Nebraska Overpowers Purdue in the Second Half, 28-10 Final

Nebraska’s perfect start ended with an overtime loss last week, which knocked them out of the Top 25. This week, they’ll ask star freshman QB Dylan Raiola to help them rebound in his first road game — at a sold out Ross-Ade Stadium that promises to be painted in red. Purdue has lost two straight and needs a win before playing back-to-back games at Wisconsin, where it has historically struggled, and at rival No. 19 Illinois.

Nebraska’s ground game vs. Purdue’s run defense

No, Nebraska hasn’t adopted its old-school ground and pound theory — yet this season. Perhaps that changes this weekend. After rushing for 50 yards in a 31-24 loss to then No. 24 Illinois, a temporary change could be coming. Purdue is allowing 269.0 yards rushing per game, the third-highest total in the FBS. Until Purdue proves it can stop the run, opponents are going to keep it on the ground.

Players to Watch

Nebraska

LB John Bullock has played at an all-conference level so far, making a career-high nine tackles in back-to-back games. He also had a sack and forced a fumble to set up a ‘Huskers TD last week against Illinois. Through four games, he leads the Huskers in tackles, has two sacks, four tackles for loss and three pass breakups.

Purdue

Hudson Card. The Boilermakers quarterback struggled against Notre Dame with an interception that was returned for a TD. Last week was even worse. He was 7 of 17 with a paltry 32 yards, one touchdown, another interception returned for a score all while dealing with several mistimed snaps.

Facts & Figures

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule won his first matchup against Purdue last year, but the Boilermakers have won four of the last six in the series while outscoring the ‘Huskers 185-183. ... This will be the Cornhuskers’ first road trip of the season. They were 1-4 on the road in 2023. They’re 8-31 in one-possession games since 2018. ... Purdue is the only FBS team without a takeaway through the first four weeks. They had a bye in Week 2. ... Raiola threw for 297 yards and three TDs against the Illini, both season highs, last week for Nebraska. ... The Boilermakers have been outscored 104-28 in their last two games. ... The Cornhuskers’ two-week run inside the Top 25 ended Sunday. It was their first Top 25 appearance since 2019.

Post-Game Reactions: A Look at Purdue’s Offensive Woes and Nebraska’s Strengths

The Daily Nebraskan (DN) has put together a collection of reactions from its staff regarding the game, particularly focusing on the performance of Purdue’s offense and Nebraska’s strengths.

Ryan: “Happy Homecoming Boilermakers. Sorry that’s what you had to come home to. Are any coaches, especially on offense, going to be held accountable?”

Ledman: “One of the strangest first halves of football I’ve ever watched. There were multiple missed field goals, multiple BLOCKED field goals, and a complete inability to convert a third down by both teams. I didn’t expect Purdue to head into halftime with a 0-0 tie but all things considered I was pretty happy about it. Then, the wheels came off.

First, we need to celebrate that Purdue was up 3-0 at one point. However, the Purdue defense prevented points for as long as possible but they sure saw plenty of flags, most of which were completely justified, to keep Nebraska in a number of drives. The game finally got away from Purdue in the fourth quarter as they finished up allowing 28 points.

A number of problems here for Purdue including Hudson Card’s inability to get the ball to his wide receivers, regardless of who they are, and staying in the pocket too long and getting sacked as a result. If I’m in charge, I’m pulling the trigger and firing Graham Harrell today. The offense needs to change and change immediately.”

Jed: “Inevitably this game went about like we all thought it would go. It was a pleasant surprise to see Purdue get into halftime tied 0-0 after blocking two field goal attempts and the defense not fully being left out to dry by the offense. However, the second half was just as ugly for the offense as we saw in the previous two games. How much longer will Walters allow that to continue after it was clear the defense made strides.

Harrell is directly responsible for what might be the worst offensive unit in the P5. There is little innovation to the scheme for a guy that was billed as a disciple Mike Leach, one of the most innovative minds in all of college football history. If a change of direction isn’t taken after this week to try and shake things up on the offensive side of the ball, I’m not sure what direction the program takes moving forward.

Penalties, poor schemes, injuries, and an inability to force turnovers. That’s not a recipe for success at this level of football or any level for that matter.”

Drew: “Let’s start with the positive:

The defense was exponentially better today against a pass heavy team. They kept Purdue in the game despite an inept officiating crew eager to throw flags on the outside. There were a few clear PI’s but I counted 3 calls where the Nebraska receiver clearly grabbed the Purdue DB’s shoulder pads to initiate contact down the field and held on, only to draw a flag on the defense. I know people are going to harp on the penalties, but I’ve seen significantly more physical play on the outside this season without the barrage of flags.

The Boilermaker defense played well enough to win.

Now the Negative:

Nebraska sat on the outside zone run, and when you can’t run the ball between the tackles, it’s going to be tough going. The Boilers were without 2 of their 3 presumptive starters at wide receiver and it’s clear that Hudson Card does not trust the young guys. That pick 6 was a direct result of Card forcing the ball to Klare instead of hitting an open Morrissette for an easy first down.

More than that, the ball wasn’t coming out when it needed to come out. At this point, I’m not sure what Card brings that other QBs on the roster that Purdue needs to develop bring to the table. If anything, the back-ups have more reps throwing to the back-up receivers than Card. Maybe it’s time to try one of the young dudes because Card refuses to let his receivers make a play on the outside. He’s waiting for guys to get open, and Purdue doesn’t have “get open” receivers right now. What they have is big bodied receivers capable of making plays on contested catches. The two times I saw Card trust his receivers Tibbs had a nice contested catch and Smith had a touchdown.

