%20--%3e%3csvg%20version='1.1'%20id='Nebraska_N'%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns:xlink='http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20x='0px'%20y='0px'%20viewBox='0%200%20163%20152'%20style='enable-background:new%200%200%20163%20152;'%20xml:space='preserve'%3e%3cstyle%20type='text/css'%3e%20.st0{fill:%23FFFFFF;}%20%3c/style%3e%3cg%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M159.1,144c-2.3,0-4.1,1.8-4.1,4s1.8,4,4,4s4-1.8,4-4S161.2,144,159.1,144z%20M159,151.2c-1.8,0-3.2-1.4-3.2-3.2%20s1.4-3.2,3.2-3.2c1.7,0,3.2,1.5,3.2,3.2C162.2,149.8,160.8,151.2,159,151.2z'/%3e%3cg%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M157.4,145.6h1.4c0.6,0,0.8,0,1.1,0.2c0.4,0.2,0.6,0.6,0.6,1.1c0,0.4-0.1,0.7-0.3,1c-0.1,0.2-0.3,0.2-0.6,0.4%20h-0.1l1.1,2.1h-0.8l-1-2h-0.6v2h-0.8L157.4,145.6L157.4,145.6z%20M158.6,147.7c0,0,0.3,0,0.4,0c0.4-0.1,0.6-0.3,0.6-0.8%20c0-0.3-0.1-0.5-0.4-0.6c-0.1,0-0.1,0-0.6,0h-0.4v1.4L158.6,147.7L158.6,147.7z'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3cg%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M147,0H93h-5v5v35v5h5h5v24.8L55.2,2.3L53.7,0H51H5H0v5v35v5h5h5v62H5H0v5v35v5h5h54h5v-5v-35v-5h-5h-5V82.2%20l42.8,67.5l1.5,2.3h2.7h46h5v-5v-35v-5h-5h-5V45h5h5v-5V5V0H147z%20M150,5v35v3h-3h-7v66h7h3v3v35v3h-3h-46h-1.6l-0.9-1.4L52,75.3%20V109h7h3v3v35v3h-3H5H2v-3v-35v-3h3h7V43H5H2v-3V5V2h3h46h1.7l0.9,1.4L100,76.7V43h-7h-3v-3V5V2h3h54h3V5z'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cpath%20class='st0'%20d='M103,87L103,87L51,5H5v35c0,0,7.8,0,10,0c0,3.3,0,68.7,0,72l0,0c-2.2,0-10,0-10,0v35h54v-35c0,0-7.8,0-10,0l0,0%20c0-2.6,0-47,0-47l52,82h46v-35c0,0-7.8,0-10,0l0,0c0-3.3,0-68.7,0-72c2.2,0,10,0,10,0V5H93v35c0,0,7.8,0,10,0%20C103,42.6,103,87,103,87z'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
Nebraska vs. Miami
Head Coach Bo Pelini
Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014
Opening Statement
“Well it was a good win for the program and a good win for this football team. We took care of our business in the outcome. That's what we needed to do. We're 4-0. You know, it was the next one. It was a great atmosphere out there tonight. Two teams went at it. They played hard. I give them a lot of credit. Our kids played hard. There were a lot of good things and a lot of things we're going to need to get cleaned up. Some guys played better than others like always. I think we'll learn a lot from this film and see where we go. We'll get ready for Illinois next week. I like a lot of things with this football team. I thought we played very well offensively. I thought we played well in some spots defensively, but not good enough. Not up to our standard as far as I'm concerned. It was a good team win. Overall, it was a heckuva an effort. I tell you, I've been around a lot of football. And (Ameer Abdullah) No. 8 showed just how special he is tonight. He ran like a man possessed. I think the offensive line stepped up. The receivers stepped up. But I think our running game is what won this football game for us. That's what Nebraska football is all about."
On the source of the on-field tension between the teams
“I have my feelings on that. I thought it got a little out of control. I thought it could have been managed better. At the end of the day, there's going to be some of that. Two teams playing hard going after each other. But it got a little out of control there for a while."
On if this is how he envisioned the run game looking like this season
“Absolutely. What did we run for tonight? A lot. It was 343 or something like that. That was a heckuva an effort. I thought Coach (Tim) Beck did a great job tonight designing it. I thought we executed very well. I thought we threw the ball efficiently. The second half didn't really call for a lot of passes. And at the end of the day, I liked what we were doing and I think we were very efficient at doing it. Like I said, I thought it was a good part of this win."
On the pros and cons of the defense
“There were some good things. We missed some tackles. We didn't play well underneath. We didn't play well at the linebacker position. They isolated us a couple times. We took some turns. We got beat a few times. We just got beat. There are some things we didn't adjust to very well. But you know we got some young guys in there, too. It wasn't a wholesale thing. Believe me, I'm not pushing the panic button as far as that's concerned. Trust me, I like what this defense can be. It's a process. And at the end of the day, we made enough plays to win the football game. I think we'll learn a lot from the film today, tonight and tomorrow. We'll get better next week."
On the defense causing turnovers
“It was huge. We had that one called back. David Santos made a heckuva a play on that wheel route. We stepped up. We made enough plays to win the football game. Our challenge is to keep working everyday to get better as it (the season) goes on. We've got to be a better football team next week as we take the field."
On if he thinks the Miami defense was gassed in the second quarter
“I don't know how gassed they were. I thought maybe a little bit. Let's face it, I've been around a lot of football. When you're getting the ball run at you, maybe some of the things we did got a little demoralized and a little off kilter. I think you're going to find out as the season goes on that it's a pretty good football team. It was a pretty talented football team. I thought our offense at times made them look pretty average. That says a lot for what our offense did. Like I said, you run the football for that many yards, you're doing something right."
On if he thinks they will face a team with a similar offense this season
“I don't know. They have some good skilled people. Really good. I tell you, I was really impressed with the quarterback (Brad Kaaya). He threw really well. There were some tight windows where we had some bodies on bodies. There were a couple of things where you just got to tip your hat to them. There were some things in coverage technique-wise that we didn't execute very well. Some basic things that we do defensively in coverage that hurt us. We did some pretty good things. Like I said, I think we'll learn a lot in this film."
On if he is worried about Randy Gregory after being involved in on-filed scuffles
“I don't worry about those scuffles. That's just part of football. I thought our guys handled themselves well in those times. There were a couple times where we had a chance. We didn't retaliate. We were basically pulling guys off. There was a chance it could have gotten out of control. But I also have to give their coaching staff some credit. It got heated a few times. It could have gotten out of control and it didn't. I think we handled it well. Separated them and moved on to the next thing. In my opinion it should have never gotten to that point."
On if they feed of the energy of the scuffles
"Obviously emotionally some of those things charge your guys. But it comes down to execution."
On how sophomore quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. and senior running back Ameer Abdullah complement each other in the run game
“We thought there was going to be some quarterback run game there. I thought Tommy made some good decisions. Some of the things they were doing, they had to make a choice on who they were going to take. I thought Tommy read it really well the whole game. We had a couple design quarterback runs that were very effective for us. Overall, a lot of them were read plays. Tommy did a good job."