Nebraska Football Press Conference - Dec. 15, 200

Nebraska Head Coach Frank Solich
On players graduating on Saturday:
I want to congratulate a number of players. We will have 13 players with degrees in their hands when we play in the bowl game. So we think that is excellent. Three already have their degrees, and ten will graduate Saturday. Congratulations to all of those guys. We're very proud at what they have been able to accomplish on the field and off of the field

On importance of Alamo Bowl:
It's important to step on the field and win every game. That is the objective of playing the game is to win. Our thoughts are that we are playing a quality opponent. They are tied along with two other teams in the Big Ten with the conference lead. They won the conference, so it is a big challenge for us to go down there and beat Northwestern. Anytime you get a chance to go down there and to play another game, I think everybody's excited. It is the last game of the year, so you want to make sure you are propelling yourself into next season. It is an important game, as all games are.

On impressions of Northwestern:
Offensively, they have an outstanding ground game. They do it by splitting out a number of receivers and get you to spread your defense out. Then they use their quarterback and their great I-back much like we do. Both are great ball carriers that can make big plays on you. They have a ground game that's averaging over 200 yards. They have a passing game that is averaging over 200 yards. So they've really been able to execute well on both ends of it. That's been very impressive. When it's on the line at the end they have a way of pulling a game out. So I think that's been very impressive.

On Northwestern's Running Back:
He has the right combination of skills to be a great running back. He has excellent vision, he sets blocks up well and he's got really outstanding quickness and speed. If you're a guy that can get to the cracks and then accelerate through them, then you have yourself a chance of being an outstanding running back. They rely on him heavily. Any time that they've given him the ball he's a guy that's very durable and can carry the load throughout the course of the game. They will try to get him the ball in many different ways, and that makes sense with guys with that much skill.

On Nebraska's Offense Against Northwestern:
They've been a team that has been able to put points on the board against anybody that they've played. You know that they are going to be a dangerous football team. You have to take advantage of your possessions and make sure that with every opportunity to put points on the board that you do

On losses this season:
We could've played better in the two games we've lost this year. The coaches and players feel that way. The quality of the two teams that we've lost to has to be built into that also. They were teams that were excellent football teams. We haven't accomplished all of the goals that we had, but we did a lot of good things. At the beginning, we were cautious about sitting on top with an experienced football team that would get better as the season went along. We had an offensive team that we thought could put points on the board and control the football. We thought that we would produce more turnovers and do a better job in the turnover ratio. Adding it all up, we could've played better, but I think that they played hard and well, but we did not reach all of our goals.

On team condition:
We have been lifting and not been doing as much running as we will in the next two weeks. We are on schedule to be in good condition for the game. They will signal plays, and if you aren't careful you can get worn down.

On Crouch's condition:
As you go through the season, you have a certain percentage of your players that are just not 100 percent. The extended time between your last game and the bowl game is the best case scenario to get a player healed and to feel going into the bowl game that he is 100 percent. That will most likely be the case with Eric. He's making good progress.

Eric Crouch
on Weinke winning the Heisman:
He's very deserving of that I think. He's a guy that's been so consistant over the years. He's proven to the country that he can get his team to national championships and win national championships. So he's been very deserving of that award.

On Weinke being 28 years old:
I don't really think that age is a factor to be honest with you. He's a guy that can compete at this level, and at the next level as far as I'm concerned, and be a great quarterback. And like I've said before, the award goes to the best college football player this year. In my eyes he was.

On motivation to win the Alamo Bowl:
I think there's a lot of things that factor into winning this game. One of the big factors is pride and tradition and what this program is all about. No matter what bowl game we are playing in or who we are playing, we've always had that mindset whenever we step on the field. You've always got to be level-headed about it, but there's always that competitive nature in us to go out and want to win every game no matter who we're playing. To project ourselves into next season at the highest ranking that we possibly can is another reason to play very well and come out with a victory.

