SMQ: Nebraska's Win Over Purdue
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00:00 Welcome to Sunday Morning Quarterback with Jay Stockwell and Bob Frady.
00:13 Victory, victory, victory, victory. Nebraska, Nebraska, Ray Nebraska.
00:21 Yeah man, we're starting to get used to this.
00:24 How about that?
00:25 Five of six wins here.
00:26 It's a very ... Listen, I haven't felt this since my 50s. So, it's been a little while.
00:32 This is not the panic crew, is it? I mean, there was every opportunity to panic in that
00:38 game and they certainly did not after five fumbles and four turnovers.
00:43 I think the crowd is more panicked than anybody. It's the crowd, it's the people watching,
00:49 it's all the people with this legacy. These kids are like 18, 19, 20 years old. They don't
00:54 know the past. They didn't live through all that stuff. We're the ones who put all that
00:57 negativity out there. And they're like, "Okay, we fumbled the ball 1,800 times this game,
01:03 but you know what? Number 1801 is the only one that counted." It was great.
01:07 It was a fantastic ... Another just fantastic defensive performance, only 96 yards rushing,
01:13 less than 200 overall. The defense is the story of this team. Oh my God. And I'm already
01:19 starting to hear people talk about ... Trev Albertson saying that about open up the checkbook
01:23 to keep this guy, he's going to be recreated out of here. It was interesting. When Osborne
01:28 talked to us, he said one of the things that was key to his success was the stability of
01:32 the coaching staff and the fact that many of them were there for 20 plus years. So I'm
01:37 hoping Matt Ruhle has that kind of relationship with his coaches that they want to build something
01:41 that lasts.
01:42 Listen, Chase Stockwell, you're a superstar sales guy. If somebody comes along and recognizes
01:49 you to be a CEO somewhere and gives you a big pot of money, you got to turn it down.
01:54 It's like, "Metal Tucker's still getting paid." It's hard to turn that kind of money down.
02:01 That's life changing money. Hopefully he sticks around. That would be lovely. But Tom also
02:07 had 8,000 scholarships for every year with the kids. He had a lot of scholarships then.
02:14 Well, that was early, early in the 70s. That ended in '73, '74, something like that.
02:21 But it's like the rules are different. The playing field's different. The kids are different.
02:28 You got to be concerned with somebody offering a big pile of NIL money to the polar bear
02:33 to come play for them. Because if I was USC, I'd be like, "Get that guy on my team because
02:39 he's awesome."
02:40 You're talking Mr. Hutbacher? Is that who you call the polar bear?
02:44 The polar bear. He is unbelievable.
02:46 Is that his actual nickname?
02:47 I think I saw that somewhere. I may be wrong.
02:51 Or is that Bob Frady's nickname?
02:52 I am not taking credit for it. I think I saw it somewhere. It's like the defensive line
02:58 is just ... Here's what I attribute it to. I have a theory about why Nebraska is playing
03:04 so much better in the fourth quarter than they did last year or the previous five years.
03:09 Because if they had ended games in the third quarter, they'd have a winning record. But
03:13 you can't do that.
03:14 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:15 Here's my theory about why Nebraska is so much better in the fourth quarter. They're
03:20 in shape. I'm not going to say that the prior teams weren't in shape, but you win and lose
03:29 the game in the fourth quarter because you're tired. And if you're not tired, then you have
03:35 a better chance. And I would say, without knowing anything, without being on the field
03:39 or in the coach's room, that this team is in much better shape than they were, physical
03:44 shape than they were a year ago.
03:46 That's probably a fair statement. But I think it comes down to Rule's whole mindset and
03:54 what he's teaching these guys. They just do not panic. There's no fear, especially on
04:00 defense. I mean, defense, these guys are having fun.
04:05 Yeah. They're flying all over the place and laying guys out and-
04:10 Going down the field, high-fiving each other after the block. And by the way, they had
04:17 identified that weakness in the line and three guys ganged up on them and got Judy through
04:22 there to get that block. And so they actually identified that this was film work. Identified
04:29 the problem.
04:30 Scouting.
04:31 Yeah. Film work. Identified the opportunity and exploited it and got a great, great game
04:37 changing play there. Think about that. That turnover, we would have gone down ... It would
04:43 have been what? We were up 21 to zero at that point.
04:47 Yep.
04:48 Had they ... It would have been 14 to six, right? That's a different ball game.
