Notable quotes from Nebraska’s 40-10 loss to Iowa.
Head coach Mike Riley on whether or not he felt his team was prepared for Iowa:
“It certainly didn’t look like that. All we can do is go by what was absolutely tangible and we got beat in all the phases of the game. We’re all responsible for that. I think we were prepared with assignments but that’s about it.”
Whether or not the situation at quarterback was a factor in the loss:
“I think that Iowa had as much to do with it as anything. Tommy [Armstrong] wasn’t 100%, nor was Ryker [Fyfe]. but with the overall picture of what it looked like today, we can’t come close to using that as a reason or an excuse. We had our chances and we certainly could have done better offensively. It’s almost a shame I ever talked about how explosive plays affect games because it was the opposite of what we needed to do to win this game. We gave up big plays. We didn’t sustain anything. We were horrible on third downs and we’d been pretty good all year. There were a lot of stuff that we’d been decent on this year that didn’t look great. Even our kickoff coverage has been pretty close to good and it was lousy today. I’m really disappointed all the way around in all of us and all the parts.”
Defensive coordinator Mark Banker on how he thought the defense played:
“Not very good, obviously. I thought that Iowa showed good physicality and they were able to get five yards a crack on first down. There were times we became a one level defense which hurt. We were doing a good job as far as reacting downhill but backside players weren’t being able to scrape up over the top and when they did hit a crease, not be able to make a tackle. That’s where the big plays came from.”
Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf on how he thought Armstrong played:
“We kind of had him run a little bit early and he felt good. Had to slow it down a little bit. He was tightening up and we wanted to be careful with that. You know, I think he fought through. I think there were a couple of plays, couple of those throws to Brandon [Reilly] he’d like to have back because he was running pretty well. I think [it] was a little sporadic today.”
Wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp on what was the biggest issue offensively:
“We just couldn’t get in a rhythm. We had some real good drives but we didn’t finish and we were struggling to get into a rhythm. Iowa is… They’re a great defense. They showed out today.”
Safety Nathan Gerry on Iowa:
“They were a good group. By no means were they as good as the score. I think that a similar offense I would compare to Wisconsin; we held our ground against [the Badgers]. I don’t think they’re 40 points better, 30 points better, whatever the hell the score was, than us.”
Armstrong on how limited he was:
“I could do everything; I told them that I could do everything. As we got closer to the game, and we started doing more and more, my leg just started giving out on me. But it’s something that I just have to rehab, take care of. Throughout the week I was doing really, really good but it’s just something that you don’t know a lot about until you get out there an actually get hit for that first time. After I got hit that first time, it was kind of a reality check, like ‘Oh man, this might be a long game.’ But I did as much as I could when I had to run here and there. I got what I could. But with a hamstring, it’s just so iffy when it comes to playing and being out there and not knowing exactly how much you can do, definitely after getting hit a few times and understanding that that pain is going to be there. I just had to fight through it.”
Erin is the Deputy Editor and Digital Marketing Strategist for Hail Varsity. She has covered Nebraska athletics since 2012, which has included stops at Bleacher Report, Cox Media Group’s Land of 10, and even Hail Varsity (previously from 2012-2017). She has also been featured on the Big Ten Network, NET’s Big Red Wrap-Up, and a varsity of radio shows nationwide. When not covering the Huskers, Erin is probably at Chipotle.
