Nebraska Cornhuskers: Breaking down Purdue’s defense
Throughout most of the season, the Nebraska Cornhuskers offense has been relatively healthy. All of a sudden, the offense has had to deal with quite a few injuries. On Saturday, they may be without quarterback Tommy Armstrong and wide receiver Alonzo Moore in the lineup. Still, the Huskers won’t be facing the toughest defense on Halloween weekend.
The Purdue Boilermakers shouldn’t give the Huskers’ offense too many problems, but everything changes without Armstrong in the lineup. Currently, the Boilermakers give up 32.9 points per game. They rank 101st in scoring defense. No matter who the quarterback is for the Huskers, they should be able to take advantage of a porous pass defense.
Currently, the Boilermakers’ opponents have feasted upon the secondary. On average teams complete 65.8 percent of their passes against the Purdue defense. As a team, Nebraska is only completing 53 percent of their passes this season. During his limited action, back up quarterback Ryker Fyfe has completed 71 percent of his throws. However, he only has seven attempts this season.
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Strong safety Leroy Clark has been brilliant for the Boilermakers. He leads the team with two interceptions. Clark is also second on the team with 45 tackles. He exhibits good range on the back-end, so the Huskers must be aware of where Clark is located.
The defense gets fairly good pressure from their defensive ends. Antoine Miles and Evan Panfil have three sacks apiece. Overall, the Boilermakers have 13 sacks on the season. With the Huskers propensity to pass the ball, Purdue’s defensive line will be under a lot of scrutiny. Will they be able to dominate the Huskers’ offensive line? It’s not out of the question to turn Nebraska into a one-dimensional unit. Knowing the Huskers want to pass, look for the Boilermakers to focus on the ground game early.
However, if the Boilermakers don’t have early success against the run, it could be a long day. The Huskers should have their way in the ground attack, but they don’t have plans of going over 40 carries. Remember, Armstrong has 65 runs from the quarterback position this year. Due to his injury, the Huskers won’t have that aspect of the running game.
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Right now, opponents average 4.8 yards per carry against the Boilermakers. They also average 41 rushing attempts per game. If the Huskers could reach the 200 yard mark vs Purdue, they’d be headed in the right direction. They have the tools to run against the defense, but Purdue will count on the impatience of the Nebraska coaching staff. For example, the Boilermakers don’t have to worry about the Huskers running four or five times in a row.
Linebacker Jawhan Bentley is out for the season with a torn ACL. He was the leader of the team with 49 tackles. Bentley was also capable of causing havoc in the backfield. He leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss. Jimmy Herman has taken over at the Mike linebacker position, while Garrett Hudson has moved into a backup role.
Next: Breakdown of Purdue offense
If the Huskers emphasize the running game, the Boilermakers will look thin up front. If they try their hand at a dynamic passing game, it will be interesting to see if Purdue can get pressure on the quarterbacks.