3 reasons Nebraska football will beat Purdue on Saturday

Nebraska football got knocked down last week against Illinois, and it’s up to the Huskers to get back up this week against Purdue.

It’s the first road game for Nebraska football and in the Big Ten, there is no such thing as an easy road game. Purdue is struggling and is 1-2.  The Boilermakers were beaten badly at home by Notre Dame (66-7) a couple of weeks ago before a 38-21 loss in Corvallis to Oregon State last Saturday.

Purdue ran the ball well. They were also run over, giving over more than 300 yards on the ground to the Beavers. That bodes well for the Huskers, but they have concerns too. Dylan Raiola isn’t one of them, but it will be interesting to see how he responds on his first road start.

The offensive line will have Gunnar Gottula starting at left tackle and Tristan Alvano will miss a few weeks, so John Hohl will keep kicking this week. It’s fair to wonder after the Illinois loss if Nebraska football fans got ahead of themselves after the first three games.

Saturday will tell us a lot and here are three reasons why the Huskers will leave West Lafayette with a win.

The advantage at quarterback

Hudson Card is a solid quarterback. But give me Dylan Raiola all day long. Yes, he held the ball too long a few times against Illinois but the offensive line needs to do a better job protecting.

Regardless, Raiola has done well taking care of the ball. That will be the key stat. If he avoids turnovers, Nebraska has a great shot to win. Card was 7-for-17 for 56 yards last week. I didn’t expect Purdue to put up Iowa numbers but that’s what it looked like last week.

Card does have six touchdown passes and the Huskers pass defense has left a lot to be desired. But, Raiola is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the country and that will show up on Saturday, especially if there is some poor weather.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound quarterback should be just fine in the elements.

The run game shoud find room

Purdue is giving up 269 yards per game on the ground. They surrender 5.6 yards per attempt and allow 3.3 rushing touchdowns per game. This is tailor made for Nebraska to establish its will in the run game, rely on the defense, and not ask too much of Dylan Raiola.

I’d love to see the Huskers run the ball more than they throw on Saturday. It might sound crazy but it will mean they have the lead for a large portion of the game.

Nebraska has averaged four yards per attempt this season and last week against Illnois, the run game wasn’t good enough. But Purdue can’t hold up or shouldn’t be able to. With Gottula starting at left tackle, it seems like a good idea to ease him in with some runs, a lot of them.

As long as they are successful.

Purdue isn’t good at taking the ball away

Hopefully, this isn’t a knock-on-wood type of situation but through three games, Purdue hasn’t forced a single turnover. They don’t have any interceptions and haven’t recovered any fumbles.

It’s kind of hard to believe. It could mean they aren’t a very good defense and allowing 104 points in back-to-back weeks to Notre Dame and Oregon State makes that feel true.

Turnovers come in bunches so maybe it will be one of those games for the Boilermakers. Yet, Nebraska football has three giveaways in four games. Good teams take care of the ball and I still believe this is a good team.

Against a defense that feels pretty teethless, Nebraska won’t turn the ball over, which will mean a fourth win for the Huskers.

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