On a cold and cloudy day in West Lafayette, the Nebraska Cornhuskers rebounded from a poor first half to defeat the Purdue Boilermakers 28-10 and move to 4-1 on the season. It was an unusually ugly first half as the two teams combined for four missed or blocked field goals, seven punts, going 1-for-12 on third down conversions and committing 129 yards on penalties. In fact, at the break, Purdue had 90 yards of penalties and just 89 yards of total offense. They had four balls to go with only five completed passes. The Huskers crossed Purdue’s 40-yard line on all six first-half possessions and racked up 210 yards of offense without scoring a point. Including the end of the Illinois game, Nebraska’s eight straight possessions were within 40 of the other team’s without points. It was a game that deserved to be on Peacock so a limited number of viewers got to witness the ineptitude.
The second half began with Purdue using up 8:08 of the third quarter clock before John Bullock made an impressive stop on third and short to force a Buehler triple. The Huskers then scored on their next three possessions on touchdown runs of 70, 63 and 57 yards, while the defense forced two 3rd-and-2s with Purdue netting -7 and then -1 yards. Purdue’s next drive resulted in a 29-yard pick six by Bullock and at 28-3, the rout was on. It was a reverse Colorado game with the Huskers scoring all of their points after the break instead of before.
The teams collected 24 penalties totaling 259 yards. Purdue compiled 165 penalty yards as each defensive penalty was at least 10 yards. They committed five pass interference penalties because they couldn’t contain Isaiah Neyor, Jahmal Banks or Heinrich Harberg. Nebraska had its share of laundry as well, including an absolutely terrible offensive pass interference penalty on Thomas Fidon who avoided contact with a defender. Science wiped out Rahmir Johnson’s 22-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. This nonsense finally culminated with a 10-yard fourth quarter penalty on Jahmal Banks that prompted Matt Rhule to slam his headset into the ground causing an additional 15-yard personal foul. At that point, I didn’t blame Coach Rhule because Big Ten officials make middle school referees look like professionals. Facing second-and-29, Dylan Raiola completed a pass to Emmitt Johnson that caught 27 yards plus another 15 yards that was put up as a face mask. The Huskers scored two plays later.
The Blackshirts held the Boilers to 50 yards rushing and 174 yards passing. Purdue pulled off a comfortable touchdown against the Reserves with 1:29 remaining in the game, but the defense has now held four of five opponents to 10 or fewer points this season. Nebraska totaled five sacks in the win, its second-highest total of the season (six vs. Colorado) and recorded nine tackles for loss. Saturday was the second opponent Nebraska has held scoreless in the first half (Colorado) and defenders have allowed just three points in the second quarter this season. Nebraska is one of just seven teams to not allow a rushing touchdown this season, and including last season, the Huskers have not allowed a rushing touchdown in 10 of their last 12 games.
Ceyair Wright, who replaced Tommi Hill, had another great game leading the defense with five tackles and two pass breakups. Mikey Gbayor was also stopped five times in the match. James Williams with two sacks and MJ Sherman with 1.5 sacks set career highs in that category on Saturday. Williams’ two sacks are the most by a Husker this season and the most since Nash Hutmacher had 2.5 sacks against Northwestern last season. Ty Robinson added another sack and Kai Whalen shared a sack with Sherman. Bullock, Mario Buford, Jemaree Butler and Keonna Davis all contributed tackles for loss. Pollock’s pick-six was his first career interception and was warmly celebrated by his teammates as the pick was just reward for a man who had been working hard on defense. It marked Nebraska’s second interception touchdown of the season (Tommy Hill vs. Colorado) and marks the first time since 2017 that Nebraska has had two TDs in a season. In finishing +1 in turnovers on Saturday, Nebraska improved to +5 on the season as the Huskers outscored opponents 31-0 in points off turnovers.
Dylan Raiola finished 17 of 27 for 257 yards and a touchdown, connecting with eight different receivers. He has also thrown one touchdown pass in all five games this season. He was sacked just once when the Huskers started third-string left tackle, Gunnar Gottula, after Turner Corcoran was injured last week. The offensive line overall gave Raiola plenty of time in pass protection but struggled in the first half by preventing the run as the Huskers only had 49 yards rushing on 13 attempts. They seemed to get better as the game went on, though, as they finished with 161 yards on the ground on 31 carries that resulted in two touchdowns.
Senior receiver Jamal Banks caught a 6-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to set up Nebraska’s first points. This marked his second receiving touchdown of 2024 (UTEP) and his 15th career receiving touchdown. Banks finished the day with five catches for 82 yards and has 13 receptions over the past two weeks. Thomas Fidon had 3 catches for 39 yards and Jaylen Lloyd made one catch for 25 yards.
JaCorey Barney Jr. led Nebraska with 66 yards rushing on four carries, including a career-high 31 yards and a 25-yard touchdown run. Barney entered the game with 38 yards rushing. He also had two catches for 28 yards. His speed is electric and should be a challenge to defend. Emmett Johnson totaled 98 all-purpose yards (50 rushing, 48 passing) on just 10 touches. Johnson’s 48-yard reception was a career-high (43 vs. UNI) while his 27-yard reception was also a long one. Johnson seems to ignite the team when he enters the game because he has the volatility and momentum that generates solid gains. Dante Dowdell (9 carries for 21 yards) was often stuffed but caught a 1-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run to put the Huskers up 14-3. The play was aided by a great block by Barrett Lipentritt who pinned two defenders at the rim.
Special teams has been a disaster and if not improved will cost the Huskers at least a game or two. With Tristan Alfano still injured in his groin, backup kicker John Hohl missed his first field goal attempt from 42 yards. The second and third attempts were blocked after bad shots that holder Brian Boschini barely caught. Camden Witucki replaced Aidan Flege as snapper after the first block, and at least managed to get good snaps on four subsequent extra-point attempts. Foul snaps probably cost us the game last week and must be maddening for a coaching staff that has to think about keeping the offense on the field regardless of fourth-down yardage. Kicking blockers go off when punts are returned on blocks and kickers covering the kick are lost in the end zone instead of dropping kicks inside the 5-yard line. Punter Brian Buschini had two of three punts inside the 20 and had returns on four of five kickoffs while making three tackles on punt and punt coverage.
After a loss last week that provided plenty of opportunities to win, you can take any road win you can get in the Big Ten. The Huskers likely gained a little confidence with their second-half performance against a mediocre Purdue team as Nebraska had yet to play a game for four quarters. “It may not be for everyone, but we’re just a growing team,” coach Matt Rhule stated in his press conference. He has continued to emphasize the long game of growth and maturity. Kids make mistakes. It is up to the coaches to help them learn and develop. It would certainly help if the Huskers found a four-quarter game next Saturday as the unbeaten and likely top-seeded Scarlet Knights appear from Rutgers at Memorial Stadium. Hopefully the team can take the next step toward bowl eligibility. Go Big Red!!!
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