Lincoln, Neb.- The Nebraska football team continued its preparations for its Saturday afternoon Big Ten West showdown with the Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday afternoon, as the Huskers practiced for nearly two hours inside of the Hawks Championship Center and outside on the Ed and Joyanne Gass practice fields.

Husker Defensive Coordinator John Papuchis spoke with media members following practice, mentioning that Purdue has been on a roll in recent weeks, after settling on sophomore quarterback Austin Appleby. Appleby replaced Danny Etling who started against Nebraska last season in West Lafayette.

“Since they went to a one quarterback system they have really made some significant strides in their offense in the last three games,” Papuchis said. “They tweaked some things, added a little bit to their package, I think they have been playing really well.”

Purdue also showcases two dynamic running backs, both with an abundance of speed in Akeem Hunt and Raheem Mostert.

“Both backs are pretty dynamic, barely do you ever run into a situation where you have two running backs that are that fast,” he said. “You have to make it that much more imperative to get your gaps down, everyone executing their responsibility and you don’t let a missed gap into a big play.”

Hunt leads the Boilermakers in rushing, with 640 yards on 104 carries, while adding five touchdowns.

NU Offensive Coordinator Tim Beck also spoke with the media after practice, noting that Purdue has definitely improved defensively under second-year Head Coach Darrell Hazell.

“It looks like they have settled defensively, they are big up front, big linebackers and aggressive,” Beck said. “You can see they have settled into what they want to do.”

In last year’s 44-7 win over Purdue, the Huskers were not fazed by some different looks the Boilermakers used on defense. When Beck was asked if he expects the same thing this season, he did not know, but he is confident that the team is prepared for anything.

“I think last year they had some injuries upfront, so I think they had to do that more than they wanted too, I think,” Beck said. “Obviously we are prepared for everything, because the situation—the way that it is, we have to be able to adjust during the game, even this year since they had an extra week to prepare for us.”

The Nebraska football team will continue its preparations for its Saturday afternoon game on Wednesday afternoon. The Huskers Big Ten conference clash against Purdue will be regionally televised on ABC at 2:30 pm (Central), or can be seen nationally on ESPN2.