Nebraska Postgame Player Quotes

Junior Safety Nate Gerry
On the postgame celebration
"That was one of those things that I'm gonna remember for a while. I've never really seen Memorial Stadium like that in my career before. It was pretty crazy. That was a great feeling. It was just one of those wins that we needed. We knew we were going to win this game just because of the attitude we had going into it."

On the defensive stops at the end of the game
"Our emphasis all week was opportunity. Not really looking at our record or anything, just given an opportunity to go play a big time team who's nationally ranked, in the top 10 or whatnot. It was just another opportnity for us, and every time we went out there that was in the back of our head. Just an opportunity to get better and be on the big stage and give the offense the ball back again. That's one thing we did all game was just believe, and when you have Tommy (Armstrong Jr.) at quarterback you've just got to believe."

On the performance of Imani Cross
"I thought Imani stepped up real well. I think he's faced a lot of adversity in the season. Individually, for himself and it was just one of those games where I thought he held the rock real well. The offensive line had a really good game. I saw some guys in there that you don't really see every now and then, but like I said, it was just another opportunity for our team, and they took full advantage. Tommy and (Jordan) Westerkamp had all kinds of belief in that offense and going into that fourth quarter there was nothing in the back of our head that we weren't going to win that game."

On the defense's mentality
"Like I said, opportunity. Giving our offense another opportunity to win. That was in the back of our head going out there. Just do our job and go off (to the) side and cheer on Tommy and the offense."

On the win
"I'm pretty excited still. It's a big win. That's all I've got to say, it was a big win for us."

Junior Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr.
On coping with the negative energy
"We just have to stick together. We have to ingnore the outside noise and that's what we did. Mistakes are going to happen it's just how you respond. I think we responded the right way. We knew that yeah, I threw an interception, maybe on the 34-yard line. We put ourselves up about four or five points late in the game, late in the third quarter. I believed in my teammates, I believed in my defense to get us the stop. They went down there, got us the stop, we got down there and scored, put it in reach of getting a chance. We put it in their hands again, they got us the stop. We've always preached about it, making plays and being playmakers. Like I've said before, our recievers, we've got great talent all over the field and it showed today. Those guys made tough catches. It may have been held a couple of times, but they came down with catches and had yards after contact and they got first downs when we needed them. That last drive they made a heck of a play in certain situations. We got down there faster that I thought we were, I think we got down there in 38 seconds or something like that, it was incredible, just to be able to have those guys make plays like that."

On talking to wide receiver Bradon Reilly postgame
"Just that I love him - love all my teammates - way to keep fighting, way to keep battling through everything that's been going on. We had some upsetting drops here and there. The lights - we're not used to playing night games - but the lights getting in the way. Just not being able to come up with catches in certain situations. But, just keep battling through all the challenges of dropped passes, overthrown passes, two interceptions. To just being able to go out there with the last drive, it being in our hands, and being able to have our teammates trust enough to say 'hey we believe you guys will go down there in less than 55 seconds and then win us the game.' And that's what we did."

On safe passes to Jordan Westerkamp
"It was kind of just a read. We knew they were going to go with those three guys safety, we kind of played it smart by watching film. By watching certian plays that other guys ran on them in certain situations. It was great that they [the plays] actually showed up and coach has always been telling us that 'hey when this happens, eye the R and his will come wide open and that middle safety drops down on him' and we capitalized on it two times in a row and it got us in great position."

On getting Westerkamp back
"We (weren't) really worried, just by him being the leader that he is. He came to the sidelines and said 'hey I'm gonna be back, it's just a precaution thing, they want to wait to halftime to see if I can return.' He said he believed that he was going to be back third quarter. So that got the guys going and he kind of coached up some of the younger guys that were there and some of the older guys like Taariq (Allen) that was playing his position. And they went out and then they played well. Like I said before, if Jordan goes down, we have guys that fill in. They did a great job."

