Five things we learned from NU’s weekly press conference

Here are five of our biggest takeaways from Nebraska’s weekly press conference on Monday as the Huskers get ready to take on No. 20 Michigan State this week…

Garrett Nelson held up his index finger and thumb to show the “this close” symbol that Nebraska’s coaches have used time and again in team meetings when talking about Nebraska being just a few plays away from turning the corner.

Nelson has grown to hate that hand gesture after years of coming “close” without many wins to show for it.

“I’m sick and tired of everybody doing this,” Nelson said. “I want guys to be like, ‘We did it.’ Stop doing this, because that just pisses me off now because we’re so close.”

Nelson wasn’t the only Husker who spoke during Monday’s press conference who was tired of leaning on the idea of moral victories.

Despite playing one of its best all-around games of the Scott Frost era against No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday, the result was still a loss.

Frost and his players knew there were many positives they could take away from the game, but at some point, they had to put it all together and finish the job.

“I want kids to go into the game expecting to win, and I think they did,” Frost said. “They were disappointed after, so we’ve got to balance that disappointment with enthusiasm for how much better of a game they played and how much better of team we are right now.

“But we have to go prove that, and we get another opportunity against another ranked team on the road this week.”

Nebraska was preparing itself for the worst after freshman running back Gabe Ervin went down clutching his right knee with a non-contact injury on Saturday.

Frost said after the game that they would re-evaluate Ervin’s injury when they returned to Lincoln. On Monday, Frost said the results showed that Ervin had suffered a patellar tendon injury.

It depends on the severity of the injury, but the timeframe to return to full sports activity following that type of injury could take up to six months. However, Frost wasn’t ready to say whether Ervin had been lost for the season just yet.

“It could be (a season-ending injury),” Frost said. “I’m waiting to get final results from the doctors. I don’t want to say too much too soon.”

With Ervin at least expected to miss extended time, Frost said he liked how Rahmir Johnson performed in his first-career start at Oklahoma.

“I was really impressed with Rahmir,” Frost said. “I thought he ran hard. He gives us a little bit of spark with his speed.”

Few players took the brunt of the blame for Saturday’s loss at Oklahoma than placekicker Connor Culp.

The 2020 Big Ten Kicker of the Year continued his baffling regression in Norman by missing two more of his three field-goal attempts in the loss.

Culp, who made 33 of 35 total kicks last season, is now 3-of-8 on field goals with two missed extra points through four games this year.

Despite his struggles, Culp’s teammates gave him their full support on Monday.

“He knows how much we need him,” quarterback Adrian Martinez said. “Last year, he was an All-Big Ten kicker, and the guy’s a stud. I haven’t lost faith in him, and I know the guys haven’t either. He’s a man. I know he’s going to come back around and be the same guy he has been for us.”

“I know Connor’s frustrated because in practice he hits those all the time,” tight end Austin Allen said. “It might be a thing where it’s a little bit between the ears. Flashing back a little bit, but I can follow suit with that. In high school, I had never air-balled a free throw in my life until my senior year. I did it about my fifth game of my senior year, and I did six that year just because it was between the ears.”

While the Huskers made it clear they still had Culp’s back, Frost said the starting placekicker position would be open for competition going forward.

“I’ve got a lot of faith in Connor,” Frost said. “People go through slumps. That being said, we’re going to let that position be competitive like any other position. I trust him to get it right, but we’ve got to do what’s best for the team and play the guy at any position that’s going to give us the best chance to win.”

Center Cam Jurgens was flagged for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for 30 costly yards in the loss to Oklahoma.

While video replay showed those flags were questionable at best, Frost said he spoke with Jurgens about finding a balance between playing with fire and physicality and also being smart.

“I talked to Cam,” Frost said. “We’ve just got to be a little bit smarter. If we’re going to get penalties, I’d rather have them be aggressive penalties. I’d rather tell a guy ‘whoa’ than ‘giddy-up.’ So we’ll calm him down a little bit, but that’s the attitude that we’re looking for.”

Frost also said Monday that he wanted to see continued improvement from the offensive line as a whole. A big part of that is finding a clear No. 1 at left guard.

Ethan Piper was replaced by Trent Hixson last week, but Hixson got dinged up during the game. Frost said those two would continue to compete for the starting job along with other candidates like Broc Bando and Nouredin Nouili.

“At times, Trent’s done a great job. At times Piper’s done a great job. Bando has done well in practice. Nouri’s doing good things,” Frost said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can do it. I would love it somebody grabbed hold of that job and took it. We’re waiting to see if that happens. We’ve got a lot of guys that are capable; we just need a little better play at that spot.”

One of the driving forces behind Michigan State’s 3-0 start to the season has been its running game, as it ranks 11th nationally with 263.7 rushing yards per game.

Running back Kenneth Walker III has been the bell cow in the backfield, as he leads the nation averaging 164.3 yards per game.

“(Walker) is very elite,” defensive end Ben Stille said. “Probably one of the best backs, if not the best back we’re going to see this season. It’s going to take all of us up front to slow him down.”

However, the Spartans are more than just Walker and a power-running attack.

On Monday, sophomore quarterback Payton Thorne was just named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after his impressive performance in MSU’s upset win at Miami.

Thorne went 18-of-31 passing for 261 yards and four touchdowns, giving him two straight games with four scoring tosses. He joined Walker (Sept. 6) as the second Spartan to earn the honor already this season.

“It will be a challenge,” cornerback Quinton Newsome said. “We’ve just got to keep our leverage and we’ve got make tackles. We’ve got to be physical on the outside, physical in the trenches. It’s not anything that we’re not used to doing.”