Nebraska Football
Postgame Quotes vs. Michigan
Sept. 20, 2025 (Lincoln, Neb.)
Michigan 30, Nebraska 27

Opening Statement
“Obviously a disappointing loss for us. The field was tilted against us in the second half. They made a 56-yard field goal which ended up being the difference in the game. We battled back and that second to last third down we had several chances to get them off the field and couldn’t make the play. So there were long stretches of the game where we couldn’t protect. Number one for them I thought was magnificent and he was a handful. I thought we settled down and I thought we settled down as it went along. We protected better for a while but there was still some key moments where it wasn’t good enough and then obviously the run game for them. Two plays in the first half. But just too many big plays to win a football game like that. We battled and I appreciate that for the guys but it just wasn’t good enough.”

On the offensive line performance for the game tonight.
“Yeah I didn’t have any issues with the run blocking, there’s a couple times where we checked to some runs. We started going into a lot of RPOs in the game and they had a hard time defending some of the passes when they had us give the run. There were some ones that split and there were some that didn’t and so you’re kind of hitting your head up against the wall for one or two games but I don’t know that I can say much about the run game without really watching it. It would be reactionary. In pass protection I thought there were times where we gave them too much credit. We’re backing up or catching them like what are they going to do and not being super physical from a physical standpoint just not challenging. We went on long stretches where we did protect and then in the second half some went away. So you know they pressured us, they brought blitzes, they challenged our running backs, that’s what they’re good at. We knew going into the game what it would be about. It would be about stopping the run and our ability to pass protect and getting to their quarterback. We got to their quarterback a couple times but just couldn’t get it to third and long enough."

On the hail mary at the end of half
“Well it was 2nd and long and the last thing I want to do is give them the ball back. I let the clock run down to 25 seconds and called timeout so we could run a third down play. The third down play didn’t work out quite what we wanted, so I anticipated them calling timeout and trying to make us punt. Luckily for us our punter is pretty good about getting out of the pocket so I wasn’t worried about a block. I anticipated them calling a timeout with 12 or 13 seconds and trying to block the punt. When they didn’t do that I let the clock run down to one, called a timeout and said ‘throw the hail mary.’ The only thing to me about this game that I didn’t want to do is have any regrets that we didn’t try, that we didn’t try to play. I didn’t wanna go out there and play close. When you’re in RPO world sometimes you’re handing off, then you’re handing off a second time and you’re like ‘dad gum we really wanted to throw the ball there'. But that was just a ‘hey we’re gonna take our shot’, and that worked out. Once all the sadness dissipates on our end, there’ll be a lot of things to build on. In terms of plays like that, plays where we jumped up and made a play, those are the building blocks of hopefully where we want to get to.”

On the 4th down try on the opening possession
“Well the analytics are overwhelming. The analytics are 4th and 3 is a go, 4th and 4 you should go, so it’s not even close, right? I mean if you’re gonna beat Michigan you’re gonna have to get those plays. We ran a speed sweep with a quarterback read, I mean you have three options there. It’s kind of the same thing we did at the end, right? Twice 4th and 1, and then at the goal line we’re running RPOs. We’re not gonna trick our way into things, you gotta play. You gotta make the plays. We’re gonna give our guys the chance to make the play. On that one unfortunately, we didn’t. But then they punt the ball right back to us and we had the ball at the 30 yard line. Some of the things we talked about, inside the 5 [is] one of the things we have to be better at. But at the same time, there were other times we did make the plays. The hail mary, the plays at the end, Heinrich’s play at the end. So there's a lot of analytics that go into it. Analytics tell you to be really, really, really aggressive to be honest with you.”

On Bud Crawford showing up to support the team tonight
“I’m disappointed we didn’t get the win for Bud (Crawford). I thought it meant a lot that he would show up for us. He could be anywhere he wanted to be in the world right now if he wanted to and he chose to be here with us. I know it’s disappointing but I watch the wrestling team celebrating what they did. Obviously Bud Crawford was there. I think it was a great day to celebrate Nebraska and all the amazing things that are here. Hopefully our volleyball team wins tonight as well. I think the time we are in right now, Bud is a unifying force for people in the state of Nebraska. I am very grateful that he would be there. I wish we could’ve done our part a little bit better but at the end of the day I hope people appreciate that we are working and that guys gave it their all we just have to do it a little bit better.”