Breakdown: Purdue's loss to Nebraska
Nebraska blocked Purdue's first punt, scored a play later and then held the home team off from there, extending the Boilermakers' misery with a 37-27 win in Ross-Ade Stadium.
Purdue has no lost four in a row, the last three to teams with losing records, and this one may have been ugliest of all, as the Boilermakers trailed 17-0 midway through the first quarter to a team that came in 1-4 and averaging 20 points per game.
After being down 34-13 in the third quarter, Purdue did rally to give Itself a chance. David Bell's 89-yard TD with 12:16 left brought the Boilermakers within seven, but Nebraska answered a field goal, Purdue's offense went three-and-out and that was that.
Three things from the game ...
• Purdue's special teams have been an unmitigated disaster lately. At Minnesota, it was the field goal operation that cost the Boilermakers that game, possible. Against Rutgers, the hundred-yard kickoff return changed the game. Today, it was the blocked punt right out of the chute that got the Boilermakers off on the worst foot imaginable.
Purdue's punting all season has been a real struggle, to the point a third-string freshman punter got the call to open the Nebraska game.
Jeff Brohm made another change to his staff this off-season in hopes of making special teams a strength. It's been anything during this Boilermaker swoon.
• Purdue's defense just continues to have few answers for much of anything, and worse yet, the Boilermakers lost their cool when Purdue still had a chance in this game. A series of personal foul or unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties were costly.
Again, not sure this defense is working in any sense of the term.
• Purdue's offensive line was overwhelmed, especially at center. Purdue struggled to keep the Cornhuskers off Jack Plummer and was riddled with penalties as both these teams were all across the board.
The offense, again, was the best phase of Purdue's team, but the standard was a low one.
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