Matchup Preview: Purdue-Nebraska

Purdue at Nebraska

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021: 3:30 p.m. ET, Memorial Stadium

Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 85,458 (Vivid Seats)

Schedule/records: Nebraska (3-5 overall, 1-4 Big Ten); Purdue (4-3, 2-2)

Series notes: Nebraska leads the series 5-4 and has won five of eight games in a series with Purdue that has been played every year since 2013. The first meeting was a 28-0 Purdue victory in Ross-Ade Stadium on Sept. 27, 1958. Nebraska has won two of the three meetings played in Lincoln, 35-14 in 2014 and 27-14 in 2016, with Purdue winning 42-28 in 2018. The Cornhuskers were ranked No. 17 and No. 8 in the 2014 and '16 contests, respectively. Last year, Nebraska entered the game as a two-point underdog but rolled to a wire-to-wire 37-27 victory after building an early 20-3 lead.

TV: ESPN 2 (PxP, Roy Philpott; analyst, Kelly Stouffer; sideline, Lauren Sisler)

Early line: Nebraska -8 (opened at Nebraska -7)

Pregame: Gold and Black Radio

Purdue roster | Purdue Game Notes

Nebraska roster | Nebraska Game Notes

Lincoln weather

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The Husker offense really likes to run the ball, though it doesn't look the same as it did during Nebraska's glory days. Instead, QB Adrian Martinez leads a option-based run approach that thrives on keeping defenses guessing. Assuming Martinez is healthy, you'll see plenty of read-option concepts for the Huskers on Saturday, which the Boilermaker defense hasn't dealt with since the Minnesota game four weeks ago. Martinez leads the Husker rushing attack, averaging 54 yards per game and totaling 10 rushing touchdowns through the first eight games. Frost's crew got good news this week when RB Rahmir Johnson exited the concussion protocol on Monday and is going to play on Saturday. Johnson has become the lead running back, averaging close to 50 yards a game on the ground. Nebraska averages over 200 yards per game on the ground.

Despite Wisconsin carrying the ball for 290 yards on the Boilermaker defense last weekend, the overall numbers are still solid. Opponents are gaining 141 yards per game on the ground vs. Purdue, and the Boilers have played some good rushing attacks recently. They'll need to bounce back against Nebraska, though. Playing a team as physical as Wisconsin can sometimes lead to a body blow effect the following week, where the defense is still feeling it. Something to watch here will be the status of LEO Kydran Jenkins. Brohm mentioned that he was dinged up during his Monday press conference. Jenkins has been strong off the edge this year, and with DaMarcus Mitchell already out, Purdue could really use Jenkins' presence in read-option defense.

Martinez's time at Nebraska has proven to be quite the rollercoaster, but he's quietly putting up impressive numbers in 2021. Completing 64% of his passes, the veteran is throwing for 249 yards a game and boasts a 10:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Though he's never materialized into the Heisman contender that he was hyped to be ahead of his 2019 sophomore campaign, Martinez might be the best quarterback Purdue has faced to date.

The Huskers' receiver room doesn't blow opponents away, though Purdue will need to keep an eye on senior Montana transfer Samori Toure, who has some long touchdown receptions under his belt this year. Tight end Austin Allen is a colossal 6-foot-9 inch pass catching threat that Purdue will surely need to pay extra attention to in the red zone (shades of Kyle Ingraham, anyone)? Purdue's last two opponents haven't wanted to pass much, but Nebraska will bring a more balanced approach to the table.

Purdue's secondary didn't get many reps in pass coverage last week, as Wisconsin's Graham Mertz finished the day with eight pass attempts. It's hard to know exactly how good Purdue's pass coverage is, considering it hasn't faced great quarterbacks the last two games and played in the rain prior to that. After forcing four interceptions in Iowa City, the Purdue defense couldn't replicate it last week, but that is hard to do when the opponent attempts less that 10 passes. Jenkins' injury is significant here, too, as the Boilermakers will want to put pressure on Martinez to beat them through the air.

