Nebraska at Purdue

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, October 15, 7:30 PM ET, Ross-Ade Stadium

Surface: Bermuda Grass

Capacity: 57,282 (sold out)

2022 schedules/records: Nebraska 3-3 (2-1 Big Ten), Purdue 4-2 (2-1 Big Ten)

Series notes: Saturday will mark the 11th all-time meeting between Purdue and Nebraska and the 10th since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011. The series sits at a five-to-five deadlock. Under Jeff Brohm, the Boilermakers are 3-2 against Nebraska, though both losses came in Ross-Ade Stadium (2017, 2020). Last season, the Purdue defense led the way with four interceptions as Purdue took down the Cornhuskers in Lincoln 28-23.

TV: BTN (PxP Cory Provus; Analyst Matt Millen; Sidelines Elise Menaker)

Radio: Purdue Sports Properties (PxP Tim Newton; Analyst Pete Quinn; Sidelines Kelly Kitchel) Listen on Tunein or the VarsityApp

Line: Purdue -13.5

Pregame: Gold and Black Radio

Purdue roster | Purdue Game Notes

Nebraska roster | Nebraska Game Notes

West Lafayette weather

Standout running back Anthony Grant's path to Nebraska isn't traditional, but the former Florida State and JuCo product averages over 100 yards per game as the clear-cut lead back for the Cornhuskers. The tough to tackle back has put up 100 yards or more in four of Nebraska's six games to this point and presents a legitimate big-play threat every time he touches the ball. Grant leads the team with five touchdowns in six games.

Spelling Grant will be power backs Gabe Ervin Jr and Jaquez Yant but expect Grant to see the vast majority of Nebraska's touches. Should anything happen to QB Casey Thompson, both of Nebraska's other options at quarterback present running threats. The offense changes if Chubba Purdy or Logan Smothers need to come in, and the Huskers aren't opposed to bringing them in for a play or two sporadically throughout the game.

After holding Maryland to under three yards per carry, this Purdue defense looks to bring some energy and swagger to the table regarding stopping the run. The return on Jalen Graham certainly helps in this area, as he's Purdue's best side-to-side linebacker for chasing down ball carriers. The Boilermakers' defensive line depth is critical to stopping the run, particularly as injuries begin to stack up at linebacker. With OC Brothers' status in question and Kieren Douglas banged up, Purdue will need Jacob Wahlberg and Semisi Fakasiieki to continue to make an impact in the run game from the second level.

Thompson transferred from Texas ahead of the 2022 season to replace the four-year Husker starting QB, Adrian Martinez. To this point, Thompson's results are mixed. He's completing 65% of his passes and averages 250 yards per game through the air, but the Huskers would like to see him improve the nine-to-six touchdown-to-interception ratio. Thompson presents big play ability, evidenced by his two touchdown passes to spark a comeback at Rutgers last Friday. Still, a lack of consistency there is maddening to the Husker faithful.

Trey Palmer sticks out as Nebraska's standout receiver. His 40 receptions are more than double the next-closest pass catcher, and his 90 yards per game place him among the Big Ten's best. Though his output against Rutgers (four receptions, 64 yards, TD) came in as his season-low, his 157 yards against Indiana show why Purdue will be so worried about stopping him. Past Palmer, the Huskers will look to Texas transfer Marcus Washington and tight end Travis Vokolek as their secondary options. Purdue will likely devote extra attention to the 6-7 Vokolek when the Cornhuskers enter the red zone.

Outside of the final two minutes of halves, it's hard to find many flaws in Purdue's defense. Inside those times, however, it's been shaky at best for the secondary. A blown coverage led to a long Maryland touchdown reception to cap off the first half, and the Terrapins needed less than 50 seconds to march downfield after Purdue went up by eight late in the game. Graham allows Purdue to be more versatile in its coverages, particularly on obvious passing downs, and Cory Trice continues to look better and better after his knee surgery. Stopping Palmer will be the key for Purdue on Saturday night.

