Game Week: vs. Purdue

NEBRASKA vs. PURDUE

Oct. 28, 2023 | MEMORIAL STADIUM

LINCOLN, NEB. | 2:30 PM CT

 

HUSKERS

Record: 4-3, 2-2 Big Ten

Last Game: vs. Northwestern, W, 17-9

Rankings: NR

Head Coach: Matt Rhule

Career/NU Record: 51-46 (8th Year)/4-3 (1st Year)

vs. Purdue: 0-0

 

BOILERMAKERS

Record: 2-5, 1-3 Big Ten

Last Game: vs. Ohio State, L, 41-7

Rankings: NR

Head Coach: Ryan Walters

Career/PUR Record: 2-5 (1st Year)/2-5 (1st Year)

vs. Nebraska: 0-0

 

SERIES HISTORY

All-Time Series: Purdue leads, 6-5

In Lincoln: Tied, 2-2

Last Game: Purdue, 43-37 (2022)

Win Streak: Purdue, 2 games

 

BROADCAST INFO

TV – FS1 (Jeff Levering, Mark Helfrich)

RADIO NETWORK – Huskers Radio Network (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)

INTERNET RADIO – Huskers.com

APP AUDIO – Official Huskers App

 

The Matchup

Nebraska squares off against a Big Ten West opponent in Lincoln for the second straight week as the

Huskers play host to Purdue on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The game between the Huskers and the Boilermakers marks Nebraska's 2023 Homecoming contest, and it will kick off shortly after 2:30 p.m., with television coverage provided by FS1 and on the Fox Sports App. The game is also available on the Huskers Radio Network, the official Huskers App and Huskers.com.

 

Nebraska comes into the contest with a 4-3 overall record and a 2-2 mark in Big Ten Conference play.

The Huskers have won their past two games and four of five overall to move over the .500 mark heading

into the season's final five games.

 

The Huskers are coming off a 17-9 victory over Northwestern last Saturday in Lincoln. Defense dominated the day, with the Blackshirts limiting Northwestern to just three field goals while also recording eight sacks in the victory. It marked the sixth time in seven games this season the Nebraska defense has limited the opposition to less than 100 yards rushing.

 

Purdue heads to a Lincoln after a bye weekend. The Boilermakers are 2-5 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten

Conference play under first-year head coach Ryan Walters. Purdue has faced one of the nation's most

difficult schedules, facing six Power Five opponents to date. The Boilermakers own one of the Big Ten's

best offenses, ranking fourth in the Big Ten in passing yards per game at better than 230 yards per contest.

 

Nebraska will be looking to end a Purdue two-game win streak in the series, as the Boilermakers won

by six points last year in West Lafayette and five points in 2021 at Memorial Stadium.

 

Series History: Nebraska vs. Purdue

Saturday's meeting will be the 12th matchup in the Nebraska-Purdue series. The Boilermakers own a 6-5 edge, and the teams have split four previous meetings in Lincoln.

 

• The series is tied at five wins apiece since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011. The Huskers won four of the first five matchups between 2013 and 2017, and Purdue has responded by winning four of the past five games since 2018.

 

• Four of the past six games between the schools have been decided by six or fewer points, including Purdue victories by six and five points the past two seasons.

 

• Nebraska and Purdue will meet for the 12th consecutive season next fall in West Lafayette. However, with the Big Ten's new non-division schedule format, the schools will not meet in 2025 or 2026, before resuming with games in 2027 (Lincoln) and 2028 (West Lafayette).

 

Haarberg Engineering Nebraska Offense

Sophomore quarterback Heinrich Haarberg has started the past five games, guiding Nebraska to a 4-1 record. The native of Kearney, Neb., led Nebraska wins over Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech in his first two starts, and was the first Husker quarterback to win his first two starts since Tommy Armstrong did the same in 2013.

 

• Haarberg has averaged 222.0 yards of total offense in his five starts, passing for a total of 703 yards and rushing for 407 yards.

