Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez (2) is helped to his feet by the Husker training staff after a Michigan State hit in the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 25, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich.
Scott Frost full postgame press conference
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Adrian Martinez lay flat on his back after Nebraska’s third snap of the game.
He had just taken a crushing blow on a third-down carry on the Huskers’ opening possession and needed a couple of minutes before he got up with the assistance of NU personnel.
The junior from Fresno, California, made his way to the sideline, then to the locker room where coach Scott Frost said he had X-rays on what appeared to be a hard shot to his chin/jaw area.
Martinez missed one series — backup Logan Smothers led Nebraska down the field on a seven-play, 26-yard drive that was ultimately beset by two false-start penalties on the offensive line — and then the junior was back in there.
And, man, did he deliver.
Martinez finished his day 24-of-34 for 251 yards and an overtime interception, and carried the ball 20 bruising times for 65 yards and a pair of scores.
The interception will be remembered, as will a fumble on the second play of the fourth quarter, but Nebraska also would not have been in position to win the game without another gutty effort from its quarterback.
“He’s a dog,” junior defensive back Cam Taylor-Britt said. “I’ve known Adrian since we came here together. Before every game it’s, ‘I love you, I trust you and I believe in you.’ I tell him that every game because I know what he can do, man. Once he gets out there and he gets to going, you can’t stop 2AM.”
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