Even when the Nebraska Cornhuskers win, they lose. Despite holding on for a 36-28 victory over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, the Huskers had to drop in the latest Big Ten rankings. First of all, they are sitting at (2-2), and other teams have won the close games, the Huskers have given away this season. Second, Nebraska’s pass defense is horrendous at this point.
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How bad has it been for the Huskers’ defense? So far, the Blackshirts are giving up 379 yards per game through the air. Quarterbacks are completing 60 percent of their passes. In other words, they are completing a better percentage than Tommy Armstrong Jr., and he’s been lighting defenses up this season. However, it’s not all bad for the Nebraska defense. They’ve had their moments, which makes the shortcomings more frustrating.
Nebraska is giving up 73.5 yards per game on the ground. Therefore, if teams can’t run the ball, they will abandon their plan, and attack the Huskers’ secondary. Will the Big Ten teams have a chance to take advantage as the weather changes? Overall, the Huskers are giving up 26.5 points per game this season. For any success, the Huskers must lower that number.
Offensively, Nebraska has had their moments in the first month. While they haven’t been overly explosive in the first month, the Huskers are putting up huge passing numbers, entering the Big Ten conference season. Armstrong is leading the Big Ten with 11 touchdown passes, and more is expected in the conference season. Still, the Huskers must finish drives, and curtail their turnovers. Otherwise, they’ll never rise in the Big Ten rankings.
Armstrong is coming off of his first Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week award in his career, so Nebraska will go as far as the offense can take them. Hopefully for the Huskers, it will be to a Big Ten West title.
Indiana Hoosiers
Currently, the Big Ten has five ranked teams in the AP Top 25 Poll, and there are five undefeated teams in the conference. We’ll find out who the pretenders are early on. Could the Indiana Hoosiers actually become a force in the Big Ten? They have a chance to make a statement on Saturday.
Following Michigan’s win over BYU, the Wolverines are starting to look like a contender. However, they have a long way to go this season. Michigan can’t afford any setbacks in the next couple of weeks.
Here are the updated Big Ten rankings. You can also check last week’s Big Ten rankings to see where teams rose and fell.