Husker Football: Wisconsin Report Card

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Quarterbacks: F

I don’t put all the blame for the offense’s woes on Tommy Armstrong, Jr., but he gets a lot of it. In the first half, the sophomore quarterback completed just one pass for 12 yards, which was a touchdown toss.

Other than that, he was erratic and out of sync. He didn’t have time to throw, but even when he did he was off the mark. Decision-making came into play when he had the ability to make one.

There were times when receivers would come open and No. 4 would seemingly lock into his number one read and just throw the ball up for grabs.

Are you familiar with the game ‘500’? In schoolyards, kids would yell out a number and then toss the ball in the air to a group of receivers way downfield not caring who catches it. His one interception distinctly reminded me of that game and that is NOT a good thing.

In addition to the interception, the Husker quarterback fumbled three times, losing two and he was also sacked four times.

I-Backs D

Ameer Abdullah looked decent running with the ball. 18 carries for 69 yards, nothing flashy. His screen pass reception for 26 yards was the longest pass play of the day.

That said, his pass protection was about three notches down from what we usually see. I can remember at least three times when Abdullah was beat in pass pro and Armstrong was either sacked or being forced into a bad throw. It was clear to me that he wasn’t playing at a full 100 percent.

Terrell Newby had five carries for 11 yards, with Imani Cross adding just two carries for seven yards. I’d love to see Cross get more carries. I can’t imagine I’m the only one who would say that, especially considering what I’m about to discuss next: fumbles.

Abdullah and Newby each lost one. Newby’s fumble came after the Huskers forced and recovered one of their three. It was truly killer as NU had a chance to score, but instead turned it back over leaving Wisconsin to get points instead.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends C

First, a big-time congrats to Kenny Bell on becoming the all-time receiving yardage leader for Husker football. He surpassed Johnny Rodgers with his touchdown catch in the first quarter.

Other than Bell’s two catches, Brandon Reilly, Jordan Westerkamp and De’Mornay Pierson-El each added one to Nebraska’s stat sheet. The wideouts didn’t have a lot of opportunity thanks in part to the quarterback and offensive line struggles.

Offensive Line F

About those struggles…as I mentioned before, Armstrong was sacked four times in what was a combination of issues with the running backs and offensive line. The Huskers only averaged 2.6 yards per carry on the ground.

That’s not going to win you many football games. The line contributed three false starts to the cause and were beaten multiple times which allowed for tackles behind the line of scrimmage.