensive line's group chat this week, setting the tone for Nebraska on Saturday after a standout game against Illinois.
" 'Hey, we're going to practice even harder than we did last week,' " rush end Carter Coughlin said of the message. " 'Scouts, make sure that that happens.' "
Minnesota's defense held the Illini offense to just three points last Saturday, though coach P.J. Fleck actually credited the unit with a shutout, since he took responsibility for an ill-fated timeout to ice the kicker on a first-half field goal. After failing to wrap up tackles against Purdue in the Big Ten opener and struggling as a whole most of last year, the Gophers showed their capabilities under defensive coordinator Joe Rossi.
And Coughlin said to expect an even better game this weekend.
"Everything that you saw on Saturday, we practiced at that intensity for the entire week," Coughlin said Tuesday. "That's something that was kind of missing earlier in the season. And last week, we saw what we can do when we practice like that. So today was even crazier than last Tuesday was, and I promise you, tomorrow will be even crazier than last Wednesday."
Coughlin added the defense was "firing on all cylinders" with everybody doing their job. Fleck called the performance "outstanding."
"They swarmed to the football. The tackling was really good. The spatial awareness was really good. I thought our rush lanes were better," Fleck said. "... We had to condense the running lanes. I thought we did a better job of doing that."
In that 40-17 victory against Illinois, with 14 of those points from offensive turnovers, the Gophers allowed the Illini just 91 rushing yards and 248 total offensive yards. They also held Illinois to five of 17 on third-down conversions.