When opposing offenses take the field at Memorial Stadium, the crowd becomes almost deafening.
The quarterback has a hard time communicating with his linemen and skill players, giving the advantage to the home team. But at the same time, the Nebraska defense also has to deal with that noise.
“The home crowd is always loudest when your defense is on the field,” defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “Sometimes it makes it difficult. I go back to the Oklahoma game a year ago. We had a horrible time trying to get our checks made and our calls made because of how loud it was.”
Heading on the road for the first time this season, the Cornhusker defensive unit will be able work without 85,000 screaming fans in its ear.
“It will help it a lot,” NU defensive tackle Jared Crick said. “There isn’t going to be as much noise, so we’re going to be able to hear the backers and hear the calls.”
Nebraska allowed 179 rushing yards in its season opener against Western Kentucky, and NU coach Bo Pelini said lapses in communication contributed to the subpar defensive performance. The Huskers seemed to fix those problems in week two, holding Idaho to just 60 yards on the ground.
The Nebraska defense is hoping to prove it can maintain those numbers against a quality opponent in a hostile Husky Stadium on Saturday.
“We’ve had a pretty good road record,” defensive back DeJon Gomes said. “It’s just the mind-set we take into it. Like Coach Bo always tells us, ‘it’s us against the world.’”
The Huskers were 4-1 in true road games last season, with the four wins coming in their Big 12 Conference road contests. NU’s lone road loss came in its marquee nonconference matchup against Virginia Tech.
Even though Washington is Nebraska’s first crack at a BCS opponent, Crick said it’s important not to get lost in all the hype.
“We just have to go out there and play our game,” he said. “We can’t realize how big the game is or who we’re going against, we just have to go out there and execute and we’ll be fine.”
The 72,500 capacity Husky Stadium proved to be beneficial to Washington last season. The Huskies finished 5-2 at home, including a 16-13 win against then No. 3 USC.
Carl Pelini admits it is going to be loud on Saturday, but said there is no use making a big deal over home field advantage.
“The fields are all the same,” he said. “The stands look a little different and the colors in the stands look a little different, but I don’t know that familiarity helps you because you’ve been to a place before.”
While the stands on Saturday will be painted with mostly purple and gold, the Husker defense will be able to communicate with minimal noise.
And with the full force of Memorial Stadium not making the trip to Seattle, Gomes said the players have to rely on each other.
“You get to see how good the chemistry really is,” he said. “If things are going tough, you’re going to see who is going to fight through it and who is going to fold.