When you think about the history of Nebraska Cornhuskers football, you think of a punishing running game. From 1977 to 2003, the Huskers surpassed the 3,000 rushing yards mark every season. Coincidentally, the Huskers played in a Bowl game in each of those seasons. However, a (9-3) regular season record in 2003 wasn’t good enough for the state of Nebraska football, so head coach Frank Solich was relieved of his duties. As history played out, it was the wrong move when they hired Bill Callahan as head coach.
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Twelve years later, the Huskers are in the same predicament. Bo Pelini’s nine wins every season was an eyesore when it came to Husker fans. Not only did Nebraska want to get rid of the Pelini attitude, they wanted to usher in a more pass friendly offense. In comes Mike Riley, and his high flying passing attack from Oregon State. So far, the offense has hit the Nebraska fan base with mixed results. Believe me, mixed results aren’t going to cut it in Lincoln.
During the first four games, it was cute. A lot of times, the passing game seemed to be progressing nicely. They were almost an explosive offense. However, Nebraska never seemed to make the plays needed to have a strong season. They couldn’t pick up a final first down against BYU. They also couldn’t complete the comeback against Miami. Still, Armstrong was leading the Big Ten with 11 passing touchdowns coming into conference play. Therefore, it was a matter of time before the offense just started clicking on all cylinders.
Instead, the Huskers took the biggest step back in the entire Big Ten. Armstrong only completed 10/31 passes for 105 yards. To make matters worse, the Huskers only ran the ball 34 times. If they really wanted to win the game, the Huskers would have run the ball 50 times on Saturday. If the Huskers knew how to win, they would have run the ball a 35th time to put the game away. However, neither of those things were close to happening.
Why? It shouldn’t even matter why they refuse to run the ball. Maybe, just maybe.. Mike Riley and the coaching staff are more concerned with implementing their offense than winning games right now. Whether it was Armstrong’s fault, or a mix up in the play call, shouldn’t matter either. It’s the second time Nebraska wasn’t on the same page in the final minute of the game. Both times cost the Huskers a victory.
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By the way, it’s hard to confuse a running play with a passing play. There aren’t enough press conferences in the world to talk about the blunder at Illinois. The fact is, the Huskers are prone to choking with the game on the line. Sometimes scoring 13 points is enough to win. It should have been enough on Saturday.
The breakdown of the running game doesn’t make much sense either. Andy Janovich led the team with 11 rushing attempts. Remember, Janovich wasn’t able to get a touch in the first three games. Now he carried the ball more than anybody in a Nebraska uniform. Armstrong had eight carries for 38 yards.
The Huskers are no longer the home of the I-back. Devine Ozigbo became the featured I-back with seven carries for 70 yards, and one touchdown. Terrell Newby only earned five rush attempts in the entire game. Instead of feeding Ozigbo the rock, Nebraska threw the game away repeatedly. Five games into the season, and no one knows if the Huskers could be a dominant running team because the coaching staff refuses to try.
The receivers were one of the bright spots for the Huskers this season. However, Saturday’s performance was terrible. Weather played a factor, but it’s not really an excuse to drop the football on a consistent basis. In fact, the receivers caught 3 of the 10 Armstrong completions. Still, it’s more likely to believe the WR play was an aberration, and they’ll bounce back nicely next weekend. Hopefully, they aren’t affected by the weather for the second weekend in a row.
Even if they do struggle, Mike Riley and the coaching staff has to put the team in position to win. There’s no shame in running the ball if the passing game isn’t working. It just so happens, the Huskers face a Wisconsin team that gives up fewer than 100 yards on the ground.
For Nebraska Cornhuskers football to get a win, they need the offense to show up every game. Otherwise, this season could be doomed.