04:53 Well, they were punting. So, who knows whether they were the score-
04:58 Oh, it was a punt. I thought it was a field goal. Was it a field goal?
05:00 I don't think it was. I can't-
05:01 I think it was a field goal.
05:02 You know what? I'm so charged up, I can't even remember. So-
05:05 Anyway, it was great.
05:07 I am beside myself. It's like I haven't been to a ball game since the holiday ball back
05:11 in 2000 something. And so I'm ready for a ball game. I'm saying it right now. I'm always
05:16 the one that says, "Don't get over your ski tips, Gene Stockwell." It's time to get over
05:20 those ski tips.
05:22 Let's go over the stats. The Husker Max stats here, Bob Brady.
05:25 Go get them.
05:26 And Nebraska, 277 total yards, 155 on the ground. By the way, what a standout performance
05:33 of the starting Oscar I-back, Emmitt Johnson from Holy Angels right here in Minneapolis.
05:41 And that's another thing I heard or read is that Coach Will came up to him and told him
05:48 at practice, "Hey, man, you're the starting I-back for the Nebraska quarterbacks. You
05:53 stand up and act like it." He was slouching, I guess, on the sidelines. So I love that
05:58 about Matt Ruhle. He really is imbuing a sense of what these guys actually have access to
06:05 here.
06:06 Yep. And here's the thing, you don't run for that many yards unless your offensive line
06:10 is doing work.
06:11 Exactly.
06:12 And they did, listen, running is easier than passing when it comes to offensive line play.
06:17 They did some good road... It was weird though. It was like it was chunky. Because it wasn't
06:24 Harburg just running wild. It was a real rushing attack.
06:27 Remember, we were concerned about the fact that we'd lost three offensive linemen. And
06:31 that didn't seem to be a factor at all.
06:33 Nope.
06:34 So the guys that came in, Watowski and Jenkins. Jenkins has two names, can't think of the
06:40 other one. But boy, they came in and did a great job.
06:42 Yeah, they did a great, fantastic job. Fantastic job.
06:45 So again, Purdue only had 195 total yards. Boy, the fumbles lost though. Five fumbles,
06:51 four lost. That was the worst thing.
06:53 It could have been won by the reemergence, as I predicted in our pre-show podcast, the
07:00 reemergence of Jeff Sims. And he fumbled. I was so disappointed.
07:06 Not only did he fumble, he... Yeah, because he's been such a good teammate.
07:11 He just seems like a good kid. I mean, I don't know. I'm not there. But it's like, "Oh, dude,
07:18 you fumbled." It's like, "Figured me."
07:21 Everybody felt bad for him. And they probably should have punted on that anyway. Because
07:24 remember, they got that penalty and they took it back to four and one. It was fourth and
07:29 six. And then they got another penalty on them, went back to four and one. They decided
07:34 to not kick it and go for it.
07:38 Joel said he regretted that in the post-game. But I don't know, Bob, if your prediction
07:42 was exactly right. You may not see Jeff Sims again for a while after the conference.
07:47 I said he would be back and he was back.
07:50 He was also super rusty. Because on the one play, turned the wrong direction. Just didn't
07:57 seem like he was ready to go.
07:59 Penalties okay. Six for 49. They had nine for 99. Time of possession was in our favor
08:05 due to the rushing. Third out conversion, seven of 14. Fourth out conversion's 0 for
08:13 one. One sack for 11 yards.
08:16 Oh, and here's another thing that really stood out to me was the 55 yarder by Tristan Alvano.
08:23 What a great confidence building thing.
08:25 You were banging on that kid early in the season. Let me tell you something. He's a
08:28 kid. He's 18 years old. Gets a little nervous. You're playing for Westside. You're playing
08:32 for a couple thousand people. And all of a sudden there's 70,000 people there and you're
08:36 kicking the ball in a swirling cauldron of wind. He'll get used to it. He'll figure it
08:41 out. And that thing was good from 60 at least. He crushed that thing.
08:47 Hey, Betsy, you're on the podcast, Betsy. Say hello to everybody.
08:51 Hello, 15 fans.
08:54 All right. Look at that. You know what?
09:00 Thanks for the positivity there, Scott Frost. That was a purely Frostian statement there.
09:09 Or just call it Frosty statement.
09:11 Thank you, 15 people.
09:14 Yeah. Ease up there.
09:17 Bob Frady went viral on the short form this week.
09:22 You listen.
09:23 You can't be saying that.
