Nebraska interim defensive coordinator Bill Busch met with members of the media following Wednesday's practice. He provided an opening statement on his feelings towards this team.

"Guys did a heck of a job. They do a heck of a job for every practice since I've been here," Busch said. "Very excited about how hard they work. Probably some of the most rewarding times in my 34 years of coaching college football is this group of men. This group is probably as fun of a group as I've ever coached in my life," he said. "They bust their tails, they work at the game plan, all those things. We've had two really good days. We've got a lot of days to go, gotta be able to wake up fast to play in the morning."

He explained the similarities and differences between Illinois and Minnesota and explained challenges for Nebraska's defense this Saturday.

"Lots of similarities. Their main objective is the same. They want to stay ahead of the sticks and run the football. They (Minnesota) are a heavily based zone team, with a lot of different looks and how they get to it," he said. "They change the surface a lot in their run game. They are extremely gifted up front, their O-line. They have one of the most gifted running backs in Mo Ibrahim. Unbelievable player. Tough, physical, and the ability to jump cut. Hands are full in that area, for sure."

He touched on the prospect of facing multiple run heavy teams in a row.

"I think it's good for us. In the end, it's hard. Defenses change so much when you play different teams," Busch said. This team (Minnesota) is completely different from Indiana. Indiana ran in a different method. Rutgers was completely different. So, there is some carryover that our guys are using to their advantage. They are extremely well coached and have a very good plan. They don't have themselves in bad third down situations. You have to earn the right to get them to throw the ball."

He finished by commenting on the growth of safeties Marques Buford Jr. and Myles Farmer. 

"I think he (Buford) had a very good game for us against Illinois. I also feel another thing that has been a major improvement along with Buford has been (Myles) Farmer's tackling. He has really thrown his face in there," he said. "Those guys are also in the run fits. Buford has to cover a little more than the rest of them do. They are both mature safeties, and they are handling things very well. We haven't been substituting them very much. Their communication is really good. They talk about the game and what is going on and they are in here extra all the time. I'm so lucky I have a chance to coach both of them, and they are gonna be out there as many snaps as they can on Saturday. They're putting the work in, and that makes me proud to be around them."

The Huskers will play for the second week in a row in Memorial Stadium when they host Minnesota on Saturday, Nov. 5. Kickoff is set for at 11:00 a.m. (CT) and will be televised on ESPN2, with radio coverage provided by Huskers Radio Network.

Husker Wrestlers Open Season at Home Against NDSU

No. 8 Nebraska vs. North Dakota State
Friday, November 4 • 6:00 p.m. (CT)
Devaney Center
Lincoln, Neb.

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The No. 8 Nebraska wrestling team will open the 2022-23 season on Friday, Nov. 4 at the Devaney Center against North Dakota State. The dual will begin at 6:00 p.m. and will be streamed on B1G+.
 
Friday's dual marks the Huskers' first competition since finishing in fifth place at the 2022 NCAA Championships.
 
The team returns 24 letterwinners from last season, including five NCAA qualifiers. All-Americans Ridge Lovett (149), Peyton Robb (157), Mikey Labriola (174), Bubba Wilson (165) and Liam Cronin (125) highlight a strong group of returners.

Up next, Nebraska will travel to Bethlehem, Pa., to take part in the Journeymen Wranglemania. The Huskers will face Army and NC State on Saturday, Nov. 12.

#8 Nebraska's Projected Lineup*
125 – #20 Liam Cronin (Gr.)
133 – #24 Boo Dryden (RSr.)
   or – Kyle Burwick (RJr.)
141 – #28 Brock Hardy (RSo.)
149 – #4 Ridge Lovett (Jr.)
   or – Dayne Morton (Sr.)
157 – #4 Peyton Robb (Jr.)
165 – #13 Bubba Wilson (So.)
    or – Jagger Condomitti (RFr.)
174 – #3 Mikey Labriola (Sr.)
184 – #25 Nathan Haas (RSo.)
   or – Lenny Pinto (RFr.)
197 – #27 Silas Allred (RFr.)
285 – #28 Cale Davidson (Sr.)
*Intermat rankings used

North Dakota State's Projected Lineup*
125 – Ryan Henningson (Jr.)
   or – Carlos Negrete Jr. (RFr.)
133 – Kellyn March (Jr.)
   or – McGwire Midkiff (Sr.)
   or - Fernando Barreto (Fr.)
141 – #9 Dylan Droegemueller (Sr.)
149 – Gaven Sax (So.)
   or – Michael Weber (Jr.)
157 – #9 Jared Franek (Sr.)
165 – #19 Michael Caliendo (RFr.)
174 – Riley Habisch (Jr.)
184 – #31 DJ Parker (So.)
   or – Lathan Duda (RFr.)
197 – #21 Owen Pentz (Jr.)
285 – #24 Brandon Metz (Sr.)
  or – Juan Mora (RFr.)
*Intermat rankings used

