Nebraska coach Scott Frost met with the media following his team’s 35-28 loss to Wisconsin. Frost spoke about the final play of the game, the offensive game plan and much more.
Here is the full transcript from his time with the media.
On the explanation he got about the final play of the game:
“I didn’t get an explanation. I was probably honestly too angry to ask for one.”
On what he saw on the last play:
“I told him he needed to throw a flag on me because that’s . . . I don’t want to go into it. Listen, we played a really good football team tonight. Wisconsin’s good in all three phases. You can’t start a game with a kick return. You know, there are seven points right there and we lost by seven. They’re good in the run game. But we gave up too many big plays in the run game. Just missed tackles I thought. And we shot ourselves in the foot on a couple offensive drives with penalties. And it’s happened too much. We need to get fixed. We’re going to get it fixed. We keep putting ourselves in position against really good teams. We got to get it done.”
On how he thought the defense held up:
“We’re beat up, everybody’s beat up this time of year. That’s not an excuse. We’re missing a couple guys that I would think would make a difference. A lot of teams are at this point. We got to tackle better. Saw a couple guys come up and hit without wrapping up. The one long run I thought we had a chance to tackle in the backfield and instead it turned into a 70-yard run. It’s good we’re getting those kids experience but we got to be a little bit better and make those plays when it matters.”
On how close Adrian was to not playing in the second half:
“Yeah, he’s a tough kid. I think there are a lot of people that wouldn’t have played several of the games that he’s played in this year.”
On what makes Braelon Allen difficult to slow down:
“He’s big and fast and he has a lot of good people blocking for him.”
On his thoughts about Adrian Martinez’s two interceptions:
“The first one, I think our receivers just need to go get the ball. That’s what it looked like to me. I got to see the tape. But he was open enough. I thought the ball was in good spot. We’ve got to come get the ball. The second one, I was kind of chewing him for it. I think maybe his injury had a little to do with how that one came out of his hand.”
On why his offense was so effective against Wisconsin:
“I got so much respect for Coach (Jim) Leonard. When I watched them on tape, I said going into game I thought they were one of the best defenses we’ve watched on tape getting ready for a game. We’ve had some success against them getting yards but we haven’t won. So that’s the stat that matters the most. But I thought that the team we had put together a really good game plan. For the most part, we executed it well. Minus one mistake in the first half at wideout. Didn’t run the right motion and influenced the snap. That cost the drive and a couple penalties on the offensive line. We kind of stopped ourselves as much as we got stopped.”
On if something was different about him putting together the game plan this week:
“I’m not going to get into that. I got too much love and respect for the guys that I’ve spent so much time with to talk about that. We did some fun things this week that I think the kids had fun practicing and getting ready for. We’re just getting better as a football team. We have been for a long time. We’re a pretty darn good team, despite what our record says. I think everybody can see that. We got some weapons on offense. It was a good game against a really good defense that is coached really well.”
On Marvin Scott’s emergence in the game plan:
“Yeah, Rahmir [Johnson] is banged up, had a running back that is not in the program anymore and Gabe Ervin got hurt early in the year. So we were thin there and he got his opportunities. I thought he did some really good things. It was good to see.”
On if an injury affected Adrian Martinez’s second interception:
“Yeah, that’s what he told me but he’s tough. The ball floated in the air too long and the safety came and got it. He played a whale of a game. His check down was there in that situation. I’d rather the ball go there.”
On if he was surprised at the production from the running backs who haven’t played much:
“We had a pack of running backs that are all good players. Nobody’s really separated. Through consistency and everything else. We’d be better team if we had one guy at the front of the pack. It’s been a group of guys and taking nothing away from them I thought they all played well tonight.”
On if getting young guys snaps on defense was the plan or forced by injury:
“It’s more where the chips fell, but Jimari [Butler] and Blaise [Gunnerson] are both doing a great job and will be good football players.”
On if the clock management on the last drive was what he wanted:
“I wasn’t even thinking about using the timeouts. I didn’t want to score too fast, so I was keeping an eye on that. I was really happy with where we were until it was first-and-20. Then you’re behind a little bit. One thing I’ll say that I said to the team. There’s been a little too much hoping we win, I think. And not enough knowing we’re going to win and believing we’re going to win. I’ve been around the guys all day at the hotel here and the guys believed they’re going to win today. I think they believed on that last drive. I told them before the drive, we’re going to go for two when we score and we were heading in that direction.”
On if it was in the game plan to use Austin Allen so much:
“He got open a lot today. I think the way they play gives you some opportunities to get it to the tight end. Again, I think the staff that I got with me right now did a great job putting a plan together. Austin’s awesome. He’s a real guy.”
On how he felt communication went with the new offensive staff members:
“Steve Cooper is and he’s going to be a really good football coach. He was great. He helped out with some adjustments that we made that actually helped us pop a couple big plays. He was the guy in my ear and he did a great job.”
On the opening kickoff for touchdown:
“It looked to me like we had at least one clean guy that missed. I got to look at the tape.”
Greg is the Recruiting Analyst for Hail Varsity and has covered Husker athletics since 2013. He has always had a passion for sports while growing up in the Chicago area. As he got older and had to hang up his cleats and sneakers, he realized his passion for sports went beyond just watching and attending games. He has covered many events from the Rose Bowl to championship boxing matches. If he’s not talking sports, he’s hovering over his grill. He is married to an amazing woman, Kim, and they have a dog that barks when Greg yells at the TV during games.
