Guy Chamberlin

Well, to be fair, only a complete moron of an offensive coordinator would not throw the ball every down, regardless of weather conditions, when playing against this Nebraska defense. True dat.

In that windy Illinois game, Illinois actually passed the ball more than Nebraska. Fun Fact!

Fun fact: you're really crabby.

These offenses are pretty even. If Iowa commits to the safer running game with their very average ball carriers, it plays to our defense's only strength. I'm sure Tommy is convinced he could throw the ball against a hurricane. That's our offense's weakness. Something tells me special teams will make all the difference in the world.

Actually Nebraska has one more game's worth of total yardage, so Ohio State and Indiana are slightly ahead of Nebraska's 443 yards per game. In Tom Osborne's 25 year career, 443 yards per game would have fit in nicely. On his national championship teams we had tons of yards and points and a smashmouth defense and it was pretty awesome.

Out of nothing more than sheer curiosity, why do you think Osborne, in a rare moment spent with Riley, specifically mentioned running the ball? What did he specifically mention about running the ball? That it's a good idea? I think we all agree on that. If we run the ball exactly as much as we pass the ball, it's really hard to argue that we've abandon the run. I think we all agree it would be swell to run more often, and better. That seems to be happening a bit as the personnel continues to shake out. But Tom didn't find himself trailing in games very often, nor did he have a mediocre offensive line, or a terrible defense, or running backs who won't crack an All-Conference team. Saying we should run the ball more often than half the time sounds good, I guess, but it's not as simple as declaring your intention to do so, which generally results in your per carry average getting slammed. Fun fact: this utterly clueless offense Riley and Langsdorf insist on running is currently #1 in Total Offense and #2 in scoring in the Big 10.

Tommy's not going to the pros, but he remains a dangerous college quarterback. I mean, he IS the Big 10 Total Offense Leader. I am certain he makes the DC nervous every week. I think we may be a little hard on his accuracy. This system is no more conducive to easy throws than any other. It's about the decisions Tommy makes. He completes a perfectly reasonable number of easy throws, completes a surprising number of dangerous throws, and has plenty of beautiful throws, caught perfectly in stride. But he loses those crucial 10 percentage points on passes that he was in no position to throw, but chucked anyway. Because his receivers have been making miracle catches, and because Tommy has led miracle comebacks, I'm not sure you can talk him out of the habit or convince him his footwork is a problem.

Every game is different because every defense is different, and defensive coordinators make adjustments so the offensive plays that work in the first quarter don't necessarily work in the third. Coaches and quarterbacks and linemen can see that happening, but the fans don't always see it Stack the box and even McNeese State can shut down Ameer Abdullah. Rushing fans fondly remember last year's Miami game because Al Golden got freaked out by a couple early Armstrong bombs and refused the stack the box the rest of the game. Running the ball can certainly keep the clock churning and the defense on the bench, but that's not so good if you're behind on the scoreboard. Our defense has kind of sucked, which also forces the issue. Nebraska is averaging 36 rushing plays and 35.8 passing plays a game this season. We had almost the exact same play call ratio against Illinois that we did against Michigan State. Again, winning helps the perspective. For what it's worth, I'd like more and better running plays, too, but we're doing okay. I'm in no rush to take the ball out of the hands of Jordan Westerkamp, Alonzo Moore and Brandon Riley.

I'm actually liking Tommy - and the Nebraska offense - being out of the zone read this season. Those plays have been replaced with run/pass rollout options and designed QB play-action draws. I get the feeling the zone read is being phased out elsewhere, too, as defenses have made the adjustment. It's kinda funny how the coaching staff is being criticized for relentlessly calling toss sweeps to Imani Cross, when in fact they've been using him effectively between the tackles.They've also mixed it up with speedier Terrell Newby in certain situations, and revived the fullback as both lead blocker and situational runner to great effect and - one would think - great joy at Nebraska. They regularly call successful jet sweeps to Alonzo Moore in the absence of the guy who was supposed to be our best offensive weapon, DeMornay Pierson-El. They pitched the ball to a tight end, who ran for a 30 yard touchdown. They've called QB draws and bootlegs and let Tommy work both shotgun and under center. If all you've noticed is toss sweeps to Imani Cross, I'm not sure we've been watching the same games. Don't worry. You can still criticize the coaching. Whenever they do something that works, just say "it's about damn time!"

