Nebraska @ Purdue preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 1, 2014 ) Purdue 14, Nebraska 35

Any heightened expectations for Nebraska entering this year under first-year coach Mike Riley have been dissipated by one of the school’s worst starts in recent history via a series of gut-wrenching losses. The Cornhuskers hope to keep their dwindling prospects for bowl eligibility alive on Saturday when they travel to Purdue in a matchup of the two worst teams in the Big Ten West.

Nebraska, which has five losses before November for only the second time in 58 years, reached that threshold with last weekend’s 30-28 home setback versus Northwestern. The Cornhuskers, whose five defeats have come by a total of 13 points, must win at least three of their final four games to become bowl-eligible – a task that will be difficult to achieve considering they have a pair of undefeated teams (No. 5 Michigan State and No. 11 Iowa) remaining on their schedule. Nebraska has handily won each of its two matchups with the Boilermakers since joining the Big Ten in 2011 and would like nothing more than to extend Purdue’s misery at Ross-Ade Stadium. The Boilermakers, who suffered a 24-7 setback at Wisconsin on Oct. 17 for their fifth consecutive loss, have dropped nine straight Big Ten home games and are 4-14 in West Lafayette overall in three seasons under coach Darrell Hazell.
TV: Noon. ET, ESPNU. LINE: Nebraska -10.5

ABOUT NEBRASKA (3-5, 1-3 Big Ten): The Cornhuskers, who entered last weekend with the nation’s worst pass defense, allowed a season-low 177 yards through the air and held Wildcats running back Justin Jackson to 40 yards rushing, but surrendered a career-high 126 yards rushing to quarterback Clayton Thorson. Tommie Armstrong Jr. accounted for three total touchdowns for the second straight week, but is completing a meager 42.1 percent of his passes in Nebraska’s three conference losses (69.2 percent in an Oct. 17 win at Minnesota). The junior quarterback missed practice on Tuesday and Wednesday with a right ankle injury and is considered questionable for Saturday; junior Ryker Fyfe will make his first career start if Armstrong cannot go.
ABOUT PURDUE (1-6, 0-3): The Boilermakers’ bye week probably won’t be enough time for starting running back D.J. Knox to sufficiently recover from the high ankle sprain he suffered versus Wisconsin, opening the door for impressive freshman Markell Jones to improve on his team-best 458 rushing yards. With Knox limited against Michigan State the previous week, Jones ran a school freshman-record 157 yards and two touchdowns in Purdue’s near upset of the Spartans. The Boilermakers have committed the fewest penalties in league play (nine) and are the only team in the conference to score a touchdown on every red-zone possession during Big Ten action (5-for-5).

EXTRA POINTS
1. Nebraska is 17-1 all-time on Halloween, but is only the second FBS team since 2006 to lose four games in which the opponent scored the winning points in the final 10 seconds or overtime (SMU, 2007).
2. Purdue, which will be playing its first home game on Halloween since 1998, has yet to win a Big Ten game at Ross-Ade Stadium under Hazell. 3. The Cornhuskers have lost an FBS-high four games this year in which they held a fourth-quarter lead – one more than they did in seven seasons under previous coach Bo Pelini.

PREDICTION: Nebraska 27, Purdue 20