Nebraska battles Purdue in its first road game of 2024

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WOWT) – When people talk about the end of a season, they usually talk about the “home stretch,” but for the Huskers in 2024, the home stretch has already ended in some ways.

After opening the season with four straight games at the comfort of Memorial Stadium (3-1, 0-1), Nebraska takes its first road trip on Saturday to a date with Purdue (1-2, 0-0).

GAME INFO

• WHEN: 11 a.m., Saturday, September 28th
• WHERE: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Ind.
• REGARD: Peacock (click here for more information)
• HEAR: Huskers Radio Network
• VEGAS ODDS: Purdue +10.5, O/U 48.5

Nebraska is trying to recover from a disastrous late-game collapse that led to an overtime loss to No. 19 Illinois a week ago – a scene that has become all too familiar to the Big Red Nation over the last decade.

It’s the right place for the Huskers, and they know it.

“Hopefully [the Illinois loss] is a good wake-up call,” head coach Matt Rhule said in his press conference on Monday. “I have to admit that our team threw itself into crucial situations and didn’t make it. I have to admit that… As far as we’re concerned, on our sideline this week we can’t worry about the officials or a call that we feel is directed at us. We can’t worry about making the perfect call. Our guys just have to go out there and play loose.”

But despite the first loss of the season against an Illinois team that is poised for one of its best years in program history, there is still optimism among the Husker faithful for the most part.

That game is a thing of the past and now Purdue finds itself in the crosshairs of a Nebraska team hungry for its first conference win of the season.

“For me right now it’s about this week,” Rhule said. “We focused on really familiarizing ourselves with all the different things that Purdue does. They really had two different offenses this year, which adds a little versatility to our preparation. What we know is that Mockobee is as good a player as the Big Ten, and we know Card is excellent.”

Devin Mockobee is a real tailback for the Boilermakers with his height of 1.80 m and a weight of just over 90 kg. In three games, Mockobee has rushed for 276 yards and a touchdown, averaging a whopping 7.7 yards per carry.

His backfield mate, QB Hudson Card, is about as experienced as any college football player out there. A fifth-year senior, Card is in his second season at quarterback for the Boilermakers since transferring from Texas in 2022.

Card opened the season with a near-perfect performance in a 49-0 win over Indiana State, completing 24 of 25 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns. However, he has struggled since then, as has the entire Purdue team. Card completed just 11 passes and threw two interceptions in Purdue’s blowout loss to Notre Dame before throwing for just 56 yards in another loss – a 38-21 loss to Oregon State.

Still, the Huskers refuse to discount a Boilermaker team that, while obviously struggling this season, can always pull off an upset in West Lafayette.

“It’s going to be a huge battle and we’re just going to have to try to make one more play than them,” Rhule said.

Freshman QB Dylan Raiola and the Nebraska offense will look to break up a Purdue unit that ranked last in the Big Ten in total defense through four weeks and gave up 66 points to Notre Dame in week two.

Raiola had his best performance of his young career in last week’s loss to the Illini, completing 24 of 35 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns. Now he’s preparing for the first road game of his college career.

“I think nothing will change for us except that we will wear white jerseys instead of red,” Raiola said in his press conference on Monday. “We’ll just try to go out there and play our best football, but it will be in a different stadium. “I think all the boys are looking forward to a change of scenery and we can all be out there together, which makes it even better.”

Nebraska easily handled Purdue a season ago, winning 31-14 and holding Card to just 100 yards through the air. The record between these two teams is dead even at 6-6, with Saturday’s winner taking a lead in the historic clash.

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