Heinrich Haarberg threw two touchdown passes and Nebraska overcame four lost fumbles to win its third straight, beating Purdue 31-14 in a Big Ten Conference game on Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb.
The Cornhuskers (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) have outscored their opponents 68-30 points during the win streak, moving a victory away from being bowl eligible for the first time since 2016.
Haarberg threw for 122 yards and two TDs on 6-of-11 passing but only had 22 rushing yards on 19 attempts. Emmett Johnson led the ground charge, rushing for 76 yards on 13 carries, including a 28-yard TD run with 3:54 to go in the fourth quarter.
Purdue (2-6, 1-4) trailed 24-0 in the fourth before getting on the scoreboard, turning a pair of fumble recoveries into points. Hudson Card hit Jayden Dixon-Veal for a 29-yard TD pass with 9:09 left, then Kydran Jenkins returned a fumble 55 yards for a score with 6:24 remaining.
The last of those fumbles came when Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims, who came in for Haarberg after he fumbled on the previous drive, lost the ball on a fourth-and-1 run.
Up 14-0 at the half, Nebraska upped it to a 21-point lead early in the third when Elijah Jeudy blocked a Purdue field-goal attempt and Quinton Newsome returned it 68 yards for a score. It was the Cornhuskers’ first blocked field goal for a TD since 2014.
A career-long 55-yard field goal by Tristan Alvano made it 24-0 with 12:23 remaining.
After managing minus-8 yards on its first two drives, Nebraska went 87 yards in 15 plays and ate up nearly nine minutes of clock to take a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard Thomas Fidone II catch from Haarberg early in the second quarter. Following an interception by Tommi Hill, Haarberg found Jaylen Lloyd for a 73-yard TD pass.
Purdue finished with 195 yards, its fewest in more than four seasons, with Card completing only 16 of 32 passes for 100 yards, with a TD and two interceptions.
–Field Level Media
