Notes from Pat Fitzgerald's press conference: Minnesota

Notes from Pat Fitzgerald's press conference this week:

-Fitz admitted that Minnesota has a similar offensive identity as Wisconsin, but said that Minnesota "will take more shots down the field on play action plays." They run inside and outside zone schemes and distract with flies and sweeps.

-Minnesota is more powerful in the running game and they're going to run the QB more. Because Minnesota is coming off a bye week, Fitz said: "Our defense is going to see things in the first quarter that we're not prepared for."

- Godwin Igwebuike was close to playing last year but didn't because those in front of him stayed healthy. "He was kind of on the flight deck, for you Top Gun fans. He was close but we didn't need to shoot him off," Fitz said. Fitz also praised Ibraheim Campbell for preparing Igwebuike really well.

-Campbell is out again this week, which means Igwebuike will get the start at Minnesota. Fitz hopes Campbell will be back for Nebraska.

-Igwebuike could have played RB or DB in college. Apparently he waited a long time to make his decision before he got to campus. It got to the point where Fitz wasn't sure which playbook to give him.

-Fitz said: "Jerry Killl (Minnesota head coach) is one of the best in the business."

-Fitz talked about wanting to get Dan Vitale more involved in the passing game and praised the third down catch he made late in the fourth quarter against Wisconsin.

- Fitz on special teams: "We have to look at personnel things and play much more consistent and more physical. We're not a smoke and mirrors special teams. We line up and go one on one. Minnesota is better than Wisconsin on special teams. We have to win those battles to win the game."

- Fitz thought the Minnesota-Michigan tape stood out: "One of the more impressive wins I've seen, the win against Michigan."

-Fitz on how the running game has improved: "We have more depth and the guys up front are improving."

-Fitz on the WRs: "We have depth at wide receivers. We didn't have that the first two games. A lot of those runs happened because our receivers engaged downfield. But we need to finish plays better." Kyle Prater said that Minnesota is bigger than Wisconsin in the secondary. So WR blocking will be really important again.

-Fitz on the long Gordon runs: "We took bad angles on one and missed some tackles."

-Fitz on the passing game: "We missed a couple throws. We allowed ourselves to be covered a couple times. We had some mental busts down inside the 20. We need to get open."

- Fitz on the fans rushing the field after Saturday's win: "I'm never going to get mad at our fans for partying. But I'm not a big fan of charging the field. It's not safe for anybody." He pointed out that some SEC schools have been fined in the past for fans rushing the field and agrees with the punishment. He didn't say NU should be fined or anything, but he was just expressing the severity of the issue.

-On the Gothic Nebraska jerseys: In the late 1800s the school colors were purple and old gold. Fitz said those were "One of the first ideas under armor came to us with. It's a reflection of campus. The purple and gold were the school's original colors. I think it's pretty cool."

-"We're more focused on the game than what we're wearing," Collin Ellis said.

-Ellis on Minnesota RB David Cobb: "I feel like he's been here forever. We need to do a better job against the run. We weren't good enough last week."

-The team had a players only meeting after the 0-2 start, in which younger, more soft spoken players had their voices heard. The meeting was about communication between the leadership council and the younger players.