p u r d u e - n e b r a s k a
p r e v i e w
guys for the most part, which is extremely difficult in
a league like the Big Ten. It's the youngest defense in
school history.
"With so many young players they have had a hard
time handing up-tempo and spread no-huddle offenses
because (Bo) Pelini likes to sub and match personnel. This
has caused for several moments of confusion and defensive timeouts."
Nebraska's been vulnerable to the big play, and even
more vulnerable to one big play leading to another.
Purdue will hope for early success against the Cornhuskers and for that fragility to show up once again.
Suffice to say, coming off a week off with new personnel being incorporated, the Boilermakers intend to leverage the element of surprise.
Purdue, in general, is looking to surprise, a team that'll
assuredly come out with a revised look, hoping to begin
anew in a way at the midway point of the season.
"There's a lot of positivity going around, and that's
great," Gaston said. "Especially with all the things we've
been going through. We lean on each other and we
stand shoulder-to-shoulder. That's how we're going to
be measured.
"The attitude and the positivity around the team has
been really high." j
opponent newsstand
• Omaha World-Herald: Cornhusker front generating
pressure without help
• Omaha World-Herald: Nebraska adjusts to fast-paced
offense
• HuskerOnline.com: Nebraska set up for success
• Huskers.com: Purdue game notes
Text is linked live to corresponding story
What You Need To Know About
Saturday's Opponent
The last time...
BY GOLD AND BLACK STAFF
WORTH NOTING
R Nebraska defensive end Randy Gregory, one of the Cornhuskers'
top players on defense, is a familiar
name to Purdue, as the Indianapolis
area native signed with the Boilermakers out of high school and remained committed to the program
while in junior college.
Last winter, though, as Purdue
struggled and it became more and
more apparent a coaching change
was looming, Gregory changed his
mind and signed with Nebraska.
"It's a big week for me," Gregory told Nebraska media this week.
"I committed there coming out of
high school, and I know a lot of guys
on the team. I'm real good friends
with the staff that was there before
Coach (Danny) Hope left. I went to
a lot of games there, and have a lot
of friends I went to high school with
who go to school there. So it's a big
game for me.
"I hope I can play well and hope
we can come out with the W."
Gregory, who went to high
school at Hamilton Southeastern in
Fishers, is Nebraska's fourth-leading
tackler, with 25 stops, including a
team-high-tying six for loss. He's
been credited with seven quarterback hurries.
R Nebraska leading tackler Corey Cooper's father, Corey Cooper
Sr., was a safety at Purdue, playing
from 1983-84. He started five games
for Purdue's 1984 Peach Bowl team,
playing alongside Rod Woodson.
The younger Cooper is a former
high school teammate of Purdue
defensive back Antoine Lewis. The
two made recruiting visits to West
Lafayette together in high school.
R As of Wednesday, according
to reports out of Lincoln, Nebraska
starting QB Taylor Martinez had not
yet practiced after missing the past
two games due to turf toe that surfaced during the loss to UCLA.
Redshirt freshman Tommy Armstrong and senior Ron Kellogg have
split QB duties in his absence.
R Pass rush might be an important element to Saturday's game for
Purdue against Nebraska.
Nebraska's 12 sacks are second
in the Big Ten only to Ohio State's
16, with the Buckeyes having played
one more game.
Meanwhile, Nebraska has al-
Running back Clyde Washington is pictured here
picking up some of his game-high 81 rushing yards
during the Boilermakers' 28-0 win over Nebraska
on Sept. 27, 1958.
lowed only two sacks in five games,
the fewest in all of college football.
R This will be Nebraska's second trip to the state of Indiana as a
member of the Big Ten after it debuted in the league in 2011 but it's
not played Indiana nor Purdue the
past two seasons.
The Cornhuskers played in last
season's Big Ten Championship in Lu-
GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 6 • 10
