Armstrong at QB

[Joe_5700]

There is no way Osborne would have overlooked the turnovers the way Pelini has with his last 2 quarterbacks. Not a chance.

Osborne didn't have to throw a Freshman quarterback into a part-time starting role mid-season when his four year starter got injured very often, so it's hard to determine what he was willing to overlook, if by "overlook" you mean not yanking the quarterback out at the first sign of trouble, with no better option available.

Osborne certainly stuck with quarterbacks who threw more interceptions per attempt than Freshman Tommy Armstrong did last year, not to mention lower completion percentages, fewer yards per carry and fewer wins per start. This year Tommy appears to be doing better. Actually, Tommy Armstrong is doing everything we used to love in a quarterback, while nearly eliminating his turnovers. Again, it's a bit mystifying why we're not supposed to enjoy Tommy Armstrong too much.

If you're saying Tom Osborne would have started Cody Green, Zac Lee or Ron Kellogg III over Taylor Martinez.....I think he might have started Lee in 2010. I don't know if he would have maintained that stance, or if that would have been better for Nebraska football.

I would say the last 3 (excluding Lee) QB's have had turnover issues...

 

[The Dude]

The bad part is I've seen enough to watch Tommy split the defender's numbers too much. No? If the stone hands defenders would have held on to the gifts they were given his TD/INT would be closer to 1/1. I didn't need a HDTV to see that.

This has been greatly exaggerated, too. Rewatch the FAU game (preferably on an HDTV). The two that people marked down as "could have been picked" passes would have been great leaping catches by the defenders. Defenders don't typically make great leaping catches, otherwise they'd most likely be playing offense. "Split the defender's numbers" didn't happen in that game. It may have happened in the McNeese state game a couple times, one of them was actually picked off. I didn't really see any in the Fresno State game, either. He threw into a tight window on a slant route to Kenny, who was double covered, but aside from it being a fastball slightly behind Kenny, the only one who had a chance to catch it was Kenny (he didn't). He threw a bomb to Moore after being flushed out of the pocket, and the commentator whined about him throwing into triple coverage, but he didn't. He threw away from coverage (there's a difference) and to be fair he hit Moore with pinpoint accuracy from 60 yards out. The only one who had a chance to catch that ball was Moore (he didn't).

All in all, I'd say his "could have been picked" total is likely no worse than most college QBs. Tough to know for sure since "could have been picked" isn't really a thing. It only matters when it's an actual interception. There's a lot of college QBs with 5-6 actual interceptions right now.

 

[Mavric]

This is actually quite good:

Brian Rosenthal ‏@HuskerExtraBR 45m
#Huskers, 50% on 3rd-down plays, are 9-of-17 on 3rd-down plays of 7 yards or more with Armstrong at QB, and 6-of-12 on 3rd-and-10 or more.

 

[admo]

Armstrong is running well. Very physical and confident. It's been great to see. I think he does a decent job passing. Sometimes really good compared to last year. He can get better but I do like what he's shown through 4 games operating as our Qb this year. The more experience he gets the more things will slow down. He is a sophomore. Even Ameer is a lot bigger, stronger and a better running back today than he was as a sophomore when he took over for Rex. I think Tommy can follow the same path as Ameer. It just takes time, more games and some seasoning.

 

[kchusker_chris]

Armstrong is running well. Very physical and confident. It's been great to see. I think he does a decent job passing. Sometimes really good compared to last year. He can get better but I do like what he's shown through 4 games operating as our Qb this year. The more experience he gets the more things will slow down. He is a sophomore. Even Ameer is a lot bigger, stronger and a better running back today than he was as a sophomore when he took over for Rex. I think Tommy can follow the same path as Ameer. It just takes time, more games and some seasoning.

He's averaging almost 9 yards per carry. He's probably not going to take it to the house, but when he runs he's getting chunks of yards. In Taylor's first season, he averaged less than 6, his other two were closer to 5, and his best season barely broke 1000 yards. For as good of a runner as he was, Tommy will likely surpass him by the end of the season. That's some pretty solid company to be in when you're talking about a rushing QB. He doesn't guess on the zone read - he's rarely wrong. That's a welcome change. Add to it that he's fairly calm in the pocket, scrambles well and has an effective deep ball and he's only going to get better. I feel really good about Tommy at this point. He'll get more in sync with his WRs as the season goes on. If he throws an INT or two, it is what is. That's going to happen. 9TD to 2INT...I'll take that all season long. Feed the ball to your skill players, capitalize on your opportunities and limit the mistakes. He's doing all that and then some.

 

[knapplc]

Anyone still worried about Tommy at this point is just picking nits.

His national ranks through non-con:

Passing Efficiency - 21

Passing Yards - 37

Passing Yards Per Game - 53

Passing Yards Per Attempt - 14

Passing Yards per Completion - 5

Passing Touchdowns - 20 (tied with 6 others)

Completion Percentage - 98

Rushing Yards - 36

Rushing Yards Per Carry - 6

Rushing Yards Per Game - 48

Total Offense - 21

Those are from the NCAA stats site.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Anyone still worried about Tommy at this point is just picking nits.

