LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska keeps winning. It still looks ugly. But the growth, at this point, is undeniable.
The Huskers beat Purdue 31-14 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium on a cold and blustery afternoon, ideal conditions for late-season success in the blueprint design by first-year coach Matt Rhule.
Advertisem*nt
A three-game winning streak, the first for Nebraska since it won seven in a row to open the 2016 season, placed Rhule’s team one win short of bowl eligibility as it looks to snap a streak of six consecutive losing seasons. The Huskers (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) can reach the six-win milestone next week at Michigan State, with Maryland, Wisconsin and Iowa left on the schedule.
Don’t look now, but Nebraska has won five of its past six games.
Here are my initial thoughts:
Satterfield makes the most of new perch
Credit goes to Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield. Working from the press box Saturday for the first time in his eight games with the Huskers, Satterfield adjusted after two drives went nowhere. He attacked the edges of a Purdue defense that was loading the box and cheating to the inside.
The result:a 15-play, 87-yard march that consumed 8:52, more time than any Nebraska drive since 2017.
It tired the Purdue defense and reset the tone. Heinrich Haarberg hit running back Joshua Fleeks for a 23-yard gain. Haarberg hit Jaidyn Doss for 16 yards on third-and-9. Then, Fleeks raced around the right edge for 16. Haarberg hit Ty Hahn for 11 on third-and-8. And when the Huskers got to the 1-yard line, Satterfield didn’t try to force power with a youthful offensive line. Instead, the Huskers lined up twice in the shotgun, and Haarberg fired a sidearm throw to Thomas Fidone for the score on second down.
Fumbling and bumbling almost lead to stumbling
Turnovers remain a massive concern for the Huskers. Nebraska lost four fumbles, including two by Haarberg and one by backup QB Jeff Sims, the former starter. Fourth-quarter fumbles by the two quarterbacks led to all of Purdue’s points.
Sims’ miscue, on a fourth-and-1 sneak that Purdue linebacker Kydran Jenkins forced, recovered and returned for a 55-yard touchdown, silenced the crowd after the Huskers appeared to have secured victory by taking a 24-0 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.
Advertisem*nt
A 48-yard drive, capped by Emmett Johnson’s 28-yard TD run, stopped the bleeding for Nebraska and put the game back out of reach.
Still, Nebraska has won the turnover battle in just one of eight games. It sits at minus-9 for the season, a figure that Rhule, before Saturday’s latest errors, described as “stupid,” considering the Huskers’ winning record.
Blackshirts’ energy kept Nebraska in the game
Nebraska largely played with more energy than Purdue. When Garrett Snodgrass fumbled the opening kickoff — and a replay review overturned the recovery as called on the field, awarding possession to Purdue at the Huskers’ 32 — the defense held.
When Alex Bullock muffed a punt at the Nebraska 14, Quinton Newsome stayed involved as multiple Boilermakers scurried for the recovery — and Newsome ended up with the ball.
When Haarberg lost a fumble on the first play of the Huskers’ first drive in the second half, handing possession to Purdue at the 13, the Blackshirts put Purdue in reverse. The stop set up a blocked field goal attempt and a 68-yard Newsome return for a touchdown.
Kick 6️⃣‼️
Quinton Newsome returns the blocked FG for a TD. @_6ixxgod x @HuskerFootball
📺: FS1/@CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/vmPjSG3FCB
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 28, 2023
Special teams’ success put the game away
The Huskers’ first special teams touchdown of the season — their first blocked-field-goal TD since 2014 — erased much of the lingering doubt about how this game would end.
We’ve seen Nebraska often in recent seasons find new ways to keep opponents’ hopes alive. In this game, the Huskers didn’t deliver a knockout blow offensively. But they buried Purdue with defensive pressure and playmaking on special teams, including a 55-yard field goal by true freshman Tristan Alvano in the fourth quarter.
Advertisem*nt
The strong defensive and special teams play was magnified Saturday because of the compromised state of the offense.
This game marked the first for Nebraska without three veteran offensive linemen who’ve combined for 79 starts. Their replacements — sophom*ores Teddy Prochazka and Henry Lutovsky and redshirt freshman Justin Evans-Jenkins — didn’t win the game for Nebraska against Purdue.
But that’s the point. The new starters didn’t have to win the game. Instead of losing because an opponent exposed their weaknesses, the Huskers won because they leaned into their strengths.
Huskers feel the need, the need for speed
One of those emerging strengths, by the way, involves the offense. Nebraska’s true freshman wide receivers are fast. Last week, Malachi Coleman got loose for a 44-yard touchdown that sealed the victory against Northwestern. On Saturday, it was Jaylen Lloyd, a rookie out of Omaha Westside and another accomplished sprinter, who covered 73 yards in a hurry for his first career score.
Doss, a true freshman who’s filling in at the slot position for injured senior Billy Kemp, came up big on the first TD drive. Doss’ catch on third down came with one of Purdue’s top defenders, senior Cam Allen, working in coverage.
(Top photo by Steven Branscombe / Getty Images)
Mitch Sherman is a staff writer for The Athletic covering Nebraska football. He previously covered college sports for ESPN.com after working 13 years for the Omaha World-Herald. Mitch is an Omaha native and lifelong Nebraskan. Follow Mitch on Twitter @mitchsherman
