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Stretch ARMSTRONG: Nebraska Cornhuskers Use Tommy Armstrong’s Arm & Mobility to Beat Iowa

By Caleb Calhoun

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It was all over for Nebraska. Once again, this team was falling apart after such a great start to the season, and Bo Pelini was in for another 4-loss season.

Down 24-7 to the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road in the third quarter, Ameer Abdullah couldn’t save them this time. They would have to rely on Tommy Armstrong, Jr. to throw the ball to get out of this whole.

And who on Earth honestly believed he would be able to do that?

Apparently, nobody but Nebraska.

Armstrong has been a running quarterback all year used as another threat alongside Abdullah and only throwing to keep the defense honest. He’s had a few 200-yard games passing, but in the Big Ten two of those three games before Saturday were losses.

It was his running that had to win games. But on Saturday, he showed he is a true dual-threat in a comeback overtime victory over Iowa.

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Armstrong threw two touchdown passes at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth to Taariq Allen and Kenny Bell to make te score 24-21. Then, an 80-yard punt return  by De’Mornay Pierson-El gave Nebraska a 28-24 lead.

But after Jake Rudock threw another touchdown pass to give Iowa a 31-28 lead with 1:49 left, the Cornhuskers were in serious trouble.

How could Armstrong ever lead a quick scoring drive through the air? Well, after an incomplete pass, it looked like they were done. But then, miracles began to happen.

The Cornhuskers got a pass interference penalty. Then, Armstrong completed two passes for 49 yards and also had a 5-yard run. All of a sudden, they were in field goal range and were able to tie the game up with a 20-yard field goal from Drew Brown.

So what could he do in overtime for an encore?

After Iowa went up 34-31 thanks to a Marshall Koehn field goal, Armstrong stole the show once again. Nebraska’s overtime drive was a 2-yard run by Abdullah, a 2-yard run by Armstrong, and then two completions by Armstrong to Kenny Bell, the final one being a 9-yard touchdown pass toward the sideline.

All of a sudden, the quarterback who couldn’t be relied upon all year had 4 passing touchdowns on the game and threw for 202 yards. Okay, so his numbers weren’t amazing, considering he had 2 interceptions and was only 12 of 27.

And Abdullah still helped out with 13 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown reception.

But given how poorly he’s looked throwing the ball in the past, Armstrong’s performance was a remarkable effort.

He was the one who led the Cornhuskers back. He was the one who might have finally kept Pelini from having a 4-loss season.

And he was the one who showed that this team might have a passing game after all, especially if it has to respect the run the way it did on Saturday.

He still ran for 31 yards, so the dual-threat is still there. If he can use both to his advantage, this could be a great team in the future.

To credit the rest of the Cornhuskers, the defense, special teams, and rest of the offense showed resiliency not seen all year by Nebraska fans. That’s something to be proud of and excited about. And maybe, just maybe, this team is turning the corner into a true powerhouse.

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