Scouting North Dakota State

• NDSU is looking to build on its 2021-22 season, where it went 10-4 and finished 34th at the 2022 NCAA Championships. The Bison have five NCAA qualifiers led by a Jared Franek who made it to the final elimination match.
• Friday night's dual will be the first of six non-conference duals for NDSU, as the Bison will face Minnesota, Binghamton, Buffalo, Little Rock and Stanford.
• NDSU is coached by Roger Kish who holds a 98-66 record in his 12th season.

Nebraska to Face Strong Dual Schedule

• Nebraska posted a 6-5 dual record in 2021-22, its 12th consecutive winning season and 33rd in the last 35 years. This winter, the Huskers will look to continue that streak and build off a fifth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Championships.
• NU will face a challenging schedule that features nine of the top-25 team finishers from last year's NCAA Championships. The home schedule is highlighted by matchups against top-25 finishers Arizona State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Rutgers. North Dakota State will also travel to the Devaney Center for the regular-season opener on Nov. 4. The Bison finished 34th at the NCAA Championships.
• Nebraska faces a grueling road schedule this season with a notable trip to the 2021 national champion Iowa. Early in the season, NU takes a road trip to Army and NC State. The Wolfpack, who the Huskers face on Nov. 12, finished 10th at last year's NCAA Championships. Other road duals for NU include matchups against Navy, South Dakota State, Purdue and Ohio State.
• As for tournament action, NU will travel to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational Dec. 2-3. The Big Ten Championships will take place March 4-5 in Ann Arbor, Mich., where the Huskers will look to improve on last season's seventh-place finish. The NCAA Championships are set from March 16-18 in Tulsa, Okla.

Labriola Looks to Earn Fifth All-America Award

• A 174-pound senior from Easton, Penn., Mikey Labriola returns looking to become the first-ever five-time All-American. Labriola is currently one of only three four-time All-Americans in the history of Nebraska wrestling. Last season, he finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships and his seventh-place finish at NCAAs cemented his All-American status.
• Labriola was second on the team last year with 23 wins, giving him a career record of 90-26. His performance on the mat in 2021-22 puts him just 10 wins away from joining Nebraska's 100-win club. He would be the 30th all-time member of the 100-win club and would join former teammate Taylor Venz. All but one of Labriola's losses last season were to wrestlers ranked in the top 10.

Veteran Bunch Returns to Lead NU

• Nebraska will be guided by a strong group of veteran returners in 2022-23. NU loses four senior starters, but returns six starters as they get set for this year's campaign. Chad Red Jr., Taylor Venz, Eric Schultz and Christian Lance were all named All-Americans during their Husker careers.
• Eight total Huskers qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2021-22 and seven were seeded in the top 20 of their weight class. Three of these wresters return this season. At 149, junior Ridge Lovett returns after finishing second at the NCAA Championships, while Peyton Robb (157) ran the ladder of the consolation bracket and finished fourth.

NU Goes for Second-Straight Top Five Finish

• Nebraska's five-member senior class of Cale Davidson, Mikey Labriola, Dayne Morton, Boo Dryden and Liam Cronin enter the 2022-23 season looking to ensure that Nebraska follows last season's success. Graduate student Liam Cronin is the top competitor projected to take over the starting job at 125 pounds, while Wisconsin-transfer Kyle Burwick, Minnesota-transfer Boo Dryden and returns Dominick Serrano and Alex Thomsen will battle for the 133 spot. Returns Blake Cushing and Brock Hardy will compete for the 141-starter spot, and Nathan Haas, Lenny Pinto and Brandyn Van Tassell will wrestle at 184 pounds. Redshirt Sophomore Silas Allred looks to be the front-runner at 197 pounds, and a strong group of newcomers and freshman will battle for the starting spot at heavyweight.

Dual Experience A Plus for NU

• Nebraska returns 20 wrestlers with dual experience this season, including All-Americans Ridge Lovett, Peyton Robb and Mikey Labriola. Along with the three aforementioned wrestlers, sophomore Bubba Wilson returns as an NCAA qualifier who gained significant dual experience last season. As a team, NU won six of its 11 duals overall and three of its eight Big Ten duals.

Nebraska Welcomes Strong Crop of Newcomers

• Nebraska's incoming class of newcomers features 12 wrestlers, including two transfers and 10 true freshmen. Highlighting the class is Wisconsin transfer Kyle Burwick, who has two years of eligibility remaining to compete for the Huskers. He's a two-time NCAA Qualifier and finished fifth at the 2021 Big Ten Championships.

