Iowa postgame nuggets
Here are some quick notes to pass along from Nebraska’s post-game press conference following Friday’s 56-14 loss to Iowa…
***Head coach Mike Riley said couple of special teams plays really flipped the game, noting the running in the punter penalty and then Iowa’s long kickoff return to start the third quarter. “It didn’t have to flip it like it did, but it did.”
***Riley said physically Iowa’s lines took over the game on both sides of the ball. He said NU couldn’t stop the run and got burned by play-action passes, something they knew they couldn’t allow to happen.
***Riley said he hasn’t had any further talks with athletic director Bill Moos since Monday or Tuesday. Asked if Moos has given him any clarity on his future at Nebraska, Riley said: “I don’t have any indication about that.”
***Riley said injuries have played a factor in the defense’s steady collapse this season, but said it also had to do with the offenses that they’ve faced.
***Riley again called this season essentially a “Year One” for the program will all of the changes. He said he has no regrets about the changes made in going to a 3-4 defense, but he admits it’s “painfully” obvious” that the defense needs to continue to grow mentally and physically.
***Riley said as bad as the game was, he told the team in the locker room that “it didn’t have to be like that.” He said it was a matter of the team cracking under a tough time and not being able to recover.
***Riley said this would be a “great group” coming back next season, but one that definitely needed “more power” up front on both sides of the ball.
***Riley said he’s going to anticipate that he’ll be the head coach at Nebraska next season. He said “I truly believe I’m the right person to do this.”
***Riley said “Bill (Moos) has been awesome to talk to” throughout this process but said their conversations will remain private.
***Quarterback Tanner Lee said it was obviously a tough season, “but it made all of us better because of it. I don’t think you really realize it unless you’re in that locker room.”
***Lee said the focus in the locker room after the game was on the seniors, and he wanted to make sure to thank all of his coaches and teammates for the opportunity they had this season.
***Asked if he would be back at Nebraska for his senior season in 2018, Lee said: “I don’t know. I think so, but I’ve got to see what’s out there, I guess.”
***Lee said Riley has been probably the most influential person in his life over the past two years at Nebraska. “I can’t wait to tell my kids that I played for Coach Riley,” Lee said. “I’m so lucky that I got to play for him, it’s unbelievable.”
***Cornerback Chris Jones said it just felt like it was a bunch of little mistakes that led to a lot of big plays for Iowa.
***Jones said this was a season that would only make the guys coming back next year better. He said this is going to stick with them for a long time and motivate them through the offseason.