Five burning questions heading into Purdue week

Nebraska is still reeling from a tough home loss to Indiana, but the Huskers must now turn their focus to a road trip to Purdue this week.

Here are five of the biggest questions still needing to be answered going into the week...

The comments from head coach Scott Frost and several of his players following Saturday's loss seemed to draw a line in the sand about the program's culture and accountability.

Frost essentially called the Huskers out - at least some of them - for not have the right focus, intensity, and drive to win. The players who spoke during postgame all seemed to agree.

So what happens now?

Do the Huskers band together and find a way to reach that critical six-win mark to go to a bowl game? Or do they break apart even further and let this season dissolve into disaster?

There have been plenty of crossroads during Frost's short time in Lincoln, but this seems to be as important as any in terms of keeping the continuity of the locker room and trying to make the most of whatever opportunities still remain over the next four games.

Adrian Martinez missed his second straight game due to a leg injury he suffered three weeks ago against Northwestern. He was able to suit up and go through pregame warmups on Saturday but was basically an emergency option.

The good news was that Noah Vedral, who made his second career start against Indiana, and Luke McCaffrey both showed plenty of promise in their turns running the offense.

The bad news was that they each missed time in the game with injuries of their own, leaving the status of Nebraska's quarterback position up in the air entering Purdue week.

Vedral was able to return to the game after McCaffrey went down, but Frost said Vedral wasn't supposed to play if possible, and Frost even debated putting Martinez out there instead.

Will Martinez be ready to return to his starting role this week? If not, will Vedral and/or McCaffrey be healthy enough to fill his shoes once again?

Nebraska's defense had all kinds of problems against Indiana, but maybe the most glaring was the inability to get any semblance of a pass rush.

The Huskers got little if any pressure from their defensive line, and hardly any of the numerous blitzes did much of anything to throw off IU's passing game.

Nebraska just doesn't have the horses up front to rely on three and four-man pass rushes, so it will have to be up to the coaching staff to devise more effective blitz packages to take some of the stress of the secondary.

Purdue has allowed 20 sacks through eight games this season, tied with Nebraska for 13th in the Big Ten and only trailing Illinois (26) for the most in the conference.

There should be opportunities to get to the quarterback on Saturday, but will the Blackshirts be able to capitalize?

Nebraska won't be the only team dealing with some notable quarterback issues on Saturday.

Purdue's situation under center is even more chaotic at the moment. After losing starter Elijah Sindelar earlier this month to a shoulder injury, the Boilermakers have been scrambling to find a capable replacement.

Redshirt freshman Jack Plummer has started the past six games, but Purdue is just 1-5 over that stretch and has averaged a mere 19.5 points per game.

Things got the ugliest yet last time out in a rain-soaked home loss to Illinois, when Plummer was benched after throwing a pick-six and replaced by walk-on Aiden O'Connell.

O'Connell didn't fare any better, and Plummer was put back into the game - before being pulled again in the third quarter. O'Connell would finish the day.

There was an "OR" added to the Boilermakers' depth chart last week at quarterback between Plummer and O'Connell, and it sounds like there will be a true battle all week in practice to see who gets the call against Nebraska.

This season has been a major disappointment so far for both Nebraska and Purdue. The Huskers enter this week at 4-4 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play, while the Boilermakers dropped to 2-6 and 1-4.

Nebraska has lost three of its past four games and now needs to win at least two of its final four contests to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2016.

Purdue would need to win out the rest of the way against NU, at Northwestern, at Wisconsin, and Indiana in order to make a bowl game.

Both teams are dealing with plenty of on and off the field issues at the moment, and both could use a win in the absolute worst way. Which one will be able to hang on to their sliver of hope for at least another week?