The Purdue running attack had its weakest output in a while , turning in -13 total rushing yards when factoring in the sacks taken by Aidan O'Connell. Even the multiple quarterback system couldn't muster any type of rushing effort for the Boilers, as the plays with Jack Plummer and Austin Burton were largely ineffective, too. It's difficult to see the rushing attack getting much better. Brohm did say that Zander Horvath may have a chance to get involved in practice this week, but the bruising senior is unlikely to see the field on Saturday. Offensive linemen Greg Long and Tyler Witt are questionable to some degree for this game. Without them, Purdue's rushing offense could take even more of a hit.

Last year in Ross-Ade Stadium, the Huskers held Purdue to -2 total rushing yards. While that said more about Purdue's ground game than it did Nebraska's defense, this is still a formidable Husker run D. Averaging 139 rushing yards per game allowed, opponents haven't had tremendous success moving the ball on the ground. Nebraska's linebackers Luke Reimer and JoJo Domann are very good at closing in on ballcarriers. If Purdue's offense eclipses 13 points in this one, it probably won't be because of the ground game.

A week after earning Davey O'Brien National QB of the Week recognition, Aidan O'Connell struggled mightily in the 30-13 loss to Wisconsin. Though he did complete 75% of his passes, O'Connell's three interceptions really hurt. The Boilermaker offense was ineffective, as they only found the end zone once. O'Connell still has the support of coach Jeff Brohm, though the multiple-quarterback system likely will continue to exist.

Turnovers have been the knock on O'Connell, and eliminating them will be a must. Purdue hasn't been able to establish a clear number two dynamic wide receiver behind David Bell. Now would be a great time for a breakout performance for someone besides Bell and tight end Payne Durham.

Part of O'Connell's struggles last week came from the strong pass rush Wisconsin was able to generate. Nebraska doesn't generate the same amount of pressure with just 13 sacks through eight games. The Huskers' back end has picked off just eight passes, so this isn't the most opportunistic defense. O'Connell must watch out for senior safety Deontai Williams, who has four picks on the year. Moving the ball hasn't been the issue for Purdue this year; they simply can't get points on the board once they're in the red zone. They should have the opportunity to do that on Saturday.

Purdue can't seem to have a clean week in this category. Mitchell Fineran missed a kick for the third straight game last week when he missed an extra point following George Karlaftis' fumble return touchdown. Additionally, TJ Sheffield muffed a kickoff that caused Purdue to start a drive inside its own 10 yard line. Punter Jack Ansell remains solid even if he doesn't have the biggest leg. Special teams might not ever be a huge advantage for Purdue, but it can't allow it to be a disadvantage.

Though Nebraska kicker Conner Culp has made two kicks from 50+, he's only 6-12 overall on field-goal attempts this season. William Przystup does a nice job, getting 45 yards per punt and booting seven punts over 50 yards. Don't expect the return game to be much of a factor for the team in red, either.

Purdue heads to Lincoln after a disappointing loss at home. More than 61,000 fans packed into Ross-Ade Stadium to watch last week's game, but the Badgers dominated, especially in the second half. The status of several injured Boilermakers will be critical coming into this game.

A win here would allow Purdue to go into November needing just a single victory for bowl eligibility, but Vegas doesn't like its chances. Can Purdue pull off its second road upset in as many tries?

When Nebraska fired Bo Pelini after the 2014 season, Nebraska had yet to achieve the success it wanted. Mike Riley lasted just three seasons, and now Scott Frost's seat is red hot. In 2021, Huskers are 3-5 with games against Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa looming. Beating Purdue is an absolute must if Nebraska has any hope for the postseason. After last week's bye, it is hard to know where the minds of this Nebraska team are at with their coach's job security in serious jeopardy. Can they rally the troops and make a November bowl push?

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