Nebraska practiced for two hours on Wednesday, primarily inside the Hawks Championship Center, in preparation for its Big Ten road showdown Saturday against the Northwestern Wildcats.

The Husker defense will have its work cut out trying to stop the zone-read attack that the Wildcats present. Running backs coach Ron Brown discussed how stopping the zone-read is no easy task for a defense.

“Zone-reads came out in the early 2000s and I think Northwestern was one of the teams that were really pioneers of it. You don’t just read the backside end, you can read the linebackers, you can read a three technique, a nose and even somebody in the secondary.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the Husker offensive line will have to try to contain junior defensive lineman Tyler Scott, the current sacks leader in the Big Ten with six sacks through seven games.

Offensive line coach Barney Cotton discussed the difficulties blocking Scott. “Most of his sacks have come inside, in almost a rabbit package like we have in third and long. We have got to do a good job transitioning from second down to third and medium or third and long.”

Brown noted that senior running back Rex Burkhead has looked good this week and has made a lot of progress. “We are expecting some good stuff from him.”