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Nebraska safety Marques Buford carted off field after injury

Screenshot 2023-07-18 at 4.54.37 PMby: Riley Gates11/19/22Riley_Gates
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Nebraska safety Marques Buford Jr. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

Nebraska safety Marques Buford was carted off the field early in the Huskers’ game against Wisconsin on Saturday. Buford attempted to jump over one of his teammates and landed awkwardly after the play, causing the injury on the Wisconsin sideline. He was replaced by Phalen Sanford.

Buford is one of Nebraska’s top players on defense this season. Buford entered the game with 59 total tackles, the third-most on the team, and two interceptions, tied for the most. ESPN commentator Robert Griffin III commented on what the loss of Buford meant for the Huskers.

“Marques Buford’s a really good player for this defense,” Griffin said. “Tied for interceptions on the team with two, he’s the third-leading tackler with 59 tackles. Whoever’s coming in, Phalen Sanford, to replace him is going to be replacing a guy that truly is the field guy. If you’re the offense for Wisconsin and offensive coordinator Bobby Ingram, you want to try to isolate that safety as many times as you can in coverage to attack him with their starter being out.”

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November had been a strong month for Buford to this point. Against Minnesota on Nov. 5, Buford recorded eight tackles, four of which were solo. Against Michigan last week, Buford had five total tackles, two of which were solo.

Buford, Nebraska not quitting yet

It has not been an ideal season for the Huskers as they wrap up another losing record. Nebraska entered this weekend’s game aginst the Badgers with a 3-7 overall record, meaning a bowl game is out of the question for the sixth straight season. Nebraska is looking for a new head coach after firing Scott Frost early in the season but the players have not mailed it in yet.

“We haven’t quit,” Buford said in early November, according to the Lincoln Journal-Star. “Nobody’s given up, nobody’s thrown in the flag, nobody’s making excuses. At the end of the day, we’re not blaming any of our losses any of the situations we’ve had to deal with. In the real world, you have to go through stuff.”