09:25 All right.
09:26 I have a theory, Jay Stockwell. I think you guys just have a section called I Have a Theory.
09:30 And the theory is it's time for Nebraska fans to get excited. This game coming up in Michigan
09:36 State is a big game, not just because it's bowl qualification, but because it keeps the
09:39 momentum rolling in the Big Ted West. The rest of these offenses are positively off.
09:45 So preseason I came in at eight and four and I'm sticking with eight and four. So get optimistic.
09:53 I want a bowl game where it's warm.
09:55 So I said two weeks ago that we could be bowl eligible in four weeks or three weeks ago
10:00 could be bowl eligible in four weeks. And you were like, no, no, no, don't say that.
10:04 Don't say that. Not only bowl eligible, but we are tied for the lead in Big Ted West right
10:09 now.
10:10 That's really sad.
10:11 So there's a lot before us. But I love the mindset of just going to want to know each
10:14 week. I think that's a great mindset. I think rule is do full credit for getting the team
10:21 to this. I think that's part of not choking when you have your fourth fumble.
10:26 I feel bad for the kids of Michigan State. They didn't ask for their coach to get fired
10:32 right before the season. And that's tough for them. And they've had a tough run. But
10:37 doesn't mean they're not going to jump up and bite Nebraska. If you get overconfident,
10:42 then you don't prepare properly. But I think that coach will have them in a good spot.
10:47 And so I'm so pumped.
10:50 So I know you hate this part Bob, but we're going to check in with some of the writers
10:54 here. So Ted Stryker, black shirts are returning to honor their name and they're doing it while
10:58 giving meaningful roles to a ton of young players. Tony Scott is Tony White, sorry,
11:03 is playing 25 guys. So I think that's part of the success is he's got fresh legs out
11:10 there all the time.
11:11 Not 25 guys because he has to. It's 25 guys because he wants to. Whereas on offense, it's
11:17 25 guys because they have to, because of all the injuries on offense. And that's no criticism
11:22 of the offense. It's like so many injuries.
11:24 The multiple offensive linemen, multiple wide receivers, multiple running backs. So you
11:30 can't blame everything on the offensive coordinator. They just had some bad luck. But now I'm seeing
11:35 comparisons of this defense to the '08-'09 Nat Damakansu defense, which was the last
11:41 great black shirt defense. So this is exciting to watch. And boy, oh boy, if Matt Rule can
11:47 keep this formula going and then put an offense together next year, this rebuild is looking
11:52 very, very exciting.
11:53 If you had told any Nebraska fan that at the end of October, they would be five and three
12:00 with a three game winning streak, they would have said, I will take that. You got four
12:06 games left to become bowl eligible. And all of them, like he said, all of them are winnable,
12:13 all of them are losable. So let's keep a positive outlook and keep cheering on the team. Next
12:21 week, Michigan State. And it should be another good game.
12:27 Chris Sofferson, Usker 24/7, Bryant-Kiss-Dartson. It's in October, we're celebrating around
12:31 here. Style points need not be tabulated. Tom Chatel. Matt Rule has a job on his hands
12:36 now because the sixth win will probably be the hardest to get because it's the next one
12:41 because they're going to be thinking about it. I don't know if I agree with that. Luke
12:46 Mullen, Lincoln Journal Star.
12:47 That is a bunch of old people.
12:49 That's the old mindset.
12:50 Exactly.
12:51 That's the old mindset.
12:52 We've gone through this so many before. I read somewhere that a fan yelled out to Rule
12:57 after the game, just one more win because everybody's just thirsting for a bowl. He's
13:02 like, I want to win every game. Humbly, he says that. He goes in expecting to win. I
13:08 like that because you might lose, but if you think you're going to lose, you're going to
13:13 lose. If you think you're going to win, you have a much better chance of winning.
13:16 So Luke Mullen, Lincoln Journal Star. When the pressure was on, the Nebraska defense
13:20 was always ready to respond. Totally agree with that. Joseph Meyer, Daly, Nebraska. It's
13:24 almost inconceivable that Huskers can afford four giveaways and still win by three scores.
13:29 That's a testament to Rule's coaching process. 100% agree with that.
13:33 They hit the over. I couldn't believe it.
13:34 Yeah. Mitch Sherman, a little swag from the Huskers isn't so bad as long as they earn
13:39 the right to act with confidence. They're earning it week by week. I love it. And then
13:43 this last one I like from the Lafayette Journal Courier in Lafayette, Indiana. There's no
13:49 sugarcoating it. Purdue is a bad football team.
