Agree that their D was better last year, but there (if I read the stats right) 5 Big Ten West defenses ahead of them in the category of scoring defense. Big ten west is tough in this category.
If you momentarily forget about the onside kick, Northwestern O line dominated Nebraska's D line on Saturday.
Good point, but I think this is another example of how some stats are misleading. Nebraska's D gave up a fair amount of points, but their offense (both through their tempo and their turnovers) and their special teams (through their ineptitude) constantly put them in a bad spot. They were actually pretty salty, though opponents scored on them.
In a similar way, Iowa was 64th in offensive efficiency in 2020, and they were 88th in yards per game. But they were 40th in points per game, because their defense and special teams constantly put them in advantageous positions.
Last year we were 99th in points, 121st in yards, and 90th in offensive efficiency. You might say it was an all-around performance.