Nebraska Football: Urban Meyer defends Scott Frost’s ‘checkmate move’
If Urban Meyer is after Nebraska football head coach Scott Frost’s job, he’s certainly not letting on.
On Thursday’s edition of a new video podcast, Urban’s Takes with Tim May, the legendary head coach addressed several different topics, including what he thought about Frost’s decision to kick an onside kick while his team was up 28-17 on the Northwestern Wildcats and made it very clear that Meyer does not believe that call was the reason the Huskers lost the game.
The segment in question was started by his co-host, Tim May talking about the decision and making it clear that he didn’t agree with it. In doing so, May made several of the same comments that Cornhuskers fans worldwide have been making for about a week. The onside kick put the Huskers’ defense under the gun. He added that it killed momentum for a team that needed it.
However, when Meyer began opining on the issue, he made it clear quickly that he had a different take. While he started admitting that Frost is “struggling,” he added that he’s got a proven track record when taking a struggling program in UCF and taking them to what the Golden Knights faithful consider a national championship.
"“I’ve known him a long time, he’s a national champion as a player, I mean the guy’s a tough guy. I sat in meetings with him and he’s a very smart guy. I’ve never been one of those guys that questions a head coach because I’ve sat there.”"
After laying out his opening statement, Meyer then went into detail about why he doesn’t find fault with the Nebraska football head coach’s choice despite being up 28-17.
The former Ohio State head coach then laid out then on his playsheet, there were three situations that might call for “risk” at the level of an onside kick. The first was “to win a game.” The second situation would be to “get back into a game.”
The ex-Jacksonville Jaguars coach pointed to a fake punt that he ran in a 2016 game when he was trying to get back into a contest. He also pointed out that the fake punt he tried back then did not work.
The third and final reason that Meyer said he would take a risk like an onside kick was what he called a “checkmate move.”
He then explained that he talked to his team every year about being in a prize fight in a boxing match, and they have their opponent on the ropes. That would be the time to take that swing and get the knockout or the “checkmate.”
This certainly falls in line with what the Nebraska football head coach said after the game about “being aggressive,” and it definitely underlines that not everybody thought the onside kick was such an egregious decision.
"“The program is struggling, their single score games they’re not very good at, he saw an opportunity from video; and maybe I think I heard him say that earlier in the game he saw it and it wasn’t executed.”"
Meyer then expanded on the idea that there was plenty of game left and that the defense could not stop Northwestern for most of the rest of the game. He added the offense stopped scoring as well.
It’s clear from Meyer’s words that he doesn’t think the onside kick should have been a backbreaker. Whether this is a coach who had already said he wouldn’t criticize coaches or wheat he really thought at the time is going to be up for debate.
What is clear is that for at least today, the Nebraska football head coach has someone in his corner. It’s notable because of who it is and the rumors that have been swirling around the program of late.