Here is why I am worried about this game...
1. Tim Beck as our OC. When we get going, he seems to change something and we go stagnant. Against Michigan, we pull Armstrong and play Kellogg. This was NOT a good idea and poor decision making on Beck. Had Armstrong been struggling, I could understand. After doing so Michigan shut us out for the 2nd quarter, and when we put Armstrong back in, we weren't jelling anymore. Michigan found confidence in their defense, that they did not have before. We also abandoned the run game, once again. The option was a play that was working really well, and we only ran it a handful of times. You keep running a system until it can be stopped.
Beck's doing fine. As mentioned, we rush twice as much as we pass. That's still run first, even if you decide to (gasp!) pass on first down, a choice made in virtually every game by virtually every respected coach in football.
Yes, sometimes we gash opponents for five yards a rush, but you only
think we do it on every play. We don't. For every incomplete pass we also get a running play stuffed. And for every incomplete pass we have a Kenny Bell or Quincy Enunwa gamebreaker. Our completion average is fine, especially for a Freshman QB. Beck is calling lots of option plays for Armstrong, just as we always wanted, and it continues to play dividends, like the game-winning play itself. If we pass even less, and announce our attention to just pound the ball, the running game suffers. We don't have Stanford's offensive line.
We do have a problem getting into offensive rhythm and of course some of that's on Beck, some of it is credit to the opposing defense for sniffing out our tendancies. But by the looks of things I'd still rather have Nebraska's offense with its third string Freshman quarterback, decimated offensive line and injured receiving corps than most offenses in the Big 10. We're doing all right, getting better and capable of excitement on any play. The argument against Shawn Watson was flawed and so is the Monday morning sniping at Beck.
I agree that the time-splitting between Armstrong and Kellogg has to go -- though you could make the case that it ultimately didn't hurt us. But it appears Beck already made that call in the fourth quarter against Michigan with the game on the line, so let's give him credit for that, too.