Lincoln, Neb. ? Nebraska’s defensive coaches are preaching patience as their charges prepare for Wake Forest’s misdirection offense.

“They get you going one way, and they have reverses that go the other,” coach Bill Callahan said. “They have throwback passes, sprint-out passes and some nice cross action on their dive series that they do really well. Our keys have to be exceptional. Our ability to focus in, diagnose and have the proper responses is going to be crucial for us.”

The Deacons (0-1), who host the No. 16 Cornhuskers (1-0) today in Winston-Salem, N.C., will look much different offensively than they did two years ago in Lincoln. That Wake team relied heavily on the run, but it didn’t have much oomph in a 31-3 loss.

Nebraska scored three defensive touchdowns in that game, winning by a wide margin despite being outgained 247-234 and having possession 10 fewer minutes.

Last season, Wake’s misdirection offense kept opponents off balance during the run to the school’s first Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1970. The Deacons have eight offensive starters back.

But they did next to nothing running the ball in a 38-28 loss at Boston College last week. The Deacons netted only 2 yards on 24 rushes. The passing game was sharp, with Riley Skinner and Brett Hodges combining to complete 45-of-60 passes for 366 yards.

Hodges – who hit 14 of his first 15 passes and finished 17-of-23 for 130 yards and a touchdown – will start in place of the injured Skinner (shoulder).

“It makes me happy that we’ll have the upper hand. I’m sorry it went that way, but it makes us happy that we’re not facing their starter,” linebacker Steve Octavien said.

Safety Tierre Green said he doesn’t read much into Wake’s apparent struggle running the ball against BC.

“They just wanted to do some different things against Boston College,” Green said. “They tried to get the ball into the hands of their playmakers. Just looking at it, we can kind of tell who they want to have the ball in their hands.”