The Nebraska Cornhuskers needed an extraordinary effort from the entire team to defeat the Michigan State Spartans, 39-38. However, one of their offensive units came into the game with plenty of injuries.
If you haven’t noticed, the Huskers’ wide receivers have looked like the walking wounded for much of the season. Despite some explosive games, they were marred by inconsistency throughout the season.
Whether it was dropped passes, or injuries, there was always some dilemma getting in the Huskers’ way. However, they seemed to put it all together on Saturday night. Before the game, there was uncertainty on how much the entire wide receiver corps could contribute. After the game, I channeled my inner Will Smith character Mike Lowry in the original ‘Bad Boys.’ For now on receivers, “That’s How You Play.”
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Overall, the passing game put up 320 yards against the Spartans defense. No. They didn’t surpass the 400 yard mark or anything excessive, but they competed like a national championship game was on the line. Countless times, Jordan Westerkamp and Alonzo Moore struggled to get off the ground due to hard collisions. With De’Mornay Pierson-El out for the season, they may have not had a choice.
Coming into the game, Moore was a game time decision with a bad shoulder injury. In addition, Brandon Reilly had a boot on his foot, so his availability for the game was uncertain. How long would they last in a game of this magnitude? Well, they made it to the end.
Jordan Westerkamp
One of the reasons why the receivers played so well had to do with the game plan. The Nebraska Cornhuskers only had 33 passes, so the wide receivers didn’t have an extra 15 attempts to have untimely drops. It was the perfect example of more with less.
Westerkamp had nine catches for 143 yards and one touchdown. He caught a pair of back to back passes in the final drive of the game. In a blink of an eye, the Tommy Armstrong to Westerkamp connection gave the ball to the Huskers at the Spartans 30 yard line. Only moments before, the Huskers were inside their 10 yard line, with 55 seconds left in the game. Without Westerkamp’s catch and runs, the chances of the Huskers completing the upset would have been slim.
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Of course, Reilly made the most debated catch of the night. His 30-yard game-winning touchdown reception was steeped in controversy. Was he forced out-of-bounds by the Michigan State defender? The refs seemed to think so. However, how would Huskers react if they were on the defensive end of that call? Either way, the game was not over. The way the receivers were running free in the secondary, the Huskers may have scored on the next play.
Despite their injuries, Moore and Reilly had three catches apiece. They combined for 152 yards, and averaged more than 21 yards per catch on Saturday. The big plays were evident throughout the game. Still, there was one more receiver to make his impact late in the game.
With the Huskers trailing by 12 points, Armstrong found Stanley Morgan Jr. on back to back plays. Morgan totaled 27 yards on the game, and his big plays helped the Huskers get in range for Armstrong’s short touchdown run.
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If the wide receivers continue to play this way, they’ll have a chance to win the final two games. So far, all of the receivers are healthy for their road contest with Rutgers. If the Huskers win, they’ll have a week off before their season finale with Iowa.