2nd Half Against Purdue an Important Building Block for Nebraska

Nebraska took down Purdue 28-10 on Saturday, improving to 4-1 on the season and, importantly, getting back in the W column after the disappointing loss to Illinois. After a sloppy, scoreless 1st half, the Huskers took control in the 3rd quarter and didn’t look back. Let’s get right to the topline takeaways. 

Cheers to That

The Blackshirts. That 1st half might have been the ugliest half of football I’ve ever watched. Neither team scored a point. Nebraska missed a field goal and had two others blocked. Purdue missed a field goal. The officials felt the need to insert themselves into the game early and often. Husker fans could have been forgiven for feeling the same old creeping feelings of doubt and dread at halftime.

You know what wasn’t ugly? The performance by Nebraska’s defense, all game long. They only allowed Purdue to cross the 50 yard line once during the 1st half. After Purdue opened the 2nd half with an 8-minute, 13-play drive that ended in a field goal (giving the Boilermakers a 3-0 lead), the Blackshirts slammed the door from there. Purdue’s next three drives went punt, punt, and Nebraska pick-6, and at that point it was 28-3 Nebraska and the rout was on. 

Hats off to Tony White and his defense for responding after an uncharacteristically average showing against Illinois last week. The Husker defense held Purdue’s offense to 224 total yards, and their only touchdown came late in the game, essentially during garbage time. Nebraska will face much better offenses, but this was the bounce back the defense needed. 

Positive Turnover Margin. Nebraska came into the game at +4 in turnover margin. After John Bullock’s pick six (accompanied by a turnover-free game from the offense), the Huskers have improved to +5 on the year. This is not an insignificant development for this program. Turnovers have been a major problem for this team going back many years, over multiple coaching staffs. It’s not a stretch to say turnovers were the main culprit in the mind boggling, gut punch losses of recent years. 

It’s great to see the defense taking the ball away, but the thing that’s sticking out for me is how well the offense is taking care of the ball. Quarterback Dylan Raiola only has two interceptions on the year–and those were both beautifully thrown balls that, in each case, were initially caught by the intended receiver before being ripped away by a defender. The running backs are hanging onto the ball, having lost only one fumble through five games on the year. 

Bottom line, Raiola and this offense are doing a fantastic job taking care of the football. 

Not Panicking. A Mike Riley coached team very well could have lost the game against Purdue. A Scott Frost coached team likely would have lost that game. Heck…

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