Opponent View/Scouting Nebraska

It will be a story of two teams looking to get on track when Nebraska treks to Purdue in a homecoming game this Saturday.

The Huskers (3-1) are coming off their first loss of 2024, falling in OT at home to Illinois. The Boilermakers (1-2) are looking to end a two-game skid that has wondering about the direction of the program. This is the Big Ten opener for each school.

Sean Callahan, the publisher of HuskerOnline.com, breaks down Nebraska in advance of the Cornhuskers’ trip to West Lafayette for a 12 pm ET kickoff on Peacock.

GoldandBlack.com: What should we expect from the Nebraska offense?

Callahan: They’ve had moments this year. Dylan Raiola, the freshman quarterback, has been outstanding, completing around 75 percent of his passes. He’s got two picks. But on both picks, the receiver had possession of the football. It was a catch, and the defender actually ripped the ball away from them. So, he really hasn’t made very many bad throws. He’s got elite arm talent. Last week, on one of Nebraska’s early scoring drives, he had three third-down conversion throws of distance in a row. One was a deep-out across the hash on the opposite side of the field. So, he will get it out, has a great arm, great presence.

The running game for Nebraska has been up and down. Of the backs on the roster, they have not had 100-yard game in their career. So, it’s kind of a hodgepodge committee. Dante Dowdell is their physical back. Rahmir Johnson and Gabe Ervin are more versatile. They’ll kind of split those guys apart. Dowdell was on his way to 100-yard game a couple of times, but he’s never been able to finish it off. They brought him in from Oregon.

They’ve upgraded the receiver position with two transfers. One from Texas, Isaiah Neyor, and one from Wake Forest, Jahmal Banks. Big body guys. And then they have two speedsters they’ll play a lot. Jacory Barney and Jaylen Lloyd. Jalen Lloyd probably is one of the fastest receivers in the Big Ten. He’s a verified 10.4, 10.3 guy in the 100-meter dash.

GoldandBlack.com: What can we expect from the Husker defense?

Callahan: Defensively for Nebraska, they had a rough one against Illinois stopping the run. Northern Iowa, they won 34-3, but the Panthers still did some things that raised some antennas, and we saw Bret Bielema really expose them. First half, Nebraska held their own defensively just fine against Illinois. Second half, the Illini doubled up the Huskers in yardage almost 2-1 and they held the ball for over 18 minutes of time of possession. So, they really wore Nebraska down.

But when they’re playing well, this is a very physical defensive line. They’ve got a couple of really, really good linebackers, a good secondary. This is the first time since 2016 Nebraska has been positive in the turnover margin. Even last week, they beat Illinois 2-1 in turnovers. Illinois had only had one turnover all year until Friday, when Nebraska forced two.

So, they’ve done a lot of good things, but they’ve struggled against the run, especially when they get tired. And (DLs) Nash Hutmacher and Ty Robinson are big players. And Bielema said his game plan was, “I want those guys on the field six, seven snaps in a row. I want to wear them down, and then that will start to slow later in the ballgame.”

GoldandBlack.com: How do you see this game unfolding?

Callahan: I think they got a good draw here with the timing of the matchup. I looked at Purdue, they didn’t get home Sunday until 6:30 in the morning from that long trip from Corvallis, where Nebraska’s had an extra day of rest playing Friday night at home. So, the Huskers will come in with two extra days of bed rest.

They will travel for the first time this year, but they’ve had time to get ready for this game, and it’s been an ugly week in Lincoln. I think people are pretty upset about losing to Illinois. Illinois is ranked, but just the way it unfolded. Stopping the run will be the key. I still think Nebraska will figure out a way to win this game. I believe the line is about nine or 10 points (favoring Nebraska). I think it will be closer than that.

Special teams have been an issue for Nebraska. They’ve actually recently hired Brett Maher, an NFL kicker, to help coach their kickers. But they have a walk-on kicker they brought in late who will probably be their kicker again. He missed a key kick last week. John Hohl is his name. But the hold for Hohl was the wrong way, caused him to kind of hit the ball bad. So, kicking has been an issue. And if this game goes into kicking, that would probably be a disadvantage for Nebraska.

But I think an 11 am (CT) kick is another advantage for a road team coming in, especially on a team that’s lost two in a row. The fan base is probably a little bit agitated right now at Purdue, I’m guessing. And this is a big game for you guys, though, too. I know that.

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