If the baby has just been slapped, chances are it's still covered in embryonic fluid, which can really affect your grip.

I was honestly surprised Ganz didn't get a shot as an NFL back-up or practice squad QB, maybe play a bit of Canadian ball. Zac Taylor also looked like a lot of guys who come off the bench as NFL caretaker QBs, turning in a couple competent quarters or games before fading into obscurity. And there are the monster QBs who put up incredible passing numbers in college. But you have to dip down the list to find the truly great NFL QBs. (SORRY, IT WAS ORIGINALLY IN A NICE, VERTICAL LIST FORM) Since 1956 Rank Player Yds From To Last School 1. Case Keenum* 19217 2007 2011 Houston 2. Timmy Chang* 17072 2000 2004 Hawaii 3. Landry Jones* 16646 2009 2012 Oklahoma 4. Graham Harrell* 15793 2005 2008 Texas Tech 5. Ty Detmer 15031 1988 1991 Brigham Young 6. Kellen Moore* 14667 2008 2011 Boise State 7. Colt Brennan* 14193 2005 2007 Hawaii 8. Rakeem Cato* 14079 2011 2014 Marshall 9. Sean Mannion* 13600 2011 2014 Oregon State 10. Philip Rivers* 13484 2000 2003 North Carolina State 11. Corey Robinson* 13477 2010 2013 Troy 12. Colt McCoy* 13253 2006 2009 Texas 13. Aaron Murray* 13166 2010 2013 Georgia 14. Kevin Kolb* 12964 2003 2006 Houston 15. Dan Lefevour* 12905 2006 2009 Central Michigan 16. Derek Carr* 12843 2009 2013 Fresno State 17. Tim Rattay 12746 1997 1999 Louisiana Tech 18. Ryan Lindley* 12690 2008 2011 San Diego State 19. Luke McCown* 12666 2000 2003 Louisiana Tech 20. Chris Redman* 12541 1996 1999 Louisville 21. Chase Daniel* 12515 2005 2008 Missouri 22. Trevor Vittatoe* 12439 2007 2010 Texas-El Paso 23. Kliff Kingsbury* 12429 1999 2002 Texas Tech 24. Matt Barkley* 12327 2009 2012 Southern California 25. Zac Dysert* 12013 2009 2012 Miami (OH) 26. Shane Carden* 11991 2012 2014 East Carolina 27. Tajh Boyd* 11904 2010 2013 Clemson 28. Byron Leftwich* 11903 1998 2002 Marshall 29. Chase Holbrook 11846 2006 2008 New Mexico State 30. Carson Palmer* 11818 1998 2002 Southern California 31. Drew Brees* 11792 1997 2000 Purdue 32. Brady Quinn* 11762 2003 2006 Notre Dame 33. Russell Wilson* 11720 2008 2011 Wisconsin 34. Geno Smith* 11662 2009 2012 West Virginia 35. David Greene* 11528 2001 2004 Georgia 36. Gino Guidugli* 11453 2001 2004 Cincinnati 37. Chad Pennington* 11446 1997 1999 Marshall 38. Todd Santos 11425 1984 1987 San Diego State 39. Keith Wenning* 11402 2010 2013 Ball State 40. Brandon Doughty* 11383 2011 2015 Western Kentucky 41. Max Hall* 11365 2007 2009 Brigham Young 42. Tim Hiller* 11329 2005 2009 Western Michigan 43. Connor Halliday* 11308 2011 2014 Washington State 44. Tim Lester 11299 1996 1999 Western Michigan 45. Derek Anderson* 11249 2001 2004 Oregon State 46. Chris Leak* 11213 2003 2006 Florida 47. Peyton Manning 11201 1994 1997 Tennessee 48. Todd Reesing* 11194 2006 2009 Kansas 49. Curtis Painter* 11163 2005 2008 Purdue 50. Eric Zeier 11153 1991 1994 Georgia 51. Jordan Palmer* 11084 2003 2006 Texas-El Paso 52. Charlie Frye 11049 