WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The mantra for Nebraska when it plays at Ross-Ade Stadium has never been anything but these four words: survive and get out.
Purdue’s home stadium has served as a house of horrors for the Huskers. They’ve suffered crippling injuries and three crushing defeats here in five visits since 2015.
So a 28-3 Nebraska victory on this homecoming Saturday that featured a scoreless first half will rank among the Huskers’ better trips to West Lafayette over the past decade.
As ugly as it got in the first two quarters, Nebraska scored on three consecutive drives after halftime, mixing some mental toughness with a pick six by linebacker John Bullock in the fourth quarter to ice it.
Yes, Notre Dame hung 66 points on Purdue two weeks ago here. Yes, Purdue’s rush defense entered Saturday ranked better only than Florida Atlantic and Kent State.
But it’s a win. Nebraska appeared hungover in the wake of its first loss of the season. In the end, freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola threw for 257 yards and one score. Tony White’s defense held up when this game — and possibly coach Matt Rhule’s second season — appeared on the verge of unraveling.
And the Huskers will head home at 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten to face unbeaten Rutgers next Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Here are my initial takeaways:
1. Nebraska bungled the first half on offense after the long week that followed its overtime loss at home on Sept. 20 against Illinois.
This is how its six drives ended before halftime:
- A punt into the end zone after it reached the Purdue 34-yard line.
- A missed field goal by John Hohl from 42 yards after a right tackle Bryce Benhart was flagged for a false start on fourth-and-1 at the 18.
- A punt to the 10 after a third-and-3 toss to Dante Dowdell got nothing and a questionable offensive pass interference flag on Thomas Fidone wiped out a 22-yard touchdown pass from Raiola to Rahmir Johnson on fourth-and-3.
- A blocked Hohl field goal attempt from 44 yards after freshman linebacker Winston Berglund sacked Raiola on first down from the Purdue 23.
- A punt to the 6-yard line that followed a Nebraska false start on third-and-1 from the Purdue 38.
- A 32-yard Hohl field-goal attempt that was blocked in the final seconds before halftime after two Raiola incompletions on third down from the 16.
ROAD W. pic.twitter.com/nSEZPtHVoW
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) September 28, 2024
2. Nebraska has a gem, clearly, in Raiola. But he can’t carry the entire offensive load. Not as a true freshman. Maybe not ever in the Big Ten. The league’s style of play and depth demands that its better teams field well-rounded offensive teams.
Raiola needs help from the ground game.
The Huskers got away from working to find balance against Illinois, rushing for just 48 net yards in their first loss of the season. Against Purdue, the reliance on Raiola continued in the first half. Nebraska’s only threat on the ground came via misdirection to freshman wide receiver Jacory Barney. Running backs Dowdell, Emmett Johnson and Rahmir Johnson combined to gain 19 yards.
Even as Purdue continued to commit defensive pass interference penalties, a commitment to the running game returned in the second half. After Purdue took a 3-0 lead on Spencer Porath’s 45-yard field goal to cap an eight-minute drive out of the locker room, Dowdell and Emmett Johnson ate up 28 yards out of 55 gained by the offense as Nebraska finally got on the board.
That’s nothing magnificent against a defense that allowed 269 yards per game on the ground through three games, worst among all power-conference teams. But it’s a start.
The ground game softened Purdue’s defense. Raiola found more room in the secondary. Nebraska got somewhat back on track offensively.
Make a note of it as Rutgers heads to Lincoln in Week 6. To get the best out of Raiola, Nebraska needs to run the ball.
3. Let’s talk about the special teams. It’s not going well. Ed Foley’s groups are a mess.
And it’s not just the kicking and snapping that led to the two blocked field goals. By the way, how does that even happen? Snapper Aidan Flege, who replaced Camden Witucki last week on place ekicks, was replaced by Witucki in the second half.
If the Huskers never practiced special teams, you wouldn’t expect much better than what it looked like on Saturday.
They’re not blocking for Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda on special teams. He got lit up in the second quarter and had no room to run on two other returns. The Huskers aren’t in proper position to down punts either. They had a chance to down Brian Buschini’s first punt from the 39-yard line inside the 2, but there was no Nebraska gunner in the area.
Later when Rahmir Johnson downed a punt at the 6, he appeared surprised to see the ball bounce into his hands. In other words, if something goes well on special teams at this point, it’s happening out of good fortune, not good execution.
Rhule preached the importance of special teams all through the offseason. Heck, Nebraska created a motto and a documentary series, “Chasing 3” as a nod to the close losses last November.
If Nebraska can’t clean up the kicking game — and it’s a long way from clean — the Huskers again won’t join the party in December this year.
4. Defensively, Nebraska rebounded from one of its worst performances under White, the second-year coordinator. The Huskers got a trio of three-and-outs in the first half after going without one last week.
The pass rush came back to life. James Williams got on the board with a sack. Ty Robinson got involved. MJ Sherman and Kai Wallin combined to bury Purdue quarterback Hudson Card.
Nebraska got solid play from cornerback Ceyair Wright, filling in for injured Tommi Hill. He nearly came up with a pick before Bullock’s scoring play with less than six minutes to play.
This was the defense that Nebraska expected to field in the Big Ten in 2024. We’ll see soon if it’s here to stay.
(Photo of Dylan Raiola: Marc Lebryk / Imagn Images)
