Trey Palmer's monster night breaks one record, gets him close to another

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Trey Palmer is electric.

He is already one of the most exciting receivers in the Big Ten, and all of college football, to watch. To steal something that Steve Marik said to me and Greg Smith during the game: Imagine how he would look in an offense that has a reliable offensive line and a big-arm quarterback.

Well…there was someone who was in attendance at Saturday night’s game between Nebraska and Purdue whose team’s system Palmer is tailor-made to play in.

Along with scouts from the Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts, the Kansas City Chiefs had a scout in attendance at Ross Ade Stadium. And the following thought popped into my mind while watching Palmer, an absolute burner who runs a 10.42 in the 100-meter dash:

Palmer would look really good in that Chiefs’ offensive system with that speed to run under passes from Patrick Mahomes and to be used in a bunch of different ways by Andy Reid and Co.

That was my first thought when I saw Palmer slice through the middle of the Boilermakers’ secondary for a 37-yard touchdown. And then a 60-yard run on a reverse during the Huskers’ next drive only added more fuel to that fire.

Those plays were part of a monster, brilliant and historic night for the first-year LSU transfer.

Palmer finished with seven receptions for 237 receiving yards and two touchdowns in addition to that 60-yard carry. His big day set the Huskers' school record for most receiving yards in a game, surpassing JD Spielman's 209-yard day against Wisconsin in 2018. He also became the first FBS player this century with least 225-plus receiving yards and 50-plus rushing yards in a game.

“I really didn’t know (about the record),” Palmer said. “Literally, I just went out there and made the plays when my number was called. I just made the play, so that's all I was doing the whole time.

“I watched film so I noticed the defensive tendencies and DBs’ tendencies and stuff, so I know how to tap them and whatnot.”

Palmer’s mega night came as a product of Casey Thompson connecting with him for multiple explosive plays. Thompson had an up-and-down game, but the best idea he could have had all night was find No. 3 in white, get him the ball.

And that’s what he did.

“Most defenses, game plan for Trey, but tonight we just kept getting the matchups we wanted. He does a good job coming open downfield, and he’s so fast and explosive when he gets the ball in his hands. Trey did a great job today. I really believe that if we had got the ball back, Trey probably would’ve scored and ran it in.

“Trey did a great job. He’s catching everything, he’s running great routes, he’s beating defenses with speed. So Trey’s doing a great job.”

When Mickey Joseph, Mark Whipple and the Huskers put their game plan together, they noticed that the Boilermakers’ defense was vulnerable. They knew that they could attack Purdue’s secondary with Palmer.

“We knew they would have trouble running with Trey. So we knew if we had Trey in their secondary that he’ll be able to run by ‘em. I take my hat off to Trey. Trey played a great game today. Just take my hat off to him. He played hard.”

Palmer was already on pace to break some Nebraska single-season records this season, and now he has gone into hyperdrive. Palmer is now at 46 receptions for 717 yards receiving (15.6 yards per catch) and five touchdowns with five games remaining. He will likely be in the top 10 in college football for the most receiving yards in the nation this season and will be No. 2 in the Big Ten in the category when the stats are updated on Sunday, right behind Purdue’s Charlie Jones (735 receiving yards) who also had a whale of a game.

If Palmer remains healthy and keeps putting up big games, even if they're not like this, then he is going to break at least two of the Huskers' single-season receiving records:

– Most receptions: Jordan Westerkamp with 65 receptions in 2015

– Most receiving yards: Stanley Morgan Jr. with 1,004 receiving yards in 2018

– Most receiving touchdowns: Quincy Enunwa with 12 touchdowns in 2013

Palmer came to Lincoln largely because of Mickey Joseph, who was one of the five-best offseason assistant coaching hires in college football. And Palmer has become one of the Big Ten's – and the country's – most impactful transfers.

And he’s not done yet. There are five more of these babies to be played.

Ultimately, Palmer would rather have had the win than the record if he couldn’t have both. And that led to Palmer using a refrain throughout his entire postgame interview:

“I go game by game, and I just play football at the end of the day. I don’t determine none of my stats or none of that,” Palmer said. “So I just play football. That’s what I love. So I'm blessed to have the opportunity to play football and that’s what I love to do.”