2001 2004 Akron 53. John Beck* 11021 2003 2006 Brigham Young 54. Ryan Schneider 10976 2000 2003 Central Florida 55. Paul Smith* 10936 2003 2007 Tulsa 56. Adam Weber* 10917 2007 2010 Minnesota 57. Alex Brink 10913 2004 2007 Washington State Alex Van Pelt 10913 1989 1992 Pittsburgh 59. David Neill 10903 1998 2001 Nevada 60. Austin Davis* 10892 2008 2011 Southern Mississippi 61. Danny Wuerffel 10875 1993 1996 Florida 62. Ben Roethlisberger* 10829 2001 2003 Miami (OH) 63. Jared Goff 10800 2013 2015 California 64. Marcus Mariota* 10796 2012 2014 Oregon 65. Brian Brohm* 10775 2004 2007 Louisville 66. Doug Flutie* 10759 1981 1984 Boston College 67. Ryan Aplin* 10758 2009 2012 Arkansas State 68. Cade McNown* 10708 1995 1998 UCLA 69. Dan Orlovsky* 10706 2001 2004 Connecticut 70. Steve Stenstrom* 10701 1991 1994 Stanford 71. Matt Leinart* 10693 2003 2005 Southern California 72. Kevin Sweeney* 10623 1982 1986 Fresno State 73. Andrew Walter* 10617 2001 2004 Arizona State 74. Brett Basanez* 10580 2002 2005 Northwestern 75. Trevone Boykin* 10579 2012 2015 Texas Christian 76. Rudy Carpenter* 10491 2005 2008 Arizona State 77. Robert Griffin III* 10366 2008 2011 Baylor 78. Jared Lorenzen 10354 2000 2003 Kentucky 79. Andy Dalton* 10314 2007 2010 Texas Christian 80. Brian McClure 10280 1982 1985 Bowling Green State 81. Kolton Browning* 10263 2010 2013 Louisiana-Monroe 82. Troy Kopp 10258 1989 1992 Pacific 83. Danny Wimprine* 10215 2001 2004 Memphis 84. Bryant Moniz* 10169 2009 2011 Hawaii 85. Paul Pinegar* 10136 2002 2005 Fresno State 86. Eli Manning* 10119 2000 2003 Mississippi 87. Tyler Sheehan* 10117 2006 2009 Bowling Green State 88. Rusty Smith* 10112 2006 2009 Florida Atlantic 89. Colin Kaepernick* 10098 2007 2010 Nevada 90. Nathan Enderle* 10084 2007 2010 Idaho 91. Nick Foles* 10068 2007 2011 Arizona 92. Thaddeus Lewis 10065 2006 2009 Duke 93. Glenn Foley 10039 1990 1993 Boston College 94. Brett Hundley* 9966 2012 2014 UCLA 95. Todd Ellis* 9953 1986 1989 South Carolina 96. Mark Herrmann* 9946 1977 1980 Purdue 97. Ryan Radcliff* 9922 2009 2012 Central Michigan 98. Cody Pickett* 9916 1999 2003 Washington 99. Darrell Hackney* 9886 2002 2005 Alabama-Birmingham 100. Chris Weinke* 9839 1997 2000 Florida State 101. Ryan Dinwiddie* 9819 2000 2003 Boise State 102. Teddy Bridgewater* 9817 2011 2013 Louisville 103. Chase Clement* 9785 2005 2008 Rice 104. Riley Skinner* 9762 2006 2009 Wake Forest 105. Garrett Gilbert* 9761 2009 2013 Southern Methodist 106. Chad Henne* 9715 2004 2007 Michigan 107. Casey Clausen* 9707 2000 2003 Tennessee 108. Casey Bramlet 9684 2000 2003 Wyoming 109. Chuck Long* 9671 1981 1985 Iowa 110. Charlie Whitehurst* 9665 2002 2005 Clemson 111. Cody Fajardo* 9659 2011 2014 Nevada 112. Ben Bennett 9614 1980 1983 Duke 113. Ken Dorsey* 9565 1999 2002 Miami (FL) 114. Jim McMahon 9536 1977 1981 Brigham Young 115. Bo Wallace* 9534 2012 2014 Mississippi 116. Cody Kessler* 9518 2012 2015 Southern California 117. Bret Meyer* 9499 2004 2007 Iowa State 