The Nebraska Cornhuskers have had a rocky start to their season, posting a disappointing 2-3 record after suffering yet another late-game collapse against Illinois. Here are four things we've learned about Nebraska so far this season:
4) Explosive passing attack
New head coach Mike Riley has already worked wonders for Nebraska's passing attack as they rank 17th in the country averaging 325 yards per game through the air - even after their disastrous performance against Illinois. The progression of quarterback Tommy Armstrong (more on him later) and play of wideout Jordan Westerkamp have been key, but Riley's fingerprints are evident.
3) Nebraska isn't the best team in close games
Nebraska is only a few plays away from being 5-0 this season. They lost on a Hail Mary to BYU, lost in OT to Miami, and a touchdown on the last play of scrimmage agaisnt Illinois - all of which are games that Nebraska could have won easily. Had they done that, Nebraska winning the Big Ten West would be a common prediction, but they haven't been able to make the plays down the stretch when they've needed to. That needs to chance as they head into conference play.
2) Tommy Armstrong has been good enough
Armstrong hasn't been the perfect QB, but he's been much better as a pocket passer this season. He's also shown incredible heart and guts through four games, nearly pulling off a huge comeback against Miami. Armstrong has shown this season that he's good enough leader and playmaker to guide the Cornhuskers to a Big Ten Title.
1) Inconsistency has killed them
The Cornhuskers will go on spurts when they look like they can beat anyone in the country, like when they took two double-digit leads over BYU and came back to tie Miami, but also go through spurts where they look terrible. They nearly added another loss to Southern Miss because of this, jumping out to a 22-point lead, but let them back into the game. This is something that has to stop if they want to be successful in conference play.
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