What Nebraska Needs from Tommy Armstrong vs. Michigan State

It's no secret that Nebraska wants to defeat Michigan State. Doing so isn't going to be easy, though. It's even harder to accomplish that goal on the road in East Lansing.

The Huskers did it two years ago. In 2012, former quarterback Taylor Martinez rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns, and Nebraska walked out of Spartan Stadium with a 28-24 victory.

Two years later, the responsibility falls on Tommy Armstrong. Can he lead the Huskers to another victory over East Lansing? The answer is yes, but there are specific things he will need to do to make that happen.

First and foremost, Armstrong is going to need to eliminate turnovers. In 2013, Nebraska racked up 392 yards on offense against the Michigan State defense. What killed the Huskers was the five turnovers that accompanied that.

Armstrong didn't have an awful day against the Spartans in 2013, either. He threw two big passes, both over 30 yards, to both Sam Burtch and Kenny Bell. He finished the day with 143 passing yards and two touchdowns.

That doesn't sound too bad until it's broken down a bit more.

Armstrong was also intercepted once, fumbled twice and only completed nine of his 21 attempts.

That's going to be the key for Armstrong and the Huskers. To win, turnovers cannot be an issue. In fact, it's exactly what will kill the Huskers from winning against Michigan State.

The trick for Armstrong will be to make smarter decisions. As reported by Josh Harvey of Big Red Report (subscription required), the sophomore quarterback is planning to do just that:

"

I’m a lot different. It was new to me. It was my first year actually starting as a redshirt freshman. I saw new things. I saw certain guys. It was just different. I think things have slowed down. I’m getting more physical when it comes to running. I’m trying to make smarter decisions and stuff like that, just putting my offense in the right position.

"

His decision-making has improved through the first five games of the season. Armstrong heads to East Lansing having thrown for 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has also had three interceptions, but he's making up for it on the ground. He's also rushed for 420 yards and two touchdowns, per ESPN.com.

Armstrong and the offense will also need to take advantage of a weaker Michigan State defense. Don't let that be too deceiving, though. Spartan head coach Mark Dantonio firmly believes his defense can be just as good in 2014 as it has been the past three seasons, as he told the Lansing State Journal.

“Our defense is not broke,” Dantonio said. “We gave up 14 whopping points last week (to Wyoming), but our defense is not broke.”

It's going to come down to leadership, though. If there are opportunities to exploit weaknesses on the MSU defense, Armstrong is going to need to step up and expose those.

He knows it.

"If our offensive line is getting to the next level and we've got to make the safety miss, that's what we want," Armstrong said, per the Detroit Free Press. "We want those guys to come down and try to make tackles. Because if that's the case, we're moving the ball 5 and 6 yards at a time."

Defeating Michigan State in East Lansing isn't impossible. The Huskers have done it before. In order to do it again, Nebraska is going to need the best from Armstrong.

That includes limiting turnovers, taking advantage of potential MSU defensive struggles and being a leader from start to finish. If Armstrong can accomplish those tasks, the Huskers have a good shot of being 6-0 for the first time since 2001.