Know Your Opponent: Nebraska Comes in at No. 10, But Are They Ripe For an Upset?
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Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Head Coach: Mike Riley (2nd Year at Nebraska)
Overall: 104-87 (.677) 16th year
At Nebraska 11-7 (5-5)
Bowl Appearances: 1
Last Year’s Record: 6-7 (3-5) Won Foster Farms Bowl vs. UCLA
This Year’s Record: 5-0 (2-0)
Postseason Appearances Since 2000: 14 Appearances (7-7 Record)
Mascot: Herbie Husker/ Lil’ Red
Colors: Scarlet and Cream
Outfitter: adidas
National Titles: 5
Conference Titles: 46
Heisman Winners: 3
Fun Fact:
The Husker defense is known by the nickname of the "Blackshirts." Depictions of the Blackshirts often include a skull and crossbones. This nickname originated in the early 1960s and continued as a reference to the black practice jerseys worn by first-string defensive players during practice. This tradition developed when Bob Devaney had Mike Corgan, one of his assistant coaches; find contrastive jerseys to offset the red jerseys worn by the offense in practice. Further credit is given to George Kelly, Devaney's defensive line coach until 1968, who frequently referred to the top defensive unit by the name; eventually the rest of the coaching staff caught on, while the first mention of the Blackshirts in print was not until 1969.
1. Tommy Turnover Has Become Tommy Touchdown
Last season Nebraska finished the regular season a disappointing 5-7 in Mike Riley’s first year in Lincoln. Much of that was due to the lack of ball security from their quarterback Tommy Armstrong. In 2015 Armstrong threw 16 interceptions to just 22 touchdowns. This season the redshirt senior has nine touchdown passes and just two picks. On the ground, where Armstrong makes a huge difference, he has carried the ball 60 times for 293 yards and five more touchdowns. The biggest question about whether or not Nebraska could win the Big Ten West came down to Armstrong hanging onto the ball. So far, he has.
2. Are The Black Shirts Back?
The Black Shirts are black jerseys given to the first team defense and it represented a shutdown defense in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The Nebraska defense hasn’t been as great as those decades, but they seem to be back in form in 2016. Nebraska is giving up just 17.5 points per contest good for 15th nationally and they rank 28th nationally in total defense allowing just 346.8 yards per game. They rank eighth nationally in intercepted passes with 8, but they rank dead last in fumbles recovered with one. Senior safety Nate Gerry is the biggest playmaker in the secondary registering 29 tackles, four tackles for loss, and half a sack as well as being tied for the team lead in interceptions with two.
Nebraska has trouble getting pressure on the passer with just 11 sacks in five games, putting them at 69th in the country. The defensive lineman to keep an eye on is Ross Dzuris who has 19 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 6.5 tackles for loss.
Are the Black Shirts back? Not necessarily, but this Nebraska defense is nothing to joke around with.
3. The Injury Bug Invades Lincoln
Nebraska is coming off a bye week as they head to Bloomington, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be at full strength. The Huskers will probably be without second leading receiver Jordan Westerkamp and star tight end Cethan Carter. Westerkamp is a tremendous player and became the go to target for Armstrong. In his five games this season, he caught 13 passes for 228 yards and four touchdowns. If he is out, which seems very likely since he was not listed on this week’s depth chart, the Huskers will need to get good performances out of Stanley Morgan Jr. and Alonzo Moore. Losing Cethan Carter will also be a big blow to the Huskers offense as he was the team’s fourth leading receiver and a big part of their running game. Also of note, Tommy Armstrong spent some of the open week in a boot for an ankle injury, but should be able to start on Saturday.
4. Nebraska Has a Balanced Attack on Offense
Nebraska can hurt teams on the ground as much as they can through the air. The Huskers are averaging 234.2 yards per game on the ground and 238.4 per game passing. Running back Terrell Newby leads the way in the rushing attack carrying the ball 59 times for 327 yards and three scores. However, it is not just a one-man show. Three players have over 59 carries for Nebraska and behind Newby is sophomore Devine Ozigbo who has 318 yards and four touchdowns on 76 carries and quarterback Tommy Armstrong has 293 yards on 60 carries. The Indiana defensive line depth will be tested as the Huskers should have fresh legs running the ball most of the time.
5. Is This Nebraska Team Really a Top-10 Squad?
When the AP Poll was announced on Monday, a day late due to postponed games, Nebraska cracked had cracked the top-10, but are they really a top-10 team? There are many arguments to be made against it. Yes the Huskers are 5-0, but their opponents’ aggregate record is a dismal 10-18 and that includes Oregon who has imploded since losing in Lincoln when they missed four, yes FOUR, two point conversions in a narrow loss. Nebraska has not been able to put bad teams away, as Illinois was leading late in the game two weeks ago. Yes, the same Illinois team that lost at home to Purdue for the second time in three years. Don’t get me wrong, this is a very good Nebraska team who is playing well, with a quarterback who is probably the second best in the conference. They have the upper hand for the Big Ten West crown and could give anyone out of the East trouble.