Oct. 12, 2002

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Nebraska Postgame Notes vs. Missouri, Oct. 12, 2002

MISSOURI QUOTES

QUARTERBACK BRAD SMITH
On Nebraska Defense
"They played a great game on defense today. Nebraska was just making plays. They had guys every where I went and they did a great job of covering our receivers. We needed to make adjustments on the field and we didn't do that. The plays that we were running were there and we just didn't excute. Nebraska brought pressure from everywhere and they did a great job of occuping the guy in the offensive line which enabled them them to bring guys from different dirrections."

WIDE RECIVER JUSTIN GAGE
On Team's Performance
"I'm real tired of being close to beating these good teams and coming up short. The fact is we need to keep playing and can't make mistakes. We need to cut down on the mental mistakes. We made some mistakes offensively and defensivley and our mistakes kept us from getting into the endzone today.

On His Individual Play
"I dropped three ball today. All it was, was a lack of focus on my part. It was just critical errors that hurt the team."

LINEBACKER JAMES KINNEY
On Nebraska's Offensive Performance "Nebraska came out a excuted their game plan real well today. There was a few plays we didn't get in the right gaps and Nebraska found the seems and hit them."

PUNTER BROCK HARVEY
On DeJuan Groce's Punt Return for a Touchdown
"I tried to kick it to the left side of the field but instead I kicked right to him. The ball wasn't kicked that high and there was little hang time. He made some moves and scored a touchdown."

MISSOURI COACH GARY PINKEL

ON THE GAME
First of all, I would certainly like to congratulate Nebraska. Obviously, they are a good football team. They did things, particularly in the second half, that made us really struggle on offense. I want to give them credit for that. Also getting the punt return for the touchdown, certainly you can't do that and beat Nebraska. There were certainly some things that we did OK, but if you are going to win games like this, you can't make mistakes.

ON NEBRASKA'S ABILITY TO AFFECT QB BRAD SMITH
I think they tackled well. They had a good game plan. I don't think it was anything special. They might have spied a player, you would have to ask them for specifics on that. Brad struggled a bit today and got a little frustrated. Actually, the first half, I would suggest that they did contain him as a runner, yes. But we thought that would open up some throwing opportunities and we were pretty balanced. We just really struggled in the second half. We are going to have to go back to video and find out why. We had some guys open and missed some throws and had some drops. I think you certainly give them credit for that.

ON HIS DECISION TO PUNT AT THE END OF THE GAME
We figured that if you are going to get a score, you have to get an onside kick anyway. We were struggling so much right there. We were just struggling trying to get a first down. With three timeouts, we go three and out, we were playing pretty good defense. If we get three and out, we still have an opportunity. So that was just a decision we made.

ON MISSOURI'S DEPENDANCE ON THE PASS
I don't know. I think what you have to do, you have to evaluate what people are doing to you. I felt that in the first half, we tried to be as balanced as we could. They were really coming up on Brad. If they have that many people up trying to stop the run, we are going to try and throw the football.

ON NEBRASKA'S DEFENSE IN THE SECOND HALF
You have to give them credit. We were not executing on offense and that was one of the first times this year where we have done that. We were three and out, three and out and three and out. To be honest with you, we didn't react to that very well. We had some dropped balls and there were some breakdowns in protection and some bad throws. If you get a combination of those things happening two or three series in a row, you get what you got there. That was certainly a very awful half of offense for us and an exceptional half of defense from them.

MORE ON NEBRASKA'S DEFENSE
They have good players. They are a good football team. I think it is all momentum. You give them three and out and three and out, that just builds defenses up. We couldn't get out of it. I've been in this business a long time and that's not a very fun position to be in.

The Huskers improved to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in Big 12 Conference play with a 24-13 victory over Missouri. Missouri falls to 3-3 and 0-2 in Big 12 action. Before Memorial Stadium's 252nd consecutive sellout, Missouri scored first on a Zack Abron 1-yard run after a Nebraska turnover gave the Tigers the ball at the Husker 33. Nebraska answered with a 64-yard drive, tying the score when David Horne, a true freshman, scored his first career TD on a 5-yard run. Missouri converted two field goals to go up 13-7, but NU scored on a 1-yard TD pass from Jammal Lord to Aaron Golliday to hold a one-point halftime lead (14-13). DeJuan Groce put the Huskers up 21-13 with an 89-yard punt return touchdown midway through the third quarter and Josh Brown added three points on a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter for the final 11-point margin. Today's win marks the first time this season that NU has overcome a deficit to win. Nebraska has now won 26 straight at home and 24 straight against Missouri.

