Fabian Washington enjoys having the spotlight on Nebraska's defense.

He wants the challenge of facing a pass-happy offense.

Washington will have both wishes come true Saturday night.

That's when Nebraska travels to Lubbock, Texas, to face the nation's most dangerous passing attack in Texas Tech, which averages 423 yards per game. Red Raiders quarterback Sonny Cumbie has already attempted 293 passes in four games.

"I'm very excited," Washington said. "We haven't really went against a team that's going to throw the ball basically every down. I just feel like there's more opportunities to get interceptions."

That's one way of looking at it.

You could also argue that Texas Tech's offense, which ranks fifth nationally overall, is so productive that, despite Nebraska's defensive efforts, it may be too much for the Huskers' sputtering offense to match in a potential shootout.

Wait a second, said Washington.

"If you look at the score they had (Saturday), I don't think that was a shootout," Washington said, referring to Texas Tech's 28-13 loss at Oklahoma. "And I think our defense can do the same thing to them that OU did."

Oklahoma allowed 369 passing yards to the Red Raiders but only one touchdown. Nebraska enters the game allowing an average of 198 passing yards per game and has the nation's fifth-best defense overall.

"We just go out and do what we're supposed to do. Stop other offenses," said Washington, who leads Nebraska with three interceptions. "And I think we've done a pretty good job of that."

It's the main reason Nebraska has managed a 3-1 record. Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove's unit kept Kansas out of the end zone in a 14-8 victory Saturday night, and the Blackshirts haven't allowed a touchdown in the first half of any game this season.

As Nebraska's offense continues to find itself, can the defense keep shouldering the load?

"Yeah, definitely, because Coach Cos and Coach (Phil) Elmassian, they're going to put us in the best situations to stop offenses," Washington said. "They game plan all week and they correct our mistakes in practice so we won't have a lot of mistakes in a game."

Linebacker Stewart Bradley, who had a career-high 12 tackles against Kansas, said the Blackshirts won't face any added pressure in facing Texas Tech's spread offense. Actually, stopping the Red Raiders' running game is still the No. 1 goal in Bradley's book.

"Even Texas Tech, you've got to go in thinking, ‘Stop the run, stop the run,'" Bradley said, "because if they can run for 200 yards, why throw the ball? That's our main focus against any team we play."

Cumbie has thrown 11 interceptions — as many as Nebraska quarterback Joe Dailey. Cumbie has also attempted 175 more passes than Dailey. He's completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 2,085 yards and 11 touchdowns.

"I need to throw the ball better," Cumbie said at Monday's weekly Texas Tech press conference. "I need to throw over people and into open lanes."

Nebraska, incidentally, is the only Big 12 Conference team Texas Tech has never defeated. If the Huskers are to keep that streak alive, they'll likely need another stellar defensive effort.

"They are a very aggressive defense," Cumbie said. "They are well-coached and they play their technique very well. They are a talented, typical Nebraska defense. We will have our hands full and we will really have to play well this weekend."|

Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.