Nebraska football comes alive in second half to blow past Purdue, improve to 4-1 (2024)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — As train horns blared, towels waved and the Purdue crowd roared, Dylan Raiola faced it all, bobbing his head.

It wasn’t a first half to remember for the Nebraska quarterback and the Huskers — but the second half was. Having failed to score across an entire half of football, Raiola and the Nebraska offense finally broke through with one touchdown, then two.

Nebraska’s third touchdown of the second half sent Purdue fans to the exits, having seen enough of a sloppy, penalty-filled game that took 38 game minutes to even produce any scoring.

The Huskers overcame a stiff test to defeat Purdue 28-10 on Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium, providing a tough but much-needed bounce-back win following NU’s first loss of the season last week.

“It was a close game in the fourth quarter,” Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said. “The narrative is always (that) we can’t win close games; that was a close game and we won it.”

Nebraska’s (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) path to victory began eight days ago in Lincoln after a crushing overtime loss to Illinois. All week long, the Huskers spoke about bouncing back and bringing a renewed sense of energy into their upcoming road game— something Rhule hoped to stoke prior to kickoff.

The Huskers briefly deviated from their normal pregame routine as Rhule pulled players into a one-on-one blocking drill akin to a classic Oklahoma drill with all their teammates watching.

“Today was about us coming out to compete and I wanted to see the guys come out, fly around and compete,” Rhule said. “I called a couple guys out and they were ready for it.”

The on-field scene only lasted about two minutes,but its impact stuck with the Nebraska defense for much longer.

“Everybody was fired up, that kind of set the tone for the game and we all just rode that high going into the game,” linebacker John Bullock said.

Having harnessed that energy, it was a standout day for a Nebraska defense that felt the need to prove its mettle. One week after allowing 166 yards on the ground, the Huskers silenced a normally potent Purdue (1-3, 0-1) rushing attack by limiting the Boilermakers to just 50 yards on the ground.

Apart from a late touchdown drive at the end of the fourth quarter, Purdue had nine other full offensive possessions: six punts, one missed field goal, an interception and a field goal.

Nebraska allowed 224 yards of offense while sacking Purdue quarterback Hudson Card five times.

“I thought the defense was terrific throughout,” Rhule said.

The defense might have done its part, but it took far longer than Nebraska hoped for its offense to follow suit.

NU’s first half was marred by missed opportunities as the Huskers took six consecutive drives past the Purdue 40-yard line but came away with nothing to show for it.

With starting kicker Tristan Alvano (groin) ruled out for the contest, Nebraska instead turned to John Hohl at kicker with the knowledge that such a change might lead to more fourth-down tries or punts.

The Huskers punted three times from within the Purdue 45-yard line during the half, and the redshirt freshman kicker’s 42-yard try sailed wide left early in the first quarter. Hohl hardly got a chance on his next two kicks when even a personnel change at long snapper couldn’t prevent a pair of miscued snaps.

“He’s a young, developing kicker who’s got a big, big leg and had a great week of practice,” Rhule said of Hohl. “He just missed that first one, and those second two were just bad snaps; those balls were in the ground.”

Nebraska also had a first-half touchdown pass called back when officials flagged offensive pass interference on tight end Thomas Fidone. Nebraska and Purdue combined for 24 total penalties on an afternoon where yellow flags littered the grass field early and often.

While Rhule insisted after the game that Fidone had not touched the opposing defender, the officials on the field saw it differently— and it took six Nebraska points off the board.

“About everything that could go wrong went wrong in the first half,” Rhule said.

Despite moving the ball well in the first half, Nebraska entered the locker room stuck in a scoreless battle— but there was no panic nor consternation at the break in a “very locked in” locker room according to Rhule.

“What I said to them at halftime was, ‘This is exactly the type of game that we need,’” Rhule said. “We needed to go out there and win the game at the very end of the game.”

Trailing 3-0, the Nebraska offense finally found its breakthrough moment.

Raiola marched the Huskers 70 yards down the field, eventually tossing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jahmal Banks in a crowded end zone. The play also marked NU’s only successful third-down conversion of the game— but the Huskers didn’t need to convert third downs from there on out.

Raiola led three consecutive touchdown drives in the second half and finished the game 17-of-27 passing for 257 yards.

“We just stay the course and we keep grinding, and we know that eventually one’s going to pop; it’s really just our motto— it just takes one play,” Raiola said. “I couldn’t tell what one play got us going, but once we got it going we couldn’t be stopped.”

Running back Emmett Johnson provided a major impact in NU’s second-half surge, having helped power a touchdown drive capped by a 1-yard Dante Dowdell rushing score. A 161-yard day on the ground for the Husker offense was paced by freshman wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr., whose 29-yard touchdown run just about sealed things.

A pick-six from Bullock with under six minutes left to play was the final cherry on top of a sweet second half for the Huskers.

It may not have been a pretty win, nor a convincing one for much of the game, but it was a victory that Nebraska desperately needed to get its season back on track.

“We went on the road after a devastating loss last week and we found a way to win, and I couldn’t be prouder,” Rhule said. “It wasn’t the best football; we’ve got a lot to fix, but I’m proud of the heart of that team.”