Notable Quotes from Nebraska vs Virginia Tech

Photo: Icon Sports Media Inc.

Football is a game of inches and the Huskers came up a few short against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Here is what the coaches and media said after the game.

Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini

“Great effort. I take my hat off to Virginia Tech. It was a hard-fought football game. In the end, we had plenty of opportunities to put that football game away and we didn’t do it. And, they made the play at the end. I take my hat off to them. End of story. You all watched the game.”

About the opening

“We talked about it going into the football game that there’d be an initial surge by Virginia Tech with the emotion, the energy; and obviously the kickoff return didn’t help things. But when the guys settled down, we were fine.”

On the final touchdown pass

“You have got to go make the sack. You have got to go get them. We didn’t do it. The guy (VT quarterback Tyrod Taylor) was scrambling and he got them to stop and hesitate. The guy made a play. Good job by them.”

On defensive play in fourth quarter

“Played well. Did some good things. Didn’t finish it. We all take responsibility for not finishing the deal. You have to finish the job and we didn’t do that. Each and every guy that walked on the field had a hand in us not winning that football game. Coaches included. They made the plays. We didn’t. Pretty simple. In a game like that, you’ve got to make a play."

“We did some good things - a lot that we need to get fixed. In the end, we didn’t make the play. I don’t measure on yards or how we play, you’ve got to win the football game. We didn’t win the football game so we didn’t play good enough in any phase of the game. I measure it on results. That’s how we measure things around here.”

Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer

I was proud of our clock management at the end, I thought we did a good job of that. This is just one you don’t give up, you don’t give in... I think you give Nebraska credit, people thought I was blowing smoke when I said they were back, but I think they are back. That is a tough way for those guys to lose, but I really believe they are back on course and are going to be a factor in the Big 12.

What happened on the pass to Danny Coale?

“Tyrod just kept scrambling, and we work on the scrambling drill all the time. The defensive back just lost him. It allowed Coale to get leverage on him and Tyrod hit him on the run. I think with Tyrod, you need an organized scramble drill, you need to know where to start running. I’m not sure what Danny’s route was, but he kept running.”

How do you think Nebraska played?

“Nebraska chased us good. They went sideline to sideline, you wanted to get cracks in there but they were running to the football. They are good up front and play extremely hard. You have to give them credit.”

Media Commentary

“On this day, it was mostly what the Huskers didn’t do. They didn’t finish.”
- Steve Sipple (Lincoln Journal Star)

“Will fortunes change? Eventually, sure. … But they should’ve changed Saturday.”
- Dirk Chatelain (Omaha World Herald)

"Grand theft may be the only way to describe Virginia Tech's 16-15 victory"
- Barker Davis (The Washington Times)

"It could have been a statement-making victory for the Cornhuskers. Instead, it was perhaps Pelini's most bitter defeat."
- Tim Griffin (ESPN)

"The play changed the game, and the timetable for which Nebraska will make its comeback on the national stage ... not today."
- Heather Dinich (ESPN)

"The Huskers played a darned fine game on both sides of the ball and in the end it was the cliché that killed us. "Beamer Ball". It's tired - it's so worn out that the Hokies fans are sick of hearing about it. "
- Corn Nation

"In terms of every-down blocking and tackling and reestablishing the physical presence that's been missing from the Big Red for so long, they have to feel better about that; going into Blacksburg is a tall order on that front, and Nebraska stood toe-to-toe."
- Matt Hinton (Dr. Saturday)

"The Hokies looked really bad for 58 minutes and still won. There are a lot of negative things to look at from yesterday's game. But today I'm just going to enjoy the most improbable Hokie win I've ever experienced."
- Gobbler Country