10 things we learned from Nebraska’s win over Purdue

Here are 10 of our biggest takeaways from Nebraska’s 37-27 road victory over Purdue on Saturday afternoon.

Nebraska was hardly perfect in any phase against Purdue on Saturday, but when it came to getting key plays when it had to have them, the offense, defense, and special teams all stepped up.

The day started with a flash when Levi Falck blocked a punt on the opening possession to set up the game’s first touchdown. The offense then scored on its first five drives of the day.

Defensively, the Huskers held the Boilermakers to minus-three yards rushing, had three sacks and nine tackles for loss, and came up with two game-saving stops in the fourth quarter.

Yes, NU got plenty of help in each of those areas from Purdue mistakes. But unlike most every other game this year, it finally found ways to take advantage of those opportunities more often than not.

This game showed what kind of team Nebraska could be when it finally plays relatively well in all three phases.

After getting benched three games ago as a two-year starter and team captain, Adrian Martinez could have gone a completely different direction in how he handled his situation this season.

Instead, the junior quarterback took it in stride and worked to get better should another opportunity arise. That chance came last week, and now for two games in a row, Martinez has been playing some of the best football of his career.

Since reclaiming his starting role against Iowa, Martinez has now completed 41 of his past 50 passes for 416 yards with four total touchdowns (three rushing) and no interceptions.

After the game, Martinez said NU’s improved passing game resulted from everyone being “honed-in on the detail,” from the quarterbacks to the coaches to the receivers to the tight ends.

That has shown in how much crisper the passing game has looked the past two weeks, and the Huskers hope it only continues to progress for the rest of the season.

Nebraska has been trying every week to get Wan’Dale Robinson more involved in the offense, sometimes to the point where it seems like it’s forcing the issue.

However, Saturday was a perfect recipe for how the Huskers need to use arguably their best offensive weapon.

Rather than line the 5-foot-10, 185-pound sophomore in the backfield as a running back, NU got Robinson going early and often in the passing game. More importantly, it did so on routes beyond the line of scrimmage.

In the two previous losses to Illinois and Iowa, Robinson had 26 total touchdowns for 236 yards. On Saturday, he had nine catches on 10 targets for 114 yards and 12.7 yards per reception.

Martinez said Robinson was “one of the best, if not the best players on our offense,” and he took it upon himself to get Robinson the ball early and often on Saturday.

Robinson’s performance vs. Purdue showed how productive he could be when utilized within the offense’s natural flow.

Nebraska’s traditional running game had been non-existent pretty much all season, and a big reason was the lingering injury that kept Dedrick Mills sidelined since the beginning of the Penn State game on Nov. 14.

The senior running back finally returned to the starting lineup at Purdue. While his 16 carries for 60 yards wasn’t much to write home about, Mills kept the offense on schedule and provided NU’s ground attack with a little more punch.

His first carry was a one-yard plunge into the end zone for his third rushing touchdown, and he had a physical 11-yard carry for a first down during Nebraska’s final touchdown drive of the first half.

As long as he can stay healthy and on the field, Mills will be one of the more important pieces for the Huskers’ offense.

Purdue scored 27 points and put up 334 yards through the air, including an 89-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter that cut Nebraska’s lead to a touchdown.

But when it came down to making the plays they had to win the game, the Blackshirts answered the call time and again.

First off, the Boilermakers ran for minus-two rushing yards, the first time an NU opponent had finished with negative yards on the ground since Michigan had minus-21 back on Nov. 9, 2013.

The Huskers also recorded three sacks, nine TFLs, and five pass breakups in the win. Purdue hadn’t allowed a sack during its previous two games and 78 passing attempts.

Most importantly, when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, Nebraska held the Boilermakers to minus-eight yards on seven plays over their final two of the game.

While Nebraska and Purdue had plenty of excitement and drama, the number of penalties called on Saturday made the almost unwatchable at times.

In all, the teams combined to commit 20 penalties for 233 yards (PU had 11 for 126) on the day. That marked the first Big Ten game since 2003, with both teams having over 100 penalty yards.

There was a drive in the fourth quarter where five flags were thrown on the first seven plays, and a sixth penalty negated a potential first-and-goal for NU. The Huskers still managed to push their lead to 10 on a field goal, but Frost called it one of the “strangest drives” he’d ever seen as a player or coach.

Many of the flags were a result of poor discipline. Seven of the 20 penalties were personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conducts, four of which were committed by Purdue. Nebraska found a way to give up 30 yards on two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on one play.

Nebraska’s defensive game plan was relatively simple this week in that it was no secret where Purdue would try to go with the football on offense.

Receivers Rondale Moore and David Bell are not only the Boilermakers’ best players, but they’re also two of the top offensive playmakers in the Big Ten Conference.

The duo combined to catch 23 of Purdue’s 33 completed passes on Saturday. But outside of the 89-yard touchdown to Bell, all of those grabs didn’t amount to much in terms of yardage.

Moore hauled in a game-high 13 receptions but managed just 78 yards (6.0 ypc). Bell had 10 catches for 132 and a score, but outside of his 89-yarder, he only averaged 4.8 ypc.

Bell (14) and Moore (16) were targeted on 30 of Purdue’s 46 pass attempts, and except for one coverage breakdown, the Huskers allowed little return on that investment.

There’s something about Ross-Ade Stadium and awful Nebraska injuries. De’Mornay Pierson-El tore his ACL there in 2015, and then Martinez injured his non-throwing shoulder while diving for the Purdue end zone last season.

The Huskers weren’t even 30 minutes until kickoff on Saturday when they added another injury to that list.

Redshirt freshman safety Myles Farmer was going through typical pre-game warmups when he suddenly went down with a non-contact injury. He was carted back to the locker room and was ruled out for the rest of the game.

Head coach Scott Frost said that Farmer suffered an ankle injury and would be evaluated further when the team returned to Lincoln.

As if that weren’t enough, the Huskers had another defensive back carted off when cornerback Nadab Joseph injured his left knee during a special teams tackle early in the second quarter.

The good news was Joseph returned to the game to start the third quarter and avoided serious injury.

For the first time in what feels like ages, Nebraska no longer has to hold its breath in fear before every field goal attempt.

The addition of Connor Culp as a graduate transfer from LSU has fortified a once-disastrous NU kicking game. In fact, Culp has been nearly automatic all season.

Not only did he drill all three of his field goals at Purdue, he finally showed off his leg strength with a career-high 49-yarder early in the second quarter. That marked the longest field goal by a Husker since Drew Brown hit one from 51 yards in 2016.

Culp has now connected on 12 of his 13 attempts on the season and made nine consecutive tries since his lone miss at Northwestern. He’s also a perfect 18-of-18 on extra points.

To put those numbers in perspective, Nebraska’s kicker committee last season was 12-of-20 on field goals and 4-of-10 on tries from 30 yards or longer.

Brenden Jaimes started his 39th straight game on Saturday, setting a Nebraska record for consecutive starts by an offensive lineman.

The senior left tackle passed Eric Anderson, Dave Volk, and Mike Erickson on that list. Jaimes also tied Dan Vili-Waldrop for overall career starts, and he now trails only Jeremiah Sirles (41) on the all-time list.

Jaimes has been a cornerstone on the Huskers’ offensive line all season, coming into the Purdue game with the highest pass-blocking grade on the o-line at 75.0 on 331 total snaps per PFF.

He was also only credited with three pressures allowed (all QB hurries) and one penalty committed entering Saturday.