LINCOLN, Neb. – Same name, different stadium. A whole different challenge.
Just looking at the statistics, you would think Nebraska had won the game.
The result? “Good teams find a way to win,” head coach Curt Cignetti said after the Hoosiers battled back to take down Nebraska 20-17.
After averaging over 44 points per game through its first five contests, Indiana’s offense was held to just three points in the first half. Nebraska controlled the clock, moved the chains, and kept the Hoosier offense on the sideline.
But the Hoosiers found a way to battle back, extending their streak to seven straight one-score victories dating back to November 2023.
An Offense Out of Rhythm
After putting up 593 yards of total offense against Rutgers last week, Indiana had trouble getting much of anything going against Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers held the ball for over 22 minutes in the first half, converting eight of their 11 third-down attempts. Meanwhile, Indiana ran just 16 plays, picking up three first downs and seven rushing yards after averaging over 300 on the ground through its first two Big Ten matchups.
Nebraska made stopping the run a priority, forcing Josh Hoover and the passing game to carry much of the load.
“Early on it was obvious they were committed to stopping the run,” Cignetti said. “We really never quite got the run game going.”
Even when Indiana managed to move the ball, sustaining drives was the problem. The Hoosiers converted just one of their 10 third-down attempts and couldn’t find the end zone in the opening half, entering the locker room trailing 10-3. That was the first time Indiana had trailed in a game since the Big Ten Championship against Ohio State last season.
A Familiar Problem
Anthony Colandrea. Another mobile quarterback.
“As you can see, he’s a very talented runner,” linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “It starts with great coverage first.”
Last week against Maryland, Colandrea scrambled eight times for 117 yards. Against Indiana, he broke out for a 38-yard touchdown run to put the Cornhuskers up 17-6 in the second half.
The Hoosiers have struggled with mobile quarterbacks this season, most notably against Northwestern and Aidan Chiles. Indiana pressured Chiles 19 times, with 17 resulting in hurries.
In Lincoln, outside of the 38-yard touchdown run, Colandrea rushed 11 times for eight yards, with Indiana recording five sacks.
That was the only scoring play Indiana gave up in the second half, giving Hoover and the offense a chance to silence the crowd of over 85,000.
The Second-Half Turnaround
“He told us the first half is over,” Jones said of Cignetti. “Learn from the mistakes. We’re still in the game, and we weren’t even playing our best football, so we knew what we had to do when we went back out after halftime.”
The defense gave the offense a chance to respond after its slow start, but Indiana still found itself trailing by two possessions with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The response was immediate following Colandrea's touchdown.
On Indiana’s very next offensive play, Hoover connected with wide receiver Nick Marsh for a 75-yard touchdown, bringing the Hoosiers back within striking distance.
After struggling to find much of anything offensively for most of the afternoon, Indiana turned to Marsh once again late in the fourth quarter to put the Hoosiers in front. Hoover found him from 41 yards out on fourth-and-1, giving Indiana its only fourth-down conversion of the game and its first lead of the afternoon.
Marsh finished with six catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns, making the most of the opportunities Cignetti and the coaching staff had created for him.
“It means a lot,” Marsh said. “I’m in that position to do what I can do, and I’m thankful for that.”
With the lead finally in hand, Indiana’s defense took care of the rest. Despite spending much of the afternoon on the field, the Hoosiers came up with the stops they needed to finish off the comeback.
“You got to have an indomitable will,” Cignetti said. “A will that cannot be defeated or subdued, and you got to be resilient.”
It’s the Hoosiers’ first Big Ten win when trailing by 10 or more points in the fourth quarter since 2002 against Wisconsin.
Indiana leaves Lincoln with its 22nd straight victory, but with Ohio State coming to Bloomington next week, the Hoosiers have plenty to clean up before one of their biggest home games in years.
