Scott Frost knows he’s said it before — an efficient offense is a good offense.
Speaking at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Thursday, the Nebraska head coach admitted he sounds “like a broken record."
That’s because for much of his tenure at Nebraska, a high level of offensive efficiency has been missing. In terms of pure yardage, NU’s 2021 offense ranked No. 23 in the country with 6.2 yards per play, but that didn't translate to scoring — Nebraska ranked No. 111 out of 130 FBS teams with 16.7 yards per point.
In other words, Nebraska moved the ball well in 2021 but failed to convert its chances, something Frost hopes will change in the season opener.
“It really doesn’t matter what offense you’re running, (because) if you run it well it can work. The key to that is just operating with efficiency and speed. I’ve seen that from these guys, they definitely know what they’re doing, we’ve rehearsed more times than we would for a normal game so the guys are confident.â€
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Of course, there’s no bigger contributor to offensive success than the quarterback. Casey Thompson will be tasked with making the right passes, avoiding mistakes and leading an up-tempo offense at times against Northwestern, a challenge he’s prepared for.
On Sunday at Memorial Stadium, Thompson said he never gets nervous before games and instead wants to be confident so his teammates can feed off that energy. In terms of leading an efficient offense, that kind of mindset will be crucial.
“I think experience is going to be even more important when you're going overseas to play in another country and a different environment,†Frost said Sunday. “You know, this isn't a home game. This is a completely different thing, and he's played a lot of college football so I think the environment will be natural… Casey's played a lot of football and he's plenty talented to do everything that we need a quarterback to do, in the run game and in the pass game.â€
Feist earns Blackshirt:Â Junior defensive lineman Colton Feist hasn't recorded a tackle in his Nebraska career, but there's a big reason why he was included in the first round of Blackshirts. Effort.Â
The Yutan native was a local high school standout and earned first-team Super-State honors as a defensive lineman in his senior season. A scholarship offer from Wayne State was tempting, but Feist chose the long, challenging road of working toward playing time as a walk-on at Nebraska.
Early in his career, simply learning the technique needed to play college football was a challenge. But, Feist soon put it all together and saw the field in 2020 and 2021 while battling a broken foot last season. Feist's rapid improvement led to him receiving a scholarship last year, and now the in-state product is a Blackshirt, too.
“He’s an example of a Nebraska kid that’s walked on, earned his stripes, put in the work and found himself in a really good place," Frost said. "Sometimes sticking to something as long as he has pays off in the end, so we appreciate his toughness and perseverance."