On success this year:
I think for our offense to be successful, we've got to come up with a lot of big plays and we've got to come up with a lot of long drives. We've got to wear the clock down, and I have a lot of respect and confidence in our defense and our special teams to get us in those positions. It's probably not been the best year but that's the thing about football, you put the games behind you and you come out and you try to better yourself and your team.

On underachievement this season:
There's a little sense of underachievment and I think that comes with two losses. Any time you lose, you don't feel that you've accomplished the things that you wanted to or set out to do. I still feel that there are a lot of things that we did this year that were very good. You can't win every game your whole career. That just comes with the territory, being able to accept a loss and being able to come back stronger from that. We have a team that has been able to do that over the years

On the offense's execution this season:
As far as execution, you can't harp on the negatives all of the time, so that's a tough question to answer. Sometimes there are just things that happen that are unexplainable. Even one inch can determine the outcome of a game, or even a season. You can always get back to the tape and get very technical, or you can accept what happens and just try to press on and grow as a team and try to get stronger and get better from the things that you've learned in the past and the mistakes that you've made. Yes, this team's made mistakes this year. No team is perfect. Even Oklahoma has made mistakes, but they've been able to bounce back and still be on the top. That says a lot about their program and they've had a lot of things go their way this year. I don't know if it's luck, or if it's fate. You have your own opinion about it. Now, we can only look to the future. We've got this big bowl game ahead of us and we've got to try to do our best.

On his health:
I feel very healthy. From the start of the year it has kind of been a battle as far as my health is concerned. It's been something I've been able to fight through and been able to play with, but having four or five weeks off is huge for me. I feel like a new person. I feel that my health is close to 100 percent, or as close as it's going to get. That makes a big difference as far as being confident in being able to show my ability and being able to play the way that I am capable of.

On being hurt during the season:
I don't know if it was a matter of being really hurt, it's just a couple of bumps and bruises that probably kept me away from 90 or 100 percent. I was probably playing around maybe 85 or 90 percent. It's hard to really pinpoint that exactly, but with all of the injuries, the bumps and bruises and the hits, that's all part of the game. I still expect myself to go out and make plays and win ball games and help this team out as best I can. I expect a lot of myself. I have very high expectations even if I've got a few bumps and bruises, that's just how I've been taught to play the game.

On added confidence at the Alamo Bowl:
It's a place where we've won games before. I feel confident going to that place. I don't feel like it will be a big change in atmosphere. Our team has great talent and we are going to be able to display that come the 30th. There's a lot of players that feel the same way. Even the guys that aren't out there for the last game, there will still be a lot of fire in their eyes and in their hearts. You get them out there to play their best game and to help us out for next season.

On what he's learned:
I've learned a tremendous amount this season. I learned a lot last year. There are just so many things that as a quarterback you continue to learn about yourself. I have always led by example and I've always led by actions. It seems like the more experience you get, the more confidence you have out on the field, and then you can start becoming a vocal leader. Those are all things that have helped me out this year. There are a lot of things that can be said about that. As far as personally and for this team and this program, a lot of people have been able to grow and have been able to build a relationship with one another that really helps us play better on the field. Even though we've lost two games, nothing's perfect, but everybody is playing better together.

On being ranked number one all over again:
I think that's a tough road to battle. The strong teams that are out there that are capable of doing that display so much in their character and in their personality as a team. I think the biggest battle is being ranked number one. We were for a long time this year. We won a game and then we lost that number one ranking and weren't able to regain that again. I think that if I had to I would, because I like that battle and I like that challenge. I think it challenges everybody. Being number one we were maybe a little complacent at times, but we got through that and battle.

On Northwestern:
I've always thought that they were a great team. I remember being recruited by Coach Barnett in high school from Northwestern. He's not there anymore, he's at Colorado, but I have always felt that they had a good program, a prestigious program known around the country. Even though they haven't had the wins they've always had the athletes and the talent to be able to win big games and they can jump on you and surprise you. So we've got to be prepared and we've got to be prepared to play our best game of the year.