Saunders Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Game 9 “Expert” Picks: Purdue @ Nebraska ————— CollegeFootballNews.com Purdue (3-5) at Nebraska (7-1) Nov. 1, 3:30, ABC/ESPN2 Here's The Deal: Nebraska can’t look past a suddenly okay Purdue team with the big battles coming up. Lurking at No. 15 in the first College Football Playoff rankings, the Huskers don’t have a really good win this year other than beating Miami, and they have a lot to prove, but they’ll get every shot to hang around the playoff hunt if they can beat Wisconsin and Iowa on the road and take care of Minnesota at home and dispose of the Boilermakers at home. Purdue is only 3-5, but it’s playing far, far better in Darrell Hazell’s second season losing a tough 39-38 heartbreaker to Minnesota two weeks ago and battling hard in a loss to Michigan State. A bowl is too much to ask for, needing to win three of its last four games with Wisconsin, Northwestern and at Indiana left to play, and that’s after going to Lincoln. The offense is starting to find itself, and the defense has had its moments, even though it allowed 84 points over the last two games, but is it too late? Is this nothing more than a stepping-stone season to next year? A win over Nebraska would change everything, but that’s asking a lot. This is just the third meeting between the two programs, with Nebraska winning last year 44-7 after Purdue came up with a 28-0 pasting in 1958. Why Purdue Might Win: The running game is working. Helped by the emergence of running quarterback Austin Appleby, and with a few big home runs from the speedy veteran runners, it’s starting to work. Even against Michigan State, Purdue averaged over five yards per pop with three touchdowns, and as a team, the production is coming with 776 yards and eight touchdowns over the last three games despite playing the Spartans and going on the road to face Illinois and Minnesota. Basically, Purdue has an offense now. Why Nebraska Might Win: However, Purdue’s run defense is having problems. Solid for most of the year, the Boilermakers finally started to face some nasty ground games and had problems, getting ripped up by Michigan State for 294 yards and two touchdowns and pounded on by Minnesota for 285 yards and three scores. Nebraska’s ground attack continues to be consistently strong, hitting 200 yards or more against every FBS team but Michigan State, averaging over six yards per carry with 26 touchdowns because of … Who To Watch Out For: Ameer Abdullah’s special year. An all-purpose machine, coming up with big plays as a receiver and kick returner against Rutgers, he’s rolling on the ground coming up with a 225-yard, three score day averaging close to 12 yards per pop against the Scarlet Knights. He’s still being mentioned in the Heisman race, but he’s not going to get over the top because he was stuffed by Michigan State, but he’s carrying the offense to – likely – the Big Ten championship game. Last year he ran for 126 yards and a score in the win over Purdue, and this season he’s a mortal lock for 100 yards again. What’s Going To Happen: Purdue will be plucky, and it’s not going to be a speedbump, but Nebraska is playing too well on the lines and it’s getting too much out of the ground game to gag away the easy one. There won’t be any looking ahead. Prediction: Nebraska 40 - Purdue 24 ————— BTN.com http://btn.com/2014/10/29/week-10-see-our-predictions-for-all-six-big-ten-football-games/ Sean Merriman: Nebraska 38 - Purdue 24 Brent Yarina: Nebraska 45 - Purdue 24 Tom Dienhart: Nebraska 41 - Purdue 23 Teddy Greenstein: Nebraska 39 - Purdue 21 ————— ESPN Big Ten Blog http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/110052/big-ten-week-10-predictions Lots of points in Lincoln, but look for the Huskers to control this from the start. Purdue has made huge strides offensively behind Austin Appleby, but its defense still lacks the playmakers to slow Ameer Abdullah. Another big day, too, for Kenny Bell, set to break Johnny Rodgers’ career receiving-yardage record at Nebraska. Nebraska 52 - Purdue 28 ————— Athlon Sports http://athlonsports.com/college-football/big-ten-2014-week-10-preview-and-predictions The Ameer Abdullah watch continues as the Nebraska tailback faces a Purdue defense that allowed 294 rushing yards to Michigan State and 285 yards to Minnesota in the last two games. David Fox: Nebraska 38 - Purdue 17 Braden Gall: Nebraska 45 - Purdue 21 Steven Lassan: Nebraska 45 - Purdue 20 Mitch Light: Nebraska 41 - Purdue 24 ————— CBS Sports http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/features/writers/expert/picks/straight-up/10 Dennis Dodd - N* Jeremy Fowler - N Jon Solomon - N Jerry Palm - N* Tom Fornelli - N* Jerry Hinnen - N* Chip Patterson - N* *Not covering - 23.5 spread ————— Big Red Wrap-Up http://netnebraska.org/interactive-multimedia/sports/big-red-wrap-purdue-prediction-0 Kevin Kugler: Nebraska 41 - Purdue 21 Blake Lawrence: Nebraska 44 - Purdue 12 Adrian Fiala: Nebraska 44 - Purdue 20 ————— 3 Quote Link to comment
teachercd Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I don't think they cover...Not because I think Purdue is all that good but I just don't see Nebraska putting up over 49. Quote Link to comment
Saunders Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Yeah, that spread is pretty damn big. We've covered every game so far except McNeese. Don't think it happens Saturday. I'd guess a 17-20 point win. Quote Link to comment
teachercd Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 The Rutgers line went from -17 to -20...so they did not cover that one...for me! haha Quote Link to comment
HUSKERFOREVER38 Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Nebraska is going to crush Purdue. Quote Link to comment
ADS Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Thanks again for doing this every week, Saunders. Just keep winning and it will all fall in to place. Quote Link to comment
walksalone Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Thanks again for doing this every week, Saunders. Just keep winning and it will all fall in to place. I concur, thanks for doing this... Quote Link to comment
The Dude Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Kugler's prediction seems about right. Quote Link to comment
bisonwiches Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Yeah, that spread is pretty damn big. We've covered every game so far except McNeese. Don't think it happens Saturday. I'd guess a 17-20 point win. If you go by initial spreads, as said the Rutgers spread moved to as much as 20.5, but if you're this guy you got in early and won a two teamer with LSU!! Quote Link to comment
T_O_Bull Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I just hope the team doesn't read this thread before the game. It paints a pretty rosy picture and we don't need an over confident bunch of Huskers taking the field. I also want to say, "Thanks for doing this every week, Saunders." T_O_B Quote Link to comment
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