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Wisconsin post-game nuggets

MADISON, Wis. - Here is a quick recap of what Nebraska head coach Scott Frost and his players had to say following the Huskers’ 35-28 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday…

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***Frost said he didn’t get an explanation from the officials on Nebraska’s final pass play that looked like defensive pass interference but wasn’t called. “I was too mad to ask,” he said.

***Frost said that as well as the Huskers competed on Saturday, they continued to hurt themselves with costly mistakes that lose games. He said the opening kickoff return for the touchdown changed the entire game from the very first play.

***Frost confirmed that had NU scored on its final drive; he would have gone for two to try and win the game. He said he told the team that was the plan before the possession started.

***Frost said Nebraska’s defense was a “beat up,” but they weren’t dealing with anything that every other team in the country was at this point in the season. He said whoever was on the field needed to do a better job of tackling and wrapping up.

***Frost didn’t say what injury Adrian Martinez suffered at the end of the first half but thought the injury played a part in Martinez’s second interception.

Frost said Martinez was “a tough kid” and that “a lot of people wouldn’t have played through things he’s played through this season.”

***Frost said Martinez’s first interception had more to do with the receiver not going to the football and letting the defender cut in front of him. Frost said the ball floated too long on the second pick and thought Martinez should have checked it down.

***Frost said Wisconsin had “one of best defenses we’ve watched on tape going into a game.” He said the Huskers have successfully gained yards on UW but haven’t won, which was all that mattered.

Frost said with all of the self-inflicted mistakes, the Huskers “kind of stopped ourselves more than we got stopped.”

***Frost said Nebraska’s new offensive coaching staff “did some fun things” with the game plan this week that got the players excited. Frost said NU was getting better every game, “and we’re still a pretty darn good team despite the record, and I think people can see that.”

***Frost said Nebraska has had “a pack of guys” at running back all season who were all talented, but no one had ever separated. He said the Huskers would be a better team if one guy had emerged from the pack at that spot.

***Frost said guys like Blaise Gunnerson and Nash Hutmacher both got increased roles on Saturday because of injuries at their positions. But he said those two and Jimari Butler had all done a good job of improving this season.

***Asked why he didn’t use any of his three remaining timeouts until the final seconds on the last possession; Frost said he didn’t want to score too fast and didn’t even think about using them until he did. Frost said he thought the drive was going exactly how he wanted until it was first and 20 after a holding penalty.

***Frost said Nebraska had done “too much hoping that we win” instead of “knowing we’re going to win” this season. He said he saw a change in that mentality a bit this week, as the players believed they were going to win going in and still believed until the final drive ended.

***Frost said the communication with his new interim assistant coaches was “great” during the game and that new quarterbacks coach Steve Cooper helped with some adjustments that popped a few big plays.

***On the opening kickoff return for a touchdown, Frost said at least one player that could have made the tackle and missed.

Quarterback Adrian Martinez

***Martinez declined to comment on the no-call on his final pass.

***Martinez agreed with Frost that the team believed they would win going in and felt like they were going to go score on the last drive.

***Martinez said the coaching staff wanted to be aggressive and throw the ball more this week, and the bold play calling started with the first play. He said that set the tone for the whole game, and the offense felt confident playing to their strengths.

***Martinez admitted that he had some doubts whether he’d return for the second half and had to see how he felt during halftime warmups. “We got it done,” Martinez said.

Martinez declined to say what he injured and didn’t want to make excuses.

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