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After Wisconsin's 59-24 shellacking of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Bo Pelini didn't provide any answers as to what went wrong. At his weekly news conference two days later, he discussed some of the what, but didn't answer the why.
"I'm obviously upset, and in some cases embarrassed. Mad when you look at the film ... disappointed."
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
Bo Pelini is up front at the press conference. Looking back at Wisconsin: "Guys played hard. They didn't play smart."
— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) November 17, 2014
Bo Pelini is up front at the press conference. Looking back at Wisconsin: "Guys played hard. They didn't play smart."
— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) November 17, 2014
"Playing great doesn't mean doing anything out of the ordinary. It means executing play after play after player." - Pelini
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
(I think that should be "play after play after play"...)
"Some of the basic fundamental things that are ... imperative and basic to how we play, we missed at times." -- Pelini
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
Pelini said Nebraska failed at basic fundamentals that he never envisioned at an issue.
— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) November 17, 2014
"The team that was up 17-3, that's our team. But so is the team that got beat in the last 2 1/2 quarters." -- Pelini "
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
"What we have to do is become that team that we were early on consistently over 4 quarters." -- Pelini
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
I get that. Here's the bigger question: how can you get there, Bo?
Isn't anybody going to ask Pelini how he fixes these execution problems?
— Husker Mike (@Husker_Mike) November 17, 2014
"There are no miraculous fixes. The miraculous fix is to stay with your technique and fundamentals the way you've been coached." -- Pelini
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
Well, um. Ok.
"I still think we're better than what we played, obviously." Says defensively 2012 team not as good when entering Big Ten title game.
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
Turning to quarterback Tommy Armstrong:
Pelini on Tommy Armstrong Jr.: "Obviously, I thought fundamentally he wasn’t great … and that hurt him."
— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) November 17, 2014
On QBs. "The other guys are capable, but I think Tommy (Armstrong) is the guy who gives us the best chance to win right now." -- Pelini
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
He may be right. And that's another problem...
Pelini says if would make a QB change if he thought it was the best thing for the team. Armstrong gives the best chance to win. #Huskers
— Josh Harvey (@JoshHarveyScout) November 17, 2014
We haven't seen Ryker Fyfe or Johnny Stanton in a game where the game was still in doubt, so to some degree, we have to trust the coaches opinions. But that's alarming as well when the starter keeps making the same mistakes week after week.
On Tommy: "At the end of the day he's just got to play better. ... We had some opportunities." - Pelini
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
"It felt like deja vu to me. ... I almost felt like we were in a worse situation at times in the Mich. St. game."
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
Offensively, yes. Defensively, not so much. Though some of the same mistakes were made trying to defend Tony Lippett.
Pelini on moments like Saturday: "It’s not like it only happens to us. Look across the country. It happens."
— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) November 17, 2014
"Games like this or losing a football game is not exclusive to #Nebraska," said #BoPelini. #Huskers
— Josh Harvey (@JoshHarveyScout) November 17, 2014
Not 59 points. Certainly not 408 yards to a single running back.
Pelini senses players putting too much pressure on selves, playing not to lose instead of to win. "These kids want to win in the worst way."
— Brian Rosenthal (@HuskerExtraBR) November 17, 2014
Asked Bo if players were too afraid to make a mistake to play football, "The other night, yeah, they were." #Huskers
— Mike Welch (@RealMikeWelch) November 17, 2014
Pelini - "I've seen our scout team make runs like that, so was it a total surprise? No."
— 93.7 The Ticket (@937TheTicket) November 17, 2014
That's real comforting. NOT. I suspect that means that Pelini is well aware of the problem, yet it's still not resolved. That means that either (a) Pelini can't fix it until after the season is over or (b) Pelini doesn't know how to fix it.
Turning to injuries to I-back Ameer Abdullah and defensive end Randy Gregory:
Ameer's knee is fine. "Banged his shoulder a bit, but he'll be fine. Randy Gregory "is good," Pelini says.
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
As for how he deals with his players...
Bo Pelini: I’m real consistent with our kids. I don’t get too high or too low, believe it or not.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) November 17, 2014
Bo asked if he's hit a ceiling at #Nebraska, "No." #Huskers
— Josh Harvey (@JoshHarveyScout) November 17, 2014
"I'm not looking here to defend our program or where we are right now. ... The time I start apologizing is the time I stop working."
— World-Herald Big Red (@OWHbigred) November 17, 2014
"I believe the program is on a good track, on the right track," Bo Pelini said.
— Brian Rosenthal (@HuskerExtraBR) November 17, 2014
You may think so, coach. But even your most ardent defenders were alarmed with what happened Saturday. Can you offer us some reassurance that you can address those problems?
Has Pelini thought about changing scheme?: "Have I thought about that? Yeah, I’ve thought about that, but it’s not the right answer."
— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) November 17, 2014
OK, I'll grant you the scheme seemed to be working in the first quarter. But what do you do to address what happened in the second and third quarters?
Bo finishes here: "My guess is, I'm not going to change anything." It was a question about the Blackshirts, but a fitting end to his talk.
— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) November 17, 2014
Well, we have that.
Bo Pelini didn't do himself any favors at this week's news conference, though truth be told, it all comes down to wins and losses. Beat Minnesota and Iowa, Nebraska finishes the season 10-2 and barring a Wisconsin collapse, the four loss streak is over. Lose one or both, and questions are magnified. Fans don't necessarily need answers, but Shawn Eichorst certainly will need them.