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Whipple Wants More Fire and Focus From Husker Offense

Inability to sustain early success in games frustrates Nebraska’s play-caller

Joe Hudson

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No more Mr. Nice Guy from Nebraska football's offensive coordinator, Mark Whipple.

Whipple said Tuesday that he was frustrated by a lack of focus and urgency from the offense to keep things rolling after early successes in games. In the 35-21 win Saturday over Indiana, the Huskers scored on their initial possession for the fourth time in five games.

"Then they just act like, 'Well, yeah, OK,'" Whipple said.

"Your job's to score touchdowns. ... My expectations at times just seem to be higher than our guys that are playing, and that's frustrating to me."

One frustrating moment came during the second quarter Saturday when quarterback Casey Thompson took a sack instead of getting the ball to receiver Trey Palmer, who Whipple said was open for a likely touchdown. Thompson was benched for a series and got a tongue-lashing from Whipple on the sideline.

"We go three plays for 70 yards, and then you start making mistakes, so my frustration was taken out on Casey," Whipple said. “He knows that I love him, and you can't do that with everybody, but he handled it really well and responded."

"In my history, when I walk around being a nice guy, it just doesn't work as well as when I'm a dick, OK?" he said. "I don't know why, and that's what I told the kids on Monday."

Whipple's urgency also applies to ramping up the Huskers' mind-set now that they're tied for the Big Ten West lead.

"I don't know if they really think we can win every game," Whipple said. "... I'm not a genius, but we can win seven games. ... That's the expectation, not to just go to a bowl game. We can win the West. That's what it is. You're in first place. Act like it and play like it."

Defensive coordinator Bill Busch also spoke during Tuesday's post-practice session, discussing the improved performance Saturday on his side of the ball and what to expect from Rutgers in Friday night's road game. Refresh this page to see the latest additions to the coverage. Asterisk indicates item may require a subscription. Go here for the 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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