Brandon Rigoni Quotes - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site

Nebraska Weekly Press Conference
Pregame vs. Troy
Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2006
Memorial Stadium

Free Safety Brandon Rigoni

On overcoming this loss and not falling into a downward slide like last year
“Well we haven’t discussed last year so much, a lot went into last week’s preparation and into the game as a whole.  But aside from discussing the game yesterday as a team, at this point everything’s been focused toward Troy.”

On using the game vs. USC as a barometer
“Yeah, I think we did.  They’re obviously a national powerhouse, they’ve had a great track record, especially as of late.  And aside from that it’s just a classy program.  I like the way they do things, I think we have a lot of respect for their program.  We look at it as a way to measure where we’re at because we’re starting to get things turned around here.  Obviously it wasn’t the outcome we were looking for, but we felt like we played very well at times.  Even though we didn’t play well at times we learned from the game and we’re moving forward.”

On what was learned from the game
“I think the biggest thing was that, in the heat of the moment you have to make the play.  I think that was the biggest thing, that we had some great opportunities, interceptions here and there that probably could’ve been made, maybe for touchdowns, but the ball just slipped out of our hands, and those are the kinds of things that can’t happen when you’re in big games like that.”

On what impressed him about USC
“I think collectively they were talented across the board.  (Dwayne) Jarrett (USC Junior wide receiver) definitely jumped out at me.  He was definitely a physical specimen, someone to be dealt with.  I was impressed by him, but just collectively their team just seemed to all be on the same page.  I like (USC Head) Coach (Pete) Carroll, I like what he does.”

On the domination of NU’s special teams
“It was specifically part of our game plan for that game.  We try to focus on it, week in and week out, we see that there is a lot of hidden yardage in the special teams.  But it was specifically part of our game plan to dominate on special teams; in the USC game we thought that might be an area that we could gain an advantage.  We felt like we played well, but needed even more out of it than we got.”

On comparing the quickness of USC to other future competitors
“We’ll see similar quickness from players throughout the rest of the season, but maybe not collectively from an entire team.  We’re hoping to get another shot at one of these big games.  We’ve got Texas coming in, but I can honestly say right now we have truly just focused on Troy.  I know everyone thought it was strange vs. Nicholls State that we all said we’re not looking ahead to the USC game, but it was the truth.  We hadn’t looked at film as a team at all that week.  Right now we’re just focused on Troy, I’m not sure what USC’s speed will be like compared to everybody else, I don’t think we’ll see collectively speed like that.”

On NU’s running game vs. USC
“Actually, I loved our game plan.  That’s my kind of football.  I was all for running the ball at them.  I wanted to go out there and try to beat them up, get after them.  It made me happy to see that.  I know there’s been some criticism here and there that we didn’t pass the ball enough.  I didn’t necessarily realize that was the case during the game.  I was happy to see us keep trying to run at them.”

On Troy
“They are not the Troy of the past.  This is definitely a team to be reckoned with, everybody knows what they’ve done against strong programs recently.  Playing on the road against Florida State.  We look at them as warriors and someone that definitely needs to be reckoned with.”

On the specific strengths of Troy
“Their balance offensively.  Anytime a team brings balance it makes them tough, you have to make teams one dimensional.”

On how to stop the bubble screen
“The bubble screen is a great alternative to throw in there.  You have to spend significant practice time working on it just because it sort of reminds me of option football where if you don’t have everyone taking care of their responsibilities it’s going to hurt you.  So I see us having to spend significant time in practice this week preparing for it.”

On being a captain
“I feel personally responsible. I know Zac and Adam do as well.  It’s our job as captains to keep the team focused and to regroup as quickly as possible.  We can’t lose what we’ve got going, it has to happen this year.”

On the positives to be taken from the USC game
“There were no significant injuries that I know of, that’s a positive.  I know the morale is great around the locker room.  We were pretty disappointed when we got back, it was late and everybody was a little frustrated.  But at this point we’re moving forward.  After watching film we saw that we had played really well at times, so we’re trying not to dwell on the negative, although we know there were times that we just didn’t make plays that had to be made.”

On being a big hitter
“I don’t necessarily think about it before the play.  I think there’s just one way to play football: physically.  If you’re not doing that, you’re not staying true to the spirit of the game.  I like to see a good physical battle.”

On aiding freshman Rickey Thenarse
“Rickey is a good kid.  The best thing about him is that he runs really well.  On kickoffs, I really notice it.  They might start using him as a gunner.  I might start to take him under my wing because I see his energy out there, and that’s the biggest thing.  If you play with great energy, you start to make plays and things happen for you.  I’ll give him pointers here and there to try and help him out.”