knapplc
Active member
Some history. In each year of the Bo Pelini Era, Nebraska has lost a home or neutral-site game to an unranked opponent. They were:
2008 - Virginia Tech
2009 - Texas Tech, Iowa State
2010 - Texas
2011 - Northwestern
2012 - Wisconsin (neutral site)
2013 - Iowa
Six home losses in six years, one neutral-site loss, all to unranked teams.
Enter the 3-5 (1-3) Purdue Boilermakers. Two games under .500, nowhere near the rankings. Sagarin has them 81st in his ranking.
But this is not a terrible team. They can score points, in bunches, against even good teams. They scored 31 against Michigan State (although 14 of those points came late in the 4th quarter after it was 38-17 Sparty).
Including that Sparty game, Purdue has scored 31 points or more in its last three games. Austin Appleby has taken over at quarterback, a 6'5", 229lb behemoth of a kid, a Sophomore, but he can run and he's completing passes at better than 60%. He has five passing touchdowns in his last three games, one against Sparty. Also in that span he's run for three touchdowns, one a 62-yard scamper against Illinois. Appleby has thrown three picks in his last two games, though, including two against Minnesota two weeks ago. So he's not perfect - but he can hurt you.
Joining Appleby in the backfield is RB Akeem Hunt, who ran for 96 yards and three TDs against Michigan State on just 12 carries (8.0 YPC). The kid has ridiculous speed, and if they get him in the open, especially against some of our slower linebackers, he could house it. They throw it to him out of the backfield, and although he has modest receiving yardage, he has the second-most receptions on the year, and he's definitely a threat against this defense.
That's the bad news.
The good news is, Purdue's defense is awful. They've given up 30 or more points in five of eight games, holding only Iowa, Central Michigan and Illinois below 30 points. Their major defensive ranks:
Total Defense - 84th
Scoring Defense - 91st
Pass Efficiency Defense - 65th
Rushing Defense - 77th
That last stat is the most promising. Beck needs to use Ameer liberally today, 30 times or more if necessary, to burn clock and keep the Purdue offense off the field.
Purdue will score today. They could put up 30 points, only the second team to accomplish that against this defense all year (thanks to Miami's gift garbage-time touchdown). Nebraska needs to have their track shoes on today, on defense to keep up with their speed and on offense to run, run, run the ball down their throats.
With a bye week coming up, a loss today will make for a truly awful two weeks. A win and the team can rest up a bit for the stretch run against Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.
Run, Ameer. Run, run, run.
2008 - Virginia Tech
2009 - Texas Tech, Iowa State
2010 - Texas
2011 - Northwestern
2012 - Wisconsin (neutral site)
2013 - Iowa
Six home losses in six years, one neutral-site loss, all to unranked teams.
Enter the 3-5 (1-3) Purdue Boilermakers. Two games under .500, nowhere near the rankings. Sagarin has them 81st in his ranking.
But this is not a terrible team. They can score points, in bunches, against even good teams. They scored 31 against Michigan State (although 14 of those points came late in the 4th quarter after it was 38-17 Sparty).
Including that Sparty game, Purdue has scored 31 points or more in its last three games. Austin Appleby has taken over at quarterback, a 6'5", 229lb behemoth of a kid, a Sophomore, but he can run and he's completing passes at better than 60%. He has five passing touchdowns in his last three games, one against Sparty. Also in that span he's run for three touchdowns, one a 62-yard scamper against Illinois. Appleby has thrown three picks in his last two games, though, including two against Minnesota two weeks ago. So he's not perfect - but he can hurt you.
Joining Appleby in the backfield is RB Akeem Hunt, who ran for 96 yards and three TDs against Michigan State on just 12 carries (8.0 YPC). The kid has ridiculous speed, and if they get him in the open, especially against some of our slower linebackers, he could house it. They throw it to him out of the backfield, and although he has modest receiving yardage, he has the second-most receptions on the year, and he's definitely a threat against this defense.
That's the bad news.
The good news is, Purdue's defense is awful. They've given up 30 or more points in five of eight games, holding only Iowa, Central Michigan and Illinois below 30 points. Their major defensive ranks:
Total Defense - 84th
Scoring Defense - 91st
Pass Efficiency Defense - 65th
Rushing Defense - 77th
That last stat is the most promising. Beck needs to use Ameer liberally today, 30 times or more if necessary, to burn clock and keep the Purdue offense off the field.
Purdue will score today. They could put up 30 points, only the second team to accomplish that against this defense all year (thanks to Miami's gift garbage-time touchdown). Nebraska needs to have their track shoes on today, on defense to keep up with their speed and on offense to run, run, run the ball down their throats.
With a bye week coming up, a loss today will make for a truly awful two weeks. A win and the team can rest up a bit for the stretch run against Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.
Run, Ameer. Run, run, run.
