Purdue at Nebraska

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

TV: ABC (Mike Patrick play-by-play, Ed Cunningham analyst, Dr. Jerry Punch sidelines)

Radio: Sirius 81 / XM 81 / Tunein.com

Pregame: Gold and Black Radio at 11 a.m. Friday | Gold and Black LIVE at 2 p.m. Friday

Purdue roster | Purdue Schedule/Results | Game Notes | Depth Chart

Nebraska roster | Nebraska Schedule/Results | Nebraska's Game Notes | Nebraska Depth Chart

Related stories: Purdue battling injuries | What Purdue needs in its next head coach ($) | Media Mania Week 7 | Goals don't change despite shakeup | Interim Parker adjusting to new role

Purdue must be able to protect David Blough, and the Huskers don't have a great pass rush after losing two defensive linemen to the NFL last year, so there is some opportunity for Purdue. Blough compiled a lot of yards last week and subsequently leads the Big Ten in just about every passing category, but much of it was after the game was pretty much decided. Still Blough's misdirection caused a very banged-up Cornhusker team some real problems last year and resulted in four TD passes.

With the exception of the Oregon game when the Cornhuskers relinquished 336 yards on the ground, the Big Red has not given up more than 137 yards against an opponent. Purdue's inability to run the football effectively against Iowa may have been a function, to some extent, of Markell Jones' injury, but against better opponents Purdue has really struggled moving the ball on the ground. Nebraska qualifies as a better opponent.

Cornhuskers standout receiver Jordan Westerkamp will be out for at least another week, but they are not short in talent on the receiving corps with Brandon Reilly, Stanley Morgan and the like. Tommy Armstrong's foot injury has hampered his running a bit, and he was just 10-of-26 passing against the Hoosiers last week, but he made those completions count, averaging over 20 yards. Our guess is Purdue will try to bring pressure against a banged-up Nebraska offensive line, but can it disrupt Armstrong? And will the Boilermakers be able to stop the run, to force Nebraska into obvious passing downs? Those are two very good questions for the three-touchdown-plus underdog Boilermakers.

Maybe Coach Gerad Parker's enthusiastic tone will help the Boilermakers "tackle the football" this week, but effort alone will not be enough. If Armstrong is hobbled, that will help the Boilermakers slow things down, and the 'Huskers were not great on the ground against IU (just 152 yards and a long run of 18 yards). But the Boilermakers have really (and I mean really) struggled to stop anybody on the ground this year, ranking 124th nationally and dead last in the Big Ten.

Purdue seems to be improving in this area, as punter Joe Schopper has been one of the best in the country in hemming in an opponent inside the 20, despite ranking 86th in punting with a 39.6 average, a deceiving number to be certain. Nebraska kicker Drew Brown is up for the Lou Groza Award and has hit 5-of-6 field goals this season, including two last week against Indiana. The Cornhuskers have struggles in net punting, ranking 128th nationally, but the Boilermakers have yet to do much in the punt return game in 2016.

This game will be interesting to watch from a Purdue perspective just to see how the Boilermakers react to all of the change in the last week. Purdue has closed its ranks this week with respect to media coverage, and that could have a short-term positive effect. Still, Nebraska has much to play for considering its No. 8 ranking and the fact the Boilermakers embarrassed it in Ross-Ade Stadium last year. It won't be easy for Purdue in Lincoln.

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