10 Things We Learned: Indiana Throttles Nebraska

10. "I Did Not See This Coming"

Nebraska fans expected their team to play well against the surprising 6-0 Indiana Hoosiers, as did the players, coaches, and broadcasters calling the game. Instead, Indiana buried them in one of the worst beatdowns of recent memory for Nebraska football. In his post-game press conference, Matt Rhule took the blame and expressed shock that his team could not punch back against the Hoosiers. Rhule’s first season began 5-3, but the Huskers lost the final four games and missed a bowl game. The program has not gone bowling since 2016 and has games remaining against Ohio State, at USC, Wisconsin, and at Iowa. The only game they’ll be favored is on November 2 against UCLA. Will Nebraska bounce back or shrivel up and take a significant step backward on the path back to relevance?

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2. Indiana's Run Game Dominates Nebraska

The Nebraska Cornhuskers entered the game against Indiana with a dominant run defense and the 11th-ranked scoring defense in the country. Much was made about the Huskers being the only team in the country yet to surrender a rushing touchdown, and Nebraska was giving up an average of only 11 points per game. Indiana’s prolific offense had no problem with Nebraska’s defense and made a statement with not one, not two, but five rushing touchdowns en route to 56 points. Justice Ellison had 105 yards on nine carries with two scores, Ty Son Lawton had 64 yards and a score, Kaelon Black and Elijah Green added touchdowns in the second half to finish the blowout. IU had 215 rushing yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry. Head coach Curt Cignetti summed it up with a concise post-game social media post: “I guess we passed that test!”

3. Explosive Plays in the Passing Game

Indiana’s offensive line and running game controlled the contest, but the explosive plays in the passing game opened the game wide open. Miles Cross had multiple big catches, including one for 16 yards. Elijah Sarratt, also known as “Waffle House,” proved again that he’s open 24/7 with 65 yards, including a 28-yard reception. Omar Cooper had a 36-yard catch that set up a short touchdown to Myles Price. Ty Son Lawton got into the action with a 35-yard screen pass reception. IU had nine players with at least one reception of eight yards or more, as the balanced attack just overwhelmed Nebraska’s defense.

4. Indiana's Active Defense Flusters Raiola

IU’s defense had a clear plan against Dylan Raiola and executed it perfectly. They let Raiola have short completions but pressured him relentlessly and did not let anything deep. IU’s open-field tackling was outstanding and prevented Nebraska from turning short passes into long gains. Tight end Thomas Fidone had 91 yards on six catches, but no one else exceeded 36 yards. Freshman Jacory Barney’s stat line is a perfect example. Barney had eight catches but totaled only 32 yards and had a long reception of just six yards. Raiola was pressured into three interceptions and a lost fumble before being pulled during the fourth quarter.

5. Tayven Jackson's Time to Shine

While driving in for a touchdown in the first half, Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke hit his thumb on a Nebraska player’s helmet. Rourke’s thumb immediately began bleeding, and it appeared at least part of the thumbnail was cut or removed. Rourke finished the first half but was in street clothes for the final 30 minutes as backup quarterback Tayven Jackson finished the victory. Jackson was 7 for 8 for 91 yards with two touchdowns plus 21 yards rushing, but it must be acknowledged that the Hoosiers were ahead 28-7 when he entered, and there was virtually no game pressure on the young quarterback. Jackson was with Indiana last season after transferring from Tennessee ahead of the 2023 season. He is more mobile than Rourke but does not have the same experience or proven on-field decision-making. Indiana has already announced that Rourke is “out indefinitely,” meaning he will miss at least the Washington game. Jackson has a whole week to prepare as QB1. How will he and the Hoosiers respond to a game against the Washington Huskies?

6. Dylan Raiola Struggles

Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola has incredibly high expectations, but he has been mostly unflappable and solid during his first season in Lincoln. Things came unraveled for the very talented young signal-caller on Saturday in Bloomington. In front of a sold-out crowd at Memorial Stadium, IU’s defense applied consistent pressure and then essentially eliminated Nebraska’s running game. This made Nebraska much more one-dimensional than they had planned, and Raiola was not up to the task. He threw three interceptions, including a back-breaking one in the third quarter after a drive that took 7:25 off the clock but resulted in IU getting the ball well into Nebraska territory. Raiola was sacked, and Mikail Kamara stripped the ball away from him. That’s a total of four turnovers in a very disappointing performance.

Week 9: Nebraska (+25.5) at Ohio State

7. Turnovers Doom Huskers

Winning the turnover battle is critical to pull off an upset on the road. Nebraska lost the battle 5 to 1. That included the three interceptions thrown by Raiola, the one fumble lost by Raiola, and the fumble lost by running back Dante Dowdell on an early fourth-down play. The only Indiana turnover occurred on the first half's final play as Kurtis Rourke lobbed a Hail Mary pass toward the endzone, and Malcolm Hartzog picked it off. The mistakes Nebraska made on Saturday in Bloomington were reminiscent of the costly turnovers that hurt the Huskers during the 2023 season.

8. Thomas Fidone a Brightspot

The lone bright spot in the 56-7 beatdown was the play of young tight end Thomas Fidone. Fidone had 91 yards receiving on six catches, including Nebraska’s longest play of the day, a 28-yard reception. Fidone has developed a great connection with Dylan Raiola, a duo that should be a handful for defenses for the next couple of seasons.

9. Vaunted Run D Gets Shredded

Nebraska held UTEP to 56 yards rushing with just 2.3 yards per carry. Then Colorado was stifled for only .6 yards per carry and just 16 yards. The domination against the run game continued, and even in the loss to Illinois, the Illini averaged just 4.3 yards per carry, and Nebraska only surrendered 24 points in regulation. Nebraska had not allowed a single rushing touchdown all season, but that all came crashing down quickly against Indiana. The Hoosiers marched the length of the field on the first drive of the game and powered in for a rushing touchdown to take the 7-0 lead. IU never let up, rushing for five scores on the ground en route to 56 points and averaging 6.5 yards per carry on 33 rushes. Nebraska has to figure out how to respond quickly as they travel to Ohio State this weekend.

10. "I Did Not See This Coming"

Nebraska fans expected their team to play well against the surprising 6-0 Indiana Hoosiers, as did the players, coaches, and broadcasters calling the game. Instead, Indiana buried them in one of the worst beatdowns of recent memory for Nebraska football. In his post-game press conference, Matt Rhule took the blame and expressed shock that his team could not punch back against the Hoosiers. Rhule’s first season began 5-3, but the Huskers lost the final four games and missed a bowl game. The program has not gone bowling since 2016 and has games remaining against Ohio State, at USC, Wisconsin, and at Iowa. The only game they’ll be favored is on November 2 against UCLA. Will Nebraska bounce back or shrivel up and take a significant step backward on the path back to relevance?

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