118. G.J. Kinne* 9472 2009 2011 Tulsa 119. Sean Renfree* 9465 2009 2012 Duke 120. Jamie Barnette 9461 1996 1999 North Carolina State 121. Stoney Case 9460 1991 1994 New Mexico 122. David Klingler 9430 1988 1991 Houston Andrew Luck* 9430 2009 2011 Stanford 124. Erik Wilhelm 9393 1985 1988 Oregon State 125. Mike Teel* 9383 2005 2008 Rutgers 126. Jeremy Leach 9382 1988 1991 New Mexico 127. T.J. Yates* 9377 2007 2010 North Carolina 128. Jonathan Smith* 9375 1998 2001 Oregon State 129. Andre Woodson* 9360 2004 2007 Kentucky 130. John Elway 9349 1979 1982 Stanford 131. Daunte Culpepper 9341 1996 1998 Central Florida 132. Kyle Orton* 9337 2001 2004 Purdue 133. T.J. Rubley 9324 1987 1991 Tulsa 134. Matt Ryan* 9313 2004 2007 Boston College 135. Shane Matthews 9287 1990 1992 Florida 136. Tim Tebow* 9285 2006 2009 Florida 137. Brandon Weeden* 9260 2008 2011 Oklahoma State 138. Gary Nova* 9258 2011 2014 Rutgers 139. Nate Davis* 9233 2006 2008 Ball State 140. Bruce Gradkowski* 9225 2002 2005 Toledo 141. Jake Delhomme 9216 1993 1996 Louisiana-Lafayette 142. Willie Tuitama* 9211 2005 2008 Arizona 143. Patrick Ramsey* 9205 1998 2001 Tulane 144. Garrett Grayson* 9190 2011 2014 Colorado State Ryan Nassib* 9190 2009 2012 Syracuse 146. Jose Fuentes 9168 1999 2002 Utah State 147. Rex Grossman* 9164 2000 2002 Florida 148. Walter Church 9142 1996 2000 Eastern Michigan 149. Kirk Cousins* 9131 2008 2011 Michigan State 150. Tyler Tettleton* 9129 2009 2013 Ohio 151. Pete Thomas 9117 2010 2014 Louisiana-Monroe 152. Tommy Hodson 9115 1986 1989 Louisiana State 153. Jason Martin 9066 1993 1996 Louisiana Tech 154. Bart Hendricks* 9030 1997 2000 Boise State 155. David Garrard* 9029 1998 2001 East Carolina 156. Ryan Griffin 9026 2009 2012 Tulane 157. Spence Fischer 9021 1992 1995 Duke 158. A.J. McCarron* 9019 2010 2013 Alabama 159. John Navarre* 9014 2000 2003 Michigan 160. Logan Thomas* 9003 2010 2013 Virginia Tech 161. Steven Jyles 8987 2002 2005 Louisiana-Monroe 162. Scott Mitchell 8981 1987 1989 Utah 163. Chandler Harnish* 8944 2008 2011 Northern Illinois 164. Joe Licata 8936 2012 2015 Buffalo 165. Jeff Smoker* 8932 2000 2003 Michigan State 166. Keith Price* 8921 2010 2013 Washington 167. Tanner Price* 8899 2010 2013 Wake Forest 168. Alex Carder* 8886 2009 2012 Western Michigan 169. Joe Hamilton* 8882 1996 1999 Georgia Tech 170. Brett Smith* 8834 2011 2013 Wyoming 171. Jason Gesser* 8830 1999 2002 Washington State 172. Jacory Harris* 8826 2008 2011 Miami (FL) 173. Taylor Kelly* 8819 2011 2014 Arizona State 174. Darian Durant* 8754 2001 2004 North Carolina 175. Drew Willy* 8748 2005 2008 Buffalo 176. Brad Tayles 8717 1989 1992 Western Michigan 177. Erik Ainge* 8700 2004 2007 Tennessee 178. Jay Cutler 8697 2002 2005 Vanderbilt 179. Shaun King* 8695 1995 1998 Tulane 180. Jason McKinley 8694 1997 2000 Houston 181. Matt Grothe* 8669 2006 2009 South Florida 182. Kevin Hogan* 8653 2012 2015 Stanford 183. Brad Smith* 8644 2002 2005 Missouri 184. Seth Doege* 8636 2009 2012 Texas Tech 185. Jake