Purdue Boilermakers vs Nebraska Cornhuskers Match Player Stats On Oct 28, 2023

Heinrich Haarberg threw two touchdown passes and Nebraska overcame four lost fumbles to win its third straight, beating Purdue 31-14 in a Big Ten Conference game on Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb.

The Cornhuskers (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) have outscored their opponents 68-30 points during the win streak, moving a victory away from being bowl eligible for the first time since 2016.

Haarberg threw for 122 yards and two TDs on 6-of-11 passing but only had 22 rushing yards on 19 attempts. Emmett Johnson led the ground charge, rushing for 76 yards on 13 carries, including a 28-yard TD run with 3:54 to go in the fourth quarter.

Purdue (2-6, 1-4) trailed 24-0 in the fourth before getting on the scoreboard, turning a pair of fumble recoveries into points. Hudson Card hit Jayden Dixon-Veal for a 29-yard TD pass with 9:09 left, then Kydran Jenkins returned a fumble 55 yards for a score with 6:24 remaining.

The last of those fumbles came when Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims, who came in for Haarberg after he fumbled on the previous drive, lost the ball on a fourth-and-1 run.

Up 14-0 at the half, Nebraska upped it to a 21-point lead early in the third when Elijah Jeudy blocked a Purdue field-goal attempt and Quinton Newsome returned it 68 yards for a score. It was the Cornhuskers' first blocked field goal for a TD since 2014.

A career-long 55-yard field goal by Tristan Alvano made it 24-0 with 12:23 remaining.

After managing minus-8 yards on its first two drives, Nebraska went 87 yards in 15 plays and ate up nearly nine minutes of clock to take a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard Thomas Fidone II catch from Haarberg early in the second quarter. Following an interception by Tommi Hill, Haarberg found Jaylen Lloyd for a 73-yard TD pass.

Purdue finished with 195 yards, its fewest in more than four seasons, with Card completing only 16 of 32 passes for 100 yards, with a TD and two interceptions.

--Field Level Media