Nebraska Football
vs. Northwestern
Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021
On the light show and the night game
“It was nothing short of amazing. I've had a few night games here in my career, I've played a lot of games, and that was a special environment right there. I remember telling someone on the sideline: He said, ‘why are there so many people here still?’ and I said ‘well, one, there's a pride thing, there's a lot of people still in the stands. Two, I know there's going to be a great light show in the fourth quarter. It was awesome.”
On the last time the offense looked this good
“It's been a while, you know, it's hard to say a specific time. I also got asked about the last time we beat a team like this, that was a Big Ten opponent or not a non-conference game of sorts, and it was probably my freshman year. It was a big team win today. All phases performed and executed and it's great to see.”
On the consistent close games with Northwestern compared to this one
“We've had years of close games, one possession games. Last year, the way we lost my freshman year, the way we lost tough games to stomach, and I know myself, the rest of the guys are tired of those types of games. We came out here and let it all out and played our game.”
On the 70-yard pass to Samori Toure
“We had an idea of what the first play was going to be and obviously you need to read the defense. You can't assume. When I got the look I wanted, I gave Samori a shot and he went up and got it.”
On the O-Line’s preparation in practice
“They did a great job. Obviously, they did a great job tonight, but all week, they have to build confidence. They have to build confidence with us and build trust, and they did that. The way they prepared and continue to work, I have all the faith in Coach Austin as well to get those guys right.”
On feeling tired of games that were close and could’ve been wins
“Yeah, 100% the same in my mind. They were games we felt like we should have won, but we let it slip and we didn't execute our abilities. And tonight, we can say that we did execute the way we should.”
On freshman running back Jaquez Yant
“‘Haul Yant’: That's what I said. It’s just nuts. ‘Yant’s homecoming’, I was saying all types of things on the sideline. I’m really excited for him. He’s a guy who sprints during walk-throughs. He’s just a stud. The stiff arm, and all the little things: the guys loved it and he performed really well today. I do know he's putting in a ton of work to be where he's at right now. Part of that was weight loss, part of that was playbook stuff. He's earned tonight.”
On having wide receiver Oliver Martin back
“Obviously Oliver is one of those guys I have a ton of faith in and a lot of trust in. He's an experienced guy and to have him back out there was great for me and great for our offense. I know he didn't get a ton of targets today but still, having him out there is good for us.”
On the fast start in the first quarter
“I'd say part of it was our mentality and the way we were preparing, sort of using the last couple of weeks to fuel us this week. Another piece of that was probably the big play to open the game, get momentum rolling, get the crowd behind us, and we were ready. I think that just kind of initiated it and we continued to execute and things rolled from there.”
On next week’s game against Michigan
“For tonight I'm going to enjoy the win, but obviously that's going to be a ton of fun. You get a big-time ranked opponent in here, we're gonna pack the place, and I know Memorial is going to be crazy.”
On being up 21-0
“You said it, because we've been in spots before where we did have the lead. It was more of ‘don't let up, don't let up, continue that to press on the gas, we're not done.’ We have to go out there and continue to do our jobs, and that conversation happened when it was 21-0, at halftime and even in the third quarter. I believe that's key. You can't let up. Any team is capable of coming back in that way.”
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