Game Week: at Purdue

NEBRASKA at PURDUE
Sept. 28, 2024 | ROSS-ADE STADIUM
WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. | 11 AM CT

HUSKERS
Record: 3-1, 0-1 B1G
Last Game: vs. Illinois (L, 31-24 (OT))
Rankings: AP - RV/Coaches - RV
Head Coach: Matt Rhule
Career/NU Record: 55-51 (9th Year)/8-8 (2nd Year)
vs. Purdue: 1-0

BOILERMAKERS
Record: 1-2, 0-0 B1G
Last Game: at Oregon State (L, 38-21)
Rankings: NR
Head Coach: Ryan Walters
Career/PUR Record: 5-10 (2nd Year)/Same
vs. Nebraska: 0-1

SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: Series tied, 6-6
At West Lafayette: Purdue leads, 4-3
Last Game: Nebraska, 31-14 in Lincoln (2023)
Win Streak: Nebraska, 1 game

BROADCAST INFO
TV - Peacock (Jac Collinsworth, Michael Robinson, Caroline Pineda)
RADIO - Huskers Radio Network (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
INTERNET AUDIO - Huskers.com
APP AUDIO - Official Huskers App

The Matchup
Nebraska leaves Lincoln for the first time in 2024, traveling to West Lafetyette, Ind., to take on Purdue in the Huskers’ Big Ten road opener. Game time at Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium is set for 11 a.m. CT (Noon, local) with Peacock providing streaming coverage of the matchup. The game can also be heard on the Huskers Radio Network and the Huskers App.

The Huskers stand at 3-1 on the season and 0-1 in Big Ten Conference play following a 31-24 overtime loss to Illinois on Friday night in Lincoln. The Huskers took a 24-17 lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Illini tied the game at 24-24 midway through the fourth quarter and prevailed with an overtime touchdown. 

The loss to Illinois ended a streak of 10 straight games in which Nebraska had allowed 24 or fewer points. The Husker offense continued to show its explosiveness with 297 yards through the air, including five pass plays of at least 20 yards.

Purdue comes into the contest with a 1-2 record, following a 38-21 loss at Oregon State on Saturday night. The Boilermakers opened the season with a victory over Indiana State, before losses to Notre Dame and Oregon State. Coach Ryan Walters’ team has shown a strong running game through three contests, averaging 183.0 yards per game on the ground, including 263 rushing yards at Oregon State. The Boilermaker defense has been solid against the pass, allowing just 123 yards per game.

Saturday’s game marks the 12th consecutive year Nebraska and Purdue have met on the gridiron. Following this year’s contest the teams are not scheduled to meet again until the 2027 season in Lincoln.

Series History: Nebraska vs. Purdue
Saturday’s meeting will be the 13th matchup in the Nebraska-Purdue series, with the series tied at six wins apiece. Nebraska posted a 31-14 win last year in Lincoln to even the series.

• Nebraska holds a 6-5 edge since the Huskers 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 six games since 2018.

• Four of the past seven games between the schools have been decided by six or fewer points, including three Purdue victories between 2019 and 2022. Nebraska’s past two wins have been by 10 and 17 points.

• Nebraska and Purdue will meet for the 13th consecutive season on Saturday. However, with the Big Ten’s new non-division schedule format, the schools do not meet in 2025 or 2026, before resuming with games in 2027 (Lincoln) and 2028 (West Lafayette).

Huskers Look for Win in Big Ten Road Opener
Nebraska opened Big Ten play last week against Illinois and plays its first conference road game Saturday at Purdue. It marks the first time Nebraska opened Big Ten play at home since 2017.

• Nebraska’s past four Big Ten road openers were also the Huskers’ season-opening game from 2020 to 2023. The Huskers’ last victory in a conference road opener was in 2019 when the Huskers won at Illinois.

• Since joining the Big Ten in 2011, NU is 4-9 in Big Ten road openers, including a 2013 win at Purdue.

Huskers Complete Non-League Play Undefeated
Nebraska opened the season with three consecutive non-conference victories, marking its first 3-0 start to the season since 2016. It was also the first time Nebraska was unblemished in nonconference play since 2016. The Huskers fell out of both national polls following their overtime loss to Illinois, but the start to the season remains Nebraska’s best in eight years.

• Nebraska was in both national polls for two consecutive weeks (Sept. 8, Sept. 15). Nebraska rose as high as 22nd in both polls. The No. 22 AP ranking was Nebraska’s highest since being ranked 17th entering the 2016 regular-season finale at Iowa.