Nebraska All-America candidate DeJuan Groce scored his third punt return touchdown of the season on an 89-yard return to lead off the scoring in the third quarter. The third longest punt return in Husker history, Nebraska has now had a long scoring play of 89 yards or more against Missouri in each of the last three years. Groce has three punt return TDs this season (ties school record with Johnny Rodgers' three in 1971) and five in his career. The NCAA record for punt return touchdowns in a season is four, held by eight players, most recently Miami's Santanna Moss in 2000. Groce had four returns for 114 yards in the game and now has 885 yards in his career. Groce moved up from fifth to second on the NU career punt return yards chart, passing Larry Wachholtz's 788 from 1964 to 1966; Tyrone Hughes' 817 from 1989 to 1992 and Bobby Newcombe's 829 from 1997 to 2000. Groce trails Johnny Rodgers' 1,515 from 1970 to 1972. Groce also had four tackles in the game, including his first tackle for loss on the season (third and goal at the NU 1-yard line in the first quarter).

Kickoff returner Josh Davis had three long kickoff returns today, of 27, 28 and 39 yards, giving him eight returns of 25 yards or more this season. Davis left the game early in the second half with a quad injury, but had four returns for 111 yards to pass the 1,000 yard mark in career kickoff return yards, as he now has 1,096 to rank fourth in school history.

Return Yards are Key...With DeJuan Groce's 114 punt return yards and Josh Davis' 111 kickoff return yards, NU had 225 return yards in the game. Missouri had 29 in the game.

Senior place-kicker Josh Brown kicked a 42-yard field goal to put the Huskers up 24-13 with 11:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. This season, he has four field goals of 40 yards or more, after having just four entering this season. With six points in the game, Brown moved up one to rank tied for fourth all time in Husker career scoring with Ahman Green who also scored 270 points from 1995 to 1997. Brown's streak of six straight this season and eight overall ended, when he missed a 35-yarder in the fourth quarter. Brown has now made 11 of his last 13 field goal attempts.

Quarterback Jammal Lord just missed rushing for 100 yards and totaled 98 yards on 17 carries and was the game's leading rusher. He completed just 4-of-12 passes for 34 yards, including a 1-yard TD pass to Aaron Golliday.

Tight end Aaron Golliday caught a 1-yard TD pass from Jammal Lord which put the Huskers up 14-13 with 43 seconds remaining before halftime. It was his first TD reception in a regular-season game and second in career, as he also had a 13-yard TD reception vs. Tennessee in the 2000 Fiesta Bowl.

I-back David Horne had a career-best 88 yards rushing today, including 10-72 at halftime. Horne's previous best was 81 yards vs. McNeese State last week. He had two carries for 13 yards on Nebraska's first touchdown drive, including the 5-yard score (the first of his career) and four carries for 46 yards on NU's second drive, including a career-long 30-yard scamper on the first play of the drive.

Freshman split end Ross Pilkington has now caught at least one pass in each of the last five games. Pilkington had a 17-yard catch for a first down on NU's first scoring drive.

NU fullback Judd Davies had a season best 33 yards on three carries, including a season-best 22-yard run (previous bests 14 (21 total) vs. Penn State)

NU Defense holds strong...Despite playing without starting rush end Chris Kelsay, the Husker defense had a solid game, particularly in the second half. After allowing 192 total-offense yards to Missouri in the first half, the Husker Blackshirts held the Tigers to just 28 second-half yards (four by rush). Missouri came into the game averaging 221.8 yards per game rushing, but totaled 97 yards today, aided by four Husker quarterback sacks. Demoine Adams had two sacks for five yards, Lannie Hopkins had one for eight yards lost and Trevor Johnson had one one-yard sack. Missouri had just two rushers in the game (Smith and Abron). It was the first time in four games that the Huskers have held an offense to less than 100 yards rushing (third time overall this season). The Huskers held Missouri to 220 total-offense yards, half their average and freshman sensation Brad Smith completed just 14-of-29 passes for 123 yards. Entering today's game, Smith had 28 plays of 20 yards or more, but was held to a total of two (both passing) today. NU held Missouri to 4-of-16 on third-down conversions and 0-2 on fourth down conversion attempts. Missouri did not record a first down in the fourth quarter on 10 plays and had just two in the second half and 11 in the game, a season low for Husker opponents. NU sophomore linebacker Barrett Ruud led the team with seven tackles in the game. True freshman corner Fabian Washington had three tackles, one key breakup (on 4th and 2 in second quarter) and was in on tackle for loss with Groce on 3rd and 1 in first quarter.

Time of possession...after trailing nearly five minutes in possession time at halftime (17:22 to 12:38), Nebraska held the ball 9:07 to MU's 5:53 against the wind in the third and finished with nearly a five minute advantage (32:58 to 27:02). Missouri ran just 23 plays after halftime.

Penalties continue to hamper the Husker production as NU had six for 66 yards today. Missouri was penalized more than the Huskers however, with seven for 44 in the game, including 6-39 at halftime. NU also continued to have difficulty on third-down conversions, converting just 3-of-13.

Points off turnovers...On Nebraska's first play of the game, QB Jammal Lord fumbled the snap from shotgun formation. Missouri's Brandon Barnes recovered on the Nebraska 33 yard line and the Tigers scored four plays later to take an early 7-0 lead. That was the only turnover in the game by either team.

The Huskers totaled 325 yards rushing on the day, the second-best total on the season behind the 444 against McNeese State last week.

