Matchup Preview: Purdue-Nebraska

Nebraska at Purdue

Time: Saturday, 12:00 P.M. EST

Location: Ross-Ade Stadium

Surface: Natural Grass

Capacity: 57,236

2020 Schedule/records: Nebraska (1-4 overall, 1-4 Big Ten); Purdue (2-3; 2-3)

Series notes: Thanks to Purdue's come-from-behind 31-27 victory at home over Nebraska last year, the series is knotted at four games each. The Boilermakers are 3-2 all-time against the Huskers in Ross-Ade Stadium. The Cornhuskers other visit to West Lafayette in the Jeff Brohm Era saw the visitors rally from a 24-12 fourth quarter deficit to pull out a 25-24 win on Oct. 28, 2017.

TV: BTN (Cory Provus, play-by-play; Anthony Herron, analyst; Coley Harvey, sidelines)

line: Purdue -2

Radio (Purdue): Sirius 135/ XM 203/ Tunein.com (Tim Newton, play-by-play; Pete Quinn, analyst; Rob Blackman, studio host, Kelly Kitchel sidelines)

Pregame: Gold and Black Radio

Purdue roster | Purdue Schedule/Results | Purdue Game Notes (PDF) | Game Morning Depth Chart

Nebraska roster | Nebraska schedule/results | Nebraska Game Notes (PDF)

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Nebraska loves to run the football, as they come into this game averaging 40 rush attempts per game. They've dealt with a season-long quarterback controversy thus far, as both Adrian Martinez and Luke McCaffrey have been promoted and demoted out of the starting role. Regardless of who takes the snaps, the Cornhuskers like to come at defenses with zone reads. It sounds like Nebraska's best running back, Dedrick Mills, may miss this game with an injury that has sidelined him for a few weeks. Marvin Scott III figures to be next In line for the bulk of the carries in the Husker offense.

Last week was a true low-point for the Boilers' rush defense. Rutgers was able to keep the ball on the ground for nearly the entire second half, and Purdue could not get into the backfield and make stops. Purdue will be without linebacker Derrick Barnes for the first half after his targeting ejection in the third quarter of the Rutgers game. Barnes has been Purdue's best and most explosive playmaker on defense this year. Whether Martinez or McCaffrey takes the field for Nebraska, expect them to dare Purdue to stop the zone read, which the Boilers couldn't do a week ago.

The lack of consistency from the quarterback position has really hurt Nebraska here. Martinez threw the bulk of the passes last week and had his best game of the season connecting on a school record percentage (18-20 90%). Martinez's career at Nebraska has been an interesting one, as he was forced Into action as a freshman with mixed results. He came into his sophomore season with tons of hype, but underwhelmed, and this year he was replaced by Luke McCaffrey in the third game of this season. Wan'Dale Robinson, who was recruited heavily by Purdue and leads the team with 30 receptions, will be the main target, and he can do a bit of everything for the Huskers. Tight end Austin Allen, who stands 6-foot-8 is the only other pass catcher with more than 10 targets on the season.

Purdue's pass defense showed familiar struggles last week against Rutgers. The absence of George Karlaftis is painfully evident, as the defensive front struggles to generate pressure on opposing passers. Opposing QB's have had a lot of time to throw, though Purdue's coverage defensively has been solid. Still, opponents are completing 63% of their passes against the Boiler defense. Dedrick Mackey and Simeon Smiley may be tasked with limiting Robinson's output in this one.

In the first half of last week's game, Purdue ran the ball as effectively as they had in recent memory. Both Zander Horvath and King Doerue were effective on the ground, but when Rutgers put pressure on the Boilermaker offense, they turned to the air more. With Doerue getting (presumably) more healthy by the week, maybe we'll see more from the true sophomore on Saturday. Horvath continues to have a strong 2020 though, and expect him to continue to see the majority of the carries.

The Black Shirt defense has had their struggles this season, with many of those coming against the run. Opponents are running for 204 yards a game against the Huskers, and Purdue will look to exploit that early. Nebraska has surrendered 12 rushing touchdowns this year, so this may be a chance for Purdue to add to their total of just four. If Purdue commits more to the run game, it may pay dividents.

Though his second start was not as strong as his first, Jack Plummer continued to do some nice things for Purdue last week. He'll get the start again this week and will look to connect with his top targets early and often. With Amad Anderson Jr.'s entrance to the transfer portal and Jared Sparks' decision to opt-out, I expect to see more snaps for Milton Wright, Jackson Anthrop and maybe a little Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen (if he is healthy). The receivers are healthy and talented, so this should be a strength for Purdue.

Nebraska's defense is better against the pass than they are the run. They allow 220 yards per game through the air, but they have limited opponents to just six passing touchdowns. The Husker defense doesn't make a lot of big plays, though, with just four interceptions to speak for on the year. JoJo Domann is the best member of the defensive backfield. Plummer will need to know where he is on every snap. Safety Myles Farmer has picked off two passes, as well, but Purdue should be able to throw the ball with the talent of their receivers.

JD Dellinger was perfect on extra points vs. Rutgers, but he didn't get the chance to attempt a field goal after his rough day In Minneapolis. The punting game continues to be an issue for Purdue. Whether Brooks Cormier or Zac Collins trots out there, opponents are starting with good field position far too often. The return game continues to be a non-factor for Purdue, but their kick coverage was badly exposed during Rutgers' kick return touchdown which looked too easy. The Boilermakers have to hope that was an isolated incident as Brohm said this week having to use backups (due to injuries) in the kick coverage game put the Boilers at increased risk on the Scarlet Knights' big play.

Nebraska's kicker, Connor Culp, comes in 9-10 on field goal attempts, though he has not demonstrated any range with no kicks of longer than 40 yards. Punter William Przystup has five boots of longer than 50 yards and averages over 40 yards per punt. Nebraska's return game hasn't done much on the year, though their punt coverage is allowing 18 yards per return.

Purdue enters the final home game coming off three straight close losses, though last week's certainly felt different than the other two.Brohm's tone in the postgame press conference was different than what we are accustomed to. He knows that Purdue really needs a win in this one. Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco will get the chance to face his former employer. Diaco was the DC on Mike Riley's 2017 staff and was let go when Riley was fired at the end of the season.

No school pushed harder for the playing of a football season than Nebraska, but I don't know that they had a 1-4 record on their mind when they were doing this. How long will Scott Frost's grace period last? Though the challenges of the Big Ten are real, the Husker fanbase looks at 1997 as a distant memory at this point. Frost is 0-2 against Brohm, which certainly doesn't sit well with those in Lincoln. Both teams need a win here badly.

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