The Big Ten Network rolled through Lincoln last weekend for its fall camp preview, and host Gerry DiNardo’s attention zeroed in hard on new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich.

DiNardo made a point of saying he’s curious to see how a 4-2-5 holds up against the run in this conference. Fair question. The Big Ten still features plenty of physical, downhill running attacks, and while the 4-2-5 isn’t exactly rare (Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan State and a few others have run variations of it), it does put a safety on the field in place of that third linebacker. Against pure power or I-formation looks, that can leave you a bit light in the box if the safeties don’t fit aggressively. However, offenses that rely strictly on that are becoming rare. At any rate, Aurich’s version is designed to be flexible — he can walk a safety down, or switch to a 4-3.

Aurich himself flagged one clear area of concern during camp. He said the group has been working red-zone and goal-line packages and admitted it has looked “rusty.” That tracks with last year’s numbers, which were ugly. Nebraska ranked near the bottom of the country in red-zone defense in 2025 (133rd in one widely cited ranking), allowing opponents to score on roughly 97 percent of their trips inside the 20.

It’s clearly an emphasis this fall, and Aurich’s comments suggest he’s not fully satisfied with what he’s seen yet.

The good news is the overall energy around the unit feels different. The permanent switch to a four-man front should help the defensive line play more naturally and create better one-on-ones. Fans still have fair questions about the depth, size and talent up front — this group has to prove it this year — but the scheme change and Aurich’s “simple, fast, violent” mantra give the Blackshirts a clearer identity.

Winning still starts in the trenches. If the D-line can hold up and the red-zone issues get cleaned up, the rest of the pieces have a chance to fall into place.