Highs and Lows...NU Highs, 62 rushing attempts (previous 59 vs. ASU); total plays 74 (72 vs. ASU); passing attempts 12 (15 vs. ASU); completions 4 (5 vs. ASU); NU Defensive Lows/Bests, rushing attempts 30 (tied 30 by ASU/USU); passing yards 123 (175 by ASU); total plays 59 (70 TSU).

Next Week...the Huskers travel to Oklahoma State for an 11:39 a.m. Fox Sports Net kickoff, while Missouri is at Texas Tech.

Missouri Postgame Notes:

- Free safety Brandon Barnes made his first career start of defense and recovered a fumble on Nebraska's first offensive snap. Barnes started one game at wide receiver as a redshirt freshman in 2000.

- Wide receiver Justin Gage broke MU's career receiving yardage record. He now has 2,189 yards on 167 career receptions. The previous school record was held by Victor Bailey, who had 2,144 yards from 1990 to 1992. Gage also passed Texas Tech's Ricky Williams for second place on the Big 12's all-time receiving list. Williams had 165 career receptions from 1997 to 2001

- Quarterback Brad Smith tied the MU freshman rushing record previously held by Brock Olivo. Smith now has 641 yards on the season in just six games after rushing for 34 yards on 17 carries. Olivo rushed for 641 yards in 11 games in the 1994 season.

- Wide receiver Darius Outlaw set career highs in both receptions (five) and yardage (71). His previous bests were four catches (vs. Oklahoma) and 49 yards (at Bowling Green)

- Brock Harvey's 69-yard punt into the wind in the fourth quarter was a career high. His previous high was 65 against Bowling Green.

NEBRASKA COACH FRANK SOLICH
OPENING COMMENTS
"I really am pleased with the effort the football team put forth today. I thought it was special in a lot of ways. We played a very good football team that came off of a loss that was tough on them, but they responded very well. It was a physical football game, which we knew it would be. We thought that as the game went on, our defense adjusted to what they were doing pretty well and I thought really controlled the football game. That gave us a little bit of options as we went down the stretch in terms of what we were doing offensively. The team was gathering some momentum before the end of the half and helped get the ball back.. The defense played well right at the end and we were able to put together a drive that put some points on the board to give us the lead and the momentum as we went into half time.

I thought the fans were great. I think every team that plays at home has a home-field advantage, but we have a special one here. This is due to the fans and how they react.

I was pleased with a lot of aspects of the game, but we still have work to do in a lot of areas. We'll go back Monday to make sure we get some areas cleaned up.

I thought special teams played a big roll. We probably did not punt as well as we had punted throughout the course of the season. Kyle (Larson) just had an off day. On the other side of it, punt returns, I thought those guys did a great job of getting DeJuan (Groce) started and finishing off blocks. Of course, DeJuan had a great day as a return man for us.

I think we were able to get through injury-wise fairly well. Josh Davis, we are looking at his leg and he will have an MRI done as quickly as possible. He's one player that we're a little concerned about coming out of the game right now. Otherwise unless something develops here rather quickly, we went through it fairly, but we'll see how it goes."

On the Defense without Chris Kelsay "It was a concern of course as we went through the week and it started to become obvious that Chris was going to have a tough time getting ready to play in the game. But the bottom line is if you play good team defense and your guys are flying around, you're going to have a chance to control the football game. I thought our defense did that today. I was extremely pleased with the effort the defensive coordinators put forth in organizing the plan and the effort the players put forth in carrying the plan out."

Rush End Demoine Adams

Talk about the defensive line performance today.
Today we just went out there doing our jobs and having each other's back. We were unified and on the same page. A lot of times, our effort and not giving up paid off, as we were able to get some pressure on the quarterback and keep the running game in check.

Did the defense focus on containing quarterback Brad Smith?
Our first goal was to stop the run, and make them throw and throw in a hurry. Once we shut down the run, they went to the passing game, but we were after them and held that in check.

Talk about getting to the quarterback today.
The coaches did a great job of getting us in position to get at the quarterback. They did a really good job getting us ready and it was up to us to play hard.

I-Back David Horne
On running behind the offensive line that paved the way today.
They did a real good job. They made some adjustments to make the team better, and I just followed them through the holes and ran hard.

Was it a little easier for you the second game out there?
Yeah it was. I was a little more confident in myself after having one game under my belt. So I was a little more relaxed.

Has the offensive unit started to come together more in the past couple weeks?
We are all team players on the offense. It doesn't matter who it is, we are just trying to make everyone better and the team better.

Cornerback Dejuan Groce
Talk about the punt return for a touchdown, your third this season.
It was wide open. It was wide open the first time. You just have to get people on people and on this last one, everyone matched up with someone. Once I broke through there, I just had to make something happen. I have confidence in my team. We are a dangerous punt return team because we are going to either return it or block it.

The defense looked like it was clicking today. How did it feel out there?
We were really comfortable today. We set goals before the game this week and reached them. We held them under 250 yards. We wanted to hold them to under 13 points, and we did that. We hit all our goals. We shot for them and we made it.