Run Tommy!
After a nice win at Memorial Stadium Chicago edition, the Huskers were able to come home from Evanston with a 4-0 record. What has happened since then has been a bit of blow up, both at home and nationally.
So let’s talk a little bit about the game. Nebraska was a favorite on the road against a Northwestern team that had come into Lincoln last year and dealt the Huskers a large blow, that helped push the Huskers toward a 2-6 record that they were lucky to pull out of enough to get to a bowl game. This isn’t the same Nebraska team and it showed.
The first series that the Huskers had the ball looked like they were going to be a runaway, they marched down the field only to have Terrell Newby fumble the ball while leaping Superman style toward the pylon. Unfortunately for Nebraska, that play changed the complexion of the game slightly. Instead of blowing out the Wildcats, they hung around and made it hard for the Huskers to blow them out.
On the good side of things, the Huskers amassed over 500 yards of total offense. Tommy Armstrong continued with his strong play and rushed for 132 yards. Including 246 yards passing, Tommy is really making a case that he could be all Big Ten by the end of the season. If you would have told fans that at the beginning of the year, most would have probably scoffed at that. They shouldn’t, Tommy has been the MVP so far this season for the Huskers. If he can stay upright and continue with his current pace, there is no doubt in my mind that the Huskers can end up playing for the Big Ten title come December.
Defensively, Kevin Maurice had a big game with his first two sacks of the season. Chris Jones continued to play like a lock down cornerback and Joshua Kalu and Aaron Williams both had interceptions to help the defense hold Northwestern to 13 points. This Blackshirt unit has really been solid when they’ve needed to be and continue to improve over last season’s unit.
Nebraska has a chance to move to 5-0 this weekend against Illinois. After last season, an undefeated record moving into October is a reversal of fortune that all Husker fans are enjoying. Last year’s debacle in Champagne seemed like hitting rock bottom, losing 14-13 on a last seconds touchdown pass. Little did we know that getting beat by Purdue was the actual bottom, but this year the Huskers look like they are back on track and should have plenty of motivation for revenge against the Illini this weekend.
One last thing I want to touch on is the three players that kneeled during the National Anthem. Whether you are offended by the act or not, clearly the players, Coach Riley and the rest of the team have handled the controversy well since last Saturday. While I can certainly understand people being upset, sometimes you have to put yourselves in someone else’s shoes to completely understand what they feel and what is important to them. I won’t ever understand what it’s like to be an African American in this country, no more than I will understand growing up in an environment of drugs, crime and broken homes. While you may or may not agree with the platform they chose to try and bring light to a subject, the fact is, the discussion has been ramped up this week in Nebraska.
All that being said, I’m going to support the team and those three players. Coach Riley is supporting them, the University President Hank Bounds has supported them and their teammates are supporting them. That’s enough for me. I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but I understand that bringing light on a subject of race and the difficulty of the times we live in pertaining to race is important. I have a feeling that this episode is going to bring this team together this weekend and this season.
I think a little bit about what has happened this last week. I then think about Sam Foltz and what this team went through this summer. Life isn’t always simple, in fact sometimes it is damn hard. Being 18 years old or 22 years old, sometimes you see things different than someone who is knocking on 40, 50 or even 80. That’s ok, it’s alright to have differing opinions and being able to express them is about as American as apple pie and football. Hopefully the end result is that we all are more aware of the circumstances in this country and what we need to do to improve it going forward. I know cheering for the Huskers this weekend is always a great way to bring all of Husker Nation together, I hope it continues to do that.
ON WITH THE REWIND…
Last week our Northwestern prediction had the Huskers winning 28 to 17. Considering it ended up 24 to 13 we didn’t do too bad, but we will continue to persevere in our effort for perfection!
While the game itself seemed like it was pretty tightly contested, Nebraska was never really challenged in the final minutes. Though it wasn’t a blowout, the Huskers also never seemed in danger in the fourth quarter.
Nebraska was able to do pretty much whatever they wanted against the Wildcats offensively. If it weren’t for the two early dropped balls near the goal line, Nebraska could have easily been out to a 28-3 lead. This Husker team is learning how to put teams away. They aren’t quite head and shoulders above each opponent, but they are definitely looking like they are a top shelf team in the Big Ten West.
A Mikale Wilbon sighting! Mikale had a homecoming of sorts, as he is from Chicago. He played like he was out to impress his family too. After seeming to be an afterthought since the beginning of the season, Wilbon averaged over 9 yards on his six carries last Saturday. I think we all would like to see a little more of that action.
Chris Jones continues to play lights out. It really is becoming lock-down U on his side of the field. In fact, I’ve read a stat he is averaging an interception or pass breakup on every four passes thrown his way this season. Even if it’s not true, he has played like an All-Conference cornerback.
Tommy Armstrong is making a believer out of many. Tommy continues to improve from week to week. It’s not a stretch to say that his improvement has been maybe the most remarkable improvement from one year to the next that we have seen since (chokes up a bit) Ndamukung Suh. I don’t want to put Tommy in that class just yet, but the improvement has been remarkable.
4-0. Like I said earlier, the fact that the Huskers are undefeated and ranked 15th in both national polls is impressive. Considering where things were headed at this time last season, I’d say it’s a marked improvement. A win this weekend, followed by an off week should be enough to help propel Nebraska into the meat of their schedule.
Recruiting. It’s hard to understand sometimes because the results don’t always present themselves while recruits are here, but Nebraska is hosting an impressive set of recruits again this weekend. I can’t stress enough how important it is to get kids to home games at Nebraska. It is such a game changer for them. As Coach Riley closes out this class, there are plenty of high profile kids considering the Huskers. Continue to win and this could be the highest rated recruiting class for Nebraska in over ten years.
Score Prediction: Nebraska 38 – Illinois 14
Nebraska was feeling their oats a little bit after a big win at home over Oregon. What happened after that was the first road game, first conference game and the first chance for Nebraska to stumble. The Huskers didn’t do that. Now they get an Illinois team that has less talent at most positions, but a quarterback that had a big day against the Huskers in 2015. This week it shouldn’t matter though, this team is too resilient and too focused to let this game slip away. Nebraska gives up a couple touchdown passes in the second half, but will cruise to a relatively easy Homecoming victory. GBR!!
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