Scott Frost addresses questionable decision to try onside kick vs Northwestern

On3 imageby:Nick Schultz•08/27/22•

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Nebraska looked like it was rolling, jumping out to a 28-17 lead against Northwestern in the second half of Saturday’s season opener in Dublin, Ireland. Then, the Cornhuskers went for an onside kick — and the game changed.

The Wildcats recovered the attempt and scored on the ensuing drive. They used that to eventually take a fourth-quarter lead before defeating Nebraska 31-28 in Week 0 at Aviva Stadium. It was quite a comeback victory, and the onside kick wound up giving Northwestern the momentum right back.

After the game, Nebraska coach Scott Frost addressed the decision to try the onside kick, which proved to be a turning point in the game. The Cornhuskers didn’t score another point after that call, which Frost said was his doing.

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“I made the (onside) call,” Frost said, via Nebraska On3’s Steven Sipple. “So it’s on me. I thought if we got it, we could end the game.”

Frost was also asked if he’d make the same call again, and he had a blunt response.

“If I had it over,” he said, “I wouldn’t make the call.”

Nebraska got out to a red-hot start in the first half behind new quarterback Casey Thompson in new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple’s system. The Texas transfer led the Cornhuskers on an impressive opening drive which culminated with a touchdown pass to Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda. Then, Thompson ran a quarterback sneak into the end zone to make it 14-3 Nebraska.

In fact, Thompson showed off some of his playmaking ability in the third quarter when he extended a play before finding Garcia-Castaneda for a first down.

One of Nebraska’s biggest pieces ended up missing most of the second half, though. Tight end Travis Vokolek went down with an injury in the third quarter and didn’t return to the field, which was quite a blow to the Cornhuskers offense. He had three catches for 40 yards when he exited the game.

Now, Frost drops to 5-21 in one-score games since taking over at Nebraska in 2018 — the worst mark in FBS. Next up for the Cornhuskers is matchup with North Dakota back home in Lincoln on Sept. 3.