Link: http://collegefootballnews.com/2017/10/nebraska-purdue-prediction-game-preview
Nebraska at Purdue Fearless Prediction and Game Preview
by Pete Fiutak, CollegeFootballNews.com
Nebraska (3-4, 2-2) at Purdue (3-4, 1-3)
Saturday, October 28 - 6:30 pm CT - BTN
There's still time to save this, Nebraska -- at least somewhat.
The chance to win the Big Ten title might be reasonably gone, but there's a shot at redemption over the second half of the season. Win this, win at home against Northwestern, and then split against Minnesota and Iowa -- or, in a perfect world, shock Penn State in Happy Valley -- and at least it'll be a bowl season.
Purdue is also 3-4, and it also has a manageable schedule over the finishing kick -- the road game at Iowa is probably the toughest remaining game. But the Boilermakers are playing with house money at this point.
The program is on the uptick under Jeff Brohm, and there's a sign of life again after so many years of ugliness. But there's been a slide with three losses in the last four games.
It's just the sixth game between the two schools. Purdue won the first time around in 1958, but the Huskers have won three of the four meetings since Nebraska joined the Big Ten.
One Reason Why Purdue Will Win
Purdue has to win the turnover margin. The defense hasn't been great at getting into the backfield, but it's among the best in the Big Ten at forcing takeaways.
Winning the turnover battle doesn't guarantee anything with the Boilermakers -- they were a -2 in the loss to Rutgers last week, and in the win over Minnesota a few weeks ago -- but the D has come up with nine picks on the year, including three of Lamar Jackson and five over the last three games.
Tanner Lee has been better. The Husker quarterback has only thrown two interceptions over the last three games but he's still cranked up 11 on the season and should be good for at least one big mistake.
Purdue has to capitalize on everything, because .......
One Reason Why Nebraska Will Win
.....the Boilermaker offense has stopped scoring.
The yards are there -- the O cranked up 474 yards against Rutgers -- but they aren't leading to points. The Boilermakers only scored 12 points in the loss to the Scarlet Knights, scored nine in the loss to Wisconsin, and scored ten in the loss to Michigan.
Nebraska's defense had problems against Wisconsin and Ohio State, but it's been fine when it hasn't had to deal with an elite offense.
With two weeks off to get ready, it should be able to handle a Purdue running game that doesn't rely on power and isn't getting too much of a push up front.
Nebraska can be powered on, and it'll have problems against teams that can push the ball deep. Purdue can't do either one.
What's Going to Happen
Will the time off do the Huskers any good? Purdue might not be scoring in bunches, but neither is Nebraska.
The loss of RB Tre Bryant to a knee injury takes away another option from a Husker ground attack that wasn't lighting the world on fire to begin with. That means even more of the offense will fall on Lee's shoulders, and that means more passes, and that means a few picks for the Boilermakers to turn into points.
Don't expect anything wacky -- this certainly won't be the 55-45 shootout Purdue won the last time these two met in West Lafayette in 2015 -- but after losing to Rutgers, Purdue will happily take the win after going +2 in turnover margin.
Prediction
Purdue 23, Nebraska 17
Nebraska at Purdue Fearless Prediction and Game Preview
by Pete Fiutak, CollegeFootballNews.com
Nebraska (3-4, 2-2) at Purdue (3-4, 1-3)
Saturday, October 28 - 6:30 pm CT - BTN
There's still time to save this, Nebraska -- at least somewhat.
The chance to win the Big Ten title might be reasonably gone, but there's a shot at redemption over the second half of the season. Win this, win at home against Northwestern, and then split against Minnesota and Iowa -- or, in a perfect world, shock Penn State in Happy Valley -- and at least it'll be a bowl season.
Purdue is also 3-4, and it also has a manageable schedule over the finishing kick -- the road game at Iowa is probably the toughest remaining game. But the Boilermakers are playing with house money at this point.
The program is on the uptick under Jeff Brohm, and there's a sign of life again after so many years of ugliness. But there's been a slide with three losses in the last four games.
It's just the sixth game between the two schools. Purdue won the first time around in 1958, but the Huskers have won three of the four meetings since Nebraska joined the Big Ten.
One Reason Why Purdue Will Win
Purdue has to win the turnover margin. The defense hasn't been great at getting into the backfield, but it's among the best in the Big Ten at forcing takeaways.
Winning the turnover battle doesn't guarantee anything with the Boilermakers -- they were a -2 in the loss to Rutgers last week, and in the win over Minnesota a few weeks ago -- but the D has come up with nine picks on the year, including three of Lamar Jackson and five over the last three games.
Tanner Lee has been better. The Husker quarterback has only thrown two interceptions over the last three games but he's still cranked up 11 on the season and should be good for at least one big mistake.
Purdue has to capitalize on everything, because .......
One Reason Why Nebraska Will Win
.....the Boilermaker offense has stopped scoring.
The yards are there -- the O cranked up 474 yards against Rutgers -- but they aren't leading to points. The Boilermakers only scored 12 points in the loss to the Scarlet Knights, scored nine in the loss to Wisconsin, and scored ten in the loss to Michigan.
Nebraska's defense had problems against Wisconsin and Ohio State, but it's been fine when it hasn't had to deal with an elite offense.
With two weeks off to get ready, it should be able to handle a Purdue running game that doesn't rely on power and isn't getting too much of a push up front.
Nebraska can be powered on, and it'll have problems against teams that can push the ball deep. Purdue can't do either one.
What's Going to Happen
Will the time off do the Huskers any good? Purdue might not be scoring in bunches, but neither is Nebraska.
The loss of RB Tre Bryant to a knee injury takes away another option from a Husker ground attack that wasn't lighting the world on fire to begin with. That means even more of the offense will fall on Lee's shoulders, and that means more passes, and that means a few picks for the Boilermakers to turn into points.
Don't expect anything wacky -- this certainly won't be the 55-45 shootout Purdue won the last time these two met in West Lafayette in 2015 -- but after losing to Rutgers, Purdue will happily take the win after going +2 in turnover margin.
Prediction
Purdue 23, Nebraska 17
