Here is a quick recap of what Nebraska head coach Scott Frost and a couple of Husker players had to say following Saturday’s 23-16 loss at No. 3 Oklahoma…
***Frost said he was so proud of his players and disappointed because “we had a chance to do something special.”
***Frost said the offensive line had to “lock-in” better mentally and avoid so many penalties. He said he didn’t know how much more they could focus on eliminating those mistakes in practice, but NU had to keep “doubling down” to ensure they didn’t happen.
***Frost said he thought about going for two before the blocked PAT and trying to cut the deficit to 14-11. But he didn’t want to chase points too early and decided to kick.
***Frost said his mind immediately went to both how well his team competed and also all the mistakes they made to lose.
***Frost said his message to the team after the game was that “everything we want to accomplish is still right in front of us.” He said if the Huskers played and fought like that every week, “we’ll have a chance in a lot of games.”
***On the broken play right after Zavier Betts’ 55-yard catch, Frost said NU had issues getting the play call signaled in from the sideline. Rather than burn a timeout, Frost said Adrian decided to snap it and “get what he could” on a run.
***Frost said Nebraska looked “different” on offense with all of its skill position players back on the field. He said NU needed to keep putting the ball in the air downfield, and having Omar Manning and Betts out there would help them do that.
“We’re a more of a complete team with them out there.”
***Frost said that part of the reason that Connor Culp has struggled so badly this season was that he missed a lot of fall camp with an injury.
Frost said he decided to put Kelen Meyer in for the blocked PAT not just because Connor Culp had missed his second field goal but more because of how Culp reacted after the miss.
Frost said NU’s kicking game had cost them too many points, “and it’s happened too often… We’ve got to get it figured out.”
***Frost said the offensive line was still “a work in progress.” He said they have good talent on the o-line, “but we need to move people a little better. Everything on offense works better when we can hand it off” and get yards consistently.
***Frost said he thought the 19-yard completion on Oklahoma’s opening possession was an illegal crackback block.
***Frost said they would re-evaluate Gabe Ervin’s injured right knee when they got back to Lincoln, “but looks like he’s going to miss a little bit of time.”
***Frost said at running back, “all those guys are so even right now” that they let that group compete every week in practice, and whoever practices the best gets to play in the game. Frost said Rahmir Johnson ran harder than he’d ever seen him this week.
Quarterback Adrian Martinez
***Martinez said when you come to play at a program like, “you expect to win every game.” There were many positives, but at the end of the day, they lost, and there were no moral victories. “That is that.”
***Martinez said there were a couple of moments he would have liked to do over in the loss. He said they wanted a touchdown on their first drive but had to settle for a field goal because of four penalties. Then on their first series of the third quarter, they wanted to score and came away without any points at all.
***Martinez said he had faith in his offensive line “all day long.” He knew that Oklahoma’s pass rush was one of its best strengths, so when pressure got through, it was his job to get away.
***Martinez was asked if he envisioned that Nebraska could go toe-to-toe with the No. 3 team in the country.
“I envisioned us winning. You have to have that mentality that you can beat anyone on any given day.”
***Martinez said guys like Omar Manning and Zavier Betts were “dynamic playmakers. And that’s not hyperbole.” He said those guys were continuing to come along and stepped up on Saturday.
***Martinez was asked if he was more encouraged or discouraged after the loss.
“We’ll see what the tape says, but at the end of the day, we lost the game.”
***Martinez said the offensive line knew when it screwed up on a play, so he didn’t need to yell at them on the sideline about it. He said the offensive linemen were “their own harshest critics,” so he just tried to encourage them with positivity.
***Martinez said Nebraska showed what it was capable of in the loss, and a lot of the mistakes they made “are fixable.”
***Martinez said it was hard to compare Saturday to other big games he’d played in over the years, “but this was awesome… I was happy to be here today.”
Linebacker JoJo Domann
***Domann said he took a couple of minutes after the game to look around and soak in the moment one last time before going to the locker room.
“I love this game and everything that comes with it. I just wanted to appreciate the moment.”
***Asked what he hoped Nebraska’s fans and former players thought about Saturday’s performance, Domann said he hoped they were proud of the team and the fight and resilience they showed.
Domain said NU went against “a heavyweight fighter” in Oklahoma and took some punches, but they never backed down. “We spotted them nine points and lost by seven.”
***Domann said he felt like the offense took some significant strides on Saturday. He said Adrian Martinez was so easy for everyone to rally around because of his leadership.