The Three Point Stance: Purdue (1-2) vs. Nebraska (3-1)

The Boilers welcome the Huskers into Ross Ade for Homecoming

The Purdue Boilermakers will welcome the Nebraska Cornhuskers for Homecoming riding a disappointing two game losing stretch that has seen them outscored 104-28. That is the most points given up in a two game regular season stretch since 2016 where Purdue gave up 62 points to Penn State at home and followed that up with 44 points to Minnesota. The aura surrounding the young and energetic staff seems to have dulled and the air sucked out of the building, but there is still plenty of time left to turn the season around. What that entails in the record at the end of the season is yet to be seen, but the potential for a turnaround starts with Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers enter Ross Ade Stadium at 3-1 with wins against UTEP (0-4), Colorado (3-1), and FCS Northern Iowa (2-2) and a loss against the Illinois Fighting Illini (4-0). This is an improved Nebraska team led by one of the more dynamic young quarterbacks in the country in Dylan Raiola. The freshman quarterback was a consensus five start prospect and ranked as the 7th best recruit in the country according to 247 Sports. He has brought a playmaking ability at the position Nebraska hasn’t had since Taylor Martinez who won 29 games in his three years in Lincoln.

Nebraska is currently favored by 10 points and that line surprised many as being too low given the performance of the Boilers the last two weeks. The hope is the potential additions of Nyland Green at cornerback and receivers CJ Madden and Jamal Edrine will give Purdue a major boost on both sides of the ball. All three of those players, along with a number of other important pieces, were out last week due to injury.

Let’s get into ‘The Three Point Stance!’

1 | Get Raiola Confused & Second Guessing

We’ve all heard about how unique this Ryan Walters defense is but it is time to start seeing that pay dividends against a young quarterback. Dialing up blitzes from different angles on the field while mixing up coverages can confuse and frustrate young quarterbacks and forcing that onto Nebraska’s best offensive player is paramount in slowing them down. Will Nebraska have to rely on Raiola is the big question in his first trip outside of Lincoln.

Purdue has a very good secondary when it comes to defending the pass but the issue is they have almost no ability to stop the run. The Boilers have given up an embarrassing 625 yards of rushing against Notre Dame and Oregon State combined and Nebraska has a very good stable of running backs of their own ready to do the same.

So what can Purdue do? They will likely load the box to force Raiola into making plays while trying to pressure him into poor throws and bad reads. The issue is that Raiola really hasn’t shown that type of poor judgement as he is completing 72.2% of his passes with 8 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Purdue is going to have to choose something to focus on and with their struggles against the run, it’s obvious they need to shut down the run game in the worst way possible. The defense simply can’t be on the field again for nearly 40 minutes.

2 | Continue to Lean on the Running Game

If there has been one inkling of hope so far from the offense it has been their ability to run the football. Devin Mockobee has seemingly found his aggressiveness from two seasons ago and is finding creases and lanes quicker with 276 yards rushing through three games. In fact, Purdue is averaging 183 yards rushing per game which finds them at 7th in the B1G. The issue is that the passing game is so woefully bad that the total offense finds Purdue above only a terrible UCLA team with 1,221 yards of total offense. That means the 583 yards Purdue had against Indiana State accounts for nearly 50% of the total offense so far this season. Yikes!

One of the biggest pitfalls through the first two games is that Purdue is just leaving the defense out on the field too long. Last week against Oregon State, the defense was on the field for over 40 minutes while the offense had the ball for only 19 minutes of game clock. That just can’t happen unless Purdue is scoring on every drive to outrun an opponent, which they can’t do. So what to do?

Purdue showed good work in the outside zone run game but Harrell has got to get more innovative in his motions and shifts to gain advantages against the defense. All too often, Harrell will call a play where he does not have the bodies to block the defenders and doesn’t appear to have an answer. I would go as far to say that if the offense doesn’t show a dramatic amount of growth this week, Walters would be better served letting Harrell go and handing off the offense to Associate Head Coach Cory Patterson or running backs coach Lamar Conrad.

Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

3 | Control the Clock

The biggest factor that has stood out to me the last two weeks has been the amount of time that the defense has spent on the field. As mentioned previously, Oregon State held the ball for over 40 minutes of game clock while Notre Dame had the ball for over 35 minutes. Purdue just doesn’t have the depth on the defensive side of the ball to be able to withstand that kind of wear on the tires for an entire game.

Sure, if Purdue had the kind of defense that Iowa has had the last decade that could hold most opponents to less than 14 points, then I wouldn’t be as concerned. The issue is, they just don’t. So the offense has got to help out the defense by controlling the clock, running the ball, and keeping themselves on the field with sustained drives that end in scores.

The absolute worst thing that could happen for Purdue on Saturday would be for the Boilers to get the ball on the kickoff, go three and out, give up a score, and promptly go three and out again. Staring directly in the face of a double digit deficit in the first quarter would send Purdue quickly into another spiral for a team that is likely teetering just three games into the season.

Extra Point | Set the Edge on Defense

The last two weeks, the Purdue defense was easily overwhelmed by some very simple concepts in the opponent’s run game. Most notably, Purdue didn’t show any ability to set the edge and force runs back to the inside where help is located in the form of linebackers and Dillon Thieneman. See the below for a really poor example of that from Purdue.

That is utterly unacceptable and is likely the result of Purdue’s players not knowing their responsibilities or the coaches asking players to do something they are unable to do. To be honest, I believe the issue is a combination of both of those factors. Poor scheme instruction paired with players being asked to do things they are unable to do results in what fans have seen the previous two weeks. Coach Walters, with Indy Star’s Nathan Baird, said Purdue needs to be the most improved team in a week. If they don’t, this game isn’t going to be pretty.

Players to Know

Dylan Raiola | Quarterback | Freshman | 83-115 72.2% 967 yards 8TD 2INT

Raiola was one of the best overall players in the class of 2024 and that is showing in his first several games for the Huskers. A dynamic player who has brought a lot of confidence and swagger into Lincoln that was sorely needed. He is going to eventually make some freshman mistakes but so far he has Nebraska at 3-1 with a path to bowl eligibility before their matchup against Ohio State.

Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Dante Dowdell | Running Back | Sophomore | 51 rush 256 yards 5.0avr 3TD

The Oregon transfer running back has been a big boost for Nebraska at a position they didn’t feel great about coming out of last season. Dowdell played sparingly at Oregon as a freshman but showed promise and that promise has turned into production for the Cornhuskers. Dowdell is the feature back for Nebraska although backup Emmett Johnson averages 9.5 yards per carry.

John Bollock | Linebacker | Senior | 25 tackles 4TFL 2 sacks 3 passes defended 1FF

Bollock is the leader of a defense that appears to be the closest thing to the old black shirts defenses of years past. Bollock is a maniac that flies around the field making plays from sidelines to sideline and has the ability to disrupt an offense all on his own.

Prediction:

Man, this was a game where most Purdue fans thought that the Boilers had a chance to get a big win at home against a resurgent program. After three weeks, that confidence has really waned with the performances against the Irish and the Beavers. Could Purdue beat the Cornhuskers? Sure, but the amount of improvement that needs to take place is astronomical.

Purdue is going to need to get turnovers and limit their own mistakes, something that they just haven’t shown up to this point in time. Purdue likely gets the Homecoming performance boost but with the chance of weather making this a sloppy game, things are going to have to go well for Purdue…which hasn’t happened yet.

Nebraska runs for 200 yards on the ground and Raiola shows off his talent off the play action pass while Purdue continues to struggle on offense.

Nebraska: 32
Purdue: 13