Casey Thompson responds to Scott Frost's challenge that this Nebraska team isn't great but can be

Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson knows he and his teammates still have a lot of work to do. After the Cornhuskers defeated North Dakota on Saturday, coach Scott Frost described his team as “still finding our way.”

Thompson agreed with that statement, pointing out that Nebraska is still trying to build its chemistry with so many new faces this season — himself included.

“We’re still getting to work together,” Thompson said postgame Saturday. “This is a team with 30 new players between freshmen and transfers. Half of the staff are new coaches. We’re still rotating guys on offense. New starters on defense, new starters on special teams. So it’s good for us to get the win today. I definitely think practice is one thing, but working together in the game is a whole different thing. Going to battle, going to war with guys you find out you can trust and lean on.”

The players’ lack of experience in the system was evident in the first half Saturday, as the Cornhuskers totaled just 147 yards and entered the locker room tied at seven. Nebraska nearly doubled that with 290 yards in the second half. Running back Anthony Grant also had a monster second half as he finished with 189 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 46-yard score to put the Cornhuskers back on top 24-17 in the third quarter.

Thompson threw both of his touchdown passes in the second as he finished 14-of-21 passing for 193 yards and an interception. The quarterback liked what he saw out of his skill players and shared a humorous anecdote from the season opener to show how much depth the Cornhusker have at receiver.

“I think on offense, (Grant) has stepped up two weeks in a row,” he said. “I really like where he’s at. Marcus (Washington), Trey (Palmer). Omar (Manning) came back today and had some big plays. Alante Brown has made some big plays. Last week, it was funny. Isaiah Garcia went up and made that touchdown catch. I didn’t even know he was in the game. I thought it was Alante. Honestly, I was looking at the defense and then after the play I saw Isaiah celebrating. That was my first time ever throwing a deep pass like that where he went up and got it. That was my first time ever throwing a deep pass like that where he went up and got it. Think about it. That was in our first game. At practice, the receivers rotate, but for whatever ever reason we never called that play.

“We’re still getting reps on the fly as we go in the game. We’re still working together, but we have to put it together very quickly. In the second half, we were able to run the ball better and get a lot of first downs and play better defense. I think we just have to play four quarters of football.”

Casey Thompson and Nebraska hope their chemistry can continue to grow as the season moves on, and going through moments like Saturday will only help. The Cornhuskers are next set to face Georgia Southern at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.