13:52 Yeah. For future wins by Nebraska, you should go to the opposing team's writers and say
13:58 how they're so pissed off they lost to Nebraska. Nebraska is going to be a good team. They're
14:02 already a good enough team to qualify, possibly even win the West. But they're on the come
14:10 up as they say. Yeah, for sure. I'd like to make a little
14:15 shout out to Leisure Time Leslie and Bob Fruity too. Bob made the ribs. Leisure Time Leslie
14:23 came through. We had a feast yesterday. I was in a meat coma by the three and a half
14:30 hour mark of the game. I'm like, "Please end this game. I'm in a meat coma."
14:34 We started out with filet mignon and an unbelievable-
14:38 And sausage. French 44 sausage. And then Leslie comes in
14:42 with little smokies, these little cheese puff things. What was the other one? Oh, the bean
14:49 salad which was unbelievable. Yep. And the ribs.
14:52 The ribs. Oh my God. The dry rub ribs. Now, where did you get that dry rub, Bob?
14:58 Everybody's got to have secrets when it comes to his barbecue.
15:03 Shout out to LD's Barbecue in Wisconsin. LD's Barbecue is a place I went to years ago and
15:13 it was inside of a gas station. It's like there's a gas station and you go, "Well, this
15:18 side to pay. You go this side to order ribs." I'm like, "Gas with your gas. That's excellent."
15:22 And they became very popular and they expanded and they got their own building. So one time
15:29 I was in Madison and I drove an hour and a half to LD's Barbecue, which is out, well,
15:34 somewhere. It's in Delavan and drove all the way back and it was like, that was a long
15:42 drive but it was worth it. But you can, you know, it's always fun to make ribs and experiment
15:46 with your own particular sauce. If you like a little spicy, add a little heat. I'm spicy
15:51 enough. I don't need the spice. But LD's Barbecue, Delavan, Wisconsin provided the rub for what
15:57 turned out to be superiorly excellent wings. I mean, excuse me, ribs.
16:01 No, ribs.
16:02 Ribs.
16:03 Ribs.
16:04 Ribs.
16:05 See, it's still in the coma. The Brazos are on three game winning streak. I had ribs.
16:07 I'm in a coma.
16:10 So all right. Any other facts and figures from the game in U of B?
16:13 I think that it was interesting because, you know, got up, pretty good score. And then
16:19 all of a sudden, you know, it was 24 to 14 and everybody was like, "Uh-oh, what's going
16:25 to happen?" And they came right down, boom, touchdown. And it was a nice way to end the
16:30 game.
16:31 Tap off 28 yard run by young Emma Johnson.
16:34 So I think the number is 40 is the fact and figure for this week, which is the temperature
16:40 difference in degrees from when you went last week to the game this week.
16:44 Yeah. It was-
16:46 It was cold. It was cold.
16:47 By the way, I have all done all my winterizing, all the summer furniture is away now. The
16:52 snowblower is prepped and ready to go. I've got the big blower for this light snow. So
16:59 we are ready for winter here on October 29th.
17:04 It's 73 degrees in Ladera Ranch, California today.
17:07 Do you miss it? Are you missing California?
17:09 I miss the warm weather, but you know, listen, wherever-
17:13 You went out there. You went out there and you were kind of pining away from Minnesota.
17:17 Yeah.
17:18 By myself. Listen, Leisure Time Leslie is the center of the ... By the way, for those
17:21 of you who don't know, Leisure Time Leslie is Mrs. UB. We'll put it that way. Mrs. UB
17:27 is Leisure Time Leslie. And listen, if she's not there, it's no fun. It's like, "Hey guys,
17:31 if you're unhappy with your wife, go away for a few days and you'll be like, 'I miss
17:35 her. She's kind of nice.' And then you'll go back home and you'll have a better marriage."
17:39 So just take a little guide, Kation, just by yourself. Don't go with your friends because
17:43 they'll just get you drunk and make you do stupid things. Go by yourself. If you like
17:47 to golf, just go golf somewhere alone. Or send her somewhere where she likes to go and
17:53 then you'll be like, "She does a lot of stuff around here." And you'll have a better marriage.
17:57 You might be seeing me a little bit. Mrs. Stockwell's going to be on the road two times
18:01 in a row here Monday and then over the weekend.
