Rutgers Postgame Quotes
Oct. 5, 2024 (Lincoln, Neb.)
Nebraska 14, Rutgers 7

Head Coach Greg Schiano
Opening Statement
“Thanks for coming out here to cover us. The guys had plenty of opportunities to win a game. We have to coach better. We have to play better. I know this sounds like every losing coach. This doesn’t just happen today, it’s all week long. The little things, where do you find the inches, you have to search for the inches everywhere. I haven’t had this feeling since Thanksgiving weekend. Those guys in that locker room, I’m proud of how hard they played, proud of how smart they played. Just didn’t play didn’t play well enough to win this game. We will get on a plane, go home and get back to work.” 

On first and goal play
“I asked for the challenge, on the contrary to what most people believe, they review every play. I watched, they got a touchdown second half. It’s not a waste of a timeout in the second half and I've watched it since. I’m not getting into that.”

On feeling after the game
“That was everything that was built up to be. An old fashioned Big Ten slugfest. Both teams played really hard. A couple of mistakes in the first half that I think hurt us defensively, second half, that’s the defensive football team. They were suffocating. We got plenty of stuff to go on. It stinks, but it’s not going to stop this group. The thing I was excited about is, I got to see some really young guys that were forced into action, and they played really well. We’re getting better but today wasn’t good enough for us.” 

Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis
On how he thought he played
“I don’t think I played to the standard that I’m capable of being at. That being said, I have to play better. I will be better.” 

On what specifically he needs to improve on
“Missed throws. I’m more capable of making throws than I was today.”

On if Kyle (Monangai) can be his vantage point
“I let the refs ref, players play, and coaches coach. I don’t make that call. But how does a good quarterback put the ball in his hands?”

On being stopped at the goal line
“I think as an offense, it’s extremely frustrating, because we’re more than capable of scoring. We just shot ourselves in the foot.” 

On how they will respond and what they will learn about the team
“I know this team, and I know that we’re going to respond. We’re going to watch the film, correct the mistakes that we made, and we’re going to come back ready to go.”

Linebacker Tyreem Powell
On the loss
“It’s extremely frustrating because we put our all into this week, and we want to come out victorious but there is another team on the other side that was a good opponent. They were able to come out with the win.”

On how the defense played
“We definitely got back to playing our brand of football . We still have to figure out some mistakes we made in the first half, but we definitely got back to playing ourselves in the second half.”

On new guys who stepped up
“They stepped up and played big roles this game. We knew we were going to need them, and I think they helped our defense out.”

Defensive Back Flip Dixon
On Defense as a whole
“We gotta do that all the time. Be consistent all the time. I know we can, we will.”

On Athan’s reaction to game and leadership
“That’s a tough guy, Athan is. He knows we got his back all the time. I’ve been around him since he was at our old school. That’s the type of guy he is.”

On the one-score game
“At the end of the day, it’s a team sport. We could have had zero points, but it’s a team sport, we have to do what we have to do.”