Iowa defense adds to misery for banged-up Tommy Armstrong
Back in the lineup after missing last Saturday’s Maryland game, Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong struggled finding a rhythm against the Hawkeyes as he went 13 of 35 for 125 yards.
It might have finally caught up to the Huskers on Friday.
Armstrong returned to the starting lineup but completed just 13 of 35 passes in the 40-10 loss to Iowa. With the senior becoming more limited physically as the game went on, head coach Mike Riley even thought about using Fyfe before the final series, although he pointed out that the backup was probably even further behind in his preparations this week.
But Riley hesitated afterwards to say that missed practice time and uncertainty leading up to the last three games was the Huskers’ biggest problem as Iowa held NU to 217 total yards.
“I think that Iowa had as much to do with it as anything,” Riley said. “Now certainly Tommy probably wasn’t 100 percent, nor was Ryker and all that, but with the overall picture of what it looked like today … we can’t come close to using that as a reason or excuse.”
Nebraska never found an offensive rhythm and never seemed to have the right timing, and thus never could really dig itself out of what seemed like a game-long hole.
Armstrong returned to practice Monday after missing the Maryland game with a hamstring injury, but Nebraska never was quite sure where his health would be by Friday. Fyfe required surgery for a broken bone in his wrist Sunday, and started easing back into work Tuesday but with his left wrist wrapped.
Senior receivers Brandon Reilly and Jordan Westerkamp both downplayed what the impact might have been against Iowa’s defense, but nothing seemed to…