Monday takes: Nebraska trying to flush away a bad week vs. Illinois

Here are some quick takes and reactions following Monday's Nebraska football press conference as the Huskers get ready for Friday's game at Iowa.

Nebraska has only won two conference games in a row once since 2018 for a reason. Big Ten wins are not easy to come by, and the Huskers once again learned that lesson this past Saturday vs. Illinois.

We talked to multiple NU players on Monday as they get ready for their Black Friday game at Iowa. Probably the most disheartening thing is many of the players now have admitted they had a lackadaisical week of practice.

There was this mentality that they could just go through the motions during the week and still win on Saturday. Well, we all know how that turned out.

Junior wide receiver Kade Warner even said things on Monday that guys were not running their routes at full speed, and that hurt quarterback Luke McCaffrey with his timing and trust to throw downfield on Saturday.

It's safe to say that has to change this week at Iowa. The better question is can it change?

I know Nebraska head coach Scott Frost said on Monday he won't make a decision on his starting quarterback until Friday.

But I thought his comments regarding Luke McCaffrey and Adrian Martinez were very telling. Frost called McCaffrey the "future," while he said Martinez is now playing with much more of a "chip on his shoulder."

Then he referenced how when he was benched for a series or two for Frankie London in 1997 how much that put a chip on his shoulder. He remembers getting booed when he came back in, and that helped him play better.

Just judging how Martinez played in his nine snaps of action on Saturday vs. Illinois, you get the sense Frost liked what he saw. Today, my money is on Martinez getting the nod vs. Iowa.

I think Frost knows how good McCaffrey can and will be someday, but right now Martinez gives them a better chance to run the entire offense.

There has been so much talk about Nebraska's struggling third-down defense. Teams have converted 34-of-63 (54 percent) of third downs vs. the Blackshirts. In comparison, NU's offense has covered just 16-of-50 (32 percent) of their third-down conversions.

However, I thought senior linebacker JoJo Domann said it best on Monday. Playing good third-down defense is more about first and second down.

There have been far too many third-and-short situations for the defense, and that is why you are seeing teams convert at such a high clip.

Rarely have we seen a lot of third-and-long situations where teams are put into obvious passing situations.

There isn't a person associated with Nebraska football that's happy about where things are at right now.

Saturday's loss to Illinois was a gut punch. It was a huge step back, and something people didn't expect to happen in year three of Frost.

That's why these next three weeks with games at Iowa, at Purdue and home against Minnesota are so pivotal. It will be a defining stretch for Frost and where this program is ultimately heading.

Yes, we know there is young talent in this program, but sooner or later things have to breakthrough. The pressure is high for these next three games. There's no other way to say it.