4 must-do keys to victory for Nebraska football against Purdue

Nebraska football faces its first road test tomorrow against 1-2 Purdue. The Huskers have lost four out of the last six meetings between these two teams but came out on top last year in Lincoln. What does Nebraska have to do to get back in the win column? Here are my 4 keys to victory.

Nebraska football must run the ball and stop the run against Purdue

You heard it from Marcus Satterfield this week in his press conference: "It’s always been our DNA, we have to run the ball to get yards, to move the football, but we have to run the ball because of the way we want to play and the way we want to win. We want to win in the fourth quarter, we want to give body blows for four quarters and try to make our opponent quit."

When you have a generational player at quarterback, you aren't going to run the ball 40 times a game. But as I said last week against Illinois, Nebraska has to run the ball when it wants to. They didn't against Illinois. Purdue is 134th in the nation defending the run. Nebraska has to commit to running the ball and eventually trust that those 3-5 yard gains will turn into 7, 8, 9, and 10+ in the fourth quarter.

On the other side of the coin, Nebraska has to stop the run, which is really the only thing Purdue does halfway decent this year. Purdue is 68th in the country in rushing yards per game and 130th in passing yards. Shut down one aspect of their offense, and it will be an easier day for the Blackshirts.

The Blackshirts need to get back to basics

The Illinois game exposed the Nebraska football defense in ways we hadn't seen in a while. Nebraska plays a fast, attacking defensive style and the way to beat that is with a mobile quarterback who gets out of the pocket and misdirection plays. Teams who want to try to play 7-on-7 passing drills against Nebraska (I'm looking at you, Colorado) will get pummeled.

That's not Illinois' game and they revealed the blueprint for how to beat Tony White's defense. Against Purdue, Nebraska's defenders have to take better angles, swarm to the ball, and tackle in space. And communicate better--no more busts allowing receivers to run wide open in space.

Will White and his squad adjust and perform better this week? My gut says yes. The good news for the Blackshirts is that Purdue's Hudson Card isn't mobile and Purdue's offense isn't in the same ballpark as Illinois (imagine saying that two years ago).

Nebraska football needs to convert in the red zone

So far this season, Dylan Raiola and the Husker offense has moved the ball with ease in the middle of the field but has struggled in the red zone. Nebraska currently has a 79% conversion rate in the red zoon, good for only 99th in the country. That's just slightly better than last year when they were at 74%.

To give you some perspective on what "99th" place" means, there are 33 teams who have a 100% red zone conversion rate.

A huge part of success in the red zone is run blocking and creative run-play designs. Satterfield alluded to the need to get more creative in the above quote. When Nebraska gets inside the 7-yard line, I'd like to see Nebraska's offensive line impose their win. I'd also like to see Matt Rhule and Satterfield commit to the run more in that part of the field.

If it takes three straight run plays to get in the end zone, so be it. It will show the line that the coaches believe in them, and it might just help take the line's confidence to the next level. Plus, what's better than jamming the ball down a defense's throat to score a touchdown? Nothing.

Emmett Johnson needs to get more touches

It's obvious Nebraska's offense has a ton of weapons and Marcus Satterfield is still trying to figure out how to use all of them. For me, Emmett Johnson is tops on the list of unused potential.

The former Minnesota high school football star averages over 10 yards per touch this year. Granted, much of that came against UNI. But Johnson has tremendous vision for finding seams, making something out of nothing, and big plays. Rhule recently called him their "closer," but when the game was on the line against Illinois, he didn't play. What gives?

Johnson isn't as fast as Rahmir Johnson or as strong as Dante Dowdell. But his speed and strength combined make him--in my opinion--Nebraska football's best overall running back.

I'd like to see Emmett get 10-12 touches against Purdue to see how he produces. Maybe it will get him moving up the depth chart as Nebraska gets deeper into Big Ten play.

Nebraska football will bounce back and beat Purdue

If Nebraska successfully accomplishes three or even two of these four keys, I think they win easily. If Nebraska's defense struggles, the Husker offense is more than capable of outscoring Purdue. I hope it doesn't come to that, though. And I don't think it will

My prediction: Nebraska 34 Purdue 17