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PDF: Purdue-Nebraska statistics
The game has been re-watched. Here are some moments and plays that stood out ... upon further review.
The game didn't start well for the Purdue offense. The Boilermakers had just 38 yards (11 rush, 27 pass) of offense and no points in the first quarter. And on 2nd-and-11 from the Purdue 22-yard line late in the first quarter, Jack Plummer drifted to execute a shovel pass intended for Zander Horvath. The problem? The 6-4, 325-pound Husker DT Darrion Daniels stepped in front of the offering at the Purdue 20-yard line, intercepted the ball and rumbled 18 yards to the Boilermaker 2-yard line. The good news: The Purdue defense bowed its back and yielded just a field goal, as the Cornhuskers took a 10-0 lead late in the opening quarter.
Certain phases of special teams continue to be problematic. As the first quarter was coming to a close, Purdue had a punt partially blocked, as Zac Collins’ boot traveled a mere 20 yards. Nebraska’s Eli Sullivan came up the middle to get a piece of the ball. In the third quarter, the Cornhuskers made a clean block. It's disconcerting that this special teams issue wasn’t cleared up during the game. It could have proven disastrous. The good news: The Purdue defense responded by intercepting a Nebraska pass after the first punt deflection. And after the second punt block, Purdue stopped Nebraska on downs. Big-time.
Redshirt freshman corner Cory Trice made a nice play on an interception in the second quarter. With Nebraska driving to the Purdue 21-yard line and leading 10-0, Husker QB Adrian Martinez dropped to pass to running back Dedrick Mills along the right sideline. Trice read it the entire way, sliding in front of Mills for an easy pick—his team-leading third of the season. As mentioned earlier, the defense came up big early in this game to keep Purdue in the contest after the Boilermakers had had a punt partially blocked on the possession before this pick by Trice.
Jack Plummer made a poor throw on a back-shoulder throw on his second interception, this one coming on 1st-and-10 from the Purdue 23-yard line early in the second quarter. Plummer under threw a pass intended for David Bell. Husker cornerback Lamar Jackson hauled in the offering. So, in less than two quarters, Purdue had two interceptions, three penalties and a partially blocked punt … and trailed only 10-0. Amazing.
In the third quarter, Purdue had another breakdown on its punt team. The Huskers’ Eric Lee bolted off the right edge and bee-lined toward Boiler punter Zac Collins. Lee was barely touched and nearly took the ball off Collins’ right foot. But, once again, the Purdue defense responded, turning back Nebraska on four downs after this block.
Time and again, Nebraska worked the edges of the field. The Cornhuskers wanted to get the ball to their playmakers in space. But Purdue did a good job defending the perimeter and tackling in space. This effort by “Leo” Derrick Barnes on Wan’Dale Robinson in the third quarter epitomized the hustle by the Purdue defense all day.
Purdue’s injury hex continued in the fourth quarter. On 1st-and-15 from the Nebraska 25-yard line, Jack Plummer took off on a scramble—an effective move by the redshirt freshman all game as he ran 12 times for 61 yards. But on this 14-yard scamper, Plummer had his right leg drilled by a Cornhusker. He was helped off the field and subsequently carted to the locker room. Aidan O’Connell came on and finished the drive, which culminated with a 7-yard TD run by King Doerue to give the Boilers a 24-20 lead with 5:35 to go in the game.
After Nebraska took a 27-24 lead, Purdue took over with 4:21 left and Aidan O’Connell under center. The sophomore walk-on proceeded to hit all six of his passes on what would be the game-winning drive. (Tight ends caught four of the passes for 49 of the 62 pass yards on the drive.) The clinching score was a 9-yard reverse by wideout David Bell on a play that Purdue had just installed during the week. It also was a play O’Connell hadn’t repped at all in practice. Great poise by O’Connell. And great moxie in the clutch by the Boilermaker offense, which used six rushes and six passes to cover 82 yards for the winning score.
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