His national ranks through non-con:

Passing Efficiency - 21

Passing Yards - 37

Passing Yards Per Game - 53

Passing Yards Per Attempt - 14

Passing Yards per Completion - 5

Passing Touchdowns - 20 (tied with 6 others)

Completion Percentage - 98

Rushing Yards - 36 #5 for QBs

Rushing Yards Per Carry - 6 #2 for QBs

Rushing Yards Per Game - 48 #6 for QBs

Total Offense - 21

Those are from the NCAA stats site.

 

[deedsker]

Anyone still worried about Tommy at this point is just picking nits.

His national ranks through non-con:

Passing Efficiency - 21

Passing Yards - 37

Passing Yards Per Game - 53

Passing Yards Per Attempt - 14

Passing Yards per Completion - 5

Passing Touchdowns - 20 (tied with 6 others)

Completion Percentage - 98

Rushing Yards - 36

Rushing Yards Per Carry - 6

Rushing Yards Per Game - 48

Total Offense - 21

Those are from the NCAA stats site.

That is great and all, but outside of Miami, we have been playing very tough defenses. FAU as an entirety have been laughable and Fresno is giving up 55 points to FBS teams. Mcneese St is an FCS school no matter how good they are down there. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

 

[TITANIC VS LUSITANIA]

The rushing from TA looks very good. What I am not convinced of is the passing.

When Michigan State stacks the box, blitzes and forces long downs, then I am curious to see if he is as effective.

I also recognize that line play is a huge part of this, it is not all on the QB.

 

[knapplc]

Anyone still worried about Tommy at this point is just picking nits.

His national ranks through non-con:

Passing Efficiency - 21

Passing Yards - 37

Passing Yards Per Game - 53

Passing Yards Per Attempt - 14

Passing Yards per Completion - 5

Passing Touchdowns - 20 (tied with 6 others)

Completion Percentage - 98

Rushing Yards - 36

Rushing Yards Per Carry - 6

Rushing Yards Per Game - 48

Total Offense - 21

Those are from the NCAA stats site.

That is great and all, but outside of Miami, we have been playing very tough defenses. FAU as an entirety have been laughable and Fresno is giving up 55 points to FBS teams. Mcneese St is an FCS school no matter how good they are down there. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Except everyone plays a similar schedule. One laugher, one Power Five opponent and one (for conferences with nine in-conference games) mid-level opponent or (for conferences with an eight-game conference schedule) two laughers/mid-level opponents.

This isn't an apples-to-oranges comparison. Aside from some teams being better than others, we've essentially played the same schedule as everyone in a Power Five conference so far.

 

[deedsker]

Anyone still worried about Tommy at this point is just picking nits.

His national ranks through non-con:

Passing Efficiency - 21

Passing Yards - 37

Passing Yards Per Game - 53

Passing Yards Per Attempt - 14

Passing Yards per Completion - 5

Passing Touchdowns - 20 (tied with 6 others)

Completion Percentage - 98

Rushing Yards - 36

Rushing Yards Per Carry - 6

Rushing Yards Per Game - 48

Total Offense - 21

Those are from the NCAA stats site.

That is great and all, but outside of Miami, we have been playing very tough defenses. FAU as an entirety have been laughable and Fresno is giving up 55 points to FBS teams. Mcneese St is an FCS school no matter how good they are down there. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Except everyone plays a similar schedule. One laugher, one Power Five opponent and one (for conferences with nine in-conference games) mid-level opponent or (for conferences with an eight-game conference schedule) two laughers/mid-level opponents.

This isn't an apples-to-oranges comparison. Aside from some teams being better than others, we've essentially played the same schedule as everyone in a Power Five conference so far.

Except our midlevel and creme puff are both laughably bad. Some have played East Carolina, Florida International, North Texas, or UCF. You know, teams who actually have attempted to play defense to this point in the year. Our teams are pretty bad when compared to their PEERS.

 

[StPaulHusker]

Anyone still worried about Tommy at this point is just picking nits.

His national ranks through non-con:

Passing Efficiency - 21

Passing Yards - 37

Passing Yards Per Game - 53

Passing Yards Per Attempt - 14

Passing Yards per Completion - 5

Passing Touchdowns - 20 (tied with 6 others)

Completion Percentage - 98

Rushing Yards - 36

Rushing Yards Per Carry - 6

Rushing Yards Per Game - 48

Total Offense - 21

Those are from the NCAA stats site.

That is great and all, but outside of Miami, we have been playing very tough defenses. FAU as an entirety have been laughable and Fresno is giving up 55 points to FBS teams. Mcneese St is an FCS school no matter how good they are down there. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Except everyone plays a similar schedule. One laugher, one Power Five opponent and one (for conferences with nine in-conference games) mid-level opponent or (for conferences with an eight-game conference schedule) two laughers/mid-level opponents.

This isn't an apples-to-oranges comparison. Aside from some teams being better than others, we've essentially played the same schedule as everyone in a Power Five conference so far.

