D'Anton Lynn describes how addition of Dana Holgorsen has changed Nebraska prep

USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn admitted there have been late nights preparing for Nebraska. He’s never been in a situation like this before.

Lynn has to get his Trojans defense ready to play a Cornhuskers offense that just underwent a November coordinator change — and not just any change, but one that saw Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule make an outside hire.

Rhule first brought in former West Virginia and Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen as an offensive consultant last week during the Huskers’ off week. Then Rhule elevated him to offensive coordinator and play-caller. Previous OC Marcus Satterfield is now just coaching Nebraska’s tight ends.

This is a first for Lynn, a 35-year-old DC in his first season leading an improved yet still-developing Trojans defense amid a 4-5 season.

“You have to go off what you see on tape,” Lynn said Wednesday. “Obviously, watching some Houston stuff, ‘What were they good at? What did they do there that they already do at Nebraska?’ And then, ‘What were his staples, where in a span of two weeks, that he could incorporate in that scheme?'”

Last November, Holgorsen was fired from his post at Houston after his third losing season in five years with the program. That stretch, however, included a 12-win campaign and AAC runner-up finish in 2021 and an eight-win season in 2022. Before that, he posted a 61-41 record over eight years at West Virginia, where he won at least eight games four times.

Holgorsen, known for his “Air Raid” offenses, began this season as an analyst at TCU. He learned under Mike Leach at Texas Tech in the 2000s, and he went on to showcase his own offensive savvy as a coordinator, first at Texas Tech, then at Houston and then at Oklahoma State.

During his 13 seasons as a head coach, his Mountaineers and Cougars teams averaged 33.5 points per game.

Nebraska, meanwhile, is tied for 100th nationally with a mere 23.6 points per game this season. What’s more, in Big Ten play, the Huskers are averaging just 18.3 points per game. Following a 5-1 start, Nebraska has lost three games in a row. The Huskers got blown out by now-No. 5 Indiana, 56-7, before falling short of an upset win at now-No. 2 Ohio State, where Rhule’s team lost, 21-17. Most recently, the Huskers dropped a 27-20 home game to a suddenly-surging UCLA squad.

Nebraska missed out on a bowl game last year after starting the season 5-3. Rhule knows the urgency of reaching the postseason this time, especially with a true freshman starting quarterback in Dylan Raiola who is the program’s crown jewel at the moment. Nebraska hasn’t gone bowling since 2016.

The question is, how much different will the Huskers’ offense look with Holgorsen running the show? Nebraska isn’t expected to deviate completely from Satterfield’s pro-style system, after all.

“You don’t really know,” Lynn said. “That’s why you want to see how much of what they’re doing were they already doing when he was the head coach [at Houston]. So he could just add on to that. Is there anything that he did that’s different that we think that they could incorporate in the span of two weeks?

“You can’t change too much, but you can definitely change some stuff over a bye.”

Lynn explained that “it’s kind of a guessing game,” and, for that reason, in-game adjustments will be “huge.” He noted his conversations with head coach Lincoln Riley and secondary coach Doug Belk. Riley played and coached at Texas Tech while Holgorsen was on staff. Belk coordinated Holgorsen’s defense at Houston and served as the Cougars’ associate head coach from 2020-23.

Nebraska had two weeks to inspect and revamp its offense. USC has also had two weeks to prepare for this Week 12 meeting, only Lynn’s had to work overtime just to plan for what Holgorsen and the Huskers might throw at him.