I heard PJ Fleck say an interesting thing that caught my attention on Thursday. He said that teams don't win many games. More often than not, the other team loses it by making mistakes. He wasn't specifically talking about NU, but he might as well have been because very few teams win more tight games or make fewer mistakes to lose them than the Cats. They are 9-2 in one-score games over the last two years and 45-26, I believe, during Fitz's career.
So I asked Fitz about why NU is so good in those one-score games on Friday during the individual podium sessions. I'm going to eventually make a story out of it -- I got quotes from Fisher, Gaziano and Thomas, too -- but here's what Fitz had to say, in its entirety:
"I think you recruit it, first of all. You recruit character guys that don’t flinch in those situations. I don’t think we panic or flinch as a coaching staff in close games. We’re in close games. It’s a lot of two-score games going into the fourth quarter. That’s a close game.
"Anything can happen in those games. We’re in a lot of them. That’s why I don’t sleep well. A ton of them. We don’t want to be in close games. Trust me, I’d rather be up three scores. If we’re down four scores, I’m getting on the bus and going home anyway, so who cares/
"When you’re in those types of games, you just can’t flinch, and you’ve got to keep playing. I think you’ve got to be really disciplined. You have to be disciplined in your execution, you have to take care of the football.
"The Iowa game is a great example. Two really good defenses going at it. I’m sure the guys that are doing the commentary (are saying), ‘This is so boring.’ To me, as a purist, I think it’s awesome. Two great defenses, shutting offenses down. It’s not great for TV, but it’s great for football. All of a sudden, we miss a field goal, but we get a big play from Bennett (Skowronek). Two drives in a row, we create a big turnover, and we win the game. It’s not like we did anything magical. But that goes back to the fundamentals we coach every day about going after the football, watching guys that they’re, maybe, blocked, but they’re going in punching the ball with their off arm, and the ball’s going out. Those things don’t happen by accident.
"So I think the discipline that it takes to win those types of games goes back to the guys we recruit. Our guys are really disciplined, they’re really focused. We’re not going to flinch in that moment. We don’t get a really bad penalty that’s going to set us back behind the chains, or give them a late PI call that’s going to give them free yards, or get a late hit.
"You think about the Nebraska game – and I hate to single a play out – but we go 99 yards (for the game-tying touchdown) because we got 15 for free. That was a big play on that drive. Fifteen for free, and the time’s not running. JJ (Jefferson) scores halfway in the end zone. All those things add up. It’s confidence in the moment, having success there, not panicking, not flinching, and then having guys that are really disciplined."
Continuing when answering another question about how one-score games are decided…
"No. 1 is points. Turnover ratio is No. 2. First-down success, third-down avoidance. We’re really, really good in the end zone. We’re really good in penalty avoidance. We’re really good in turnover ratio. You don’t see us beat ourselves and make a whole lot of execution mistakes. Those are things that you can control."
So I asked Fitz about why NU is so good in those one-score games on Friday during the individual podium sessions. I'm going to eventually make a story out of it -- I got quotes from Fisher, Gaziano and Thomas, too -- but here's what Fitz had to say, in its entirety:
"I think you recruit it, first of all. You recruit character guys that don’t flinch in those situations. I don’t think we panic or flinch as a coaching staff in close games. We’re in close games. It’s a lot of two-score games going into the fourth quarter. That’s a close game.
"Anything can happen in those games. We’re in a lot of them. That’s why I don’t sleep well. A ton of them. We don’t want to be in close games. Trust me, I’d rather be up three scores. If we’re down four scores, I’m getting on the bus and going home anyway, so who cares/
"When you’re in those types of games, you just can’t flinch, and you’ve got to keep playing. I think you’ve got to be really disciplined. You have to be disciplined in your execution, you have to take care of the football.
"The Iowa game is a great example. Two really good defenses going at it. I’m sure the guys that are doing the commentary (are saying), ‘This is so boring.’ To me, as a purist, I think it’s awesome. Two great defenses, shutting offenses down. It’s not great for TV, but it’s great for football. All of a sudden, we miss a field goal, but we get a big play from Bennett (Skowronek). Two drives in a row, we create a big turnover, and we win the game. It’s not like we did anything magical. But that goes back to the fundamentals we coach every day about going after the football, watching guys that they’re, maybe, blocked, but they’re going in punching the ball with their off arm, and the ball’s going out. Those things don’t happen by accident.
"So I think the discipline that it takes to win those types of games goes back to the guys we recruit. Our guys are really disciplined, they’re really focused. We’re not going to flinch in that moment. We don’t get a really bad penalty that’s going to set us back behind the chains, or give them a late PI call that’s going to give them free yards, or get a late hit.
"You think about the Nebraska game – and I hate to single a play out – but we go 99 yards (for the game-tying touchdown) because we got 15 for free. That was a big play on that drive. Fifteen for free, and the time’s not running. JJ (Jefferson) scores halfway in the end zone. All those things add up. It’s confidence in the moment, having success there, not panicking, not flinching, and then having guys that are really disciplined."
Continuing when answering another question about how one-score games are decided…
"No. 1 is points. Turnover ratio is No. 2. First-down success, third-down avoidance. We’re really, really good in the end zone. We’re really good in penalty avoidance. We’re really good in turnover ratio. You don’t see us beat ourselves and make a whole lot of execution mistakes. Those are things that you can control."
