Nebraska Huskers football: Iowa post-game nuggets

Here is a full recap of what head coach Scott Frost and his players had to say following Nebraska’s 26-20 loss at Iowa on Friday…

***Frost said he was “embarrassed” by last week’s loss, but he told the team today, “I’m not embarrassed to coach this team. I’m proud to coach this team.”

***Frost said all of the little mistakes that are keeping Nebraska from winning have to stop. He thinks Nebraska has enough talent to compete, but they are making too many mistakes to win right now.

“Sooner or later, woulda, coulda shoulda’s need to run into wins.”

***Frost said Nebraska does not have the luxury to make the types of mistakes it’s made all season, and that went for games and every day in practice. He said the team’s approach was “way better” this week compared to last. “That’s how we need to play every week.”

***Frost said they told the quarterbacks they both were going to play today, and they graded out “dead even” over the week in practice. Frost said the QBs need to hit the plays defenses are giving them, but they’re going to continue to let Adrian Martinez and Luke McCaffrey battle it out the rest of the season.

***Frost said the biggest difference in the second half was that Iowa got really good field position and Nebraska didn’t. Things like that are crucial to beating teams like Iowa, Northwestern, and Wisconsin, he said.

***Frost said Cam Jurgens’ snapping issues “didn’t have anything to do with his technique.” He said, “there was clapping going on” on Iowa’s sideline, and NU’s staff addressed that with the officials at halftime, “and it didn’t happen in the second half.”

***Frost on Matt Farniok missing the block that led to the final sack/fumble: “I know Matt’s hurting because of what happened on the last play, but I love him.”

***On the lack of discipline and mental mistakes, Frost said: “Getting discipline in our program has been a three-year process. It’s making me old.”

***Frost was clearly emotional during his post-game press conference but stressed that he hadn’t lost belief in where Nebraska’s program was headed.

“I’ve been doubted in this state before, and I’m sure there are some out there right now. But I know what happened last time, and it’s going to happen again.”

***Bootle said there were a lot of guys in the locker room “sick of that feeling” of losing close games like this. He said Nebraska had to find a way to win a game like this in order to build confidence that they can actually do it.

***Bootle said the defense “played our hearts out” but still didn’t make enough plays to win.

***Bootle said it felt good to get his first career interception, which was one of his goals going into his senior season.

***Bootle said he wasn’t worried about the locker room losing hope this season. “I’m not drained… I’m fired up and ready to go and get the next one.”

***Robinson said the locker room after the game was “emotional” and “everyone was kind of upset.” He said he told Martinez after the game that he loved him and “that he’s my quarterback… He played his ass off.”

***Robinson said there wasn’t a big adjustment between the quarterbacks because they work with Martinez and McCaffrey so much in practice.

***Reimer said he was playing through some pain, particularly an ankle injury he’s dealing with. “It’s a long season. Everybody’s dealing with something.”

***Reimer said Nebraska still had “a lot” to prove the rest of the season. “The wins will come if we keep grinding… That’s all we can do. I think there’s still a lot left in the tank for us.”

***Martinez said he and McCaffrey split reps most of the week and found out a couple of days ago that he would be the starter.

***Martinez said it was “very frustrating for us” to not be able to beat Iowa, especially with how close the games have been the past three years. “We have a ton of faith in Coach Frost and I have a ton of faith in this team and these guys. We’ll find a way.”

***Martinez said he “felt great” taking the field for the final drive. He said he was just about to throw to a shallow route when he got hit and fumbled on the last play.

***Martinez said the team’s approach in practice was “locked-in” this week compared to last year. “Guys were a lot more dialed in.”

***Martinez said getting benched and playing as a backup gave him a bit of a “chip on my shoulder,” but it also “put some things in perspective for me and allowed me to approach each practice and each day with a better mindset.”