On motivation for the game
"It was an incredible feeling. Like I said before, I actually wanted those guys to be 8-0 coming to this game, just to prove to the world that this team is better than our record seems. We've had a couple upsets, not a couple but four or five upsets, that came down to the last second. We have a lot of talent, we know how to win games, we've just got to be consistent. This game we were inconsistent sometimes, but we kept fighting, we kept believing, and that's the thing that we had to do. We had to keep believing, keep working hard. Being down by two scores with four minutes left in the game, we saw some guys leaving the stands and things like that, and like I said we (weren't) really worried about it, we're just going to keep moving forward. We just said, 'hey no matter what, we gotta stick together, we're gonna keep fighting, there's more time on the playclock than people think.' We got that first score in maybe two minutes and 45 seconds and had a minute and 30 left on the clock to give our defense a chance to get a stop. It went three-and-out, got a punt, no timeouts, 55 seconds left, we knew exactly where we wanted to go with the ball, what plays we wanted to run. We ran them all week at practice and we capitalized on every single one of them. I think that's just by being prepared. Coach Reilly always says we've got to be prepared for 3 hours and 27 minutes of a football game because you never know, it may come down to that and that's what it came down to. It's that team that keeps fighting till the end. That team that keeps driving forward no matter what the situation is, and I think that's what we did."

On ranking this game among others in his career
"Probably number one, just because of all the things that have been going on with this season. It's a great feeling for me, but it's more for our seniors. It's a great way for those guys to go out, this is the game they've been looking forward to. We've worked our tails off all week, prepared as much as we could, just to fight for those guys, just to fight for the guys that this is their last year. We worked together, we made sure we were prepared as much as we could be and it all paid off. We (weren't) as pretty some of the time of the game, but it's how we responded. I think we responded the right way. Our defense had some bumps and bruises just like we had some bumps and bruises. We knew it was going to be like that. We knew they were a great offense and a great defensive team. That's why they're ranked number (six) in the nation. It was just more of 'what are we gonna do when things get tough and our back are against the wall.' We don't have the ball, our offense is sitting on the sidelines. Our defense is kind of winded from us going three-and-out. I think it kind of helped them prepare for that. We responded the right way."

On the postgame atmosphere
"It was fun. It was an incredible feeling. You know it just, it was an incredible feeling for these guys, just not myself, but most of these guys that are young that stepped up today. They had doubts, stuff from our season and it gets us over the hill of maybe scoring and guys coming back late. Our defense worked their tails off to get us the stop, and they got their last stop, the last play of the game and that's what won us the game. Just put ourselves in the right situation to win, we looked out for each other, defense looked out for us and we looked out for them."

On running back Imani Cross
"He runs hard. Imani is one of the great leaders form the backs and he's just looking for opportunity, and he got opportunity today. Like I told him, I love him. He came in with my class, unfortunately I redshirted and he didn't. I've seen him for four years work after practice, before practice, during practice, just for an opportunity like this. To get a chance to go out there, run the ball and make plays. He ran good. He got tough yards when it was needed. He got first downs when it was needed. There were certain situations, like we were 4th-and-1 and he got the first down on that, and got the chains and we scored. That's what it takes, it takes a guy like him to be a senior and being able to work as hard as you can all year and get an opportunity like this and make plays."

On the running game
"It didn't settle us in, it was more for the offensive line. They got pushes, they had a sense of urgency, they had a different attitude out there. They were mean today. They (weren't) taking any BS from anybody. The wound up, put their hands in the dirt and whatever was in front of them they blocked. When they made mistakes, they let it go and they moved forward. That's what we need out of those guys, being able to just accept criticism, move onto the next play and just fix it. That's what did. They went out there, had a great attitude toward each and every play. They communicated well with the tight ends and outside zone plays and outside power plays. They opened up big holes for the running backs and three or four yard gains in the first half became six or seven yard gains in the second half. That's what we needed out of those guys."

