Final take: Nebraska overcame adversity to develop second half identity in 28-10 win at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Nobody ever said learning how to win would be easy.
In Nebraska’s (4-1, 1-1) 28-10 win over Purdue (1-3, 0-1) on Saturday, we saw plenty of growing pains from a Husker team with the nation’s longest Power Conference bowl-less streak.
We saw freshman Dylan Raiola’s brilliance again at quarterback, but we also saw some of the offense’s deficiencies show up early in the game.
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The Huskers struggled to find a running identity, scoring no points on six drives inside Purdue’s 40-yard line in the first half.
Then, we saw three major errors on special teams. NU had two field goals blocked due to bad snaps and a missed kick from John Hohl.
The positive aspect of this game was the defense. As former Alabama head coach Nick Saban said this week, good defense travels. The Blackshirts came to play at Ross-Ade Stadium, and their ability to keep Purdue in check early was the difference in this game.
It allowed Nebraska to work through its issues on offense and special teams. By the late third quarter, it all came together. It’s scary to think we’ve yet to see Nebraska play a quality four-quarter game. We continue to see bits and pieces of what this team can be.
Head coach Matt Rhule’s challenge now is getting his football team to perform well for four quarters. It will take that with games coming up against undefeated Rutgers and Indiana.
Now, on to the breakdown.
What I saw on Saturday
***The game was defined on first down plays for Nebraska. The Huskers average 8.1 yards on 31 first down plays. The 250 of the Huskers’ 418 yards of offense came on first down.
***Third down, on the other hand, was the story of the game. NU failed to convert a single third down in the first half and had just one third down conversion on eight tries.
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The other hidden stat was penalties. Purdue had 13 for 165 yards, which helped convert several first downs for the NU offense.
***During the pre-game of Saturday’s Purdue game, Rhule took his entire team and led them through a full-contact hitting drill. It was old school and something Rhule said he hadn’t done as a head coach since his days at Temple.
***Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Gunnar Gottula has been a pleasant surprise at left tackle. Gottula was not charged with a single QB pressure on PFF.
***Cornerback Ceyair Wright continues to be a bright spot for the Husker defense. Wright played a team-high 52 snaps on defense and led the Huskers with five tackles and two pass break-ups.
***Two weeks in a row, we’ve seen linebacker John Bullock make game-changing plays on defense. On Saturday, Bullock had a pick-six that helped seal the game. Bullock is arguably the early-season MVP of the Blackshirt defense.
***The pass rush responded in a big way, forcing five quarterback sacks. James Williams had a big day with two sacks. We also saw MJ Sherman come up with 1.5 sacks. This is the best we’ve seen the pass rush since the Colorado game.
The final grade out
| Grade | HOL take | |
| Rushing offense | C+ | Nebraska developed a rushing identity early on with Jacory Barney on jet sweeps. He led the Huskers with 66 yards on four carries. Emmett Johnson took the Huskers home in the second half with 50 yards rushing on eight carries. They could not get Dante Dowdell going, as he had just 21 yards rushing on nine carries. |
| Passing offense | A- | Dylan Raiola had plenty of time to throw. He was 17-of-27 for 257 yards and a touchdown. But the hidden stat was he also drew five 15-yard pass interference penalties. |
| Rushing defense | A | The Huskers stifled Purdue’s run game. Devin Mockobee had just 41 yards rushing on 13 carries. The duo of Mockobeen and Reggie Love had just 74 yards on 24 carries. |
| Passing defense | A- | Nebraska held Purdue to 174 yards passing, most of which came late in the game in desperation. John Bullock had an interception return for a touchdown. The Huskers are now +5 in turnover margin in 2024. |
| Special teams | F | We saw Nebraska miss one field goal and have two others blocked. NU made a change at long snapper on field goals and extra points. Camden Witucki took over for Aidan Flege. NU had no issues with its kicking operation after the change. The Huskers were very lucky the first-half kicking issues didn’t cost them the game. |
Sean Callahan can be reached at [email protected] and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.
