If, like many other Husker fans, you like to see two backs behind the Nebraska quarterback, the UCLA game was for you. Of Nebraska’s 80 plays, 35 of them (44%) involved some version of a two-back formation paired with Tommy Armstrong’s own run threat. There was also no surprise on Langsdorf’s part, as he sent the message early on with extra backs that he didn’t think UCLA could stop his rushing attack.
A large part of that was the personnel mismatch between UCLA’s front 7 defenders and Andy Janovich as both a runner and a blocker. UCLA didn’t have an answer for Jano in either respect. Another part of that was the ability to create motion out of the backfield while freeing up Tommy Armstrong to do his thing on the Read play.
In this post, let’s take a look at three very different ways that Nebraska employed their two-back personnel, as well as a passing concept they continually went to against UCLA.