Purdue's depth at running back continues to be challenged as Dylan Downing's foot issue takes another option off the field. With King Doerue's calf injury keeping his status murky, Devin Mockobee and Kobe Lewis remain the only true running backs in the rotation. Mockobee leads the Boilermakers in rushing through the first half of the season, but Lewis enters with just 20 carries. Expect to see a little bit of Tyrone Tracy out of the backfield. Much was made before the season of the Iowa transfer's ability to play at running back and receiver, but we've mostly seen him on the outside. Tracy could be Purdue’s second or third option with numbers thin at running back.

Since the coaching change, Nebraska's defense appears to have improved, but early results left only one way to go. Northwestern and Georgia Southern eclipsed 200 rushing yards against the Cornhuskers, while Oklahoma crossed the 300-yard mark in a blowout victory. Indiana and Rutgers don't bring strong rushing attacks to the table, but Nebraska did a nice job containing both. Opponents average five yards per carry against Nebraska. If Purdue could do that on Saturday, it would feel fantastic about its chances.

Aidan O'Connell looked much more like himself in Purdue's win over Maryland. While he's still recovering from what's believed to be a rib injury, both Minnesota and Maryland took the approach to drop safeties deep and make him complete countless short underneath passes. Purdue would love to hit on more shots downfield, but the opportunities haven't been there of late. O’Connell should have some opportunities to let it rip in his third game back from injury.

While Charlie Jones' early season production has tapered off, Purdue did see some other receivers make plays last week. Mershawn Rice had a career-high five catches, while Payne Durham led Purdue with over 100 yards for the second time this season. Former four-star recruit Abdur Rahmaan Yaseen dressed for the first time of the year at Maryland after missing time due to an injury. Purdue would like to involve him more to present another threat against Nebraska's pass defense.

Like the run game, early results for Nebraska's pass defense looked so dire that improvement was inevitable. However, credit to the Husker secondary, as the last two weeks, signifies progress. However, Indiana and Rutgers’ passing attacks aren’t at the same level they'll see against Purdue this weekend. Georgia Southern was able to throw for over 400 yards on Nebraska, while Northwestern's Ryan Hilinski had a career day with over 300 yards in the season opener. As long as Purdue avoids turnovers, they should have a big game through the air.

Even after a penalty backed it up 10 yards, Mitchell Fineran drilled his 39-yard attempt at Maryland. The veteran doesn't have the biggest leg, but he's been very good from inside 40 yards in his Purdue career. Deion Burks did appear to suffer an injury on a kickoff last weekend, so keep an eye on his status as Purdue's primary kick returner this weekend, as Jones has only handled punts of late. Despite one short punt at Maryland, Jack Ansell continues to look improved from 2021 to 2022.

After having one of the nation's worst special teams units for much of the Scott Frost era, they finally hired an actual special teams coordinator for the 2022 season. Oddly, the Huskers have only attempted four field goals, making just one. Punter Brian Buschini has battled injury, but he's done a fine job to this point. Most of Nebraska's kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks this season, and their kick return game has been just okay, as they use a myriad of return men on kickoffs.

After a narrow win over Florida Atlantic to cap off a disappointing September, things didn't look the brightest. Now, after a pair of wins as a road underdog, optimism is aplenty surrounding the Purdue program again. Jeff Brohm’s teams have historically performed better as an underdog than as a favorite. They enter as around a two-touchdown favorite in this one. With a sold-out Ross-Ade Stadium crowd behind them, they'll look to take care of business on Saturday night.

Interim coach situations can sometimes be unpredictable, but Nebraska did their job as a favorite in the last two games vs. Indiana and Rutgers. While the Cornhuskers are tied for first place in the crowded Big Ten West, there's plenty of conversation about their coaching search as they look for the next man to try and bring the program back to prominence. If the Boilermakers can jump out to an early lead, how much fight will Nebraska have under an interim coach?

Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2022. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.