Nebraska Football Coach Mike Riley

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Monday, Sept. 19, 2016
Pre-Northwestern

Coach Mike Riley

Opening Statement
“Thank you all for being here. We’ll talk about a summary of the Oregon game and then get onto the Northwestern game. We won’t talk about Oregon anymore after this day today. Some of the positives from the game were our specialists. They did a good job. Drew (Brown) is really having a consistent year. Caleb (Lightbourn) had his best day punting the ball. We got a couple of fortunate bounces, but he did kick the ball more consistently. (Jordan) Ober is doing a nice job of snapping, so we’re getting good work there. We got our best punt return in two years, which was good to see. It was good to see De’Mornay (Pierson-El) break out. We had a nice net punt average. I think it was 46 yards. We had the one down on the three yard line, which was great to see. Our kickoff coverage, which I was really worried about, the return game, we all knew about that. They averaged 17.5, so I think our guys did a good job. We had one unnecessary penalty on a late hit on special teams. Then of course we fumbled the punt that Graham Nabity jumped on. We were fortunate enough to get it back. If you don’t know, Brad Simpson is doing a great job on special teams. He’s our point leader after three games. He’s playing real consistent and really well. Luke McNitt is doing a great job on special teams, so is Chris Weber. Those are our three top point-getters. (Boaz) Joseph made another nice play with an open field tackle.

Offensively, one of the best things about the game was that our balance was good. We threw for 200 and rushed for 228. We did have the one really bad turnover. I felt like it was at least a possibility of a 10 or a 14-point swing right there. Really scary play at that time. We had three false starts and a holding penalty, which are bad news.  Overall, we were good at times and then we would just have a series that was a clunker. Our consistency wasn’t great, but at times we looked pretty good with running and throwing the ball. Then of course the fourth-down conversion was a big-time play. Really well-executed.

Guys that played well were Tommy (Armstrong Jr.) obviously, and Jordan Westerkamp made some big plays. We thought Devine (Ozigbo) played a good game. He ran tough and gained hard yards and good yards. Up front, (Tanner) Farmer and (Nick) Gates were our two most consistent offensive linemen. Of course (Bryan) Reimers made big-time plays and blocked well. I told you guys all along that I think this guy is going to be a good player and will continue to grow. We had 10 explosive plays, which was a little less than what we want. Our third-down average was less than what we want.

Defensively, we gave up three big plays. We are as a whole doing better in that area than we did a year ago. We have to continue that trend. Our tackling was kind of like offensively, it was a mixed bag. We had some really good plays and open field tackling, but we missed a couple tackles on big plays, and placed them right at the line of scrimmage. That hurt us. We didn’t get any turnovers, but the overwhelming thing I saw defensively was that our guys continued to play hard the whole game. They really ran to the ball and worked hard. Pass defense was good. We got lucky a little bit, but at the same time it was pretty good. They had 146 yards passing, which is unlike them a little bit. Individually some guys covered pretty well. I thought that Nate Gerry played a good game, so did Kieron Williams. Aaron Williams was a good player. I thought Michael Rose-Ivey made a lot of good, tough, firm tackles and really went to the ball hard. He’s a tough guy. (Joshua) Kalu played a good game, and probably up front Ross Dzuris played our best overall game. Freedom (Akinmoladun) gets a big sack, and we did a better job defensively of making good decisions.  That quarterback, as you saw, slid a lot. And they’re watching that closely in college football, so I think our guys avoided the penalty at the end of the slide real well. We did a pretty good job on the sidelines of making better decisions. We played hard and we played smarter defensively in that regard.”

“Leading into Northwestern, we know what we’re going to get here. This team had a rough start and came back with a good win against Duke. Pat (Fitzgerald) does a great job of coaching this team. They are always tough-minded and have won a lot of games. So we’re looking for a team that is on the rise and coming back after a good win. They have a good running back, number 21 (Justin Jackson). They have a good leading receiver (Austin Carr). They have a guy they call their “super-back” (Garrett Dickerson) which is like our h-back. He’s a blocker, receiver, and overall good player. He’s 6’3”, 240, and a good athlete. Their quarterback (Clayton Thorson) is one of those dual-threat guys who really hurt us last year. He had a couple of big runs which were big factors in the game. Defensively, their middle linebacker (Anthony Walker Jr.) is an all-American player. Their best cover guy is number 24 (Montre Hartage). He’s also the kick-off returner. Number 7 (Ifeadi Odenigbo) is their best pass rusher. He’s a good player. Their outside linebacker (Jaylen Prater) actually leads the league in tackling right now. So they’re making plays. They have a really solid kicker (Jack Mitchell) who is a really consistent field goal guy. Their punter (Hunter Niswander) can boom it. He’s got a 45-yard average. So we have to see if we can get a return on them in that regard.”

