Nebraska football is far from the only Big Ten West program that’s lost a starting quarterback this year. In fact they’re dropping like flies.
It turns out that Jeff Sims missing four games was just the start of the injuries to quarterbacks in the Big West. Not long after the Nebraska football team lost its starting quarterback, Iowa’s Cade McNamara suffered an injury that has him out for the rest of the season.
And now, Wisconsin’s Tanner Mordecai has a broken hand. Ironically, Mordecai suffered the injury against the Hawkeyes on Saturday evening.
The SMU transfer who was brought in to run Luke Fickell’s Run and Gun offense broke his throwing hand when he hit it on the helmet of an Iowa defender. Pete Thamel reported on Monday morning that the QB1 had surgery on Sunday and had a pin inserted.
While Mordecai hasn’t been ruled out for the entire season, it does seem like he’ll be questionable for Wisconsin’s game against the Nebraska football team.
In that case it does appear that once again a Nebraska football rival’s loss will be the Huskers’ gain. While you never want to see a player lose time because of an injury like that, it’s hard not to look down the Huskers’ schedule and see it just got a little bit easier.
Nebraska football rival loses starting quarterback
The Huskers entered their bye week sitting at 3-3 and needing three more wins to get to a bowl game for the first time since the 2016 Music City Bowl. Since that game, Nebraska football really hasn’t come close to six wins.
Before this weekend, the Cornhuskers’ best chance to make a bowl seemed to be going three for its next three against Northwestern, Purdue, and Michigan State. While that’s still the path most fans would like to see, because it would remove a feeling of desperation from the end of the season, it’s very much not the only path.
Iowa and Wisconsin could both be trying to win games with a backup quarterback when the Huskers face them. It’s also worth pointing out Maryland’s loss to Illinois this past Saturday shows they’re not the juggernaut Nebraska football fans thought they were earlier in the season.