Nebraska 31
Purdue 14

Oct. 28, 2023 • 2:35 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE • FS1
1st2nd3rd4th F 
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Nebraska01471031
Embed from Getty Images
Jaylen Lloyd heads for the end zone on his 73-yard touchdown play.
Second quarter
NEB: Thomas Fidone 1 pass from Heinrich Haarberg (Tristan Alvano kick) 10:43
NEB: Jaylen Lloyd 73 pass from Haarberg (Alvano kick) 8:54
Third quarter
NEB: Quinton Newsome 68 return of blocked kick (Alvano kick) 12:02
Fourth quarter
NEB: Alvano 55 field goal, 12:23
PUR: Jayden Dixon-Veal 29 pass from Hudson Card (pass failed) 9:09
PUR: Kydran Jenkins 55 fumble return (Andrew Sowinski pass from Card) 6:24
NEB: Emmett Johnson 28 run (Alvano kick) 3:54

                       PUR        NEB
FIRST DOWNS ........... 10         14
  RUSHING .............. 2          8
  PASSING .............. 6          4
  PENALTY .............. 2          2
RUSHES-NET YARDS ... 29-96     48-155
NET YDS PASSING ....... 99        122
  COMP-ATT-INT ... 17-33-2     6-11-0
TOTAL OFFENSE ..... 62-195     59-277
FUMBLES-LOST ......... 2-1        5-4
PENALIZED-YDS ....... 9-99       6-49
PUNTS-AVERAGE ....... 7-47       5-46
PUNT RETURNS-YDS .... 1--1        2-0
K.O. RETURNS-YDS .... 2-39       1-19
INTERCEPTIONS-YDS .... 0-0       2-13
POSSESSION TIME .... 26:50      33:10
THIRD-DOWN CONV. .... 5-16       7-14
FOURTH-DOWN CONV. .... 0-3        0-1
RED ZONE SCORES ...... 0-1        1-2
SACKS BY-YARDS ...... 3-24       1-11

RUSHING
  PUR: Mockobee 7-42; Tracy 10-29; Card 11-22; Downing 1-3.
  NEB: E.Johnson 13-76; Harberg 19-22; Fleeks 3-19; Grant 6-18; Luben 2-11; Mazzccua 1-6; Bonner 1-2; Lloyd 1-1; Sims 2-3.

PASSING
  PUR: Card 16-32-2 100; Meredith 1-1-0 -1.
  NEB: Haarberg 6-11-0 122.

RECEIVING
  PUR: Dixon-Veal 4-38; Sheffield 4-28; Miller 5-26; Burks 2-8; Tracy 2-minus-1.
  NEB: Lloyd 1-73; Fleeks 2-24; Doss 1-16; Hahn 1-8; Fidone 1-1.

Attendance: 86,709
Embed from Getty Images
True freshman Tristan Alvano connects on a 55-yard field goal, tied for second-longest in Husker program history.




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Butter-fingered Huskers lean on defense, big plays for win

Nebraska turned the ball over on its first touch of the game. Ditto on its first play of the second half. The Huskers coughed it up twice more in the fourth quarter.

Thanks to clutch defensive performances throughout the game, it didn’t matter much.

One long drive, one big pass and one pivotal special-teams play gave the Huskers a 21-0 lead over Purdue, and they went on to post a 31-14 victory and extend their winning streak to three games. Nebraska is now 5-3 on the season and one win away from qualifying for its first bowl game since 2016.

After a 14-0 first half, the game’s most pivotal sequence came early in the third quarter.

Isaac Gifford tackle
Isaac Gifford and a swarm of Huskers team up for a defensive stop. | Huskers.com photo

Purdue pried the ball away from quarter Heinrich Haarberg on Nebraska’s first offensive play of the half, giving the Boilermakers a golden opportunity at the NU 13. Nebraska’s defense dug in, and Purdue had to settle for a field goal try after an 11-yard sack by Jimari Butler on third down. Elijah Jeudy blocked the kick, and Quinton Newsome grabbed the ball in midair and raced 68 yards for a touchdown, high-fiving teammate Tommi Hill as he neared the end zone. Instead of cutting into the deficit, Purdue now trailed 21-0.

A 55-yard field goal by Tristan Alvano early in the fourth quarter upped the Huskers’ lead to a comfortable 24-0. But turnovers provided some uneasy moments down the stretch.

Omaha World-Herald*
Lincoln Journal Star*
HuskerMax/All Huskers
Husker247
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Gold and Black*
Journal & Courier
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MON | TUE | THU
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2023 schedule
04/22White 21, Red 7
08/31@ MinnesotaL 10-13
09/09@ ColoradoL 14-36
09/16N. IllinoisW 35-11
09/23Louisiana TechW 28-14
09/30MichiganL 7-45
10/06@ IllinoisW 20-7
10/21North­westernW 17-9
10/28PurdueW 31-14
11/04@ Michigan St.L 17-20
11/11MarylandL 10-13
11/18@ WisconsinL 17-24
11/24IowaL 10-13

Commentary

Stryker

The Blackshirts are returning the honor to their name, and they’re doing it while giving meaningful roles to a ton of young players.

Tad Stryker
HuskerMax/All Huskers
Christopherson

It’s an October worth celebrating around here. Style points need not be tabulated.

Brian Christopherson
Husker247
Stukenholtz

Coaches demonstrate confidence in players to meet small achievements which lead to big accomplishments - that’s the approach.

Cole Stukenholtz
All Huskers/KLIN
Husker Dan

Note to Trev Alberts: Get out your checkbook and retain defensive coordinator Tony White. Programs will be coming after him.

Husker Dan
HuskerMax/All Huskers
Shatel

Matt Rhule has a job on his hands now, because the sixth win will probably be the hardest to get. Because it’s the next one. Because they’re going to think about it.

Tom Shatel *
Omaha World-Herald
Mullin

When the pressure was on, the Nebraska defense was always ready to respond.

Luke Mullin *
Lincoln Journal Star
Maier

It’s almost inconceivable that the Huskers can afford four giveaways and still win by three scores. That’s a testament to Rhule’s coaching process.

Joseph Maier
Daily Nebraskan
Sherman

A little swag from the Huskers isn’t so bad, as long as they earn the right to act with confidence.
They’re earning it, week by week.

Mitch Sherman *
The Athletic
King

There’s no sugarcoating it. Purdue is a bad football team.

Sam King *
Lafayette Journal & Courier
* Article may require subscription