Here are some quick notes to pass along from Nebraska’s postgame press conference following its 38-17 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday night…
***Head coach Mike Riley said the pick-six on the opening drive set the tone for the entire game. That was something that just couldn’t afford to do and they did it right off the bat.
***Riley said he couldn’t remember a time in practice or a game where they threw an incomplete pass on that route. “It’s a pretty ridiculous play.”
***Aside from the early pick-six, Riley said the biggest turning point in the game was how Wisconsin answered NU’s interception for a touchdown to tie it up with a 93-yard scoring drive to go back up 24-17.
***Before that 93-yard drive, Riley said he thought the defense had been holding up pretty well against UW’s offense.
***Riley said the offense ended up with some decent yardage totals, but they didn’t have much to show for it. He said the inability to produce in the second half was a big factor.
***Riley said he thought the offensive line was pretty good. They didn’t allow a sack on Tanner Lee, and Devine Ozigbo rushed for another 100 yards. Riley said he thought those were two things they had to do to win the game.
***Riley said safety Antonio Reed hurt his knee during the game and didn’t finish. Riley said the injury wasn’t structural, and they think it’s a bruise. They’ll know more about the extent of the injury in a couple days.
***Riley said Nebraska has made some progress in developing the identity they want on offense, even some big progress within this season. He said obviously that progress wasn’t good enough tonight.
***Riley said Mikale Wilbon could have played in “a real emergency type of situation” but never got to the point where they would play him tonight.
***Riley said Nebraska was getting “engulfed” on the edge by UW’s offensive line which led to the backs getting to the second level far too often.
***Riley said he was excited about JD Spielman’s potential, saying the wideout doesn’t blink as a redshirt freshman and was only going to keep getting better.
***Offensive lineman Jerald Foster was asked if Wisconsin’s offense was what Nebraska wanted to eventually be. “I don’t want to be Wisconsin. I want to be Nebraska.” He said he wants NU to be balanced and continue to lean on Tanner Lee and the passing game.
***Linebacker Luke Gifford said you have to give Wisconsin’s offense for finishing the game the way they did, but the big mistakes NU made in the game were because of their own mistakes and poor execution. He said they knew Wisconsin was going to run right at them and they just couldn’t stop it.
***Lee said they got the look they wanted on the swing pass to Ozigbo that went for a pick-six. He said they practiced that play about 15 times this week, but it ended up being “just a bad play all around”.
***Lee said the biggest key next week was “keeping the team together” after a tough loss and getting ready for another tough opponent in Ohio State.
***Ozigbo said they knew they could run the ball against Wisconsin, and they needed to run the ball if they were going to win the game. He said he was pretty happy with the ground game as a whole.
***Head coach Mike Riley said the pick-six on the opening drive set the tone for the entire game. That was something that just couldn’t afford to do and they did it right off the bat.
***Riley said he couldn’t remember a time in practice or a game where they threw an incomplete pass on that route. “It’s a pretty ridiculous play.”
***Aside from the early pick-six, Riley said the biggest turning point in the game was how Wisconsin answered NU’s interception for a touchdown to tie it up with a 93-yard scoring drive to go back up 24-17.
***Before that 93-yard drive, Riley said he thought the defense had been holding up pretty well against UW’s offense.
***Riley said the offense ended up with some decent yardage totals, but they didn’t have much to show for it. He said the inability to produce in the second half was a big factor.
***Riley said he thought the offensive line was pretty good. They didn’t allow a sack on Tanner Lee, and Devine Ozigbo rushed for another 100 yards. Riley said he thought those were two things they had to do to win the game.
***Riley said safety Antonio Reed hurt his knee during the game and didn’t finish. Riley said the injury wasn’t structural, and they think it’s a bruise. They’ll know more about the extent of the injury in a couple days.
***Riley said Nebraska has made some progress in developing the identity they want on offense, even some big progress within this season. He said obviously that progress wasn’t good enough tonight.
***Riley said Mikale Wilbon could have played in “a real emergency type of situation” but never got to the point where they would play him tonight.
***Riley said Nebraska was getting “engulfed” on the edge by UW’s offensive line which led to the backs getting to the second level far too often.
***Riley said he was excited about JD Spielman’s potential, saying the wideout doesn’t blink as a redshirt freshman and was only going to keep getting better.
***Offensive lineman Jerald Foster was asked if Wisconsin’s offense was what Nebraska wanted to eventually be. “I don’t want to be Wisconsin. I want to be Nebraska.” He said he wants NU to be balanced and continue to lean on Tanner Lee and the passing game.
***Linebacker Luke Gifford said you have to give Wisconsin’s offense for finishing the game the way they did, but the big mistakes NU made in the game were because of their own mistakes and poor execution. He said they knew Wisconsin was going to run right at them and they just couldn’t stop it.
***Lee said they got the look they wanted on the swing pass to Ozigbo that went for a pick-six. He said they practiced that play about 15 times this week, but it ended up being “just a bad play all around”.
***Lee said the biggest key next week was “keeping the team together” after a tough loss and getting ready for another tough opponent in Ohio State.
***Ozigbo said they knew they could run the ball against Wisconsin, and they needed to run the ball if they were going to win the game. He said he was pretty happy with the ground game as a whole.
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