Steven M. Sipple weighs in with his report card from the Huskers' game at Purdue.
RUNNING GAME (C)
Adrian Martinez somehow avoided being sacked as he scrambled 13 yards for a first-quarter touchdown. Senior running back Dedrick Mills, who missed the previous two games with a knee injury, gave Nebraska the thump it needs at that position, finishing with 16 carries for 60 yards. NU managed only 111 total on the ground (2.8 yards per carry).
PASSING GAME (A)
Martinez completed five of his first seven passes for 47 yards. But he misfired to Wan'Dale Robinson on a third-and-7 in the second quarter as NU was trying to extend a 17-3 lead. He rebounded by going 6-for-6 for 52 yards on a touchdown drive that produced a 27-10 lead and 3-for-3 for 27 yards on the TD march that made it 34-13. He ended up 23-for-30 for 242 yards and a touchdown, with zero interceptions.Â
People are also reading…
AGAINST THE RUN (A)
Cam Taylor-Britt and Luke Reimer stopped Zander Horvath for no gain on a fourth-and-1 late in the first half. The stop was emblematic of Nebraska's run defense on this day, as Purdue netted minus-2 yards on 17 attempts.Â
AGAINST THE PASS (C)
Nebraska often had good pressure on Jack Plummer — the Huskers had three sacks — but Plummer found David Bell for an 89-yard catch-and-run TD to pull Purdue to 34-27. Garrett Nelson and Ben Stille helped matters early on with first-quarter sacks. Nebraska covered a couple of deep balls well early as Purdue tried to overcome a 17-0 deficit. But Plummer was 4-for-5 for 52 yards on the Boilermakers' second-quarter scoring drive that pulled them to 20-10 behind, and he was 6-for-6 for 61 yards on a third-quarter drive that pulled the Boilermakers to 34-20. He threw for 334 yards and three TDs.
SPECIAL TEAMS (B)
A mixed bag here. Nebraska's William Przystup had his punt blocked near the end of the first half, and Purdue capitalized with a field goal to pull to 27-13. But Nebraska got a gigantic early lift when Levi Falck's punt block set up the Huskers at the Purdue 1-yard line. Mills scored a TD on the next play. Cam Taylor-Britt's 27-yard punt return helped set up NU's second touchdown. Meanwhile, Connor Culp's 49-yard field goal fluttered through the uprights, easily his longest field goal of the season. On the other hand, the Boilermakers' TJ Sheffield's 42-yard kickoff return came as Purdue scrambled to get back in the game after falling behind 20-3.
GAME MANAGEMENT (D)
Deontai Williams and Caleb Tannor drew personal-foul penalties in the second quarter, setting up Purdue at Nebraska's 32. But the Huskers forced a punt. As the game moved into the fourth quarter, it essentially came down to which team would hurt itself least with penalties. NU finished with nine for 107 yards in losses, while Purdue wound up with 11 for 126 yards. Not pretty.Â
PLAY-CALLING (B)
Excellent work by Scott Frost on Nebraska's 11-play, 75-yard touchdown march to begin the third quarter. The Huskers kept it simple on a key third-and-1, running Martinez inside the right tackle for a gain of 15. Meanwhile, NU's passing game is showing an increasing amount of competency.Â
OVERALL (B)
Nebraska got an early lead and didn't give it up. That alone represents progress. "Everybody can get better," NU cornerback Taylor-Britt said. "There's always room for improvement." Good answer after a needed win.