WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – The Purdue Boilermakers hosted The Nebraska Cornhuskers on a brisk Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium. The Boilermakers have struggled this season and had a lot to prove to themselves and their fans, and they did not disappoint. After a hard-fought battle, especially a rough 1st quarter, Purdue went on to defeat Nebraska 31-27.
The 1st quarter was a long one for Purdue starting with their first drive of the game that only earned them 9 yards before they had to punt. Nebraska quickly capitalized on that with a touchdown by Dedrick Mills (26) at 8:32 to put the Cornhuskers up 7-0. Purdue’s next drive wasn’t much better than their first, only gaining 13 yards before having to punt. It seemed like things were going to start looking up until Nebraska’s Darrion Daniels (79) intercepted a pass from Purdue quarterback Jack Plummer (13) and returned it for 18 yards to the PUR12. The Boilermakers fought hard on defense and held the Cornhuskers to a field goal, but they were unable to answer back and went into the 2nd quarter trailing 10-0.
Purdue got off to a slow start in the 2nd quarter too, and it started to seem like this would just be the tempo for the entire game. Fortunately, The Boilermakers seemed to kick it into gear, scoring their first touchdown of the game at 7:04 when Plummer completed a pass to King Doerue (22), putting Purdue within 3 points of Nebraska. Those 7 points seemed to be what it took to boost Purdue’s momentum as they were able to find the endzone one more time before halftime when Payne Durham (87) rushed for 16 yards, putting Purdue ahead of Nebraska 10-14.
The game turned into a nail biter quickly in the 3rd quarter. Purdue started off the half with the ball but had negative yards and had no choice but to punt. Nebraska started to advance on Purdue, but The Boilermaker defense stepped up and managed to hold the Cornhuskers to a field goal, but that still made it a 1-point game. It appeared to be an even fight for the next couple of drives until Plummer found Doerue in the endzone again at 1:14 to put Purdue up 13-17.
Nebraska started off with the ball in the 4th quarter, and after 11 plays for 75 yards, Adrian Martinez rushed into the endzone to put the Cornhuskers up 20-17 at 12:30. Purdue just couldn’t stand for losing their lead, and the offense really started to put in work. Quickly advancing into touchdown territory, Plummer was taken out of the game with an injury after a 14 yard rush to the NEB11. Sophomore quarterback, Aidan O’Connell (16) checked in to replace Plummer, but this didn’t seem to rattle Purdue at all. Doerue once again found himself in the endzone, taking over the lead 20-24. The Cornhuskers were quick to answer back just under 3 minutes later as Martinez rushed for 4 yards and put Nebraska ahead of Purdue 27-24 with just 4:21 remaining.
It didn’t seem that O’Connell had any nerves during the next drive, completing multiple passes and helping Purdue find themselves in scoring territory once again. At 3rd & 5, Purdue’s head coach, Jeff Brohm, called a timeout that would seal the deal for his team. David Bell (3) rushed for 9 yards and the touchdown that earned Purdue their victory over Nebraska.
In the post-game press conference, Brohm thanked Purdue alum, and New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees for being at the game and talking to the team to get them ready for the matchup. When asked about how he felt about his team during the tough season they’ve had so far, Brohm stated, “I’m extremely proud,” explaining that not winning has been frustrated and caused some anger and sleepless nights for him. As for this big victory for Purdue, Brohm stated: “it was two teams fighting and battling until the end.” Purdue is now 3-6 overall, while Nebraska falls to 4-5.
Written by Kiley Compton
Image Credit: Austyn McFadden
