Which way are they going? No. 22 Ducks, Huskers to find out

Freeman quickly established himself as Oregon’s top option on the ground during his first two years in Eugene. But the big play of the drive came two plays prior when Armstrong stood in the pocket and found Jordan Westerkamp for a 14-yard gain on fourth-and-nine to keep the drive alive.

“Legs hurt, but they feel better when they are in the endzone”, Armstrong said.

Let’s be real for a second: Armstrong is essentially the Huskers’ offense.

” Oregon’s offense is college football’s gourmet cuisine, what Nebraska defensive coordinator Mark Banker calls a “high tech” meld of option and wing-T football”. Oregon’s running back has become the focal point of the Ducks’ offense, and with good reason. Rose-Ivey was the most vocal about embracing this moment.

It’s a nonconference loss, so the Ducks’ season is by no means over.

“We didn’t fare all that well through the many years with them”, Riley said, “but it was a great rivalry and we saw changes in both programs as we went forward”. “I’m sure there’ll be a big difference at Nebraska”.

The Husker defense bent on Saturday, but it seldom broke.

OR responded to close the gap 28-26 after a 41-yard rushing touchdown by Kani Benoit with 2:42 left in the 3rd. The Ducks chose to go for two and converted on a Charles Nelson run to take an 8-0 lead.

If you look at the final scores of Nebraska’s first two games, this pointspread might make sense.

OR took an early lead on a 20-yard touchdown run by Tony Brooks-James with 8:19 left in the first quarter to cap a 10-play, 65-yard drive.

Prukop led a 10-play, 97-yard drive to put the Ducks ahead 32-28 after they had surrendered a 20-7 second-quarter lead.

Down 14-7, NU had the ball in the red zone, but a backward pass was recovered by OR and taken back into Husker territory. Walk-on Bryan Reimers snagged a 22-yard touchdown reception, which doubled as his first career catch. The 14-point swing left the Huskers in need of an answer. Enter Nebraska punt returner De’Mornay Pierson-El. Freeman needs 1,588 yards to overtake LaMichael James at the top of the chart.

It helps that Armstrong has some of the best wide receivers in the nation who are really, really good at getting open.

You can even see the Oregon Defense growing up right in front of us as the season progresses.

Nebraska’s momentum carried from the end of the first half into the start of the second half.

While the game ended with celebration, Armstrong started the fourth quarter by battling what appeared to be leg cramps that sent him to the sideline for an important third-down conversion attempt early in the period.

It’s also the kind of win – a thrilling, 35-32 comeback victory over No. 22 Oregon – Riley thinks will define his second Nebraska team.

Pain or no, Armstrong may never forget how the final touchdown came about.

It was a grind for both teams teams Saturday.

“For this early in the season, it’s just a great benchmark for us”, Riley said.

“It’s definitely been too long since we won”, said Oregon State safety Devin Chappell.