[3:37 PM] Purdue @ #8 Nebraska

What will be the GAME RESULT?

#8 Nebraska: Wins By 25+ Points

Any Other Result

Current odds:

Purdue Boilermakers (+24): (-1100)

Nebraska Cornhuskers (-24): (-105)

• ESPN simulations have Nebraska as 77.3% favorites to cover the spread.

• 67% of sports bets are currently on Nebraska to win as (-2000) favorites.

• The line for this game is Nebraska by 24 points.

• Nebraska’s worst loss – both in terms of margin and prestige – during a rather forgettable season last year came against Purdue, which notched its only Big Ten home win in three-plus years under former coach Darrell Hazell on that fateful Halloween day. Off to their best start since 2001 this time around, the ninth-ranked Cornhuskers seek a bit of revenge for their embarrassing setback Saturday when they host the Boilermakers.

• David Blough, who helped orchestrate last year’s upset with 274 yards passing and four touchdowns, became the first Boilermaker to throw for five touchdowns since 2008, and he also passed for a career-high 458 yards last weekend. Fellow sophomore Cole Herdman easily topped his career bests with seven catches for 104 yards, becoming the first Purdue tight end to record a 100-yard receiving game since Dustin Keller in 2007. The Boilermakers were without linebacker Ja’Whan Bentley (ankle) and defensive tackle Jake Replogle (migraine) versus Iowa – both are questionable against Nebraska – but their absence allowed others to shine as linebacker Marcus Bailey had 11 tackles for the second straight game and defensive end Evan Panfil doubled his previous season total with two sacks.

• Second-year coach Mike Riley praised running back Terrell Newby for “really (being) a man there at the end”; the senior has logged a pair of 100-yard games in each of the last two weeks, churning out 170 of his 242 yards rushing over that stretch in the fourth quarter alone. Sophomore wideout Stanley Morgan Jr., who leads the team with 16 catches, finished with a career-high 93 yards receiving against the Hoosiers, including a 72-yard reception in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game-winner. The emergence of both players has helped soften the blow created by the absences of tight end Cethan Carter, who has been ruled out for Purdue with an elbow injury, and last year’s leading receiver Jordan Westerkamp, who could miss his second straight game with a back injury.

• Nebraska’s seven-game winning streak (including its Foster Farms Bowl victory over UCLA last season) is the school’s longest since winning 13 in a row between 2000-01.

• Purdue hasn’t defeated a top-10 team on the road since upsetting Notre Dame in 1974.

• Cornhuskers quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. became the 20th quarterback in Big Ten history to surpass 8,000 career passing yards last weekend.

StreakSmarts Pick: Nebraska: Wins by 25+ Points

Confidence: 5/10