Nebraska is set for another Big Ten battle this week as the Huskers travel to face Rutgers on Friday night in Piscataway, N.J.
Mickey Joseph and a few players met with the media on Monday, and on Tuesday Bill Busch and Mark Whipple held press conferences.
Check out what Busch had to say here, and read below for a rundown of the key talking points from the Whipple presser:
>> The last time the Huskers defeated two straight Big Ten opponents was Nov. 10 and 17 in 2018 when they beat Illinois and Michigan State in back-to-back weekends. That's the latest drought that Nebraska is looking to end against Rutgers in what Whipple says will be "hostile territory."
>> Whipple, though, says that he has seen some "focused guys" at practice this week and there have been some adjustments for him to make as he gets used to this group's mentality: "It just takes time. I haven't been here. I haven't been with these guys."
>> Trey Palmer had a career-high 157 yards receiving and a touchdown on eight catches against Indiana. Palmer has continued to evolve as a receiver since getting to Lincoln, and Whipple said that Palmer is "pretty good" and "fun to be around" and "unselfish."
>> Whipple talked about the fact that Palmer's night could have been even bigger, but he thought there were some defensive pass interference penalties that weren't called when Palmer was being covered.
>> Nebraska has scored an opening-drive touchdown in four of five games this season, in addition to scoring a touchdown during its opening drive to start a half in six out of 10 halves.
>> It has frustrated Whipple to see the offense then drop off after those drives: "They come out and score, and then they just act like everything is OK. ... No disrespect to our defense, but we don't have the '86 Bears defense. Your job (the offense) is to score touchdowns."
>> On the incident in which he was yelling at Casey Thompson, Whipple said that he felt Thompson missed a potential touchdown pass on that play by not letting the ball rip. Whipple said that he was frustrated not just with Thompson but with the entire offense as well: “Can’t miss those opportunities so I took my frustration out on him. But I’ve gotta coach him better. I’ll point the finger at myself. ... My frustration was taken out on Casey, but he knows I love him. … And he responded. Casey's one of our better players."
>> Whipple said that he and Thompson talked on Monday and that their are both good and have a mutual understanding of what went wrong and why Whipple got angry with him.
>> When it comes to frustrations with the offense, Whipple said: My expectations are higher than our guys have played at times and that’s frustrating."
>> Whipple has been pretty calm and collected throughout most of fall camp and the first part of the season. But he said that's not his typical M.O. and that he usually is a bit more hard-edged in the athletics facilities, at practice and during games: “My history, when I walk around being a nice guy, it doesn’t work out as well. … When I walk around like I’ve got something up my rear end, guys seem to play better.”
>> Whipple: "I told the guys they’re in first place in the Big Ten West. ... But It’s not a pat on your back ... to be in first place in the West after five games."
>> Whipple: “Numbers are numbers. You play the schedule ahead of you. … If you win the West, you play in Indianapolis.”
>> Whipple was refreshingly honest in regard to the team's success and his own future with the Huskers: “I’m a realist. If we don’t get there (keep winning), I’m not gonna be here anyway.”
