It’s safe to say Tanner Mangum’s Hail Mary pass to defeat the Nebraska Cornhuskers put a damper on the debut of Mike Riley’s tenure with the Big Red. After all, the Huskers lost the first game of the season for the first time since 1985. However, If we are going to make comparisons from 30 years ago, fans should know the Cornhuskers reeled off nine straight victories before losing their final two contests back then. In all, the Huskers completed a (9-3) record, and earned a berth to the Fiesta Bowl. According to Huskers.com, these group of players are resilient, and this game only fuels the fire for the rest of the Huskers’ season. Therefore, a loss to BYU is not a nail in the coffin for the Cornhuskers just yet.
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Offensively, there was plenty of intrigue about how Nebraska would perform in their first game with Mike Riley at the helm. At times, quarterback Tommy Armstrong looked like a different player on the field. He displayed poise, and helped the Cornhuskers turn a 10 point deficit into a four point lead. However, inconsistent play doomed the Huskers when it mattered most. Despite taking a 28-24 lead in the third quarter, the offense wasn’t able to extend their lead on multiple occasions.
Part of the reason Nebraska lacked consistent scoring was due to in inadequate running game. Known as running team throughout their history, the Huskers weren’t able sustain momentum in the ground game. Following coach Riley’s offensive history, it was feasible to see the Cornhuskers emphasizing the passing game, but a mark of a great team shows balance. Well, at least the Huskers ran the ball 37 times against BYU.
The offense threw the ball 41 times in the game, and they showed a lot of progress for past seasons. Armstrong completed 27 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns. It was his second career 300 yard passing game, and there’s no reason why his passing numbers shouldn’t continue to grow. Armstrong even threw a couple of nice blocks for his Huskers’ receivers, including springing Jordan Westerkamp for a 14-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
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Still, it was not all delicate flowers for Armstrong’s first start of his junior season. He took quite a few hits, and was forced into a pair of intentional grounding penalties. Once the second quarter began, Armstrong was on the run due to BYU’s blitz packages. Although Armstrong had an interception, plenty of his passes were precise. However, he lost some of his fundamentals as the pressure increased. Still, it was great to see Armstrong bounce back from a horrendous second quarter.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers’ receivers played great. Without the injured De’Mornay Pierson-El in the lineup, it was evident that a few of the wide receivers would have to step up. No one was bigger than Westerkamp. The junior caught seven passes for 107 yards, along with the aforementioned scintillating touchdown catch and run.
Including Westerkamp, eight receivers caught passes from Armstrong, and we started to see the emergence of Brandon Reilly and Alonzo Moore. Reilly caught five passes for 70 yards, and showed his bulldozing mentality with an 11 yard run on a reverse. Meanwhile, Moore caught Armstrong’s second touchdown pass, while showing his ability in the open field. As a group, the Huskers’ receivers could become the best unit in the Big Ten.
Nebraska fell short of expectations in the running game. As we stated earlier, the Cornhuskers ran the ball 37 times. However, they only gained 126 yards in the game. The offensive line has to take blame for some of the running game woes, but the running backs must be tougher in the middle. If Nebraska would have gained a couple of yards, they would have won the game. Instead, they were repeatedly stuffed by the tough BYU front four.
Terrell Newby led the Huskers with 43 rushing yards on the day. Despite his 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Newby did not have a stellar day running the ball. Only carrying the ball 10 times, it’s hard to tell if Newby needs to get his groove into a game, but some things must change for Nebraska to control the line of scrimmage.
Tommy Armstrong under duress all day
Imani Cross and Mikale Wilbon split the other 13 carries and combined for 48 yards. It may not be the popular choice, but they each looked like they were more equipped to handle the duties against BYU. Cross averaged 4.9 yards per carry, while displaying the power and tenacity the Nebraska backs are used to have. As for Wilbon, his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, and get tough yards in the hole, shows he can be a force for the Huskers’ offense. As soon as you see Wilbon, you can tell he’s a running back, and a football player.
Unfortunately, Nebraska didn’t have an opportunity to use Adam Taylor and Devine Ozigbo in week 1. They also lost the depth at TE rather quickly. With Cethan Carter out of the lineup due to suspension, David Sutton’s injury really left the Huskers thin at the position.
Speaking of Sutton’s injury, there’s no way the referees missed that dirty play. Jordan Preator should have been penalized, and ejected from the game over the hit. However, the refs let it go, but made a note to call a late hit on Nate Gerry’s interception.
When it comes down to basics, the Nebraska offense has a lot of work to do. They must be able to pick up the blitzes, and employ a powerful running game. If that happens, the Huskers could be headed towards an exhilarating season. If not, there might be plenty of heartbreaking moments in 2015.