Notable Quotes from the Cotton Bowl

January 2, 2007 by Jason Siffring

Wondering why Coach Callahan decided to run a fake punt in the second quarter or why he decided to go for it on fourth and eleven instead of attempting a 47 yard field goal to tie the game?

Read on to hear the Coach in his own words as well as insight from NU and Auburn players and coaches on the 2007 Cotton Bowl.

On Nebraska's offensive game plan:

Nebraska Wide Receiver Maurice Purify:

Our game plan was a little off. We thought they were going to throw us a lot of man (coverage). In the SEC, they played everybody man up so we didn’t think they would change on us. They played a little bit more zone.

Auburn Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp:

Nothing [was unexpected]. Everything was something we had prepared for. Obviously, there were some man-beaters because we play a lot of man-to-man. We played a little more zone than I’m used to playing, but that is kind of what the game dictated. That is what I felt we needed to do.

On the fake punt call in the second quarter:

Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan:

It was my call. It didn't work, obviously, but nonetheless, it was still early enough in the ball game that if it didn't work and if it faltered, we were still in a good position we felt to come back, but things got discombobulated there. We fumbled the exchange, then lost some critical yardage, so that hurt us. We got behind the eight ball on the short field.

Fullback Dane Todd:

They are very confident in their return game and they go safe block. And so you start getting up toward midfield and they start going safe, especially with our record of running trick plays. So we knew we had to do it somewhere deep in our own end, and it’s a gamble and we ended up losing on that deal. It happens

On recovering the 4th quarter fumble to setup a potential winning drive

Linebacker Stewart Bradley:

We put in a 30 package, three down linemen and four linebackers. It's a nickel... we have three down linemen, three backers and five DB's. And we had a money blitz where I rush like a lineman from a backer position. We had not done that all game. That was the first one and the back flared out and left me open on the edge and he didn't get the ball off in time, I guess.

On the decision to not attempt a field goal at the end of the game

Coach Bill Callahan:

We felt it was out of his (Jordan Congdon) range. We came out in the pregame and we check the distances with and against the wind and the cutoffs, and decide where we feel we can make it and not make it. It was beyond our cutoff point, so we made a decision to go for it on fourth down instead of attempting a field goal.

He (Congdon) knew exactly what the cutoff was and the staff knew. Everybody was on the same page, and that's a decision that we live with as we went into that decision.

Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville:

We had a pretty good stat on them. I don't think the kid had, on their side, had kicked a 40-yard field goal. That was his longest all year and if I'm not mistaken that would have been pretty much over 45 to 50 into the wind. Wind was blowing a little bit harder than what you would think if you weren't down there. And we had trouble kicking into that direction also.

But they went for the win. This is a bowl game; you come here to win the game. They thought that was the best way to do it. And fortunately for us we made some plays and got the ball back.

On containing Auburn RB Ken Irons

Bill Callahan:

I thought our defensive line, our linebackers and secondary did a good job containing him. I think they pounded him pretty good today. I don't know what his yardage totals were today, but I didn't see any real long breakout runs or anything of that nature. I thought that we were real consistent-efficient, productive in our run defense-- and that's a good sign. Anytime that you can take a team like Auburn who is one of the best rushing teams in the entire country and shut them down, consistently forcing them into passing situations, that's a credit to Coach Cosgrove and the Blackshirt defense.

Ken Irons:

We're quiet because our head is killing us right now. There's some big guys out there.

On the direction of Nebraska's program

Quarterback Zac Taylor:

It hurts the program, obviously it would have been huge for spring ball and things like that to win the game. We lost to a good team today. We practiced as hard as we could. We were prepared for this game, and everybody was fired up. Our defense did what they had to do to win the game and the offense just didn't step up. But I don't think it sets our program back at all. I think we're headed in the right direction. We’ve got a lot of great young players. We'll be back next year and I know all three of us will be excited to see what those guys can do next year.

Stewart Bradley:

We're a very resilient group--not only these seniors but even the guys that are coming back next year--so I think this will drive the guys in the offseason to work even harder and come in next year and win these crucial games.

Cornerback Cortney Grixby:

We’re right there. We’re right where we want to be. We’re going into the offseason with great enthusiasm. We’ve got high hopes for next year. We wanted to get the seniors out of here with a win and unfortunately that did not happen. Now we have an offseason to look forward to.

Related: Coach Callahan Quotes, Nebraska Players' Quotes, Auburn Postgame Quotes

» Enjoy this article?
Send it to your friend or get Husker news by email!

NextPrevious