Press Conference Quotes

Nebraska Head Coach Frank Solich
On Nebraska's High Graduation Rates
"We are very pleased with the fact that we are at 90 percent and lead the Big 12 Conference with those players who have exhausted their eligibility. That to us is very, very big, and of course our program has very special people. Dennis LeBlanc and Keith Zimmer of the academic area I think do an outstanding job for us, and that is evident by the way the graduation rates are reflected."

Opening Comments:
"We are looking at trying to take another step toward being an improving football team. I believe Penn State will come to town with a talented team and certainly an outstanding coaching staff. It's obvious they have a number of young players playing for them, but yet as I look at the roster, a number of those young players did see action in our game last year. And so it will be a very good Penn State football team that shows up that is extremely well-coached."

On Nebraska's ability to create turnovers:
"We continue to do a good job in turnovers. You know we are a plus-four right now and gained eight turnovers and given up four. Gaining eight we are tied for first in the country on that end of it. So that has been a big, big plus for us. If you recalled last year we struggled to get on the plus side of turnover ratios. It is a very important statistic to us. We look at that weekly. We talk to our players about the turnover ratios and what it means to be a highly ranked team on that end of it."

On Nebraska's penalties:
"We showed some improvement in penalties, but it still continues a problem for us. It's obvious we got flagged for two penalties that resulted in guys acting as individuals rather than as a team. So that is always disturbing. We stressed upon them that cannot happen. We need to continue to work on being a much more proficient football team in terms of getting the number of penalties down per game, and I think that will happen. I think we have taken a little bit of a stride in that direction since our first ball game."

On Nebraska's time of possession advantage:
"Possession time continues to be a big plus. This past week we had a 16-and-a-half minute advantage in possession time, which is really unbelievable. If you add the two games together we are right at about a 14-minute advantage in possession time. That is a big, big statistic for us on the offensive side of it. That is what we want to do. That entails being a very good defensive front that is not allowing people to control the ball on you; being good in special teams to where you don't break field position; and having an offense that stays on the field. The only problem is the point production doesn't quite match that. So we still need to continue that on finishing our drives, rather than going for field goals and maybe get a few extra drives in the end zone."

On Nebraska's struggles to score red zone touchdowns:
"We are being penalized for one. That's our fault. We have taken ourselves out of some drives in the red zone because of penalties. We did convert seven out of eight drives inside the red zone to where at least points were put on the board, and the one that wasn't was the result of a fumble that was right at the very end of the game."

On players being anxious about scoring once they get inside the opponent's 20-yard line:
"I don't know that it is anxiety, but it's something that can't continue to happen, because we are going to be pressed in games to where you are going to be on the winning drive and you are going to need the touchdown. You are going to need convert a third down or fourth down. That's one thing we did a pretty good job of - converting fourth down situations. We were three for three, which enabled us to stay on the field and continue those drives. Some times you just get in the rhythm of doing things well. Sometimes you get in a rhythm of doing some things not so well. We're in a rhythm of not doing some things so well down in the red zone. In today's practice there will be heavy emphasis on red zone play."

On last year's game with Penn State:
"Every year is a new year. So we've always approached it that way. Every game is a new game. So we are not concerned about what transpired in the wins and what transpired in the losses. We are anxious to be an improving football team. That is our goal every week both offensively, defensively and also in special teams. If we can do that, then we can give people our very best shot. That is what we want to do."

On Penn State as a team:
"Penn State will be an excellent football team. They will be very well motivated. Coming off a loss, if you look at the loss to B.C. (Boston College) there were three quick scores on them, and then after that there was not a great deal of production from B.C. in terms of moving the ball. Penn State was able to come back with a couple of scores. They are somewhat of a young football team. We have definitely gone through that in terms of making some mistakes as a young football team. To a degree we are still continuing to do that. There is no comparison as to the team that we are, to the team that they are. It's a new year. We will line up and see what happens."

On the improvement of junior linebacker Barrett Ruud:
"He's a very confident football player. He has the ability to make plays that are right at him. He has the ability to make plays that are running right along the side line. I think the way that he is being used, off the line of scrimmage now as a true linebacker basically 100 percent of the time, was not the case last year. I think that gives him a chance to utilize his talents extremely well. He has maxed out on that. He's had two great football games. He has stayed healthy. Last year he had a broken hand. That is a factor anytime you have a cast on, and you are trying to make tackles and trying to make plays. He did have a good year last year as a very young player in our system, especially from the MIKE ?backer spot. We see him as a complete player. He has been able to drop and get into coverage and break on passes from the zone. He's been able to take people going down the middle on deep routes when it's called for with coverage. He's very good against things that are going wide. We see him as a complete football player, and in my mind one of the tops."

On true freshman quarterback Joe Dailey:
"It's a possibility that he will see snaps. I did think he got off to an impressive start for a true freshman. He had 18 snaps and did perform very well. He could have been and should have been 5-for-5 in the throwing game. He did a good job of running the ball and making good decisions with the ball. He has gotten off to as good a start as you can get off to. We'll keep working him as the backup quarterback right now. We would like to continue getting him playing time. As we have stated, we think it's important to have a backup quarterback with a certain amount of playing time to get you through the year. Of course, you always need to look to next year to some degree."

On the atmosphere of Saturday's game with Penn State:
"The atmosphere should be great. It was great back there for the game last season because of it being against two programs that are recognized nationwide as being two of the best programs overall in the country. That again will surface. That again will gather national attention as well as Nebraska fans' attention. We always sell out, so you won't notice any difference in terms of number of people sitting in the stands. It's a night game. They'll be wound up. They'll be loud. The game against Notre Dame a couple of years ago was a great, great atmosphere. I expect this will match that."

On the traditions of the two programs:
"Coach Paterno is recognized as one of the winningest coaches, and in fact is the winningest coach in football right now. So that kind of gives you what they've been all about. He's been there for such a long time. He's done such a great job. He's been able to update and upgrade his program over the years. I think that is critical for a coach, because you can be left behind in this business. He has refused to let that happen to Penn State, and so he has stayed on top of things. He has done all the right things to keep his program at the top. It is just a privilege to play him and the Penn State Nittany Lions. The fact that I have the ability and am able to coach here at the University of Nebraska has meant a great deal to me of course, because of the number of years that I have spent here. The fact that we can match up is great for fans around the country."