Wednesday takes: Northwestern presents a different type of challenge

Here are some quick takes and reactions following Wednesday's Nebraska football post-practice media availability.

When Nebraska played Ohio State on Oct. 24, the challenge was completely different than what they'll face on Saturday at Northwestern.

The Wildcats will attack NU's offense with a veteran front seven that gives almost everyone problems.

As Greg Austin said on Wednesday, players like linebacker Paddy Fisher have seemingly been at Northwestern for several years. They aren't going to blow you away with NFL level talent, but they are going to do their job and be in the right place at almost all times.

This will be a much different test for the Huskers offensive line, especially players like Matt Farniok and Bryce Benhart, who have only logged one game together on the right side.

We know both Cam Taylor-Britt and Deontai Williams will be out for the first half at Northwestern, serving the remainder of their targeting suspensions from the Ohio State game.

Players like Myles Farmer and Quinton Newsome will step up and play most of their reps, but one under the radar name to watch is freshman Isaac Gifford.

The Lincoln Southeast product saw two snaps on defense and 15 on special teams vs. Ohio State.

I'd say that's pretty impressive, considering Gifford had to pay his own way for a semester before going on scholarship in August.

I'm not saying we are necessarily going to see Gifford play a ton of defensive snaps Saturday, but there's no question he's put himself in the mix for the years to come.

As defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said, he probably doesn't get enough credit for how athletic he truly is. In high school, he was a legit 4.5 guy with a verified 38-inch vertical.

A lot of people have asked why junior college transfer Nadab Joseph is not in the mix yet for Nebraska.

Obviously, he got to Lincoln late in the game, and that's a big factor as secondary coach Travis Fisher said.

I think there's another piece though to the puzzle we probably don't know at this time. The bottom line is Joseph did not travel to Ohio State and he doesn't appear to be in the mix heading into Saturday.

We saw redshirt freshman Ethan Piper play 30 snaps and Boe Wilson 28 vs. Ohio State on Oct. 24.

According to Austin, expect that rotation to continue.

It's clear this staff thinks Piper is the future, but they also respect what Wilson brings to the table. The plan appears to be utilizing both players strengths and building the depth on the offensive line.

We also saw freshman Turner Corcoran play nine snaps and Trent Hixson saw eight snaps vs. OSU, as Austin sees the value in both these players as well.

The Huskers have depth and competition on their line right now, and Austin is going to continue to utilize it.