JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Phillip Dillard is approaching the Gator Bowl as if Nebraska’s reputation were on the line.
The junior middle linebacker from Tulsa, Okla., said he absolutely doesn’t want to miss Thursday’s game against Clemson after being out with an ankle injury since the second half of the Baylor game Oct. 25.
A win would let the Cornhuskers (8-4) achieve the nine-win threshold—the minimum standard of excellence under Husker coaching icon Tom Osborne—in Bo Pelini’s first season as coach.
“It’s going to send a statement, especially coming off last year,” Dillard said. “If we win this game, maybe we’re ranked, maybe not. But if not, then we’re going to show that Nebraska’s back and we’re going to strive even harder.”
Nine wins would be four more than in 2007 under Bill Callahan. If the Huskers aren’t ranked in the final Associated Press poll, it would mark the first time since 2004 and second time since 1962 that they went an entire season without showing up in the ratings.
Nebraska could use a run-stopper like Dillard against Clemson’s “Thunder and Lightning” combo of James Davis and C.J. Spiller. The two have combined for 5,294 rushing yards and 58 touchdowns the past three seasons.
“Phil provides you with a lot of maturity and a lot of experience there, and our guys kind of respond to him as a leader,” defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “Colton Koehler has been doing great in his place. We’ll just see how Phil’s health is and how he’s moving around on game day, but he certainly looks to be moving around well right now.”
Dillard was the Huskers’ fourth-leading tackler before hurting his right ankle while trying to chase down Baylor quarterback Michael Griffin. The Huskers went 3-1 without Dillard.
He said it was hard to watch.
“I didn’t like it,” he said. “I mean, I was happy that we were winning, but I wanted to be out there helping my teammates. It’s just something that you can’t control.”
Dillard held out hope that he would come back sooner, but he never quite made it because of the pain that shot through his ankle when he cut on it.
“It was the planting and bursting, but in the past few days, I’ve been able to plant and burst almost close to 100 percent,” he said.
The long period of inactivity challenged Dillard, who had lost 30 pounds after last season to get down to his playing weight of 235.
“I couldn’t eat anything fattening, because that would make it worse for my ankle, putting more weight on it, so I had to manage that,” he said. “I think eating right for those few weeks helped me progress, too.”
Nebraska’s defense, even without Dillard, has made significant improvement. In Big 12 games only, the Huskers were first in pass defense, second in total defense. They recorded 14 sacks in their last three games. Nebraska’s season average of 361.5 yards allowed is a 115.3-yard improvement from 2007.
But something was missing without Dillard.
“Phil just brings vocal leadership,” defensive end Zach Potter said. “He’s loud when he’s out there making the checks and just makes it a comfort thing with him being out there. He brings fire and another dimension to this defense, so it’s good having him back.”
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