On the rest of the season after the Oregon win
“I think that for this stage in the season, it’s really about growth. As soon as the game’s over, you've got to take it. There’s lots of stuff that we have to improve on to be a good team consistently. So there’s plenty of teachable moments from that game that we can use. Right now, it was a great win at that point of the year. It was obviously our biggest non-league game, and we managed to win the first two games to set that up into a big game for us. Winning it is a really good thing. But we can now only use it. We have everything ahead of us, so we have to use the game as a tool and go onto the next one and prepare. Our team had an electricity and vibe in practice last week, so we need to duplicate that excitement for the preparation for next game. All the planning that goes into it, we need to do a great job and improve those areas that need improving. We need to continue to find the best identity for what we do. I think you learn about your team as you go, and what you should really focus on and enhance, and what you need to have going on that’s not going on to do a better job.”

On Tommy Armstrong Jr.’s cramping against Oregon
“I saw Tommy a little while ago and I think he’s fine. I think by the time we get to tomorrow’s practice, he’ll be good. Injury-wise, we came out of it in pretty good shape. I think [sophomore defensive lineman] Mick Stoltenberg did a great job. It was great to have him in there with the plays that he did have. He was a factor. We probably need to rotate more guys in the defensive line. We got tired and not as effective as we might be, so we need to get some rotation going in there, with putting a guy like [redshirt freshman defensive end] Alex Davis in the game a little more often up front, and having Mick [Stoltenberg] in there and being able to rotate in the interior a little bit will help us. I think one of our biggest question marks yet will be to see how [senior wide receiver] Brandon Reilly comes along. He’s made progress for sure. He’s run a little bit, we’ll see where he is for tomorrow. I sure hope he can play. It’ll be good to get him back.”

On Nebraska’s history with Northwestern
“I think this is that kind of team. What’d they win, 10 games last year? It seems to me like the average was 23-21. They are a tough, gritty, fight-to-the-end team, play good solid football. Way back when Pat (Fitzgerald) was playing, I coached against Pat in the Rose Bowl. What was that, ’96? He was a linebacker there. That defense back then was very similar to how they play now. I mean, they are sound. Back in that day, I watched all the film and you couldn’t find big plays on them. They just were a really, really sound defensive team. They don’t let the game get away from them. They compete like crazy, and they’re well-coached and they’ve got some good players.”

 

On what Nebraska has learned about the Big Ten after going 3-5 last season
“Generally what we learned was is it’s all very, very competitive. This happened while we were in the Pac-12. You just saw those teams that were usually where they were, but you saw the whole league in general rising competitively. So it got to the point where there weren’t any really big upsets, because it was getting more even as it went along, from top to bottom. It might be too early for me to make this assumption, but that’s what it looks like in the Big Ten. It looks like everybody’s pretty good and rising and very competitive. So that’s what I noticed watching it, because some of those teams in the past might have not been in that conversation like we’re having right now about Northwestern, where they’ve been in it and won a lot of games. Minnesota has done a great job in that program doing that. Looks like Indiana’s doing the same thing. I think I saw today where Purdue is leading the league in offense right now. Is that right, do you guys know that? But anyway, there’s a lot of things always going on. It’s really to the point, you’ve got to go play well to win, and that’s probably what I’ve learned the most. And what we do about it is, frankly, we spent more time about our own team in the offseason. We did study opponents and we’ve got scouting reports on all of our opponents done, but at the same time we have to kind of see how we fit in and what we do best, and then try to match it up with what the scouting report says week-to-week.”

On the importance of line play in the Big Ten
“I think you have to be versatile in the Big Ten. I think that that’s sort of been why we have talked more about balance than ever, because maybe there’s some of those games where you just don’t want to be a one-sided team ever. But I don’t think it would be great to be a team always in these conditions as we head in later in the year where you’re throwing 50 times a game. I don’t foresee that, and we don’t want to be that anyway. But I think that what we do running the ball, like we gained 228 yards against Oregon, and that was good, really good for us. We needed that and we didn’t get much versatility from our receivers, but we did from our quarterback for sure. Obviously that really impacted the game. So that versatility is good for us and the line play has to be solid. And then you have to be very, very careful, I think we’re learning more about what we can, and then what we shouldn’t do, both of those things, in pass protection. What kinds of protections we use, what’s best for us and what’s going to be most consistent.”

