Tommy Armstrong’s leadership on display for Huskers
The Nebraska Cornhuskers take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in a must-win game on Saturday. No matter how you slice it, the Huskers are reeling at (1-2), and Tommy Armstrong’s leadership must be on display for the Huskers. For a program like Nebraska, there are no such things as moral victories, and it’s time they find themselves on the right side of the scoreboard. It’s up to Tommy Armstrong to lead the Huskers to a homecoming win.
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For all of the great things Armstrong has done early in the season, there seems to be a drop off coming soon. Nobody really believes it’s coming, especially since Armstrong took responsibility for his final play of the Miami game. However, Nebraska’s success depends on his continued growth as the Huskers QB. According to Mitch Sherman of ESPN.com, Armstrong has been better than advertised in the first three games. He’s definitely become a nice fit with the new offensive system. Still, there are a couple of phases where Armstrong can get better.
In the loss to Miami, Armstrong only completed 21/45 passes, with three interceptions. There were a couple of drops early in the game, but completing 46.7 percent of your passes is not going to get it done. Now Armstrong is down to 57 percent for the 2015 season. While it’s above his career average of 53.7 percent, he could be regressing right before our eyes. However, it doesn’t mean Armstrong is unable to turn it around immediately. Still, his passing attempts should concern Huskers’ fans as they prepare for their final non conference game.
Tommy Armstrong
Currently, Armstrong has thrown the seventh most pass attempts in the country. While leading the Big Ten conference with 116 pass attempts, he also leads the league with 66 completions. If the offense creates more cohesion, these numbers might increase as the season progresses. So far, he’s throwing more than 38 times per game this year. Under Mike Riley‘s tutelage, Armstrong’s mechanics look better, but the change in philosophy hasn’t led to wins. Therefore, his conference leading nine touchdown passes are nice, but they ring hollow in the grand scheme.
Armstrong finally used his running ability in the Miami game. Once he became a threat with his legs, the receivers had wide open space to roam. If he doesn’t continue to use his mobility, defenses will zero-in on the passing game. In addition, Armstrong has the tools to get the defense out of position. Once they start reacting to every move, Nebraska could really see an offensive explosion.
Scoring 23 points in eight minutes could be the turning point for the season. It showed how dynamic the Nebraska offense can be, but it also displayed the inconsistencies of the Huskers’ offense. At their best, Nebraska should be scoring close to 50 points per game. However, they seem to have trouble with prosperity. Remember, the Huskers scored 14 first quarter points against BYU. They didn’t score again until the third quarter of the contest. Once they got the lead again, their offense was unable to produce.
Against Miami, the Huskers only scored three points in the first half. There’s no way an offense with this capability should only have three points in 30 minutes of action. Turnovers were a drive-killer for Nebraska. More importantly, they lost points in a game that went to overtime. Otherwise, we could be singing a different tune as the Huskers enter Week 4.