Here is a full recap of what Nebraska head coach Scott Frost and his players had to say following the Huskers’ 28-21 win at Rutgers on Friday night…
***Frost said he told the team that he wanted to see a group having fun and playing for each other before the game. He also wanted to play a game with no mistakes, “and we failed miserably at that” in the first half.
Frost was pleased with how the Huskers kept battling, got better in the second half, and won the game because of it.
***Frost said the decision to go for the final fourth down was made because of how well the offense was moving the football, and he wanted to stay aggressive and win the game.
***Frost said the turnovers and mistakes “start with me, and those have cost us all year… We’d have a better record if we weren’t doing those things to ourselves… We were able to overcome it tonight.”
***Frost said Luke McCaffrey was ruled out for the game due to “health reasons,” but added, “he’ll be fine.” Frost said they traveled McCaffrey because they weren’t sure if he’d be able to play, and he’s a big part of the team. They also were worried about Rutgers stealing signals from the sideline.
***Frost said freshman QB Logan Smothers was available if needed.
***Frost said Adrian Martinez made too many mistakes early, “but he made a lot of good plays, too.”
***Frost said the running game hadn’t been missing in previous weeks, “it’s just been inconsistent.” He said it finally all came together in the second half tonight.
***Frost said the kickoff to Aron Cruickshank was not planned, and they wanted to kick away from him all game. “I don’t know why that happened.” But he said the pooch kicks weren’t working well, either.
***Frost said he’d talk with the team when they got back to Lincoln and needed to see if there would be an opportunity to play in a bowl game. “It’s been a long haul. I think it’d be great for us” to play in a bowl game, “but I’ll let the guys decide if they have gas left in the tank.”
***Frost said the date of the potential bowl game would likely be a factor in the decision. If the Huskers would have to come back next week and play, they might not do it.
***Frost said Dedrick Mills’ big night was a result of him finally being healthy. He said Mills and Wan’Dale Robinson were “warriors tonight” for how hard they played.
***Frost said the offensive line “probably played their best game tonight. That’s an encouraging thing, especially with four young guys on the line.”
***Frost said he didn’t really notice true freshman left tackle Turner Corcoran, but “that probably means he played pretty well” given how successful the offense was.
***Frost said the defense had played well enough for Nebraska to maybe win every game this season, “with the exception of one.” He noted the third-down defense and battling through bad field position as two of the biggest positives.
***Frost said “this whole year has been hard” on him personally with the grind of the season and losing his father earlier this year. He added that he didn’t want to compare his job’s struggles to those of people truly impacted by COVID-19.
***Mills said he just wanted to “keep pounding and pounding and pounding away” at Rutgers’ defense, and it eventually wore them down in the second half.
***Mills said this win “was a big reward for all the seniors, not just me.” He said they really wanted to win it for senior linebacker Collin Miller, who retired from football with a spine injury.
***Mills said “it is what it is” when asked if he wished that type of power run game happened earlier this season.
***Mills said he hadn’t thought about whether he’d return next season. He said: “Ya’ll will probably see something in the next few days, maybe next week” on his eventual decision.
***Nelson said holding Rutgers to 2-for-13 on third downs was something that “elite defenses do, to get the offense off the field like that.”
***Nelson on the opportunity to play in a bowl game: “You know me, man. I love to play football… I’d love to play another game.”
***Robinson said the offensive miscues early hurt, but they bounced back in the second half, and “it was just really good to come out with that win.”
***Robinson said they would have a conversation with Frost soon about going to a bowl game. He said they’d like to play in a bowl but added, “it’d be nice to go home and be with our families.”
“It’s really just a matter of how Coach Frost and the rest of the team feels about it.”
***Robinson called Martinez “a warrior” who kept fighting despite a rough start.
***Taylor-Britt said the team talked as a whole at halftime and asked the question, “what’s your why?” They decided they would play for the seniors and each other, and they pulled it all together in the second half.
***Taylor-Britt said he kept encouraging the offense in the first half, and the defense kept things as positive as possible all game.
***Taylor-Britt said the second half was as good as he’d seen Nebraska play on offense and defense.
***On his interception, Taylor-Britt said: “Big-time players make big-time plays.”
***Martinez said the decision to go for it on the last fourth down sent a great message to the offense, and they responded by executing on big plays that won the game.
***Martinez said if NU didn’t shoot itself in the foot – “particularly me shooting us in the foot” – it would have been an even bigger win.
***Martinez said playing in a bowl would be decided by the leadership council, staff, and the entire team. He said nothing had been decided. “I’m not sure if this was our last game or not.”
***Martinez said he hadn’t seen his family since March. “That’s a big part of this as well.”
***Martinez said Robinson was “a stud” and “we’re very fortunate to have him.”
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