Except our midlevel and creme puff are both laughably bad. Some have played East Carolina, Florida International, North Texas, or UCF. You know, teams who actually have attempted to play defense to this point in the year. Our teams are pretty bad when compared to their PEERS.

Do you think the teams had any idea East Carolina was going to be this good? It's a crapshoot.

 

[deedsker]

Anyone still worried about Tommy at this point is just picking nits.

His national ranks through non-con:

Passing Efficiency - 21

Passing Yards - 37

Passing Yards Per Game - 53

Passing Yards Per Attempt - 14

Passing Yards per Completion - 5

Passing Touchdowns - 20 (tied with 6 others)

Completion Percentage - 98

Rushing Yards - 36

Rushing Yards Per Carry - 6

Rushing Yards Per Game - 48

Total Offense - 21

Those are from the NCAA stats site.

That is great and all, but outside of Miami, we have been playing very tough defenses. FAU as an entirety have been laughable and Fresno is giving up 55 points to FBS teams. Mcneese St is an FCS school no matter how good they are down there. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Except everyone plays a similar schedule. One laugher, one Power Five opponent and one (for conferences with nine in-conference games) mid-level opponent or (for conferences with an eight-game conference schedule) two laughers/mid-level opponents.

This isn't an apples-to-oranges comparison. Aside from some teams being better than others, we've essentially played the same schedule as everyone in a Power Five conference so far.

Except our midlevel and creme puff are both laughably bad. Some have played East Carolina, Florida International, North Texas, or UCF. You know, teams who actually have attempted to play defense to this point in the year. Our teams are pretty bad when compared to their PEERS.

Do you think the teams had any idea East Carolina was going to be this good? It's a crapshoot.

I am just saying not all creme puff defenses are created equal. We appear to have selected the puffiest. I am a healthy skeptic to what I have seen.

 

[knapplc]

Except our midlevel and creme puff are both laughably bad. Some have played East Carolina, Florida International, North Texas, or UCF. You know, teams who actually have attempted to play defense to this point in the year. Our teams are pretty bad when compared to their PEERS.

OK, let's compare peers. I'm not going to waste my time doing this for every category I listed above, but here's a couple

We'll check rushing and passing.

Bear in mind, Sagarin rates Nebraska's SOS at 91 right now.

There are four QBs ahead of Armstrong for Rushing Yards. Here are their schedules, and their SOS:

Tyler Murphy Boston College (SOS - 127)

Massachusetts

Pittsburgh

USC

Maine

Justin Thomas Georgia Tech (SOS - 113)

Wofford

Tulane

Ga. Southern

Virginia Tech

Taysom Hill BYU (SOS - 48)

Connecticut

Texas

Houston

Virginia

Dak Prescott Mississippi St. (SOS - 115)

Southern Miss

UAB

South Alabama

LSU

There are 14 QBs ahead of Tommy in Yards Per Completion. I looked them all up and here are their schedules & SOS.

Seth Russell Baylor (SOS - 160)

SMU

Northwestern St

Buffalo

Marcus Mariota Oregon (SOS - 72)

South Dakota

Michigan State

Wyoming

Washington St

Blake Sims Alabama (SOS - 74)

West Virginia

Florida Atl

Southern Miss

Florida

Bo Wallace Ole Miss (SOS - 53)

Boise State

Vanderbilt

LA-Lafayette

Connor Cook Michigan St. (SOS - 104)

Jacksonville St

Oregon

E Michigan

Travis Wilson Utah (SOS - 120)

Idaho State

Fresno State

Michigan

Jared Goff California (SOS - 33)

Northwestern

Sacramento St

Arizona

J.T. Barrett Ohio St. (SOS - 85)

Navy

Virginia Tech

Kent State

Gary Nova Rutgers (SOS - 65)

Washington St

Howard

Penn State

Navy

Dak Prescott Mississippi St. (SOS - 115)

Southern Miss

UAB

South Alabama

LSU

Kenny Hill Texas A&M (SOS - 97)

South Carolina

Lamar

Rice

SMU

Rakeem Cato Marshall (SOS - 180)

Miami (OH)

Rhode Island

Ohio

Akron

Kevin Hogan Stanford (SOS - 115)

UC Davis

USC

Army

As you can see, only one QB ahead of Tommy in Rushing Yards has played a tougher schedule. Only six of the 14 QBs ahead of Tommy in Yards Per Completion have played a stronger schedule.

Again, everyone schedules roughly the same. It's a pretty equal comparison, and it's not like Tommy is padding stats against cream puffs that other QBs aren't playing against. There are D1AA schools on several of those schedules, and typically only one Power Five opponent.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Right now, Miami is sitting at #22 total defense. I'm sure they were ranked higher than that going into our game. We put up 34 points (7 from defense), 343 yards rushing, 113 yards passing on 9-13. That's 6.8 yards per play.

We beat them with the big play and grinding it out on the ground. We had one player with 229 yards rushing and another with just barely under 100 (96).

Right now, I am not seeing much to complain about with our offense.