Plummer 8626 1993 1996 Arizona State 186. Dan Marino* 8597 1979 1982 Pittsburgh 187. Tino Sunseri* 8590 2009 2012 Pittsburgh 188. Nathan Scheelhaase* 8568 2010 2013 Illinois 189. Dave Ragone* 8564 1999 2002 Louisville 190. Steve Taneyhill 8555 1992 1995 South Carolina 191. Connor Cook* 8535 2012 2015 Michigan State 192. Drew Olson* 8532 2002 2005 UCLA 193. Ryan Hart* 8482 2002 2005 Rutgers 194. Cooper Rush* 8478 2013 2015 Central Michigan 195. Rob Johnson* 8472 1991 1994 Southern California 196. Marvin Graves 8466 1990 1993 Syracuse 197. Kurt Kittner* 8460 1998 2001 Illinois 198. Shawn Jones 8441 1989 1992 Georgia Tech 199. Tim Couch 8435 1996 1998 Kentucky 200. B.J. Daniels* 8433 2008 2012 South Florida 201. Sam Bradford* 8403 2007 2009 Oklahoma 202. Robbie Bosco 8400 1983 1985 Brigham Young 203. Chris Rix* 8390 2001 2004 Florida State John Walsh 8390 1991 1994 Brigham Young 205. Donovan McNabb 8389 1995 1998 Syracuse 206. Ryan Mallett* 8385 2007 2010 Arkansas 207. David Fales* 8382 2012 2013 San Jose State 208. Paxton Lynch* 8379 2013 2015 Memphis 209. Major Applewhite* 8353 1998 2001 Texas 210. Bill Musgrave* 8343 1987 1990 Oregon Tyler Palko* 8343 2002 2006 Pittsburgh 212. Zac Robinson* 8317 2006 2009 Oklahoma State 213. Danny O'Neil* 8301 1991 1994 Oregon 214. Drew Tate* 8292 2003 2006 Iowa 215. Randall Cunningham* 8290 1982 1984 Nevada-Las Vegas 216. Jared Zabransky* 8256 2003 2006 Boise State 217. Chase Rettig* 8253 2010 2013 Boston College 218. Dak Prescott* 8234 2012 2015 Mississippi State 219. Rodney Peete* 8225 1985 1988 Southern California 220. Bryn Renner* 8221 2010 2013 North Carolina 221. Terrance Owens* 8203 2010 2013 Toledo 222. Andre Ware 8202 1987 1989 Houston 223. Bryce Petty* 8195 2011 2014 Baylor 224. James Pinkney* 8173 2003 2006 East Carolina 225. Billy Blanton 8165 1993 1996 San Diego State 226. Dan McGwire* 8164 1986 1990 San Diego State 227. Marc Bulger* 8153 1996 1999 West Virginia 228. Jimmy Clausen* 8148 2007 2009 Notre Dame 229. Jack Trudeau 8146 1981 1985 Illinois 230. Matt Johnson* 8129 2012 2015 Bowling Green State 231. Reggie Ball* 8128 2003 2006 Georgia Tech 232. Troy Taylor 8126 1986 1989 California 233. Mark Barsotti* 8093 1988 1991 Fresno State 234. Jeff Graham 8080 1985 1988 Long Beach State 235. Josh Freeman* 8078 2006 2008 Kansas State 236. Kevin Feterik* 8065 1996 1999 Brigham Young 237. Spencer Keith* 8062 2009 2012 Kent State 238. Juice Williams* 8037 2006 2009 Illinois 239. Brian Kuklick 8017 1994 1998 Wake Forest 240. Stan White* 8016 1990 1993 Auburn 241. Matt Schilz* 8012 2010 2013 Bowling Green State 242. Jerrod Johnson* 8011 2007 2010 Texas A&M 243. Steve Slayden 8004 1984 1987 Duke 244. Mike Gundy 7997 1986 1989 Oklahoma State 245. Greg Zolman 7981 1998 2001 Vanderbilt 246. Kyle Boller 7980 1999 2002 California 247. Jameis Winston* 7964 2013 2014 Florida State 248. Tom Corontzos* 7945 1988 1991 Wyoming 249. Christian Hackenberg* 7924 2013 2015 Penn State John Parker Wilson* 7924 2005 2008 Alabama

