While Nebraska was able to rack 43 points and more than 400 yards of total offense in Saturday’s win over Fresno State, the lack of productivity from senior quarterback Tommy Armstrong and the passing game was difficult to overlook.

Yes, the Huskers only threw the ball 13 total times compared to 51 rushing attempts on the night, but Armstrong still only completed five of his 10 passes for just 108 yards.

Aside from a 57-yard touchdown strike to Alonzo Moore to open the fourth quarter, NU otherwise passed for just 51 yards in the game with only one other completion going for longer than 12 yards.

Nebraska even had to go out of its way to extend Jordan Westerkamp’s consecutive games with a catch streak (now at 27) with a short bubble screen with just five minutes remaining.

When Westerkamp, Cethan Carter, Stanley Morgan and De’Mornay Pierson-El combine for just three receptions for 17 yards, it’s definitely a reason for concern.

The buzz surrounding sophomore running back Devine Ozigbo has been building ever since his breakout performance in last year’s Foster Farms Bowl, and his play on Saturday night just dumped an entire tank of fuel on that fire.

Not only did Ozigbo lead Nebraska with a game-high 17 carries for 103 yards and two touchdowns, he ran with the type of power, physicality and effectiveness that have been lacking in the Huskers’ offense since Ameer Abdullah left.

His yards after contact and ability to fall forward consistently turned two- and three-yard runs in five- and six-yard gains. The value of that cannot be overstated, and Ozigbo made a very strong case to earn an even bigger workload going forward.

Nebraska’s defense had a couple of shaky drives during the first half, but the unit clamped down and downright dominated the entire second half to help turn a close game into a blowout.

A big part of that success came from the Huskers completely shutting down Fresno State’s running game. The Bulldogs managed a measly 31 yards on 26 rushes for 1.2 yards per carry, marking the third time in NU’s past four games it has held an opponent to less than 100 yards on the ground.

This week will be a significantly tougher test with Wyoming coming to town. The Cowboys averaged 173.4 rushing yards per game last season and just racked up 56 carries for 243 yards and three touchdowns in an overtime win over Northern Illinois on Saturday.

Even though his team had just wrapped up a 33-point victory to start the season, head coach Mike Riley seemed far from elated during his post-game press conference.

The only numbers the second-year coach could focus on were the Huskers’ seven penalties for 80 yards, including three unsportsmanlike conduct flags and a personal foul, and one blocked punt that temporarily shifted the momentum of the game in the second quarter.

Yes, Nebraska did a lot of other things well on Saturday night, particularly a 2-0 edge in turnovers and a perfect 5-for-5 touchdown clip inside the red zone.

But there was still no excuse for the numerous mental mistakes that helped make the game much closer than it needed to be.

After hearing all fall camp about how Pierson-El was back to his old self coming off his season-ending knee injury last October, the junior playmaker ended up barely having an impact against Fresno State.

He didn’t record a catch the entire game, and he ended up fumbling his only touch of the night on a botched jet sweep that resulted in a seven-yard loss.

On top of that, Pierson-El wasn’t used at all at punt returner. Riley said he wanted to keep Westerkamp back there because of how unpredictable Fresno State’s punter was, but it also removed Pierson-El - a former All-American punt returner just two years ago - from one of his most dangerous roles.

Will Nebraska make it a point to get Pierson-El more involved both on offense and special teams this week vs. Wyoming?

Special teams coordinator Bruce Read said he’s still trying to ease Pierson-El back as the No. 1 punt returner, and a strong week of practice this week could help expand his role in a big way.