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Punched in the Mouth? Learn From It, Says Nebraska Football's MJ Sherman

Huskers look back at loss to Illinois and ahead to Saturday's game at Purdue

Joe Hudson

MJ Sherman
MJ Sherman / Nebraska Athletics
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Nebraska's defense didn't distinguish itself in Friday night's overtime loss to Illinois.

Penalties extended multiple Illinois scoring drives. The Huskers yielded nearly 130 rushing yards after halftime, with blown assignments and missed tackles playing a part. The Illini seemed to have the upper hand in the trenches.

“Honestly,” senior rover Isaac Gifford said Tuesday, “I think Illinois came out and they punched us in the mouth and we didn't respond.”

Gifford was the first of three Blackshirts to speak with the media after Tuesday morning’s practice, but he wasn’t the last to use the boxing analogy.

“What are you supposed to do when you get punched in the mouth sometimes?” said senior Jack linebacker MJ Sherman. “Put your hands up next time. Learn from it. ... We’ve just got to own up to the tape, take advantage of it.”

Sherman indicated the Huskers may have been guilty of complacency.

“We won three games in a row. There’s a tendency to kind of stray away from the process a little bit,” Sherman said. “Everybody’s guilty of it. Everybody stops worrying about the little details that really got us there, and it shows.”

What needs to be done as the Huskers prepare for the rest of the season, starting with Saturday's game at Purdue? Sherman said there’s no need for wholesale changes.

“We just go back to the things that work for us,” he said. “We just have to fix the little things and go back to what we believe in.”

Scroll down for lots more from Tuesday's press conference, which also featured defensive coordinator Tony White, offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield and half a dozen players. Refresh this page to see the latest additions. Asterisk indicates item may require a subscription. | HuskerMax discussion

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Joe Hudson
JOE HUDSON

Joe Hudson has operated a Husker-related website since 1995 and joined forces with David Max to form HuskerPedia (later renamed HuskerMax) in 1999. It began as a hobby during his 35 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, a career that included stints at the Lincoln Star, Omaha World-Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post. In Denver, Joe was chief of the copy desk during his final 16 years at the Post. He is proud to have been involved in Pulitzer Prize-winning projects in both Philadelphia and Denver. Joe has been a Nebraska football fan since the mid-1960s during his childhood in Omaha. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1976. He resides a few freeway exits north of Colorado Springs and enjoys bicycling and walking his dogs in his spare time. You can reach him at joeroyhud@outlook.com.

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