OR slipped to 2-1.
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OR then scored two more rushing touchdowns and failed a couple two-point conversion tries (who knows why) and the score was 20-7 and the game was in danger of getting out of hand.
OR bounced back with back-to-back scores to take a 32-28 edge, before Armstrong’s fourth-quarter heroics. As the math would indicate, the Ducks went for two after both scores and came up empty.
After trailing 6 at the end of the 1st half, the Huskers jumped out of the gate to begin the 2nd.
NEBRASKA: Armstrong, who was 17 of 33 for 200 yards and three touchdowns, increased his career passing total to a school-record 7,376 yards.
Nebraska has scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions.
After a four-yard run by Armstrong on the ensuing play, the senior quarterback from Cibolo, Texas, broke free for a 34-yard touchdown gallop that gave the Big Red a 35-32 win. He even was given fluids intravenously early in the fourth quarter.
Freeman went out of the game on the Ducks’ second possession after running five times for 31 yards.
NEBRASKA: The Huskers play their Big Ten opener on the road against Northwestern, which beat them 30-28 in Lincoln past year.
Devine Ozigbo runs for a 7-yard touchdown to extend the Cornhuskers’ lead to 28-20 against the Ducks.
OR had more to overcome than Freeman’s absence.
OREGON: The Ducks were their own worst enemies.
OREGON: The Ducks open Pac-12 play at home against Colorado. If he made poor decisions, it would be a big Ducks win. Prukop busted a 22-yard run and Benoit a 46-yarder and Prukop hit Darren Carrington to convert a third-and-12 before Tony Brooks-James scored from the 1.
The Ducks went for two on their third touchdown and failed.
Nebraska answered with Armstrong’s 22-yard touchdown strike to Westerkamp, and the first of Drew Brown’s five PATs pulled the Huskers within 8-7 with 2:05 left in the quarter.
Kani Benoit rushed six times for 100 yards to lead the Ducks (2-1), and Dakota Prukop passed for 146 yards and ran for 87.
Oregon RB coach Gary Campbell indicated that he does not believe junior RB Royce Freeman’s right leg injury will keep him out an extended amount of time. De’Mornay Pierson-El fielded Ian Wheeler’s 40-yard punt while being hit at the NU 36, and exploded for a 45-yard return.
Penalties were a major factor in the game, and the Huskers won that battle against the Ducks.
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OR head coach Mark Helfrich stands amongst his players during a time out during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016.
