Nebraska Football: Five things to watch vs Purdue Boilermakers
Nebraska football is 0-3 and things are looking bleak for the Cornhuskers in year one of Scott Frost’s tenure. Next up, a battle with another underperforming Big Ten team: the Purdue Boilermakers.
Not many Nebraska football fans predicted a win in Ann Arbor last week, but obviously they didn’t expect a 56-10 blowout at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines. That’s precisely what happened though and it was not a fun Saturday afternoon for Huskers fans.
At least in the first two games, Nebraska was in the thick of things. That was not the case against Michigan, who were up 20-0 in the first quarter and 39-0 at half time. The Cornhuskers didn’t score until the third quarter and even then it was just a field goal. They put up a touchdown in the final quarter, but by then, the game was way out of hand.
Next up for Nebraska are the Purdue Boilermakers, who after a slow start, are looking like a team that could take it to the Huskers this weekend in Lincoln. Purdue, while 1-3 on the year, have been in all four of their games. Yes, they fell to Eastern Michigan, but like Nebraska with Troy, they could have won that game had just one thing fallen their way.
What should Husker fans be watching for in the fourth game of the season? Let’s take a look.
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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH VS PURDUE
NUMBER 5 – TURNOVERS
It’s extremely concerning that with all of the turnover problems the Cornhuskers had in the first two weeks, that they’re still occurring at a rapid pace. Adrian Martinez threw a pick against the Wolverines and Tyjon Lindsey had a fumble.
Any time a team loses the turnover battle, they’re making it that much more difficult to win the game. It’s possible to lose the turnover battle and still win, but the fact that Nebraska hasn’t had a turnover-less game yet and have yet to win a game might go hand in hand.
Obviously there are other issues, but until the Husker offense can hold onto the football, this is a huge concern for Big Red in every game moving forward.