Nebraska Huskers football: Minnesota post-game nuggets

Here is a full rundown of what head coach Scott Frost and his players had to say following Nebraska’s 24-17 loss to Minnesota on Saturday…

***Frost said he didn’t think Nebraska was “flat” to start the game, “we didn’t just execute very well.” He thought the defense played well enough to win, but the offense didn’t make nearly enough plays.

***Frost said, “I hate to even say this, but we had our best week of practice this week, maybe since I’ve been at Nebraska.”

But when NU fell behind after all of the early mistakes, it was just too much to overcome.

***Frost said the decision to throw three times in the final 37 seconds against the wind at the end of the third quarter was something they talked about before the drive. He said it wasn’t that windy on the field, “so we just called our stuff.”

***Frost said: “A lot of things didn’t go well for us today. We’ve got to play better.”

***Frost said not all of the 29 pass attempts were exclusively passing plays, as some were RPOs where the quarterback has the option to run or pass based on the defense.

***Frost said Adrian Martinez was not limited due to injury, but he was still dealing with the shoulder injury he suffered last week. He said Martinez practiced well all week.

***Frost said in hindsight he might have called one drive (likely the last series of the third quarter) differently.

***Frost said he didn’t get much explanation from the refs on Cam Taylor-Britt’s targeting ejection. “It just seems like those things work against quite a bit for some reason.”

***Frost said Dedrick Mills was “close to full strength” coming back off his injury, but “I’m not sure we’d want to leave him in there the whole game.”

***Frost said punter William Przystup was “not available, out” today but didn’t give any further details.

***Frost said he likes what NU has done with calling the passing game, but they’ve just missed on too many opportunities. He said part of that was playing with a lot of young guys.

“I loved our game plan going in and thought we had some guys open,” Frost said. “It’s just got to be consistency. You’ve got to hit the majority of them, and you’ve got to protect.”

***Frost on NU’s mentality following the loss: “The kids will stay in it. This team’s together. I’m not worried about that. I’m just worried about getting wins at this point.”

***Martinez said he didn’t put much stock into the fumble on the first play “setting the tone” for the rest of the game. He said it was more a matter of the Huskers not having the focus they needed, himself first and foremost.

***Martinez said, “I did not play my best today.” He said the weather wasn’t ideal, but he made it clear he wasn’t using the cold or the wind for his poor performance.

***Martinez said there were still “plenty of guys who want to go play” and that the Huskers would be ready for whoever they play next week.

***Martinez said, “I’ll take full responsibility for not playing at the highest level that I know I’m capable of and my teammates expect of me. I have to own that.”

***Martinez said good practices not translating into games was “frustrating,” but added: “That’s football sometimes. You can’t expect it to always go the way it did in practice.”

***Martinez: “I have confidence in our passing game moving forward.”

***Bootle said he and the rest of the seniors got together on the field after the game, and “that was a real emotional moment for me.”

***Bootle said he went over to Taylor-Britt and told him he had his back, and Taylor-Britt was clearly “hurt” by being ejected in his final home game of the year.

***On not knowing what next week holds in terms of the next opponent, Bootle said: “As long as there’s still football … we’re going to dial in on it.”

***Domann said: “We’ve just got to find ways to win. When you’re back is against the wall, you have to find ways to win.”

***Domann said the final defensive series of the first half “definitely influenced the game.” He said that drive was “the tale of the game” with how Nebraska couldn’t make the winning plays when it needed to.

***Domann said the 61-yard rush on that drive was on Nebraska because they “set the wrong front” before the snap and allowed Minnesota to capitalize.

***Domann said, “we’re disappointed in the result today, but our time here at Nebraska isn’t about winning and losing.” He said the “brotherhood we’ve formed and the men that we’ve become in the process” was the bigger picture of the past four years.

***Domann said he and the rest of the seniors had “decisions” to make about whetehr to come back for another season next year, but, for all intents and purposes, that was our last game (at Memorial Stadium). It stings.”