On Riley’s feelings on going into a nine-game schedule within the Big Ten
“I think it’s probably appropriate that we play nine, I think that if that’s the case, then everybody, every league should probably do that. Who’s missing that right now? SEC. Yeah, I think that probably with the playoffs at stake, things like that, that that should be equitable that way. But I like this the way it is. I know that you have to play everybody in your division and since our conference is so big, I think that having those other league games that aren’t in your division are good games for everybody to play in and to watch, probably.”

On the mentality that’s worked for Nebraska in the past for big games and what will be emphasized this week
“Well I think what you have to really emphasize is growth. I think that everybody can be really happy. I think that sometimes we as coaches in particular and the longer you do it, I think you have to enjoy the fact that you won the game, but then the next day when you start watching the film, you better get on to the next one. And there is kind of a euphoria of winning the game and reality when you watch the video and you have to take it like that for real, and just use that game, like I said earlier, as a tool. And you’ve got to convince the players that this is real. It is awesome to win, our effort was outstanding and our will to win was at the top and we played our best ball and made big plays down the stretch, which was really good to see. All those things are good. You have to build on those things, but you have to correct those things that are still there. We gave up two long plays, one was the third and long give-up, but that was terrible and that just shouldn’t happen. So there’s lots of correctable parts here, and you just have to emphasize that. I think this can be one of your hardest coaching jobs, actually.”

On having a large fan base that’s traveled to games at Northwestern before
“First off, say from our last game, this picture at Lincoln, Nebraska, in Memorial Stadium, that couldn’t be any better in college football. Anytime, anywhere, than last Saturday. Our fans are just awesome, play a major role, represent this state really, really well and travel well. And to have a fan base like that, that does travel with you is always a great lift to a team. Very special, so we’ll appreciate that.”

On whether Riley has relief to be beyond the Oregon game now
“It was good to win that game for probably many, many reasons, and it’s like I’ve said before, that one of the things about Oregon was I’ve got a lot of respect for that program, so winning a game against them is a good deal. But this is just like a different new life, and this is about Nebraska’s 2016 team, and I came here to be a part of that. So that other part, I enjoyed it, loved it, I was in that Civil War rivalry since my dad coached it in the ‘60s, so that’s special and I’ll obviously still follow along with that, but it was just good to beat Oregon, they’re a good team, nationally ranked, that was good for our team, and that’s the main thing about it. For this team, it was a good win, and we can just leave it at that."

On Cethan Carter's career high receptions and his status
“He got the wind knocked out of him, which was OK. That’s not OK, but it’s better than a broken rib. We need to do that with Cethan Carter. He needs to have the football. We need to make sure that he’s involved. He’s a great weapon for us. We need to grow that as we go. It was good to get him more involved. He can do more yet.”

On De'Mornay Pierson-El’s punt return
“It can be great for him personally. The guy is a gifted athlete. De’Mornay is and had a fabulous break in as a freshman and then went through a really tough year a year ago. A couple of big injuries, so for every step that he makes making a play, whether it’s a reception or a return and to have that return, if I’m him, it’s all about confidence. I think that it’s a process coming back from any kind of an injury, especially a knee. So as he plays and as he makes plays, I think the more that he can put that in his rearview mirror and just play the game. I’m happy for him. I’m excited for him. It was really great for our team to get that boost at that time. It was a major play in the game.”

On the Pac-12 thoughts on nine conference games
“I think that everybody kind of liked that, the way that it was. I didn’t hear any kind of opposition except for that, I remember David Shaw bringing it up at a meeting about other leagues and the number of games and how we basically beat ourselves up and somebody else is scheduling a lesser opponent. So that’s where it becomes an issue, probably. That’s what they thought about it then, and before it became the Pac-12 I thought it was perfect. There’s 10 teams, you play all of the teams every year. And you just went home-to-home, year-to-year with them and it was very, very even. It was just the perfect way to put it, but the way that the conferences are now it isn’t going to happen again. I thought it was really well set up at that time and pretty easy. You didn’t have to think about it. The league games out of your division, who you get is a big deal so that’s a factor." 

