Monday takes: Everything feels better after a win

Here are some quick takes and reactions following Nebraska's Monday press conference as the Huskers get ready for Saturday's game with Illinois.

Let's face it, everything feels better after a win.

Nebraska survived a very physical game with Penn State on Saturday, and you could sense the pep in every player's step on Monday.

When we go back in look at this season as a whole, the way NU lost at Northwestern followed how they dug in to beat PSU could be the defining moment of this season.

On Monday, everybody felt much more relaxed, as if the monkey was off their back.

With just four scheduled games remaining, it's hard telling what Nebraska's situation at running back is going got look like.

We don't know how banged up Dedrick Mills is. We don't know why Rahmir Johnson has gone missing, and what kept Ronald Thompkins from traveling to Northwestern and playing limited snaps vs. Penn State.

What we do know is freshman Marvin Scott III is on a fast track. You get the sense he's going to play more and more as this season moves on. Head coach Scott Frost said he even called Scott on Saturday night to praise him for the block he made on Zavier Betts' touchdown run.

In the meantime, until we know what's going on with Mills, you have to think sophomore Wan'Dale Robinson is going to continue to be an option at running back.

Let's face it, NU was having a hard time consistently blocking PSU last week, and they needed a back like Robinson to make quick cuts at the line of scrimmage. It will be interesting how much he carries the ball this week. I would say at least 10 carries is a safe bet.

Frost joked on Monday he couldn't believe nobody asked him why he moved his football team from the East to the West sideline this past Saturday.

The Huskers have been on the East sideline since 1962, so the move back to the West was pretty historic if we are being honest.

However, in the age of sign stealing and no-huddle offenses, going to West makes a lot of sense. Teams have so many more sets of eyeballs in the press box than before that could easily pick up on signs during a game.

The football sign language is probably easier to pick up than you might think, especially if you are familiar with a coach and what his tendencies are.

I would not be surprised at all if this was a permanent move. Another reason why it makes sense long term is there are more students near the East sideline than the West. That's more noise an opposing team will have to deal with. Nebraska was one of the only home teams that chose to be on a sideline opposite of the press box.

Seeing both offensive lineman Cameron Jurgens and tight end Jack Stoll on the field Saturday vs. Penn State was a pleasant surprise.

Neither player was at 100 percent, but they found a way to get back and make a contribution.

Jurgen's foot injury is more about pain tolerance, and coming back this week hopefully was a good sign for the remaining four games.

As for Stoll, I don't think he was expected to be back for another week or two, so seeing him play on Saturday was a surprise.

Frost joked to Stoll that he didn't look too bad for "only being 80 percent." Stoll said back that "80 percent is probably being generous Frosty."

The bottom line is both these guys want to play. They know each Saturday is an opportunity and there aren't very many more of them left.