Randy York’s N-Sider
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Two games into Nebraska’s 2016 football season and the weekend before the Huskers host Pac 12 power Oregon, the words “kicking butt” have found a home inside Memorial Stadium and in the hallways of Nebraska’s locker room.
After Nebraska scored four fourth-quarter touchdowns to crush Wyoming, 52-17, Saturday, Tommy Armstrong Jr. earned his first-ever Nebraska game ball from head coach Mike Riley, who said his starter “made a ton of good plays” and was “really productive.”
Armstrong threw three touchdown passes, pushing his career total to 57, a Nebraska record that supplanted Taylor Martinez’s 56 career touchdown passes.
“I’m extremely happy for Tommy. He’s worked so hard since he’s been here and he deserves everything that comes his way,” said Jordan Westerkamp, his teammate and roommate.
Westerkamp: Records Go Hand-in-Hand; Good to See Armstrong Kicking Butt
“Tommy’s been playing great these first two games, and that’s awesome for our offense because we’ve been clicking really well,” Westerkamp said. “It kind of goes hand-in-hand, based on his success. It’s good to see him kicking butt.”
Armstrong connected on a 63-yard touchdown pass to Alonzo Moore in the second quarter, then threw two more touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to Westerkamp – the first for 34 yards, plus a 9-yarder.
Armstrong completed 20-of-34 passes for 377 yards, five yards shy of his own single-game career high of 381 yards against USC in the 2014 Holiday Bowl. Armstrong’s 377 passing yards pushed his career total to 7,176 yards, becoming the second player in school history with 7,000 passing yards, trailing only Martinez’s 7,258.
Westerkamp Becomes Fourth NU Player with 2,000 Career Receiving Yards
Armstrong isn’t the only Husker “kicking butt” in his senior season. Westerkamp became the fourth player in NU history with 2,000 career receiving yards after his 55-yard first-quarter reception, enabling him to join the 2,000-yard club with Kenny Bell (2,689), Johnny Rodgers (2,479) and Nate Swift (2,476).
The 55-yard reception was the third-longest of Westerkamp’s career, trailing a 70-yard touchdown at Fresno State in 2014 and a 65-yard touchdown against USC in the Holiday Bowl. Westerkamp’s four catches for 105 yards boosted his career receiving total to 2,059 yards.
Husker fans left Memorial Stadium eager to see Oregon’s Saturday night game against Virginia in Eugene. Nebraska players and coaches were equally drawn to see what kind of momentum a West Coast power will bring to a 2:30 p.m. game in mid-America. The Ducks won, 44-26 without scoring in the fourth quarter.
Nebraska-Oregon Game Could Depend on the Team with Superior Speed
Former Oregon State coaches now coaching a Nebraska said speed is Oregon’s biggest differentiator. “This is a big week for us coming up,” Armstrong said. “We know it's going to be hectic. We know it's going to be a lot of eyes on us. Like we always tell each other, we've just got to make sure we stay focused. Let the outside things just be there. We can control what happens in this facility in practice and how we study film. We can't get caught up in a big-time game (atmosphere). We've got to focus on us.”
Westerkamp envisions the same mindset. "Oregon is no joke,” he said. “They're a top program in the entire nation. This will be our first big test and we have to take them extremely serious and have a great week at practice because they're going to come ready to play. If we can get a win against Oregon, that will be huge for our program on a national level. Beating a team like that would just propel forward a lot in people's minds."
Junior Gabe Rahn’s First Career Reception Becomes Memorable Touchdown
Let the record show that senior backup quarterback Ryker Fyfe's long fourth-quarter touchdown pass was not a statement. "That was inadvertent,” Riley said. “I wanted De'Mornay (Pierson-El) to catch a hitch. That was really the point: Let's throw in the hitch route and get him the ball.”
Sometimes, the best laid plans go awry. “They (Wyoming) pressed both guys and Ryker did what he was taught to do with the ball,” Riley said. “We just wanted to get De'Mornay some work in the game. That was our goal."
Westerkamp knew Nebraska wasn’t running up the score and was happy that a deserving junior teammate’s first collegiate reception was a 35-yard touchdown pass. Guys were making plays left and right,” Westerkamp said. “It was awesome to see Gabe Rahn get in there and catch a touchdown. It's awesome when guys work their tails off and they get in there and get the opportunity and they make a big play. As an older guy, it's great to see that.”
Following His Touchdown Catch, Rahn Raises His Right Arm Up to the Sky
It was great enough that Rahn exemplifies Nebraska's overall togetherness, which is already blossoming two games into the 2016 season. The first of the final three photos showed Rahn (No. 81) proudly coming onto the field for the Tunnel Walk. The photo after that shows offensive lineman Tanner Farmer and teammates lifting Rahn high into the air to celebrate his memorable moment.
The last photo in this column is my favorite one of all. It shows Gabe Rahn commemorating the moment by himself with the fireworks still going skyward, just like he is while raising his right arm and pointing to someone who was with the Huskers once again, and will continue to bring out the very best the Huskers have in them for the rest of the season.
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