Sonny Cumbie
Louisiana Tech Head Coach

Opening statement
“I was really encouraged by how hard our kids played. I think we competed and our kids fought. We talked a lot this week, this is a big hard mind game. You are going to have to play with your mind in terms of our execution, in terms of being a great communicator in a loud environment. I think that our kids answered the bell from that standpoint. Offensively it was a sloppy game to say the least. We had too many drops. We probably had more drops than we have had at any point in the season. From an execution standpoint there, running the football we knew was going to be tough. This is one of the top run defenses in the country. I think our offensive line did a good job of fitting some stuff up. We will have to look at it and see in terms of pass protection. I was proud about how Jack (Turner) competed and the plays he made. I think defensively we have to eliminate the explosive plays and the explosive runs. I think defensively there were three of 12 on third downs and so they got off the field better and we have to sustain drives. We were three of 11, that’s one of the things you look at. I told our players for the last nine minutes of the football game and challenged them in the terms of, when you have a delay did you want the game to be over or did you want to come out and fight and compete? I think our guys did that for the last nine minutes and gave themselves a chance at the end to make it interesting so I was proud of how they answered the bell there. I think that we started the day 1-0 in Conference USA play and we are still 1-0 and so everything from that standpoint is ahead of us. Overall, I was encouraged by the grit that our team played with.”

On Jack Turner’s play
“His first career start, on the road in front of 86,000 people or however many they had, 392 sellout. It was very loud so he had to communicate. I thought he did a great job communicating. I thought he did a great job with execution, knowing what we had to do and going out and attacking Nebraska’s defense in the passing game because we knew it was going to be tough running the football. I think he did a good job in the pocket as far as keeping plays alive so I was encouraged.”

On what he takes away
“The timing of this game and our schedule was very fortunate. UTEP in our league plays a very similar style of offense. About 11, 12, 13 personnel. They run the football and want to control the clock. I think our players need to grow from this experience. And grow from playing against a big physical bunch like Nebraska had from a defensive standpoint. Offensively it’s the same. These guys were good up front. It will be a good challenge for us next week out in El Paso.”