Connect with us

FOOTBALL

Would Nebraska be 2-0 with Casey Thompson at quarterback?

Published

on

Nebraska football
Florida Atlantic quarterback Casey Thompson (11) passes during the second quarter against Monmouth at FAU Stadium on Saturday, September 2, 2023, in Boca Raton, FL.

Some Nebraska football fans and pundits have wondered if the Huskers would be 2-0 with Casey Thompson as their starting quarterback.

It’s fair to wonder if Matt Rhule made the right call in deciding that Jeff Sims would be the Nebraska football starter this fall over Casey Thompson.

You can’t necessarily blame him for Thompson transferring. However, it was reported that Rhule said it would be in his best interest in their meeting last spring, according to Casey’s dad.

So far, Sims has been bad. He’s completing 58 percent of his passes for 220 yards (6.5 average) and has four interceptions compared to just one touchdown, which was on a trick play. He added two lost fumbles to that total on Saturday and had six turnovers in his first six quarters.

Casey Thompson, on the other hand, threw five touchdown passes in his Florida Atlantic debut. That led some fans and pundits to wonder if the Huskers would be 2-0 if Thompson was still the starting quarterback for Nebraska football.

Would Nebraska be better off with Thompson?

It’s easy to say yes. But not so fast. Thompson did have five touchdowns and one interception in the first week of the season, but FAU lost on Saturday and Thompson had two picks and zero touchdowns.

Thompson has five touchdown passes and three interceptions. He also has just -4 rushing yards compared to 154 yards for Sims. But Thompson has 460 yards passing.

Sims did fumble twice but was also responsible for the only touchdown when the game was competitive for the Huskers, as well as providing most of the offense in Week 1.

That being said, it’s still hard to see Nebraska sitting at 0-2 if Thompson was the starter. Maybe the Huskers wouldn’t be 2-0, but the quarterback play would likely have been better.

There’s still a lot of football to play. Hopefully, like a golfer, Sims got his bad holes out of the way, and it will be uphill from here.

Unfortunately, like a hack who signed up to play 18 holes, the Huskers are stuck with Sims, especially after the price they paid to get him, which was jettisoning Thompson, a quarterback who was competent at the very least.

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and Subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel. You can also find our podcast on Apple or Spotify.

 

 

 

Chris has worked in sports journalism since 2005 writing for multiple newspapers and websites such as the Bleacher Report and Fansided before starting Husker Big Red, A fan site for hardcore followers of the #Huskers offering articles, podcasts, videos and more exclusive content on all things Nebraska

Trending