Northwestern Post Game Press Conference
The Cornhuskers are now Bowl Eligible before November for the first time since 2016, Husker fans can rejoice in that fact today. It was a back and forth battle today, as it always seems to be with Northwestern, but the Huskers were able to hold on thanks to some iffy officiating (granted that went both ways) and strong play by RB Emmitt Johnson. The special teams today had a huge moment with the kickoff return for a TD and the defense was able to do enough to keep the Huskers in the game.
After the game Head Coach Matt Rhule held his usual press conference, here is a rundown of what he had to say:
– Rhule opened the conference giving credit to Northwestern for their blue collar tough style of play, noting that teams like Northwestern don’t get enough credit for how good they are
– The offense made the plays that they needed to get the win today
– Gunnar Gottula was out today pre game and Teddy Prochazka went down with a bad injury today
– That last run from Emmitt Johnson he could have had more yards but chose to be a team player and go down after the first down
– Rhule thinks that today is the best that Raiola looked the best he has, taking it one snap at a time
– On the review of the 4th down reception by Northwestern Rhule was not told anything by the refs as to the outcome, the coach is choosing not to discuss his feelings on that
– Losing a second game leading to a tough week is a sign of Nebraska’s growth
– Rhule really enjoys being around his team, noting how hard they work and how close they are
– RB Emmitt Johnson can do it all for Nebraska
– Rhule said if he could he would give Kenneth Williams an NIL deal right now, noting that players like him are why you get into coaching
– The Huskers used the south wind in their favor to get a returnable kick on that touchdown
– The pass interference against Andrew Marshall could have been Offensive PI according to Rhule
– On that last drive of the game Rhule saw that the defense was excited and ready to play
– Ceyair Wright is one of the best team captains that Rhule has seen in a long time
– The last two plays defensive coordinator Jon Butler dialed up pressure against the NW QB
– The defense still didn’t tackle well enough today
– One of the points that Dana Holgorsen has tried to make is getting points on turnovers
– It was a pivotal point in the game holding NW to no points after the interception from Raiola
– Rhule said that there was no pressure today to get to that 6th win, he noted that he isn’t going to celebrat only 6 wins
– Credit to the team for getting to this point and having a big nationally televised game against USC in Lincoln next week
– It was great to be back in Lincoln after being on the road for two weeks, noting how awesome of a place it is in Lincoln
At the end of the day it wasn’t a pretty win, but the Huskers were able to get it done when they needed to. One thing to note is that in B1G play there aren’t any easy games for the Huskers right now. Northwestern is an older, physical, and disciplined team. This is the kind of game that the Huskers probably don’t win in the last few years.