Junior Wide Receiver Brandon Reilly
On touchdown
"It was just a basic four verticals play. Being in the boundaries. A lot of it just man to man and I kind of had a feeling Tommy (Armstrong Jr.) would come my way and I saw the ball and had to make a little adjustment but I'm glad it worked out the way it did because we've been on the wrong side of it too many times this year."

On what the referee said
"After. He just said, 'great catch,' but nothing else about the out of bounds or anything."

On if he was nervous while they reviewed the play
"Yeah, very. When it was all time high, I think my heart just stopped. We needed this one more than anything. Words can't describe how I'm feeling right now, I'm just so excited it worked out the way it did."

On the celebration
"It was crazy. The crowd was phenomenal, the people that stayed. The people that left, I kind of feel bad for them but I'm sure they had better things to do."

On offensive mentality in last minute
"We were just hoping we would get the ball one more time with a chance to win it. We have Tommy as a quarterback, biggest competitor I probably know and hit Mr. Velcro Westy (Junior Wide Receiver Jordan Westerkamp) a few times, you know he's not dropping it. They got us into scoring range and it just worked out how we wanted it."

On how much more efficient the offense was
"It was big. Huge props to our offensive line, they got one of the best D-Line's in the country. For the most part, they held them out of there and gave Tommy time. Everything was clicking especially towards the end."

On attitude in the huddle with time running out
"Tommy just said, 'let's do it.' We wanted the ball back and our defense got a stop and we just feed off of him and just let it work out the way it did."

On what he remembers from the celebration
"Bits and pieces I remember. Especially after, once the clock hit zero, the crowd was just unreal. It's a moment I'll never forget for sure."

Senior Running Back Imani Cross
On how it felt to start and if it led to extra motivation
"It felt great to start. I was thankful for the opportunity. I was thankful that the coaches gave me the opportunity to start and put me in that role that they did tonight. I thank God for it."

On his production against a defense that has been good against the run all year
"I feel OK, you know as I did. I think the offensive line was amazing. I'll give those guys credit. They did a great job handling those guys up front. That D-lineman that they had and Michigan State's middle linebackers, they were good. The offensive line did a great job blocking up front and getting to the second level as well. Our receivers did a great job blocking. Coach (Danny) Langsdorf did a great job calling the calls. It was a total team effort. It was awesome."

On the scene after the game and where it ranks in his career
"It was awesome. It probably ranks No. 1 since I've been at Nebraska. The result of believing and the result of having faith. The No. (6) team in the country comes in to our house and are we going to believe or are we going to dwell on the past and tonight we believed. I'm thankful for that."

On the review of Brandon Reilly's game-winning touchdown
"I knew he scored. That moment was... it was our moment. I knew it was our moment, and I knew he scored. It was a great play by Tommy (Armstrong Jr.) and a great play by Brandon (and the) offensive line protecting."

On his running outside the tackles and how fun it was
"It was really fun getting out on the edge with a little bit of speed, just a tiny bit. It was just awesome. The tight ends and the tackles and Andy (Janovich) did a great job setting the edge for me, so all I had to do was press it and then hit it outside. Once again I was just thankful for that opportunity."

On his feeling on Nebraska's final drive and having to go 91 yards
"We do it all the time in practice, actually. The talk was just to do what we do. Fifty-five seconds is actually a long time in football, so we had enough time. Jordan (Westerkamp) did a great job. The offensive line did a great job protecting and our receivers made plays - not to single out Jordan - all of them did make plays. We felt really confident in that situation because of the receivers we have."

On the confidence of Tommy Armstrong Jr. on the final drive
"Tommy has a confident personality. I never see Tommy un-confident. He's one of those guys. He believes in himself. Once again it showed tonight."

On if this was a redemption game for the team
"I wouldn't call it redemption, but I would call it just believing in ourselves and having faith. That's the first step we took tonight. Redemption from the past; we didn't think about the past tonight, we just thought about tonight and the opportunity we had. We believed, we had faith and we all played as hard as we possibly could, and we came out with the win."