The air raid offense is designed to get the ball out quick, and Card’s not doing that. I don’t recommend watching the replay, but if you’re sicko, watch Hudson’s feet. When he hits the back foot, the ball should be out. He’s got to let it go otherwise Purdue’s running a timing offense with no timing. Maybe it looks different with the guys he repped with all off-season were actually available to play football, and he wasn’t working with a couple freshman, but I’d love to see him at least try to run the offense with the young guys.”

Position Grades

The DN’s football coverage is presented by Celerion.

Quarterback

Freshman Dylan Raiola was his usual efficient self, finishing the game with 257 passing yards and a touchdown with a 63% completion rate. 

The offense was shut out in the first half, but it is hard to pin that on Raiola. Nebraska’s inability to run the ball in the first half put all the pressure on Raiola to move the ball. The Huskers’ running backs averaged only 1.9 yards a carry in the first half, and at one point head coach Matt Rhule completely went away from the run game.

Once Nebraska got the running game going in the second half, things opened up for Raiola downfield. It’s crazy to think that the freshman quarterback might be the only part of this team that fans don’t ever have to worry about.

Running Back

Sophomore Emmett Johnson, welcome to the party.

After not recording a single carry last week against Illinois, Johnson was the go-to guy in the second half. He finished the game with 50 yards on eight carries along with three catches for 48 yards. It was the first half for the Husker running backs holding back this grade.

In the first two quarters, the running backs recorded only 10 carries for a measly 19 yards. Sophomore Dante Dowdell was especially inefficient, as he averaged only 2.3 yards a carry in the game, struggling to make players miss all game.

Johnson was a breath of fresh air for the Huskers in the second half, and he should be the go-to back moving forward while Dowdell gets regulated to short-yardage situations.

Wide Receiver

Senior Jahmal Banks continues to pull away as the number one option for Raiola.

After recording eight catches for 94 yards against the Fighting Illini, Banks led the group once again with five receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. Senior Isaiah Neyor was almost a non-factor in the game, hauling in only one catch for 14 yards.

Rhule placed an emphasis on getting freshman Jacory Barney Jr. involved early and often. He got involved in the run game with some jet sweeps, recording four rushes for 66 yards and a touchdown to go along with his two catches for 28 yards. Maybe best of all for Husker fans, however, was junior tight end Thomas Fidone II getting involved downfield with three catches for 39 yards.

The size of Banks, Neyor and Fidone along with the speed of Barney and sophomore wide receiver Jaylen Lloyd will continue to give Raiola plenty to work with.

Offensive Line

This game was Nebraska’s chance to get its running game going after a rough showing last week, but it wasn’t a great showing for the guys up front.

The offensive line struggled to create holes all day, which is a bit concerning to see given how porous Purdue has been against the run over the last two weeks. Even on some of Emmett Johnson’s big runs, he had to work for it. The bright side is that the pass protection was great all night, as Raiola was sacked only one time.

With the competition ahead only getting tougher, the Huskers will have a long season if the offensive line can’t open up holes for the running backs.

Defensive Line

The defensive line bounced back after getting pushed around a bit against Illinois. Purdue’s running backs were largely ineffective against Nebraska’s front, averaging just 3.2 yards per carry. 

This is encouraging, given the fact that junior Devin Mockobee and senior Reggie Love II headed into the game averaging an impressive 7.7 and 6.1 yards per carry, respectively. The Huskers are one of seven teams in the country that have not allowed a rushing touchdown yet this season.

The defensive line also got decent pressure on junior quarterback Hudson Card, headlined by sophomore defensive lineman James Williams recording two sacks on the day. It is still yet to be seen if the defensive line can replicate this against the top teams in the Big Ten, but they will look to carry this momentum against a tough Rutgers team up front.

Linebackers

The linebackers had another solid outing against Purdue, making some big time plays to keep the Huskers in the game when the offense was reeling.

No one guy really stood out, as juniors Mikai Gbayor and MJ Sherman along with senior John Bullock had productive outings. Sherman recorded 1.5 sacks while Bullock made the game-sealing pick-six in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 28-3.

There were a few missed tackles by linebackers, with the most notable one being Bullock’s missed sack on 2nd and 15 that Card converted into a 14-yard completion to Mockbee. This later turned into a first down after a two-yard run. However, the linebackers had a solid day holding the running backs in check, which was the main objective heading into the game.

Secondary

After giving up 215 passing yards and four touchdowns on 21-for-27 passing to senior Luke Altmyer last week, the secondary helped keep Card in check.

Card recorded only 174 passing yards on the day, although he did have a solid completion percentage of 72% (18-of-25). The secondary tackled fairly well on the perimeter, not allowing the Boilermakers’ running backs to get the edge.

Junior cornerback Ceyair Wright continued to play well in place of senior Tommi Hill, tallying a team-high five solo tackles and two pass breakups. He did get banged up in the second half, but he continued to play the rest of the game.

The secondary had a lot of question marks following last week’s performance, and while Purdue isn’t a great passing team, it was encouraging to see what the secondary was capable of.

Special Teams

If F- was a grade, I would have given it to this group, especially the kicking game.

Nebraska failed to down the ball at the one on the first punt of the game, leading to a touchback for the Boilermakers. This wasn’t the worst part, however.

Freshman kicker John Hohl missed all three field goal attempts, with two of them being blocked by Purdue. The Huskers also struggled snapping the ball on kicks, a job that will continue to be up for grabs heading into next week.

It is starting to get to a point where Rhule can’t trust the kicker outside of a 30-yard kick. On the bright side, Hohl did make all four extra points he attempted, but Nebraska needs sophomore kicker Tristian Alvano back badly.