Game Day Guide: What you need to know for Nebraska-Purdue

The 3-1 Nebraska Cornhuskers are set to face off against the 1-2 Purdue Boilermakers and we are certainly in for a Big Ten treat.

Photo courtesy Nebraska Athletics

Well, well, well . . . The 3-1 Nebraska Cornhuskers are set to face off against the 1-2 Purdue Boilermakers and we are certainly in for a Big Ten treat. I’m serious too. Have you looked at the weather forecast? If not, just scroll down. It’s there, and it’s very Big Ten football.

As for the game itself, did you know that Nebraska and Purdue are tied 6-6 in the all-time series? Purdue also leads the Huskers, 4-3, when the game is played in West Lafayette. That makes things a little interesting, huh? It’s also the last meeting between the two until 2027 — Big Ten title matchups excluded — so say your goodbyes to the trains.

Nebraska wants to win this one—as it has every matchup before, of course—but doing so would help the Huskers get back on track after stumbling against Illinois. For coach Matt Rhule, he sees Saturday as an opportunity. After all, a little adversity never hurts a team.

“I think the improvement happens during the week,” Rhule said. “I think our guys had a great, great week of practice and preparation. That’s an honest evaluation from coaches, staff, everyone. I think you learn more about yourself when you go through some adversity than when you have success. The great ones, they don’t just bounce back. They bounce back and elevate. We’re looking to see ourselves bounce back and elevate. You’re never going to be a relevant team in the Big Ten if you can’t win on the road. You go into hostile environments, you travel, stay in a small hotel, guys are doubled up. It’s just different. It’s a part of the process—last week, I said learning how to win. Maybe I should change what I’m saying to learning to play championship-caliber football. Learning how to win at that level. 

“I think part of that is going on the road and playing at the level you need to play to beat someone. I’ve been pleased with the week, we’ll see how we do the next two days leading up to the game and then at the game.”

As a reminder, Rhule also confirmed Turner Corcoran will be out for a while with a “significant” hamstring issue, Tommi Hill is “day to day based on his pain threshold with the plantar fasciitis” and  Jimari Butler will play.

Losing key players for any amount of time is never ideal, but Rhule said it best: the great teams bounce back and elevate. That’s what this week is about for the Huskers. Can they elevate themselves after a disappointing loss to Illinois?

Time will tell, but an early kickoff means we will know sooner rather than later.

Everything you need to know for Nebraska-Purdue:

Streaming Channel: Peacock¹ (Jac Collinsworth, Michael Robinson, Caroline Pineda)

Date: Saturday, Sept. 28

Time: 11 a.m. CT

Radio: Huskers Radio Network 

Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Weather: Cloudy in the morning, then off and on rain showers during the afternoon hours. High around 75 degrees. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Line: Nebraska -10

Over/Under: 46.5

Notable quotes:

Matt Rhule on getting over “the hump” as a team:

“It’s the chicken and the egg. How do you learn to win if you’ve never really won? Our guys are winners, and that’s the biggest thing for me. Our guys do winning things. I just want them to be themselves in these moments and stop worrying about all this other stuff, and just go out and compete. Illinois came here to compete. Illinois wanted to beat us, and we wanted to beat Colorado. You start getting into these games, and it’s the disease of, they’re going to be this record going into this game. I’ve tried hard to get them to not listen to that. They don’t listen to me, necessarily, because they’re 18-22 and they have their own brains. I love them and I believe in them, but that doesn’t get you anywhere. Just go compete against this team and play as well as we can. Hopefully this was a good wakeup call, and again, I have to own the fact that our team went out there and didn’t execute in crucial situations. I have to own that.”

Purdue head coach Ryan Walters on Husker quarterback Dylan Raiola:

"He's the starting quarterback at Nebraska as a true freshman for a reason," Walters said. "He's everything you want — big, confident. I think the confident piece is what sticks out the most. He's not afraid, he'll throw the ball in tight windows, he trusts his guys to go make plays."

Defensive coordinator Tony White on preparing for Purdue:

“You’re back up in here right away… you’re going to get schemed up a little bit here and there. Now it’s, what did they see? How did they see it? And how do we prevent stuff like that from happening again? You go back through your whole process. Did we work enough goal line passes last week? Maybe we didn’t, now we work on goal line passes even more. Third downs weren't coordinated enough, so now we are emphasizing this on third downs. You’re going back through and looking at the process and making sure you’re doing what you need to do to make sure the guys are in the positions to make plays.” 

Linebacker MJ Sherman on slowing down Purdue:

“Do everything we can, do it in the sense of being aggressive, being violent, being disciplined. No wholesale changes need to be done with us, everything is about us. How hard we play, with the same effort and everything else that we did in the previous three weeks.”

Other games we’re watching this week:

(All games in CT)

Erin

Minnesota at No. 12 Michigan, 11 a.m., FOX

I’m not suggesting you flip away from Nebraska-Purdue, but if you did, maybe check in on this one. I (like everyone else) expect to see Michigan run the ball. A lot. But hey, the Wolverines have some questions of their own to answer. Can the Gophers exploit any of those areas? Who knows, but there’s Little Brown Jug on the line and that’s worth it to me.

No. 15 Louisville at No. 16 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m., Peacock

Notre Dame is the favorite here, which isn’t a huge surprise since it’s a home game for the Irish. While the Notre Dame offensive line should have no issue holding off the Louisville defensive line, it’s the other way that creates some concern if you’re an Irish fan. Can Notre Dame overpower Louisville’s o-line, wreaking havoc on Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough? This isn’t a clearcut one, that’s for sure.

No. 19 Illinois at No. 9 Penn State, 6:30 p.m., NBC

Fun fact: Penn State is 62-32 all time in night games. At home? The Nittany Lions are 21-11. Not bad. I think Illinois keeps this interesting, but it’ll be hard to overcome Penn State. Doesn’t mean it won’t be fun to watch it unfold. Plus, Nebraska wouldn’t be too upset if Illinois keeps winning. We’ll see. 

Brandon

Maryland at Indiana, 11 a.m., BTN

Indiana has passed every test with flying colors so far, but Maryland represents the best opponent the Hoosiers have faced. Terrapins wide receiver Tai Felton ranks third nationally with 604 yards receiving on the season, and quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. has completed 75% of his passes with eight touchdowns to just two interceptions. I’m expecting Indiana (-7) to come out on top, but this has the makings of a close game.

Colorado at UCF, 2:30 p.m., FOX

Baylor was well in control for most of the Buffs Big 12 opener last week before things fell apart. Central Florida presents a bigger challenge. The Knights lead the nation at 375.7 rush yards per game and rank fourth at 6.8 yards per carry. I have no doubt Colorado can score with UCF, but I do wonder how much the Buffs will have the ball if they can’t slow the run game.

No. 2 Georgia at No. 4 Alabama, 6:30 p.m., ABC

You were probably going to skip this one, weren’t you? Well I’m here to prevent that. When Nick Saban retired last winter, the metaphorical college football crown was almost automatically passed to Kirby Smart and Georgia. I’m interested in what Alabama has to say about that, playing on its home field. We saw the Dawgs get pushed to the limit against Kentucky, but my feeling here is Georgia probably makes a statement.

1. I know, I KNOW. There’s nothing I can do about this!