September 7, 2024; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) during the first quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Memorial Stadium Hand the ball to wide receiver Jakoli Barney Jr. (17 years old). Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images In a way, it will be a final of sorts when Nebraska travels to Purdue for a Saturday afternoon game.
The two teams have met 12 times with six wins apiece, so the winner will not only get an important Big Ten win but also a series lead.
More importantly, each team is hoping to get back into the winning column after last week's loss.
The Cornhuskers (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) suffered their first loss of the season in a heartbreaking 31-24 overtime loss at home to Illinois. Nebraska will play its first road game.
Meanwhile, the Boilermakers (1-2, 0-0) are looking to establish themselves at home after a pair of lopsided losses, first at home against Notre Dame and then at Oregon State.
Despite the different experience levels of both players, each team relies heavily on quarterback performance.
Nebraska has one of the nation's top freshman signal-callers in Dylan Raiola, who completed 72.2 percent of his passes (83 of 115) for 967 yards and Had eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
“He's everything you want,” Purdue coach Ryan Waters said of Raiola. “Big and confident. I think the confident part is what stands out. He's not afraid to throw the ball into tight windows. He trusts his players to make plays. He can throw the ball from all different types of platforms and Got it there pretty accurate.
Purdue has veteran quarterback Hudson Card, who completed 63.2 percent of his passes (43 of 68) for 453 yards and 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule called Card “a great quarterback,” but he also expressed doubts about Purdue's ground attack, which rushed for 263 yards against Oregon State. Devin Mockobee had 168 yards and Reggie Love III had 66 yards.
“I know we have some guys that can really respond,” Rule said. “They're going to have to do that because (the Boilermakers) and any team we're going to face this year are running out of zone and we're going to have a lot of work to do.”
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