On his good teams
“Well I think that, basically, when we were good we won big games on the road. Which, when you want to be a good team you have to win like that. I think that it basically carried over into the confidence that they had that it didn’t matter. If you can get your team into the mindset that it really doesn’t matter, you’re staying in a hotel the night before the game and you’re playing the game the next day, it’s just getting to the hotel is a little different. The more that you can carry on that routine and guys can really believe it, I think one of the hardest thing about the road sometimes can be just the focus. We had for years really been bad in L.A. because we had lots of families show up and it always felt disjointed, and so we kind of closed that thing down and tried to refocus what we would have at home as the attention of the team and tried to relay that information to the families, too. This is a time to see your kid. So, there’s a lot of things that happens on the road with visitors that can be distracting. So, the more you can keep it normal but most importantly the mindset of your players that it really doesn’t matter. Of course, we’re going to be playing on a different surface that everybody has talked to me about. They’ve said that it’s the tallest grass you’ve ever seen. We’ve let our field grow out here as best we can, and we’ll practice on the grass and try to get ready for that, but I think a lot of that will be a mindset, too. Approaching the game and not letting that be a distraction for us when we get into the game.”

On looking back at the Oregon game
“I think that there are times in there like getting the third down stop after we had that big fiasco of the lateral and the return and their touchdown like that, and them getting the ball back, it didn’t feel good at that time, but we stopped them and then had some time. We kept time on the clock and got the punt return and scored and then re-watching the film and saying 'Man, that was a pivotal drive, big-time throw and catch by Tommy to Jordan. It looked good. We made a football play there, and we made a big return and we got the stop on defense. I think when you look back and re-watch is separate, so watch all of the defensive plays, but when you then put it in the perspective of the game and how that all played out, that was a huge moment in there. The other thing was, they started out that drive at the end to score to either win it or tie it, whatever they could do, with a nice play that was immediately reminiscent to me of a play when Mariota was quarterback and we had just taken the lead a few years back. I mean, that flashed in my mind. They hit a pretty good pass in the flat, had a good gain right away and then they had a couple plays. And then they had an edge play that was a pretty good gain but they got called for holding, which was a good call, and then we made a play that was different. We got a sack that was huge. And then our guys came through with nice pressure and pretty good coverage at that time. We came after them in that fourth down play. So, those became obvious big plays but there were those series within the game that were big, responding to their touchdown early. That looked pretty easy. It was like OK, we needed some kind of response, and then to have a drive and score was big. I think we got a penalty right before Jordan Westerkamp’s touchdown on the inside slant play that set us back, and then we recovered right there and hit that for a touchdown. That was big. So, those are kind of turning-point moments within the game.”

On keeping the team focused
“I think that the fact of the matter is, I don’t know if there was any particular message, but I did keep reminding the guys that we can absolutely keep moving the ball. We are very capable of stopping them. Let’s go out and just keep playing, and that was the message at halftime. I think when we were down two scores before the half that was a huge, huge factor in the game. We had already given up an opportunity to score points right before that and then lost the lead even further. That was a pretty pivotal time. I think that it wasn’t necessarily that I said anything about that, but I think our players knew it. I think they knew that we could move the ball. They knew we could stop them.”

Why didn’t they wear alternate uniforms?
“I don’t know. I think it’s a good idea, but I don’t know why.”

On punter Caleb Lightbourn being Big Ten Freshman of the Week
“I think that Caleb will continue to grow with his confidence, which is the number one thing for every football player. But, when you have a specialty like they have and he made a couple of nice plays and he got a real good play by Kieron. Kieron downed that ball and then he hit that like we know he is capable of hitting near the end. I think now that he has seen that he can do what he is capable of doing in a game. That’s really good for him. This was all thrust upon him. He didn’t have a year to prepare for this. He really thought he was coming in here, redshirt and learn. I’m really proud of him. That’s a nice honor for him, but my feeling is he should just continue to grow and show all of you how capable he is. He’s got talent, this guy. I’m excited for him.”

On the positivity on the sidelines
“I think that for me in general, and I think Coach Banker is really good like this and Cav is good like this is that one thing the players need on the sidelines is information. If something hasn’t gone well or if we’re getting hurt by a blitz. So, we’ve got to get information from the box, exactly what happened, where this thing is weak or where it breaks down and for the players, if something’s not going well, they need to have information to fix it. So, that’s what I want on the boundary is people that can help guys and talk to them about what’s going to have to happen to make that better. That’s got to be the main focus. These guys come off and it’s either good or bad why they’re coming off the field, but it always has to be about what going take place. Sometimes, it’s just a snapshot of what we’re going to do. What we’ve seen, what’s been working, this is how we’re going to approach the next drive or the next series, or this is how we have to fix what just happened."