Nebraska is on the road for the second straight week. This week’s opponent is Purdue, who is 2-3 on the season after a 37-30 loss to Rutgers. The Huskers enter the final road content of the 2020 regular season with a 1-4 record, following a a 26-20 loss at Iowa on Black Friday.
Saturday’s matchup will mark the ninth all-time meeting between the two programs. The series is tied at 4-4.
Nebraska-Purdue football TV channel, time, live stream
TV Channel: Big Ten Network (Cory Provus, Anthony Herron, Coley Harvey)
Time: 11 a.m. CT
Date: Saturday, December 5
Live stream: Fox Sports app with cable or dish log in
Radio: Nebraska fans can listen to the game on IMG Husker Sports Network, as well as on XM 382. Internet radio will be available at Huskers.com.
Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
Weather: It’s December so we’re finally due for a frigid game, right? Well, it’s not looking like it. In fact, we’re looking at another game with temperatures in the 40s, which is close to normal for this time of year.
Full forecast and updates brought to you by Rusty Dawkins of Husker Weather. More here.
Nebraska-Purdue football picks, odds
The line: Purdue -1
Over/under: 62.5
(per the VI Consensus)
Nebraska-Purdue preview
Nebraska is headed back to West Lafeyette, Indiana, for the second season in a row to face Purdue. The reason for the back-to-back road trips to face Purdue is due to a switch in the Big Ten scheduling rotation. The last time Nebraska played a conference opponent on the road in consecutive seasons? Kansas in both 1990 and 1991.
So, it’s been awhile.
Nebraska is also about to face a familiar face. Purdue defensive coordinator Bob Diaco was the Huskers’ defensive coordinator for the 2017 season. There are players on Nebraska’s roster that played for Diaco during that season, too.
So, that’s interesting.
The Huskers know what they’re going to get from a Diaco defense. And Purdue knows what it’s going to get from a Nebraska offense. The Huskers are currently 13th in the Big Ten in passing and fifth in rushing. Seems like Nebraska runs it quite a bit, especially with both quarterbacks at the helm. It hasn’t really mattered who is starting—Adrian Martinez or Luke McCaffrey—because the Huskers haven’t been able to really get the pass game going in 2020.
So, that’s fun.
Nebraska probably doesn’t need to stretch the field much against Purdue to be effective though. A simple enough pass attack probably does the trick. The question is whether or not Nebraska can limit mistakes. The Huskers simply don’t have enough room for error when it comes to mistakes, so staying disciplined will be key. Bad snaps, bad passes and bad penalties can’t happen. If they do? It could be a long day for Nebraska.
It’s also worth noting that Purdue is going to be without some players for the matchup. Coach Jeff Brohm said Thursday that a “handful of guys” have opted out for the remainder of the 2020 season. That includes fifth-year senior wideout Jared Sparks and sophomore wideout Amad Anderson, Jr.
“Normally when guys opt out, it’s for personal reasons,” Brohm said. “It means they’ve opted out for the season, but they’re still on scholarship. Beyond that, we’ll have conversations with those guys and all of our players moving forward. That’s all I take it as of right now.”
So, this is one Nebraska can win. But can the Huskers do it? We’ll see.
For more on the matchup, don’t miss the latest I-80 Preview Podcast.
