College football stop rate rankings: Defensive turnaround keys Nebraskas midseason surge -

Read The Athletic’s latest college football stop rate rankings.

Nebraska is one win away from bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016. How is Matt Rhule getting it done in Year 1? With a defense that’s quickly rising up the ranks as one of college football’s best in stop rate.

What is stop rate? It’s a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. This simple metric can offer a more accurate reflection of a defense’s effectiveness in today’s faster-tempo college football than yards per game or points per game. We’re now in Year 7 of tracking this statistic (here are the final standings for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017) along with every defense’s points per drive average.

The Huskers are emerging as one of the most improved defenses in the country by this standard. They finished 93rd in stop rate last season and have climbed to No. 23 in this week’s update. Rhule’s squad has won five of its last six games, and if you take a closer look, this was one of the best defenses in the country in October.

Nebraska’s stop rate during its current three-game win streak is 87.2 percent. That’s good for fourth-best in FBS and second among all Power 5 defenses behind Michigan in the month of October. Over the past month, this defense surrendered a total of 22 points over 39 drives and ranked among the top 10 nationally in yards per play (4.0), rush defense (66 yards per game), first downs allowed (12.7 per game) and three-and-out rate (46 percent). During this three-game streak, the Huskers haven’t allowed a touchdown on six trips into the red zone.

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Rhule had to search for a new defensive coordinator when he made his return from the NFL and he found a gem in Tony White, whom he hired away from Syracuse. This isn’t a defense that was totally reconstructed via the transfer portal. They’re doing what great coaches tend to do in Year 1: bringing out the best in the guys they inherited. Only one of Nebraska’s defensive starters in their 31-14 win over Purdue — freshman edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen — wasn’t on the team a year ago.

For Rhule and his process of building this program, it’s important to praise the improving play while also driving home the point that the truth is somewhere closer to the middle. At his weekly news conference on Monday, he pointed to some miscues with alignment in the secondary, a touchdown allowed on a third-and-15 along with issues with QB scrambles and tackling that weren’t quite up to their standard. Players watched the tape, Rhule said, and understood that game wasn’t as good as they thought.

“We didn’t play nearly as well on defense as the stats denoted,” he said.

That’s the mentality they need in a rebuild, especially if they want to be a team that can win close four-quarter games down the stretch. The Huskers have endured a ton of injuries on offense, and their defense just keeps picking them up. Nebraska has lost 19 turnovers this season, which ranks third-most in FBS. The season-opening losses to Minnesota and Colorado were doomed by a combined 26 points scored off of Huskers turnovers. Since that rough start, the defense has done a remarkable job in those tough spots with only two TDs and two field goals allowed off 11 turnovers.

Next up is a road trip to Michigan State, followed by matchups with Maryland, Wisconsin and Iowa. Getting this program back to a bowl game would be a massive feat for Rhule and his staff. Nebraska is the only Power 5 program that hasn’t gone bowling since 2017. If this team can stay on track, keep getting stops and take care of business, they’re well positioned to be a factor in the Big Ten West race as well with some big-time tests ahead.

How are the rest of the defenses across the country performing in stop rate? Here are the full FBS-only stop rate standings entering Week 10.

Note: All data is courtesy of TruMedia and Pro Football Focus.