• Last Friday’s game with Illinois was the first matchup of two AP ranked teams at Memorial Stadium since 2013 (vs. UCLA) and the first Big Ten games between two ranked teams since 2011 when 13th-ranked Nebraska defeated No. 9 Michigan State.

Nebraska Looks to Regain Season-Opening Form
Nebraska controlled its first three games from start to finish. The Huskers did not trail in their three first games, and out-scored the opposition by a total of 102-20. While Illinois prevailed with an overtime score, Nebraska trailed for less than 12 minutes of regulation game action against the Illini.

• Nebraska won each of its first three games by at least 18 points. It marked the first time NU won three straight games by at least 18 points since the middle of the 2014 season, when the Huskers defeated Northwestern (21), Rutgers (18) and Purdue (21).

• Nebraska scored on its opening drive in each of the first three games. Those scoring drives have covered 72, 49 and 75 yards.

• Nebraska out-scored Illinois 7-3 in the second quarter last Friday. In four games this season, Nebraska has out-scored the opposition 58-3 in the second quarter. In 2023, Nebraska was outscored 81-66 in the second quarter.

• Opponents have had very little success early in games. Dating back to 2023, Nebraska has allowed just two first-quarter touchdowns in its past 11 games. Illinois was just the second team in the past 17 games to score a touchdown on its opening drive.

Winning the Turnover Margin
Nebraska’s defense has posted multiple takeaways in three of the first four games in 2024. The Huskers gained a pair of turnovers against both UTEP and Colorado, before having an interception against UNI, and forcing two fumbles against Illinois. In turn, the Nebraska offense has just three turnovers in four games, giving Nebraska a +4 turnover margin. Last year, Nebraska posted a -17 turnover margin.

• The multiple takeaways in consecutive games marked the first time the Husker defense accomplished that since 2020 when Nebraska had multiple takeaways against Northwestern and Penn State.

• The first two games was the first time Nebraska had a positive turnover margin in consecutive games since the final two games of the 2022 season when the Huskers had a +1 (Wisconsin) and +3 (Iowa) turnover margin in consecutive games.

Nebraska Showing Balanced Offensive Attack
The Nebraska offense has been balanced and efficient through four games. In the seasonopening victory over UTEP, Nebraska posted its most explosive effort in the past two seasons. The Huskers backed that up with impressive outings against Colorado and UNI, scoring three first-half offensive touchdowns in each of those victories before scoring 17 first-half points against Illinois.

• Nebraska’s 40 points against UTEP were its most since scoring 42 against Georgia Southern in 2022, while the 33-point margin of victory was Nebraska’s largest since a 56-7 victory over Northwestern in 2021. It was the Huskers’ largest margin of victory in a season opener since a 43-10 win over Fresno State to open the 2016 season.

• The Huskers gained 507 yards of total offense against the Miners, the most by Nebraska since gaining 575 yards against Georgia Southern in 2022. The Huskers reached 339 yards before halftime, which was just 80 yards shy of last year’s season high for total offense for a full game (419 vs. Louisiana Tech).

• Nebraska’s 284 passing yards were its most since throwing for 354 yards at Purdue in 2022. Nebraska’s season high in passing yards in 2023 was 199 vs. Michigan. Nebraska has added passing outputs of 281 yards vs. UNI and 297 yards against Illinois. The Huskers average 261.8 yards per game through the air.

• Nebraska added 223 rushing yards against UTEP with 11 players having at least one carry. The win over UTEP marked the first time Nebraska topped 200 yards in both rushing and passing since 2022 against Georgia Southern.

• The Huskers were again balanced on offense against Colorado, rushing 35 times for 149 yards, while completing 23-of-30 passes for 185 yards. Against UNI, the Huskers had just 48 offensive plays, but averaged 8.8 yards per play and produced 423 total yards.

• The first four games have showcased Nebraska’s many offensive weapons. Fourteen players have carried the ball, while 15 Huskers have caught a pass. In the opener, Nebraska had 11 ball carriers and 11 receivers, the most in both categories in a single game since 2021.

This Week’s Numbers
1 - Saturday’s game at Purdue will be the first road game of the season for the Huskers. Excluding the 2020 COVID season, the Sept. 28 road opener is Nebraska’s latest in a season since 2013.

4 - Senior receiver Isaiah Neyor has four receiving touchdowns through four games, including two against Illinois. His four TD receptions rank 10th nationally and match Nebraska’s 2023 team leader (Thomas Fidone).

7 - Nebraska’s last five Big Ten games have all been decided by seven or fewer points, including two in overtime. The last time a Husker Big Ten game was decided by more than seven points was a 31-14 win over Purdue in Lincoln last season.