Opening Statement
“Well I'm very proud of our players in the locker room and appreciate that the guys just kept playing. It was one of those games. We always talk about giving yourself a chance to have a chance and I thought there were a ton of individuals that didn't all go their way, but they kept playing and the teammates kept believing in them. You can go to Raf (Rafael Gaglianone) at the end, Dakota Dix who misses a tackle on the touchdown, and then comes in and makes a big stop. Those sequences at the end, guys just kept playing and believing in each other. We had to make plays and enough plays were made and it was a heck of a football game. I'm proud of our players and we've got to appreciate today, and I think there's a ton we can build on."
On whether he said anything to Rafael Gaglianone before the last kick
"I didn't say anything. The only time I said anything was after the first one. I told him all that matters is the next one and you got to keep playing. He's no different than everyone else. Certainly his makes and misses are more visible. I thought a lot of guys just kept playing and picking each other up and it certainly didn't go our way at times, but we kept playing and that you appreciate as a coach."
On Joel Stave the last two drives of the game
"I thought he did a lot of really good things, and I thought it wasn't really until the fourth quarter that we got anything going in the run game. I thought Dare (Ogunbowale) was big. It takes a ton of guys. I thought Rob (Wheelwright) made some plays, Alex (Erickson) was good. I thought the tight ends made some plays. Nebraska's front is a good front, and I thought guys battled up front and I thought a lot of guys, certainly Joel. I thought he saw the field great today and everything didn't go our way, but he just kept playing and that was neat to see."
On whether he thought they wore Nebraska down physically
"Obviously, I noticed that but I certainly didn't get the sense that when we were playing that we were just wearing them down. I think that we did have a lot of snaps and guys just kept playing. I didn't get the sense though. It didn't feel like that to me."
On Dare Ogunbowale's performance late in the game
"I think that anytime a guy makes plays, there's alot of guys working for him. I think he was seeing things and running with a purpose but there's a lot of guys working in front of him. I think that's what it was. I think he had some good runs and yards after contact, and I thought guys were throwing it up in there."
On his confidence in Rafael Gaglianone
"I was confident. If we weren't we wouldn't have put him out there."
On what he said in the locker room
"That's classified...I was proud of their effort and appreciate that. You can' t take any of that for granted. To play together, I thought they kept playing and that you appreciate from a group of guys. They played for each other and their teammates mean something to them, and I wanted them to know that's pretty impressive"
On containing Tommy Armstrong Jr.
"He made some plays and big plays. I think guys just kept playing and that was the story of the game. There was a ton of momentum shifts and we just had to keep playing and that's what I thought the guys did. That you appreciate."
On the magnitude of this win
"As we get into conference play they're all really difficult, and I think that this week was big. I thought the players did a nice job coming back. On Monday I thought there was a nice spirit and we had a good week of preparation. It's not easy to win on the road and I thought that was big. I thought we handled ourselves in the noise. Certainly it's a big win for us."
On Alex Erickson coming back
"I thought it was big. Alex, he's a really good football player and it was good having him back. I know that Joel (Stave) trusts him and you like playing with as many of your guys as you can. I thought Beau Benzschawel stepped up and played well for his first action this year. I thought the combination of (Eric) Steffes and Fum (Troy Fumagalli) the tight ends, so a lot of guys contributed so it certainly felt like a team win in that way."
On Rafael Gaglianone having the opportunity to bounce back from his earlier miss
"It is rare. Because you usually aren't given another opportunity so that's where I think that from that time when he misses it there's a kick off, three stops then there's a bunch of guys that give him a chance to have that. I think that any guy the team means something to, given that opportunity he's going to come from."