Final take: Nebraska continues to show fight under Joseph, but deficiencies were too much to overcome
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Nebraska vs. Purdue game is pretty easy to summarize.
We saw a match-up of a veteran offensive-minded head coach led by a sixth-year senior quarterback/receiver combo take on NU’s off-season transfer portal additions.
We were treated to 1,084 yards of offense and 80 points. In the end, it was Purdue’s (5-2, 3-1) consistency that won out in their 43-37 victory over the Huskers (3-4, 2-2).
Nebraska’s defense had no answer for Aidan O’Connell
The Nebraska defense simply had no answer for Purdue’s offense. Without linebackers Luke Reimer and Nick Henrich, NU was extremely shorthanded defensively. Reimer didn’t dress on Saturday, while Henrich left the game with an injury in the second quarter.
This was a quick throw game by Jeff Brohm and Boilermaker quarterback Aidan O’Connell. Purdue sliced the Husker defense up with short, controlled passes, but maybe the biggest surprise is how they ran the football.
Purdue had 47 rushes for 217 yards on the ground. They produced five runs of 10+ yards. Walk-on running back Devin Mockobee had 178 yards on 30 carries, while O’Connell threw for 391 yards and four touchdowns. It was a lethal combination.
“The defense fought, but it’s tough to do that,” interim head coach Mickey Joseph said of his defense being on the field for 101 plays. “(Purdue) had a great game plan of holding the ball, and we’ve got to go back and fix it. It’s on me. It’s on me. Like I said it’s not on those kids or those coaches. I have to figure out how to get that done.”
Casey Thompson and Trey Palmer nearly topped Purdue’s effort. Palmer had a Nebraska school record of 237 yards receiving on seven catches. He finished with 297 yards from scrimmage – the fifth-most in school history.
“I told the guy ‘dude, you suck,'” Palmer said when I asked what he had to say to a Purdue defender on one of his two touchdowns. He had five plays in the game of 37 yards or more.
Purdue could not stop Palmer. Brohm wanted no part in giving the Huskers the ball back in the game’s final minutes. The Big Red produced 27 points on five of their final seven drives
They couldn’t run it with much success. They had a hard time protecting Thompson. The only answer Mark Whipple had was airing it out to Palmer. Purdue knew what was coming, and they couldn’t stop it.
Give Brohm credit. His team battled and did the little things it took to win this football game. They ran the ball with consistency and executed in key third and fourth down situations.
Now Joseph and his team head into their second bye week before a critical stretch of five games against Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa.
“We are going to give them (Sunday) off and bring them back on Monday,” Joseph said. “We’ve got to get healthy. We’ll bring them back Monday and see where they are at.”
Now on to the breakdown…
What I saw on Saturday
***Nebraska tried to shake things up with their offensive line on Saturday, as Bryce Benhart moved inside to right guard. The Boilermakers still got consistent pressure on Thompson, with four sacks alone in the first half.
***A couple of notable new faces on the travel roster were freshman linebacker Jake Appleget and freshman tight end Luke Lindenmeyer. Offensive lineman Broc Brando and running back Gabe Ervin Jr. did not travel. Reimer traveled but did not dress.
***We saw freshman Ernest Hausmann get his first snaps at inside LB in a few weeks.
***The most disappointing stat of the game was running back Anthony Grant finished with just 35 yards rushing on 11 carries. The game just got away from NU and Grant was never able to get in a rhythm.
***Purdue held the ball for 42 minutes, compared to just 17 minutes for Nebraska. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a discrepancy like that in a close game before. It speaks to the number of big plays Palmer and Thompson produced.
***We saw Tommi Hill take his first few snaps at wide receiver. He did a solid job returning kicks as well. It was the best kick return effort from Nebraska in years. After the bye week, hopefully, Hill can join in the fun on Whipple’s track team at wide receiver.
The final grade out
| Grade | HOL take | |
| Rushing offense | C- | 91 of NU’s rushing yards came on a 60-yard reverse to Palmer and a 31-yard run by Thompson. There was zero consistency with the ground game. |
| Passing offense | B | Thompson had two bad interceptions and a missed throw for a touchdown to a wide-open Alante Brown. Palmer had the best game in school history for a Husker wide-out. |
| Rushing defense | F | Purdue ran for 217 yards on 47 attempts. That was the biggest stat of the game. NU could not stop the Boilermaker run game. |
| Pass defense | F | O’Connell finished with 391 yards and four touchdowns. Charlie Jones had 12 catches for 132 yards. There were quite a few missed tackles in space as well. |
| Special teams | B+ | Nebraska blocked their third punt of the season vs. Purdue. Timmy Bleekrode was perfect on three field goals. Hill gave the Huskers a boost on kickoff return. The only knock on the grade was Brian Buschini was a little off on his punts, allowing Purdue to set up some good returns and gain early field position. |