Still early, but this sounds very similar to an incident that happened last off-season involving NFL players Colin Kaepernick, Quenton Patton and Ricardo Lockette, who were in a Miami apartment when something unsavory went down and a woman ended up in the hospital. TMZ and others were all over it, but I'll bet you forgot about it already.

The team that almost beat Wisconsin looked a lot like the team that edged Michigan State. I don't think a light suddenly went off for this team. I think the breaks that had gone against Nebraska finally broke in their favor against MSU, and the Rutgers game merely resembled the Minnesota game. Don't tell the players I said that. I think they need to cultivate the sense of unity and "buying in" and making statements and not playing like p***ies. And I'm not freaked out about the coaching staff or its decisions this year. Looking forward to a lot of major players returning next year with more comfort and resolve.

It wasn't good news that Detroit's revamped coaching staff immediately curtailed Abdullah's touches, only one rush in the new regime's first game. But this will help his case. The fact that it was a 104 yard kick return that DIDN'T result in a touchdown may actually have gotten him more press. It ties a very strange NFL record.

To answer the first phrasing of the question: no. Tommy Armstrong will never be an NFL quarterback. To answer the second phrasing of the question: Brett Favre. Favre had the strong arm and was able to make throws other QBs wouldn't dare. Part of that daring resulted in mystifying and game-killing interceptions for both QBs. The reason Favre had a much better completion percentage than Tommy is because he made very quick decisions: if he didn't see his primary receivers getting separation, he had no trouble dumping it off to his blocking RB for a safe, sure 4 - 6 yard gain. A lot of Brett Favre's 70,000 career yards are from 5 yard completions. It's possible Tommy could learn that particular discipline, but I would have liked to see it by now -- his third year as a starter. QB is about leadership and decision-making. Tommy's pretty good at the first, not so much the second. The quality of defensive secondaries is exponential in the NFL. Right now they would eat Tommy Armstrong for lunch.

Strong running teams win championships. "Balanced" teams have "balanced" W/L records. And winning teams have consistent quarterbacks, solid offensive lines, great running backs, dependable receivers, shut down defenses and good turnover differentials. Balanced teams also have strong running attacks. That's what makes them balanced. Clemson has no trouble passing the ball 45 times a game. They're also running the ball really well. They're currently the #1 team in the country. Jim Harbaugh loves the ground game, but needed - or allowed -- his QB to throw 46 times for 440 yards in order to beat Indiana. Given the luxury of both passing and running well, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer will run the ball more often. Every coach given that choice will run the ball more often. On balance, a flawed Nebraska team with a new coaching staff is running and passing with equal frequency, with a slight statistical advantage to the passing game on yards per attempt. On balance, Tommy Armstrong has about the same number of stupid interceptions as he has near miraculous completions. On a team that gives up 28 points a game, you have to be really, really sure your RBs and offensive line can get 10 yards in three plays while chewing up the clock. Even with Ameer Abdullah, teams no more lofty than McNeese State could decide to shut down our running game and dare Tommy Armstrong to beat them with his arm. We're still in that place. Tommy Armstrong can be a hero or goat in the same game. He could be a liability who gets replaced by a freshman next year, and he could conceivably win Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year this year. As a Junior he is already the #3 Total Offense Career Leader at the University of Nebraska. Quite an accomplishment for a square peg in a round hole. I'm betting the coaching staff really wants him to complete more than 55% of his passes and not throw the ball to wide open defenders, but I just don't see this team winning more games with more between the tackles hand offs or under the direction of Ryker Fyfe. And speaking of balance, if the 11 players on the other side of the ball could merely trim the Points Allowed down from 28 to 25, we might not be gnashing our teeth about the offense at all.

