Nebraska Player Quotes

Nebraska vs. Texas Postgame Quotes
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)

Senior Wide Receiver Niles Paul
On whether the dropped passes were a difference maker 
"I definitely think so. I can't take anything away from anybody else, but if we make those catches, we win that game." j

On whether this loss is harder than others
"No, not at all. Just the fact that we could've won that game and we didn't makes this a hard loss to swallow."

On if it will be hard to put this loss behind them
"I think Coach Pelini does a good job of just keeping us focused on the process, so I'm sure that by Monday we'll be ready and focused on our next opponent.

Senior I-Back Roy Helu Jr.
On what kind of problems the Texas defense gave NU
"[There's] nothing specific in my head right now, but they played well-physical. We didn't execute."  

On what NU has to do to rebound this week
"We have to put it in the past; move on and persevere through this loss. It's a lot of mental stuff. And then execute in practice this week." 

On if being down early was a problem for the team
"I wouldn't say so. We're a team with experience-we shouldn't struggle with things like that. The defense played well, and we didn't execute."

Senior Cornerback Prince Amukamara
On the team's state after this loss
"All I know is [that] we have to come back to work tomorrow. We just bounce back-just a little adversity we're dealing with right now, and we have to persevere through it." 

On how NU can bounce back after this loss
"(We can) just take after our head coach. He said we're just going to study the film and learn from it, and after that, put it behind us. He said our No. 1 goal is to win the Big 12 Championship and it's still there for us to get." 

On how badly the team needed a big play from the defense
"We needed it bad. Our offense was struggling a little bit, but our defense practices to make plays. Eric Hagg made an amazing one on that punt, so that was good for us." 

On if the team felt more pressure to win this game
"I didn't think there was any more pressure at all. We just had our eyes set on a bigger goal." 

On if it will be hard for the team to come back after this loss
"In the locker room, it was pretty quiet, but our senior leaders like Pierre [Allen] and [DeJon] Gomes and Niles [Paul] went around telling everybody to just keep [their] heads up. I'm sure we'll come together."

Sophomore Defensive End Cameron Meredith
On if the emotion of the game had anything to do with the way the game turned out
"I wouldn't say that. It came down to execution."

On if the Huskers felt like they were constantly climbing up hill once they were down
"As a defense, it doesn't really matter. We just needed to come out and execute. I'm not pointing fingers. We just needed to execute as a whole team."

On if the Huskers were over-excited for the game
"No. I don't think that. I don't think there was any over-confidence. We just needed to follow the game plan."

On where they go from here
"We will just come back tomorrow and get back to work. Hopefully we can become a better football team and be ready for Oklahoma State."

Senior Defensive Back Eric Hagg
On how his punt return for a touchdown transpired, and if he knew they were going to punt the ball
"Well Coach Pelini said to watch the fake field goal because it had been shown on film that they'll punt it deep. I just scooted back. I didn't know I was going to break it that long but I guess it happened that way."

On if there was a feeling that maybe the Huskers could pull off the win after that
"Yeah. The crowd got back into it and that was really good. Then we had that 12th man on the field, so that kind of hurt us and that was the ballgame."

On how badly he and the team wanted to win this game
"We lost to them last year but it was just any other game. On our side of the ball we had too many missed tackles. On the offensive side there were a lot of balls that should have been caught. We worked hard but they just came out victorious."

On if the missed tackles were uncharacteristic of the defense
"I would say so. You have to give them credit though. They're big and fast and strong. We should have made those tackles."

Offensive Lineman Keith Williams
On the feeling in the locker room
"Well, we lost. It's not a good mood. It isn't fun losing, especially to Texas. I'm a senior and I wanted to win that game. It sucks."

On the dropped passes
"I don't point the finger at anybody on the team, but we should have capitalized on certain plays."