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Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 6 | 324th / 2758 |
| Tackles for loss | 6 | 130th / 2112 |
| Run stops | 6 | 1448th / 3422 |
| Sacks | 3 | — |
| Pass breakups | 0 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 10 | — |
Career
4 seasons since 2014 · box-score totals, snap share estimated from play-by-play
| Season | Team | G | Snaps | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD | Havoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 so far |  Nebraska#20 · 5-3 | 6 | 33% | 11 | 6 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2025 | Nebraska#61 · 7-6 | 11 | 40% | 16 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2024 | Nebraska#39 · 7-6 | 3 | 3% | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2023 | Nebraska#63 · 5-7 | 5 | 14% | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. Riley Van Poppel's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded.
Game Log
Riley Van Poppel's box score, game by game, from ESPN, with a 0–10 game score for each (hover it for how it works). Click a result for the full game
| Defense | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Game score | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Hur | PD | INT | TD |
| 1 |  Ohio | W 49–21 | 7.4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2 |  Bowling Green | W 56–7 | 6.6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 3 |  North Dakota | W 34–7 | 7.4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | · | · |
| 4 | @ Michigan State | W 31–13 | 6.3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 5 |  Maryland | W 48–23 | 4.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 6 |  Indiana | L 17–20 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 7 | @ Oregon | L 14–17 | — | no stats recorded | |||||||
| 9 |  Washington | L 10–17 | 7.9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 2026 · 6 games | 6.7 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 2.5 | 1 | 0 | · | · | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 11 | 2210th / 5664 |
| Solo | 7 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 6 | 155th / 2634 |
| Sacks | 2.5 | 229th / 1383 |
| QB hurries | 1 | 780th / 1549 |
| Passes defended | 0 | — |
| Defensive TD | 0 | — |
Snaps by Game
Estimated snaps from a model trained on real NFL snap counts. Ranges in brackets are where the real number lands 80% of the time: wide for a single game, tighter over the season. How it works
| Game | Opp. plays | Est. snaps | Plays made | Penalties | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · Ohio | 65 | ~30 (12–47) | 2 | · | 46% |
| Wk 2 · Bowling Green | 47 | ~26 (10–41) | 2 | · | 55% |
| Wk 3 · North Dakota | 55 | ~18 (7–28) | 1 | · | 33% |
| Wk 4 · Michigan State | 60 | ~20 (8–32) | 1 | 1 | 33% |
| Wk 5 · Maryland | 69 | ~23 (9–36) | 1 | · | 33% |
| Wk 9 · Washington | 61 | ~41 (20–52) | 4 | · | 67% |
| Season | 477 | 158 (101–203) | 11 | 1 | 33% |
Position Room
22 DLs on the Nebraska roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Anthony Jones Jr. | DL | SR | 19 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| Jahsear Whittington | DL | 16 | 5 | 4.5 | — | 0 | ||
| Owen Stoudmire | DL | 14 | 2 | 1.5 | — | 0 | ||
| 11 | Cameron Lenhardt | DL | SR | 12 | 2.5 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Riley Van Poppel | DL | 11 | 6 | 2.5 | — | 0 | ||
| 96 | Williams Nwaneri | DL | JR | 8 | 3 | 2 | — | 1 |
| 93 | Kade Pietrzak | DL | SO | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 80 | Jeremiah Jones | DL | SO | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 90 | Dylan Berymon | DL | FR | 5 | 0.5 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 86 | Mason Goldman | DL | SR | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 |
| 94 | Jordan Ochoa | DL | JR | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 39 | David Hoffken | DT | JR | 2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 |
| 49 | Malcolm Simpson | DL | SO | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 |
| Tyson Terry | DL | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| 17 | Willis McGahee IV | DL | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 55 | Ethan Duda | DL | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 69 | Landen Davidson | DL | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 92 | Sua Lefotu | DL | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 95 | Gabe Moore | DL | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 97 | Mac Markway | DL | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 98 | Conor Connealy | DL | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 99 | Dylan Parrott | DL | SR | — | — | — | — | — |
Stats, EPA and usage come from CollegeFootballData.com and refresh daily. FBS ranks only count players with enough volume for the stat to mean something. Qualifying for EPA takes —+ plays per team game. Nebraska depth chart →