18:03 Oh, we're going to have the entire family over here for dinner a few times it looks
18:06 like. Good thing we have a table that seats 12.
18:12 And now that we introduced the dogs, that was a good step forward.
18:15 The dogs met today. It was a big moment. So yeah, it's all good. You good people of Nebraska,
18:24 you deserve a good team and you're getting it. So listen, it's not pretty. I'll give
18:31 you that. It's not pretty. Sometimes when you marry the pretty girl, there's a whole
18:35 lot of drama that comes along with that. This is like a good, solid, strong partner who's
18:43 just like, "I will knock down walls for you." That's the kind of team we have.
18:47 I am so glad that we started this podcast this year. The thought was at the beginning,
18:52 Matt Rule's going to rebuild this program. We want to start this podcast and build it
18:56 along with Matt Rule. The first few games I thought, "Man, maybe we picked the wrong
19:00 year." But boy, oh boy, has this been building into a lot of fun watching these guys develop.
19:05 I think, listen, I have a theory about that. There are two really important factors to
19:13 Nebraska having a more successful season this year. Number one, of course, is Coach Matt
19:17 Rule.
19:18 100%.
19:19 And number two is Sunday morning quarterback, Nebraska edition.
19:27 We have exceeded our own expectations based on the quality of the guests.
19:30 Yeah, we're way out there. I'm just saying, listen, Matt is holding up the football end.
19:36 We're holding up the positivity and hope end. Like a beacon of positivity. All these nattering
19:43 nabobs of negativity, no. It's not positivity.
19:47 Rated G and positive.
19:48 Rated G and positive. Positive G.
19:51 Smash that subscribe and like button. By the way, we are on the road coming up in two weeks.
20:01 We're going to go to the Wisconsin game. We're set.
20:06 It's cold out there. Actually, the Wisconsin game is like three weeks. There's something
20:12 in between. Is it Maryland in between?
20:14 Oh yeah, yeah, we got Maryland. It's November 11th. Next week is Michigan State, then Maryland
20:21 at home, then Wisconsin. And by the way, how about Maryland getting knocked out by Northwestern?
20:29 That was interesting.
20:30 That was one of the things I heard, I was listening to Steve Sippel on one of his shows,
20:37 and he was saying this Purdue team, despite lopsided outcome, they hit hard. And Northwestern
20:45 hits hard. He asked Heinrich about how hard he got hit.
20:49 He got bloodied up pretty good in the fourth quarter.
20:51 Yeah, they literally said he had blood in his mouth. So this league is a hard hitting
20:57 league. And it just goes to show, Maryland's got a serious offense. They go into Northwestern
21:03 and get absolutely clobbered in front of zero fans.
21:06 They should change the name of the team to Maryland, because there's no D in that team.
21:15 Bob Frady made it funny. Write it down, Bob Frady.
21:18 I made it funny. I made it funny. All right, let's wrap it up.
21:22 What was that? You had another one today. What was the one that ... There was another
21:28 random Bob Frady unexpected joke.
21:30 Listen, there are so many J-Stock. Well, you should be used to this by now. They used to
21:33 appear like little streaks across the sky. You're like, "What was that?" And it's like
21:39 Bob Frady. That's what it was.
21:41 Well, here we are, Husker fans. We are above expectations. Five of last six wins.
21:46 We are not above expectations above our expectations. What did you predict at the beginning of the
21:50 season?
21:51 Seven and five.
21:52 What did I predict at the beginning of the season?
21:53 Eight and four.
21:54 We are not above predictions. We are not overachieving right now. We're achieving as we expected.
22:01 Five of six of the last six was pretty darn good. We haven't done that since, I think,
22:06 2016.
22:07 Yeah, it's been a long time.
22:09 Three in a row in October. It's been a long time. But, hey, I love the character of the
22:15 team, love the coaching, love the whole thing. Let's just keep going, Bob. Let's just keep
22:20 going.
22:21 I think we have to continue to bring that positivity to the team. Michigan State's going
22:25 to be tough, a lot tougher than people expect because, you know what, they're kind of feeling
22:31 hurt right now. But if you go in there, play a good game, good things are going to happen.
22:35 But we'll cover that on the old Regain podcast in a couple days. But how do we send them
22:40 out, Jay Stockwell?
22:41 Go ahead. You take us.
22:42 Go Big Red!
22:43 Go Big Red!
22:43 Go Big Red!
22:47 Go Big Red!