Roster notes

• Nebraska features a 36-wrestler roster as it begins official practice.
• About two-thirds of the Huskers' 2022-23 roster are underclassmen, as 26 of Nebraska's 36 wrestlers are either freshmen or sophomores.
• Included in Nebraska's roster are also five seniors and five juniors.
• 24 Huskers on this season's roster are returning letterwinners.
• This year's Huskers come from 17 states, and six are Nebraska natives.

Huskers Gear Up for Big Ten Individual Championships

Ann Arbor, Mich. - The Nebraska men's tennis team heads north for the Big Ten Individual Championships held in Michigan, taking place Nov. 4 - Nov. 6. The Wolverines will host the three-day tournament that consists of both singles and doubles play for individual athletes within the Big Ten Conference. 

Five Huskers will make the trip to the tournament, fresh off the ITA Regional Championships that saw NU take home 15 total wins over the four-day competition.

Roni Hietaranta has had a strong start to his 2022 campaign, gathering four singles wins across the first two tournaments. Just a year after his 22-win season, the Lappeenranta, Finland native advanced to the Round of 8 at the ITA Regionals before falling to the eventual champion, Oklahoma's Nathan Han. Dating back to last season he has now won eight of his last 10 singles matches. He also has a doubles win with partner Rudi Christiansen. 

Christiansen saw his first action of the season at the ITA Regionals, finishing 1-1 with a win over Creighton's Alejandro Gandini. Before Nebraska, the Alabama transfer notched 16 singles wins and had doubles wins at the MSU Bulldog and UCF Invitationals over his two-year career with the Crimson Tide.

Shunya Maruyama currently holds three singles victories on the fall campaign, notching a pair of wins at the ITA All-American Championships to open the season. The Nagano, Japan native now has 72 career total victories over his tenure with the Huskers, with 40 of them coming in singles play. 

Lars Johann also returns to action after making his Husker debut at the ITA Regionals with two straight wins. Before Nebraska, Johann was ranked No. 102 in the men's German standings and had a career best ranking at No. 2 in the German U16. He also reached as high as No. 4 in the U18 German ranking. Johann was the state champion in Saarland and reached the semifinals at the U18 German championships two times.

William Gleason enters his second tournament of the 2022 fall season and begins his fifth and final year with Nebraska. Gleason posted a 10-16 singles record last season competing primarily out of the No. 5 and No. 6 spots. The Lincoln native tallied a team-high four conference victories in singles play last season and now has 62 career wins over his four-year tenure as a Husker. Gleason has dropped his first two matches to begin the fall season.

Huskers Hit the Road for Track Kat Klash

Houston, Texas - After one week off following the Bearcat Roto Grip Open, the Huskers are back in action and will head to the Track Kat Klash in Houston, hosted by No. 5 Sam Houston State University.  

A total of 19 teams will be competing this weekend, including 13 of the top 25 teams ranked by the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA). The list of teams joining the Huskers this weekend includes No. 1 McKendree, No. 5 Sam Houston, No. 7 North Carolina A&T, No. 8 Louisiana Tech, No. 12 Delaware State, No. 14 Maryland Eastern Shore, No. 15 Maryville, No. 17 Tulane, No. 20 Lewis, No. 21 Central Missouri, No. 23 Monmouth, No. 24 Lincoln Memorial, Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Prairie View A&M, Southern, Texas Southern, UAB and Upper Iowa. 

Nebraska will kick off the tournament on Friday at 9:55 a.m. (CT) with five sets of five-game Baker matches, followed by five traditional matches on Saturday morning beginning at 9:30 a.m. (CT). Combined results from Friday and Saturday will determine the seeding for Sunday's bracket-play championship tournament, where each team will play three rounds of best-of-seven Baker matches beginning at 8:20 a.m. (CT) 

All matches will be live streamed at the Husker Bowling Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NEBowling


Track Kat Klash Teams Competing: 

No. 1 McKendree 
No. 3 Nebraska 
No. 5 Sam Houston 
No. 7 North Carolina A&T  
No. 8 Louisiana Tech 
No. 12 Delaware State 
No. 14 University of Maryland Eastern Shore 
No. 15 Maryville 
No. 17 Tulane 
No. 20 Lewis 
No. 21 Central Missouri 
No. 23 Monmouth 
No. 24 Lincoln Memorial 
Alabama A&M 
Alabama State University 
Prairie View A&M University  
Southern University 
Texas Southern  
University of Alabama Birmingham  
Upper Iowa