Us Husker fans need to gather ourselves and all chill out a little bit. We lost our first game of the season to a top 25 team, after starting 3-0 for the first time since 2016.
Where Nebraska is at as a program right now, is miles ahead of where we’ve been the past 6 years, and we get a great opportunity to bounce back.
However, things won’t be easy, it is a road game in the Big Ten after all, and Matt Rhule holds a 1-4 road game record as head coach at Nebraska, so things won’t be easy going.
Nebraska defeated Purdue 31-14 when these two met last season, and Saturday will be the last time these two programs will play each other until 2027.
Purdue comes into Saturday desperately needing a win before their schedule gets even tougher, as they will get ready to face four ranked opponents in the next six weeks.
The Boilermakers started the season off with a shutout win, 49-0 to Indiana State before getting completely out played 66-7 by #18 Notre Dame and 38-21 against Oregon State.
Purdue definitely has their flaws, but that does not mean things will be easy for Nebraska. Ross Aid Stadium is known for having some big upsets the past couple of years, so how will Nebraska avoid another let down?
Run the Football:
Dylan Raiola is a special talent, but he doesn’t need to be the star for this Huskers offense on Saturday.
Purdue has allowed over 100 rushing yards in every game this season, including a crazy 703 rushing yards in their last two.
It seems that sophomore Dante Dowdell has emerged as the number one back for this team, but if Purdue can’t stop the Huskers run game, all four backs should be able to see a good amount of carries in this game.
It doesn’t have to go through the running backs the whole game either, Jacory Barney Jr. has showed that he is electric any time he touches the football, and he scored on a reverse against Illinois last Friday.
The Pipeline should have extra motivation for this game specifically, after a underwhelming performance against Illinois, to get solid push and take control of the game.
Get to the Quarterback:
Nebraska really struggled last week against Illinois to stop the pass and get good, consistent pressure on the quarterback, which resulted in a ton of second half third down conversions.
Purdue’s offensive line is filled with veterans and experience, combining for 136 total starts throughout their respected careers.
Nebraska’s main strength defensively is their pass rush, and they’re very deep at the position.
Last year they made life difficult for Hudson Card, who threw two interceptions to Tommi Hill. Hill is questionable for Saturday, which should put more pressure on this defensive line to step up and force Card into the same situations he faced last season.
New Full Time Starter at Kicker?
Rhule announced Wednesday that redshirt freshman kicker John Hohl will be starting for the second consecutive game, and Tristan Alvano may miss a few more weeks as he’s battling injury.
Hohl was 1/2 last week, but his one miss was a key play that very well could’ve closed out a ranked win for Nebraska.
Rhule mentioned in his interview with the media Thursday, that Hohl has “a big, big, big leg,” and if Hohl gets put in a situation where he has to knock in a big field goal, that might be all it takes for the Huskers to find their next kicker.
Those types of kicks can give a kicker big confidence, and Nebraska has struggled with kickers for a number of years now.
With the addition of former kicker Husker and NFL kicker Brett Maher to the staff, that should be beneficial to the future development of kickers that play for Nebraska and coach Rhule.
Prediction:
We all got a little too ahead of ourselves last week and got let down by the expectations we put on that game.
This week has the feeling of a game where Nebraska clicks early and often. I have trust in Tony White to have his defense ready for a big bounce back performance.
Applying pressure early and often will set this offense up with good field position and easy opportunities for lots of points.
Nebraska is -10 around a lot of sites, and i like where that number is at when you look deeply at these two teams.
Nebraska: 35 Purdue: 17
Where Nebraska is at as a program right now, is miles ahead of where we’ve been the past 6 years, and we get a great opportunity to bounce back.
However, things won’t be easy, it is a road game in the Big Ten after all, and Matt Rhule holds a 1-4 road game record as head coach at Nebraska, so things won’t be easy going.
Nebraska defeated Purdue 31-14 when these two met last season, and Saturday will be the last time these two programs will play each other until 2027.
Purdue comes into Saturday desperately needing a win before their schedule gets even tougher, as they will get ready to face four ranked opponents in the next six weeks.
The Boilermakers started the season off with a shutout win, 49-0 to Indiana State before getting completely out played 66-7 by #18 Notre Dame and 38-21 against Oregon State.
Purdue definitely has their flaws, but that does not mean things will be easy for Nebraska. Ross Aid Stadium is known for having some big upsets the past couple of years, so how will Nebraska avoid another let down?
Run the Football:
Dylan Raiola is a special talent, but he doesn’t need to be the star for this Huskers offense on Saturday.
Purdue has allowed over 100 rushing yards in every game this season, including a crazy 703 rushing yards in their last two.
It seems that sophomore Dante Dowdell has emerged as the number one back for this team, but if Purdue can’t stop the Huskers run game, all four backs should be able to see a good amount of carries in this game.
It doesn’t have to go through the running backs the whole game either, Jacory Barney Jr. has showed that he is electric any time he touches the football, and he scored on a reverse against Illinois last Friday.
The Pipeline should have extra motivation for this game specifically, after a underwhelming performance against Illinois, to get solid push and take control of the game.
Get to the Quarterback:
Nebraska really struggled last week against Illinois to stop the pass and get good, consistent pressure on the quarterback, which resulted in a ton of second half third down conversions.
Purdue’s offensive line is filled with veterans and experience, combining for 136 total starts throughout their respected careers.
Nebraska’s main strength defensively is their pass rush, and they’re very deep at the position.
Last year they made life difficult for Hudson Card, who threw two interceptions to Tommi Hill. Hill is questionable for Saturday, which should put more pressure on this defensive line to step up and force Card into the same situations he faced last season.
New Full Time Starter at Kicker?
Rhule announced Wednesday that redshirt freshman kicker John Hohl will be starting for the second consecutive game, and Tristan Alvano may miss a few more weeks as he’s battling injury.
Hohl was 1/2 last week, but his one miss was a key play that very well could’ve closed out a ranked win for Nebraska.
Rhule mentioned in his interview with the media Thursday, that Hohl has “a big, big, big leg,” and if Hohl gets put in a situation where he has to knock in a big field goal, that might be all it takes for the Huskers to find their next kicker.
Those types of kicks can give a kicker big confidence, and Nebraska has struggled with kickers for a number of years now.
With the addition of former kicker Husker and NFL kicker Brett Maher to the staff, that should be beneficial to the future development of kickers that play for Nebraska and coach Rhule.
Prediction:
We all got a little too ahead of ourselves last week and got let down by the expectations we put on that game.
This week has the feeling of a game where Nebraska clicks early and often. I have trust in Tony White to have his defense ready for a big bounce back performance.
Applying pressure early and often will set this offense up with good field position and easy opportunities for lots of points.
Nebraska is -10 around a lot of sites, and i like where that number is at when you look deeply at these two teams.
Nebraska: 35 Purdue: 17