Starting quarterback Tommy Armstrong won't suit up for Nebraska on Saturday as it tries to avoid its sixth loss of the season when it visits Purdue.
Head coach Mike Riley announced Thursday that the team's junior signal-caller — the second-leading passer in the Big Ten — is a part of the lengthy list of those who will sit out of Saturday's game with an injury.
Armstrong wore a walking boot this week, and according to Riley, things have gotten worse.
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"Not really close," Riley told reporters after practice Thursday. "As a matter of fact, it sounds like between yesterday and today it took a little turn for the worse. I don't think that means long term, necessarily. It's like a turf-toe deal that just hasn't gotten better, and we just can't risk him making it worse."
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Junior Ryker Fyfe will start in Armstrong's place, getting his first collegiate start.
"I like Ryker, he's going to do fine," Riley said. "He has prepared well from the very start of camp, and I'm excited for him.
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"Ryker is not held back by not knowing, it's just experience in playing. He's run all these plays. He's been the sole guy this week to take the first-string reps and get to execute in practice against the simulation of Purdue's defense. So the knowledge about everything of what we're doing, the pulling out of what we're going to actually use in the game, he's familiar with. We're all very comfortable with that. I was impressed with how our team started from Monday with just taking snaps with Ryker in there. I'm excited for him, and I think he'll do very well."
Fyfe is a Nebraska native and has appeared in eight games in his career. He's completed five of the 11 passes he's thrown for 45 yards and a touchdown and rushed eight times for 50 yards.