Final take: Indiana hands Nebraska a sobering loss in Bloomington as the Hoosiers move to 7-0
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Nebraska’s 56-7 loss at Indiana on Saturday was sobering for many reasons.
The Huskers had a great opportunity on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff to show they were heading in the right direction against the 6-0 Hoosiers. Instead of attacking the moment, the Big Red laid an egg on national television.
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“Obviously we are very disappointed,” NU head coach Matt Rhule said following his team’s loss. “I would be remissed if I didn’t give a ton of credit to Coach Cignetti and what he’s done. The way that they play – offense, defense and special teams. Just a lot of, a lot of credit.
“As I just told the guys, this happened on my watch. To be honest with you, I didn’t see this coming. I thought we were going to play great. They exploited a lot of things on us.”
First-year IU head coach Curt Cignetti’s squad dominated in every phase of the game. They ran the ball at will, executed perfectly in the passing game, and limited the Big Red offense to its worst outing of the season.
What’s even more sobering is that Cignetti is making his rebuilding job of the Hoosiers look easy. This is an IU program that has nowhere near the resources and facilities of Nebraska. Yet, they are 7-0 and knocking on the door of being a College Football Playoff team with a roster built around 13 James Madison transfers and a MAC quarterback.
What’s next now for Nebraska? With UCLA’s win at Rutgers and Wisconsin’s win at Northwestern on Saturday, the path to 6 wins even looks challenging, let alone talking about possibly 7 or 8. Rhule has his work cut out of him, mainly because his offense seemingly is lacking an identity, and when they play like that, it puts much more pressure on the defense, and on Saturday they just didn’t have it.
Now on to the breakdown…
What I saw on Saturday
***It’s been a long time since Indiana played meaningful football in late October. Pulling into the stadium nearly four hours before kickoff, you could see the traffic piling up. This Hoosier team now has the feel of a team that is going to get a lot of consideration for the College Football Playoff.
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***Nothing really felt right for Nebraska from the get-go. They weren’t winning on third down and its offense had an off-rhythm. Give IU a lot of credit. They showed up ready to play, and Nebraska did not. They outclassed the Huskers in nearly every area.
***Cornerback Tommi Hill returned to the starting line-up, but his presence on the field was a non-factor for the Big Red. The most notable play he was involved in was a third-and-long where he gave up a big completion when the Huskers were trying to force its first punt of the game at a critical moment in the first half.
***We saw offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua rotate into the game on Saturday at left tackle with Gunnar Gottula.
***Three of Nebraska’s four turnovers on Saturday happened in the red zone. IU won the turnover battle 4-1, Malcolm Hartzog had NU’s only forced turnover before halftime on an interception.
The final grade out
| Grade | HOL take | |
| Rushing offense | F | Running back Dante Dowdell fumbled on the 12-yard line on a fourth-and-1 when the game was 7-0 in the first quarter. That was a critical moment of the game, and Indiana never looked back, and NU’s rushing offense was a non-factor. |
| Passing offense | F | QB Dylan Raiola threw three interceptions and seemed out of rhythm the entire game. The passing game struggled to find a flow, and Indiana gobbled up all of the underneath throws Raiola was making. |
| Rushing defense | F | The Hoosiers carved up Nebraska’s rushing defense and scored the first rushing TD of the season on the Blackshirts. IU ended up with five rushing touchdowns and 224 sack adjust rushing yards. |
| Passing defense | F | Kurtis Rourke was 19-of-23 for 189 yards passing in the first half. They chose to rest him in the second half after he hurt his thumb, because quite frankly they didn’t need to play him. |
| Special teams | F | We saw Nebraska catch a kickoff out of bounds at the 1-yard line before its opening possession. Then they mishandled two other kickoffs. Those were the key moments in special teams where NU needed a play, and instead, they created a setback for the offense. |
Sean Callahan can be reached at [email protected] and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.
