Nebraska vs. Ball State
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Quarterback Sam Keller
On Nebraska’s win (Audio)
"We had to claw back three or four times. Our defense was down and out and had things go wrong, but they made plays when they had to. Bo Ruud made plays, Steve Octavien made a play late. That’s the way games go sometimes. Not everything goes as scripted. A win against BallState scripted 48-17 ? that doesn’t happen all the time. Those guys came in with nothing to lose. The quarterback played outstanding, that kid is a fighter. That coach is tough, I know him. They came in and they gave it all they had. This was just a great game. We made plays when we had to, but obviously there are things that need to be corrected. There are a lot. We’re going to enjoy the win right now, but we’ll pick it apart on Sunday and get ready for the Big 12."
On his mentality on the sidelines watching BallState score (Audio)
"I’ve said before that I like these kinds of games. I’m not out of it until the final whistle blows, I won’t allow it to happen. So my demeanor on the sidelines ? maybe I’ll get frustrated because I’m an emotional guy. But now that I’m older I’ve done a lot better job of handling how I act and try to direct it in a positive manner toward my guys. We never gave up and it was just like last week. Last week obviously we didn’t play well and it was horrible deal that we lost, but it was the same thing today. We just kept fighting, so that’s another character thing that we’ve got that we can go down to the wire and win a ball game. It’s good to know we can do that.”
On Nebraska’s offense (Audio)
“We have a lot of versatility on offense. We can run the ball, we can throw it short, throw it long, whatever we need to do to put points on the board. Whatever Coach Callahan wants me to do, I’m going to do it. I’m not going to complain about it. I’m just going to go out and be the delivery boy. I’m just going to go and try to make things happen. I just have faith in what he does.”
On the Nebraska’s final scoring drive (Audio)
“The final drive was just that my receivers stepped up and made huge plays. First Todd (Peterson), then Sean (Hill) and then Maurice (Purify) and a couple of check downs. Roy (Helu) kind of checked down and made some yards. We just got yards and we learned from the other one that if it’s not there then check it down. Just managing the offense and letting our guys make plays, because that’s all I did. Our offensive line played a really beautiful game and I have some pretty good wide receivers, there’s no doubt about that. These guys for the second week in a row carried the team.”
Linebacker Bo Ruud
On his interception for a touchdown (Audio)
“We’ve needed a big play for a while now. It’s been a few games since we’ve gotten one. It gave everyone some confidence and changed the momentum. I think that’s what was important about it.”
On his confidence (Audio)
“It helps. I’ve been kind of out of the action in the last few games. I think whatever other teams are doing (offensively), it’s been away from me and I’ve been getting anxious to make some plays, so it was nice to be able to get a chance and make the most of it.”
On his interception as a game-winning play (Audio)
“It’s hard to say. To me, what the offense did, answering every time we were down, that, to me, won the game. We struggled with some of those deep throws and our third-down (defense) was not good. For the offense to pick us up and keep on scoring, answering and keeping us in the game, that gave us a chance to win. I’d say it (the game-winning play is the offense answering four or five times.”
On the struggles of the defense (Audio)
“I’m concerned because we’ve yet to show what we can really do. We have talent, we practice hard and we prepare hard. Last week, we were bad against the run. This week, we manned them up and gave up some yards on some deep throws. I thought we did a pretty job against the run. They couldn’t run on first or second down, except for one play. Other than that, it was broken plays and deep balls. They made a lot of yards off those plays. You have to give them credit for coming in and playing hard. This defense is a lot better than what we’re showing right now.”
Tight End Sean Hill
On Bo Ruud’s interception (Audio)
“It was huge. Bo has a knack for making big plays. That’s why he is one of our best players. That did everything for both sides of the ball. The offense knew that we needed the stop because we were down and needed two scores if we were going to take the lead, so that interception by Bo was just a huge break in the game for both of us (offense and defense). It brought life back to the defense and gave hope to the offense that we were going to win this thing.”
On the tight ends becoming a big part of offensive plays (Audio)
“We’re always a big part. I loved that Sam (Keller) kept throwing us the ball. I think we’re always a big part. That play that I scored on is just for the tight ends. We have a lot of plays that are just for the tight ends, but we also have a lot of plays that are for the receiver and backs because they’re all superior athletes. I hope that he keeps throwing us the ball and we keep making plays.”
On the game overall (Audio)
“We could have played better on both sides of the ball. We won though and basically that’s all that matters. A win is a win and we needed a win going in to play IowaState. They’re going to be a good team and the Big 12 is a strong conference.”