Rk	G	Drives	Stop Rate	Pts/Drive
1	8	81	88.9%	0.58
2	7	80	82.5%	0.91
3	7	83	81.9%	1.02
4	7	86	77.9%	1.07
5	7	85	77.6%	1.32
6	8	104	76.9%	1.05
7	7	77	76.6%	1.44
8	7	79	75.9%	1.33
9	7	74	75.7%	1.47
10	8	97	75.3%	1.47
11	7	76	75%	1.39
12	7	67	74.6%	1.49
13	7	77	74%	1.62
14	7	96	74%	1.56
15	7	84	73.8%	1.63
16	7	79	73.4%	1.61
17	8	94	73.4%	1.40
18	8	90	73.3%	1.40
18	8	105	73.3%	1.58
20	8	93	73.1%	1.45
20	8	93	73.1%	1.38
22	7	89	73%	1.54
23	8	94	72.3%	1.50
24	8	88	71.6%	1.43
25	8	84	71.4%	1.48
26	8	96	70.8%	1.43
27	7	75	70.7%	1.57
28	8	92	70.7%	1.74
29	8	94	70.2%	1.80
30	8	87	70.1%	1.66
31	7	80	70%	1.66
31	6	70	70%	1.99
33	7	79	69.6%	1.52
34	8	92	69.6%	1.79
35	7	78	69.2%	1.77
36	7	78	67.9%	1.76
37	7	81	67.9%	1.90
37	7	81	67.9%	1.90
39	7	84	67.9%	1.70
40	7	90	67.8%	1.87
41	8	89	67.4%	1.83
42	7	84	66.7%	1.93
43	7	92	66.3%	2.14
44	7	89	66.3%	2.04
45	7	88	65.9%	2.01
46	7	82	65.9%	2.00
47	7	76	65.8%	1.95
48	7	84	65.5%	1.82
48	8	84	65.5%	1.96
50	7	78	65.4%	1.83
51	7	75	65.3%	2.00
52	8	95	65.3%	2.06
53	8	86	65.1%	1.95
54	7	80	65%	1.95
55	7	85	64.7%	1.94
56	8	95	64.2%	1.99
57	7	89	64%	2.25
58	7	75	64%	2.20
58	7	75	64%	2.19
60	7	79	63.3%	1.91
61	7	95	63.2%	2.12
62	7	73	63%	2.22
63	7	81	63%	2.11
64	7	78	62.8%	2.14
65	7	83	62.7%	2.25
65	7	83	62.7%	2.18
67	8	99	62.6%	2.20
68	7	84	61.9%	2.40
69	7	86	61.6%	2.26
70	7	80	61.3%	2.35
71	9	116	61.2%	2.41
72	7	77	61%	2.17
73	7	84	60.7%	2.21
74	8	99	60.6%	2.35
75	7	73	60.3%	2.36
76	7	78	60.3%	2.55
77	7	83	60.2%	2.42
77	7	83	60.2%	2.25
79	8	93	60.2%	2.44
80	7	85	60%	2.39
80	7	80	60%	2.58
80	7	90	60%	2.62
83	7	84	59.5%	2.44
84	7	81	59.3%	2.44
85	7	78	59%	2.41
86	8	99	58.6%	2.68
87	8	89	58.4%	2.46
88	7	79	58.2%	2.56
89	8	81	58%	2.84
90	7	83	57.8%	2.30
91	7	78	57.7%	2.32
92	8	85	57.6%	2.64
92	7	85	57.6%	2.51
94	7	80	57.5%	2.41
95	8	103	57.3%	2.38
96	8	91	57.1%	2.30
96	7	77	57.1%	2.62
96	7	77	57.1%	2.47
99	7	88	56.8%	2.69
99	8	88	56.8%	2.80
99	7	88	56.8%	2.69
102	7	74	56.8%	2.46
103	7	85	56.5%	2.79
104	7	80	56.3%	2.76
105	7	79	55.7%	2.46
106	8	99	55.6%	2.72
107	7	78	55.1%	2.56
108	7	75	54.7%	2.40
109	7	77	54.5%	2.68
110	7	83	54.2%	2.64
111	7	78	53.8%	2.37
111	7	78	53.8%	2.90
113	7	82	53.7%	3.21
114	7	79	53.2%	2.81
114	7	79	53.2%	2.63
116	7	83	53%	3.07
117	7	89	52.8%	2.61
118	7	74	52.7%	2.76
119	7	76	52.6%	2.78
120	7	78	52.6%	3.08
121	7	81	51.9%	2.80
122	7	73	50.7%	2.75
123	7	85	50.6%	2.68
124	7	79	49.4%	3.27
125	8	92	48.9%	2.98
126	9	100	48%	3.25
127	7	78	47.4%	2.87
128	7	85	47.1%	3.58
129	7	83	47%	3.00
130	7	80	43.8%	3.60
131	7	82	42.7%	3.51
132	8	83	42.2%	3.51
133	7	70	40%	3.27

(Photo of Jimari Butler: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

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