Purdue Football Outlasts Nebraska in 43-37 Firefight
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Jeff Brohm said that if you’re looking for a four-quarter game, come to Ross-Ade Stadium to see the Boilermakers play any of its opponents.
In a game that Purdue never trailed, sixth-year senior quarterback Aidan O’Connell threw for 391 yards and four touchdowns in the shootout with Nebraska’s Casey Thompson. Star receiver Charlie Jones matched a season-high with 12 catches, leading the team with 132 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
But wide receiver Trey Palmer accounted for 297 yards from scrimmage and two third-quarter scores for the Cornhuskers to prevent the Boilermakers from ever pulling away convincingly.
Purdue came away with two interceptions and four sacks while finishing the game with 608 yards of total offense, including 178 on the ground from redshirt freshman running back Devin Mockobee to hang on for a 43-37 victory on Saturday inside Ross-Ade Stadium.
“The one thing I can say about our team is they got guts,” Brohm said. “They play to the end, they work hard, and they want to win. It means something to them. They stayed positive throughout it all, and even though it wasn't pretty, we just kept playing.”
The Boilermakers put together a promising drive to open the game, going 43 yards down the field to reach Cornhusker territory. However, the possession ended with nothing to show for it as O’Connell fired a pass into the left corner of the end zone and into double coverage.
Redshirt freshman receiver Deion Burks was the intended target on the play, but Nebraska came away with the ball in the end zone to stymie the Boilermakers’ efforts.
The brutal turnover was O’Connell’s fifth interception of the season, but the drive was an early indication of what Purdue would be able to do on offense in the first half. The team moved the ball with ease, scoring on five of its next six drives.
“It just takes locking in on every play and doing your job on every play,” O’Connell said. “It takes a lot of focus, but those interceptions happen. We're trying to be aggressive and I have all the confidence in teammates, defense, special teams to pick us back up.”
The starting signal-caller bounced back with a 2-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior wide receiver TJ Sheffield to cap off a nine-play, 80-yard drive that opened the scoring. A 37-yard field goal from fifth-year senior Mitchell Fineran gave the Boilermakers a 10-0 lead before the start of the second quarter.
But the Cornhuskers answered with back-to-back scoring drives of their own. Following a one-yard touchdown run by Jaquez Yant, Nebraska tied the game on a 37-yard field goal with 9:01 left before halftime.
It didn’t take long before Purdue would reach the end zone to take back the lead. O’Connell recorded his second scoring strike of the night, hitting Jones on a slant route in stride that he took for 33 yards.
Redshirt freshman running back Devin Mockobee, who earned his first start of the season, was also able to pick up big gains on the ground through gaping rushing lanes. He amassed 115 rushing yards in the first half on 17 carries. The walk-on found the end zone on a one-yard run to give the Boilermakers a 27-10 lead.
“We thought we had a decent plan coming in to get on the edge with him early on that helped us kind of get things going,” Brohm said of Mockobee. “He got in space, and of course, he just runs hard. So you've got to give Devin a lot of credit. This young man came in here and wanted to earn his stripes he doesn't care who he plays, he runs hard.”
However, with just 35 seconds left on the clock, Nebraska ripped off two huge runs to get into scoring position, including a 31-yard scamper from Thompson. The drive ended in a field goal, and Purdue would take a 27-13 advantage into the locker room.
The Cornhuskers struck quickly in the second half, going 71 yards on four plays which ended in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Palmer. The electrifying receiver would later add a 60-yard run on an end-around to put Nebraska inside the red zone, leading to another field goal.
The Boilermakers led by four points before they traded blows with the Cornhuskers. Sheffield scored his second touchdown of the game by spinning away from Nebraska’s defense and racing his way across the goal line from 28 yards out. He finished with five catches for 70 yards.
“We've asked him to play both outside and inside. And because of our depth, he's played quite a bit more outside, and he does a good job,” Brohm said of Sheffield. “He runs good routes, he's got good hands. We gotta continue to utilize him, he made big catches for us. It's good for others to step up and come through.”
But Thompson and Palmer struck once again, connecting for a 72-yard touchdown on the subsequent drive. Purdue was unable to contain the talented pass-catcher and would respond with a field goal before catching a break on the next drive.
The Cornhuskers scored on four of its first five possessions in the first half, erasing a comfortable 14-point lead for the Boilermakers. But a fourth-quarter interception by fifth-year senior cornerback Reese Taylor halted the momentum Nebraska was building on offense.
“That was a fun time on the sideline,” Purdue redshirt senior defensive end Jack Sullivan said. “That was a crazy catch too, his body was going all over the place. But that was a really big play for us, so that was huge.
“I was talking to him before going on the field for that drive, telling him 10 minutes left man, let's go.”
The offense cashed in on the takeaway, going 62 yards in six plays capped by a 2-yard touchdown from O’Connell to Jones. The Boilermakers led 43-30 with 6:55 left to play in the game.
After a quick touchdown from Nebraska, Purdue was able to run out the final minutes on a 12-play drive. On the final possession, O’Connell converted on fourth down with his legs and later found Jones for a 14-yard completion on third down, leading to three consecutive kneel-downs to end the game.
“Well, I'd like to be able to milk the clock in traditional fashion, but you got to do what you're good at and what you feel is gonna work,” Brohm said. “Like always, we're gonna go for the win. Sometimes it's not gonna work and we're gonna lose, and sometimes we're gonna win.”
After the victory, Purdue improves to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in Big Ten play. The team is scheduled to go on the road against Wisconsin at 3:30 p.m. ET next Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisc.
