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Nebraska Football: How to Beat Tennessee Without Tommy Armstrong

By Brandon Cavanaugh

Nov 5, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. (4) gives the thumbs up while being carted off the field during the second quarter at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State Buckeyes lead 31-3 at half. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 5, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. (4) gives the thumbs up while being carted off the field during the second quarter at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State Buckeyes lead 31-3 at half. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nebraska football fans got some not-so-good news on Friday when they found out that Tommy Armstrong, Jr. had been held out of practice. Apparently, his hamstring is still giving him trouble.

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This means that if the Big Red was playing Tennessee tomorrow, Ryker Fyfe would be getting the nod. Is that concerning? It could be, but it doesn’t have to be.

While this is a game that would benefit greatly from Armstrong’s mobility, Fyfe could lead a winning charge against the Volunteers and here’s how that would likely go down.

There are two game plans that Danny Langsdorf has used this year that would lend to this game: the ones for Fresno State and Maryland.

In the Huskers’ season kickoff against the Bulldogs, Run The Ball Guy®’s dreams came true as the Nebraska football of yore returned. The Huskers ran the football 51 times for 292 yards as opposed to making just 13 pass attempts. Armstrong was no small part of that effort with 11 rushes for 42 yards and two scores, but there were other cooks adding to the smashmouth stew.

Devine Ozigbo had one of his best games of the season with 17 rushes for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Terrell Newby tallied 11 carries of his own gaining over half a field’s worth of yardage. Tre Bryant even got into the action with 35 yards on a mere five carries.

nebraska football terrell newby
Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports /

Fresno State currently ranks No. 123 in the nation (out of 128) in rushing defense allowing 247 yards per game. Tennessee isn’t much better at No. 111 giving up 232.

With five members of the Volunteer defense on the shelf for the rest of the season and another questionable for the Music City Bowl, the Huskers’ attack versus Fresno State is a great place to start looking for clues.

The problem with relying on that game plan entirely is that the Bulldogs had to honor Armstrong has a legit running threat. Fyfe is nowhere near that mobile and that’s why we look to the Maryland game for hints about a potential mesh.

I believe Tennessee to be a much better team than Maryland offensively, but their banged up defense should give Langsdorf the opportunity to exploit some of the same things he did against the Terrapins.

He introduced the Pistol formation, using it eight times or on ten percent of the Huskers’ overall plays that day. A very important thing to remember is that this game saw an offensive line of Nick Gates, Jerald Foster, Dylan Utter, Tanner Farmer and Cole Conrad. That line will be as healthy as its going to get when lining up across from Tennessee.

I can see Langsdorf spreading the field out forcing the Vols to tackle in space just as he did against the Terrapins. Maryland couldn’t hack it and I genuinely wonder if Tennessee can.

Newby carried the ball 22 times for 98 yards and three touchdowns in the 28-7 win. It wouldn’t shock me to see him get close to that number of totes against Tennessee if Fyfe is lined up at quarterback. Tre Bryant also contributed 58 yards on 13 carries and has essentially claimed the No. 2 spot on the depth chart at this point.

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Finally, take the defense into account. If you’ve watched Nebraska this season, you’ve seen a team that traditionally owns the fourth quarter against teams with equal or lesser talent.

The only points that the Blackshirts allowed either team was on a 92-yard touchdown pass that was the result of a quick little screen by Maryland and a whole lot of sloppy tackling.

Of course, Nebraska led by 28, so it was merely a blemish on the scoreboard.

There are 15 more practices and a lot of time between now and Dec 30, so obviously Armstrong’s condition could improve. It wouldn’t shock me to see him play even if he wasn’t feeling 100 percent.

That said, I wouldn’t be thrilled about the idea of him using the fake hamstring he did against Iowa. He simply wasn’t effective and allowed the Hawkeyes’ offense more chances before the game eventually got away from the Huskers.

Sure, this is putting the cart before the horse a bit. However, considering there are no doubt some worrywarts out there about what Nebraska would do without No. 4, where there’s a Langsdorf, there’s a way.

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