The analytics would say that when you have a passer who is barely above .50 completion percentage it would be a bad idea to increase the number of those plays by 33% particularly when his completion percentage doesn't budge. It just doesn't make any sense, you are just throwing away offensive plays. You can try to make all the justifications you want but there is some pretty simple math involved here. Not sure if analytics is your strong suit here. Let's make the math really simple: The Huskers have had 394 rushing plays and 396 passing plays this year. They have averaged 7.6 yards per passing attempt, and 4.7 yards per rushing attempt. No one is saying we should pass the ball more, but it would be a better argument than yours, which seems to suggest we should run more of those 4.7 yard plays, and stop wasting them on those fancypants 7.6 yard plays that have somehow managed to produce 26 touchdowns. The run game, particularly with our current backs and offensive line, benefits greatly from a passing threat, even the current 55% variety. Every time you make this argument you conveniently leave out how many turnovers each type of play has generated. Conveniently? Geez, who wouldn't want Tommy to bring his interceptions down? Running backs are actually fumbling less this year. That's been one thing in Newby's favor. When both Ameer and Cross were making costly fumbles the past two years, it wasn't the result of running the ball too much. It was poor ball protection. Nobody was saying "why do we insist on running the ball?!" although it would have made just as much sense as the pass-bashing. Running the ball sets up the pass. Passing the ball sets up the run. Turnovers suck. But the notion that Nebraska can declare its intention to pound the rock and defenses will bend to our will needs to be retired. Also, that reasonably balanced offense is pretty exciting and puts up enough points to win on teams with better defenses. Not sure why it makes so many fans so grumpy.

Agreed, he has that Jay cutler, brett favre gun slinger mentality. Then once he throws a pick he let's it bothers him I'm not sure about that last part. To his credit, Tommy seems to shake off his interceptions and come out slinging all over again. He's engineered his miracle comebacks and near comebacks playing his same game, with a bit more urgency, focus and sometimes a bit of luck. As someone once said about Taylor Martinez: "he has the unique ability to keep both teams in the game"

Have sacks been factored in as runs or passes in this math? Because if one takes the 24 sacks with the -162 yards and count them as pass plays instead of running plays, it looks like 6.22 yards per rushing attempt and 6.77 yards per passing attempt. That's very true. Nebraska's running game is actually better than the 4.7 number would imply, because it shouldn't be responsible for the sack total. But are you not comparing their running game to your perception of what a good running game is, based on what other teams have done in the past? Teams whose running stats include sack yards? I'm not doing much beyond countering Cal Husk's "statistical" argument that Nebraska is throwing away perfectly good plays whenever it decides to pass the ball.

I think Armstrong starts off playing very well. Then he gets too cocky. It's that simple.

Have sacks been factored in as runs or passes in this math? Because if one takes the 24 sacks with the -162 yards and count them as pass plays instead of running plays, it looks like 6.22 yards per rushing attempt and 6.77 yards per passing attempt. That's very true. Nebraska's running game is actually better than the 4.7 number would imply, because it shouldn't be responsible for the sack total. Nebraska is running the ball pretty well. The Huskers are also passing the ball pretty well. The argument remains the same. And a Tommy Armstrong who completes 55% of his passes would be the Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year if he could cut his interceptions in half. He will probably receive votes as it stands. Hell, he was Big 10 Player of the Week with two interceptions against MSU. If that's a square peg in a round hole, a lot of teams would live with it. If Nebraska had merely a Top 50 defense, this same Tommy Armstrong might be undefeated right now. I'm all for second-guessing coaches. It's what fans do. But I haven't heard a legitimate argument for a better gameplan beyond wishful thinking and nostalgia.