 

• Haarberg accounted for 256 yards of total offense in his first start–a 35-11 win over Northern Illinois, including 98 rushing yards and 158 passing yards. He also had three total touchdowns, two through the air and one rushing score.

 

• Haarberg rushed for 157 yards and threw for 107 yards in the win over Louisiana Tech. His 157 rushing yards were the most by a Husker quarterback since Adrian Martinez also rushed for 157 yards at Rutgers in the 2020 regular-season finale. It was the 18th time in school history a quarterback has topped 150 rushing yards.

 

• Haarberg had three runs of better than 30 yards against Louisiana Tech, including a 72-yard touchdown run and runs of 43 and 32 yards. He has a total of four runs of 25 yards or more.

 

• Haarberg accounted for three TDs against Northern Illinois, and is the first Husker quarterback to have three total touchdowns in his first career start at Nebraska since Adrian Martinez had three touchdowns in his first career start against Colorado in 2018.

 

• Haarberg is the first Nebraska native to start at quarterback for the Huskers since Noah Vedral started games against Indiana and Minnesota in 2019. Haarberg is just the fourth Nebraska native to start a game at quarterback since 2002 (Vedral, Ryker Fyfe, Ron Kellogg III). Omaha native Eric Crouch started 42 games at quarterback for Nebraska from 1998 to 2001.

 

• Haarberg was the first Nebraska native to start and win a game since Fyfe led Nebraska to a 28-7 win over Maryland in 2016, and first native Nebraskan to win multiple games at quarterback since Crouch.

 

Gifford Leading Nebraska Secondary

Safety Isaac Gifford has established himself as a difference maker in the Nebraska secondary in 2023, leading the team with 45 tackles. The Lincoln native is among the Big Ten leaders in pass breakups (6th) and passes defended per game (7th).

 

• Gifford has been at his best in recent weeks, recording at least seven tackles in each of the past four games, including a season-high eight tackles at Illinois. Gifford also had eight tackles at Colorado earlier in 2023.

 

• Gifford has a team-high six pass breakups and 1.0 passes defended per game. He had a career-high three PBU in a 20-7 win at Illinois.

 

• Gifford was among the top Blackshirts in 2022, recording 70 tackles, including 43 solo stops a year ago.

 

Hutmacher a Bear for Husker Opponents

Junior nose tackle Nash Hutmacher has emerged as one of the Big Ten's most dominant defensive linemen during the 2023 season. The "Polar Bear" has recorded 26 tackles in 2023, including team highs of four sacks and six tackles for loss. Hutmacher came into the 2023 season with 15 career tackles and 0.5 tackle for loss.

 

• Hutmacher is coming off perhaps the most dominant game of his career against Northwestern. The South Dakota native had a career-high seven tackles, including 2.5 sacks.

 

• Hutmacher's sacks against Northwestern made a huge impact for a defense that recorded eight sacks, 13 TFL and limited the Wildcats to 81 rushing yards.

 

• Overall, Hutmacher had a hand in four sacks in the game. The first came on the Wildcats' opening drive, forcing Northwestern out of field goal range. The second came after the Wildcats took possession on the Nebraska 13 and forced Northwestern to settle for a field goal. His final sack of the game came after the Wildcats reached the Nebraska 5 in the fourth quarter and once again forced a field goal to keep Nebraska's lead at eight points.

 

This Week’s Numbers

16 – The Nebraska defense has allowed a total of 16 points in its past two games, seven at Illinois and nine against Northwestern. It marks the first time the Huskers have held two straight conference foes to single digits since 2010.

 

24 – The Nebraska defense has recorded 24 sacks through seven games this season. The sack total is already Nebraska's best total since having 27 sacks in 2019. The last time Nebraska reached 30 sacks in a season was in 2013 when the Huskers had 39 sacks.

 

112 - Saturday's game is the 112th Homecoming game in University of Nebraska history. The Huskers are 84-23-4 on Homecoming and have won 11 of their last 13 Homecoming games. Nebraska is 8-2 against Big Ten opponents on Homecoming.