The first half of the Nebraska football game against Purdue was among the ugliest of the Matt Rhule era. One could argue that, outside of the blowout loss to Michigan last season, it might be the ugliest.
However, even while the first half was ugly, the Huskers looked like the better team. And in the second half, they finally put their boot on the necks of the boilermakers and ran away with a 28-10 lead.
When the smoke cleared, there were plenty of guys who had a pretty decent game for the Nebraska football team. However, three guys stood out from the crowd and get our game balls for the weekend.
Jacory Barney is a gamechanger
Not only is Jacory Barney a gamechanger. He’s a freshman. But he’s not playing like it. On Saturday he found many, many ways to hurt Purdue and in fact would have hurt them even more if not for a terrible job by the refs.
Barney had 2 catches for 28 yards, but it was on the ground that he really showed how dangerous he can be. He had 4 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown. That included a 31 yard run and a 25 yard run for a touchdown that essentially put the game away, 21-3.
Nebraska football welcomes back Emmett Johnson
After not getting a single touch against Illinois last week, the sophomore back made a triumphant return against Purdue. Like Barney, he was able to hurt Purdue on the ground nad through the air.
On the ground he had 50 yards on 6 carries. He added 3 catches for 48 yards to go just over 100 yards of total offense. That performance after not playing at all gets him a game ball (and hopefully more snaps).
John Bullock continues stellar season
John Bullock has been one of the team leaders all season, hence wearing No. 5 this year. While he didn’t have an outstanding game, logging just 4 tackles, he did have a tackle for loss as well as an interception returned for a touchdown.
That pick helped the Nebraska football team expand their turnover margin to +5 on the season. Considering they were -17 a year ago, being much, much better in that area is a major focus for the Huskers. Bullock gets a game ball tonight for his contribution.