The analytics would say that when you have a passer who is barely above .50 completion percentage it would be a bad idea to increase the number of those plays by 33% particularly when his completion percentage doesn't budge. It just doesn't make any sense, you are just throwing away offensive plays. You can try to make all the justifications you want but there is some pretty simple math involved here. Not sure if analytics is your strong suit here. Let's make the math really simple: The Huskers have had 394 rushing plays and 396 passing plays this year. They have averaged 7.6 yards per passing attempt, and 4.7 yards per rushing attempt. No one is saying we should pass the ball more, but it would be a better argument than yours, which seems to suggest we should run more of those 4.7 yard plays, and stop wasting them on those fancypants 7.6 yard plays that have somehow managed to produce 26 touchdowns. The run game, particularly with our current backs and offensive line, benefits greatly from a passing threat, even the current 55% variety.

They join the chorus of people who clog every Comments section on the internet with angry anonymous diatribes having little to do with the subject at hand, and everything to do with the smallness of their lives. Folks like you and I spend time on a site such as this, so I guess you can judge the lives of your fellow fans however you choose. And the subject is relative to how the "chorus" believes and feels about something very passionate in their lives.....Husker football. There's a notable difference between feeling both passionate and disappointed about Husker football this season, and composing unhinged rants demanding that the UNL Chancellor make you feel good about life again. There's much less difference between these email rants and anonymous Comments sections posts about the Muslim Obama, the Vaccination Conspiracy and the Taylor Swift haterz. I judge internet folks not by their passion, but by the quality of what they post. As mentioned, not a lot of common sense on display.

Tough week for good teams vs. teams they should beat. Michigan shouldn't have needed two overtimes to beat Indiana. How does TCU beat 0-10 Kansas by less than a touchdown? Oklahoma State almost blew their playoff chances to Iowa State. Clemson had its hands full with 3-7 Syracuse. Purdue challenged Northwestern, much the way it did Michigan State, and Iowa had to hold on against Minnesota. Arkansas probably should have challenged LSU, but sure wasn't expected to beat them by 17 in Baton Rouge. College football parity doesn't mean everyone is 6-6, but almost any game can turn into a trap game.

This offense has been tailored to Tommy Armstrong's strengths. One of those strengths is Tommy's confidence. The confidence that allows Tommy to lead crazy last second comebacks against all odds is the same confidence that convinces him he can complete passes he probably shouldn't throw. That's just the Tommy Armstrong package. Coaches give Tommy the leeway to make his own run/pass choices, which should play to his strengths. His roll-outs to the right are one of the most dangerous plays to defend. Tommy is choosing to ignore lot of open space in front of him, and try for that home run ball instead. He is completing enough of these highlight reel passes that you probably can't talk him down anymore. Everybody wishes he could complete more than 50% of his passes, but I don't think anyone is clamoring for Ryker Fyfe anymore, and that's the situation the coaches face. What else do you do with your turnover prone Big 10 Total Offense Leader? We haven't abandon the run under Langsdorf. We didn't abandon it under Beck or Watson, either, although the complaints are nearly identical. There's a certain nostalgic Husker fan who remembers every incomplete first down pass, but never remembers when the runners get stuffed. They remember Imani Cross getting a solid 7 yard gain, but not the safe, simple 14 yard curl to Jordan Westerkamp. They insist the OC "stay with what works" but never admit that what's working is a balanced mix of running and passing. It seem like a no brainer that the team that rushed out to a 21 point lead with 150 yards passing and 75 yards rushing stay with what works. The decision to run the ball more in the second half to burn clock is also a no-brainer, but only if you're stringing some first downs together, and we did just enough of that to protect the lead. If you want to talk about coaches getting second-guessed, there are lots of games every weekend where a team goes conservative running the ball in the second half and ends up losing, because they stopped doing what worked well in the first half. The Nebraska running game doesn't suddenly work because the coaches decided to run the ball more. The Nebraska running game works when the linemen block and the backs hit their holes and a mix of calls and RBs is enough to keep defenses guessing. Knowing the offense is capable and willing to burn you with a forward pass helps the cause.