Final Take: Nebraska responds to Mickey Joseph, Bill Busch in 35-21 win over Indiana

Nebraska did something we haven’t seen in nearly a year. The Huskers figured out a way to close out a Big Ten football game in their 35-21 win over Indiana.

It was NU’s first conference win in 364 days, dating back to last season’s 56-7 victory over Northwestern on Oct. 2.

“We’re just 1-0 this week, you know how it goes. We just have to take it one at a time,” interim head coach Mickey Joseph said. “I’m happy for the kids. I’m happy for the coaches. As a head coach, you sit up here, but you have to give praise to the guys that are underneath you and that put the work in.”

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Nothing came easy for Nebraska vs. Indiana

Did you expect anything else? Besides the opening defensive series and drive by the offense, very little came easy for the Huskers vs. the Hoosiers.

NU once again battled protection issues up front on offense, and drive-killing penalties hammered them. In all, the Big Red committed 12 penalties for 111 yards. Indiana was not much better though, as they had 11 for 92 yards.

The bottom line is Nebraska figured out a way to keep it together in a stretch over the second and third quarters where things seemed locked in neutral.

“We finished in the fourth quarter which is big,” quarterback Casey Thompson said. “I told the guys when the fourth quarter started that we didn’t play our best game through three quarters. We had a lot of penalties. I think we had a penalty on almost every drive throughout the game and it’s hard to come back from first-and-22.

“We pushed through some adversity today and at the start of the fourth quarter I gathered the whole line and offense and said ‘we’re going to win this game up front as long as we play smart and don’t have any more penalties. We put about two or three touchdowns on the board, and we’ll win this game,’ and sure enough, we went down and scored two touchdowns in a row so that’s what happened.”

The Huskers had just 113 yards of total offense on 35 plays. It was a brutal storm, and Nebraska found a way to weather it.

It was the play of Bill Busch’s defense that eventually helped the Huskers get out of a hole. Indiana had just 71 total yards of offense on 28 plays in the second half. This came after 219 yards on 39 plays in the first half.

“I would give a lot of the praise to (Busch) because obviously he was in the same kind of situation with Mickey,” junior edge rusher Garrett Nelson said. “He was brought in here for a different spot but got a bigger spot and bigger responsibilities and he’s flourishing in that role. He’s doing really well, doing a really good job. I give it up to my teammates for sticking with us and sticking with each other and sticking with me as a captain and as a player.”

Now on to the breakdown…

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What I saw on Saturday

***Heading into the Indiana game, I predicted running back Anthony Grant would get a least 25 carries vs. Indiana. He finished with 32 carries for 136 yards. It’s the fourth time in five games this season that Grant has gone for over 100 yards rushing. It’s also the first time since 2017 that a Husker back has gotten over 30 carries and the most since Ameer Abdullah had 35 carries for 229 yards vs. Miami.

***Freshman Malcolm Hartzog made his first career start on Saturday at cornerback. He started over Tommi Hill. Joseph hinted we could see Hartzog more this week and referred to him as a “quick blinker.”

Hartzog’s top play of the night was on special teams. He scooped up Chris Kolarevic’s blocked punt for a touchdown. It’s the first time since 2009 that the Huskers have scored off a blocked punt.

***The decision to bench Casey Thompson for Chubba Purdy for one series was costly and game-changing. Offensive coordinator Mark Whipple appeared to get on Thompson after he held the ball too long for a sack on third down. Purdy took over on the 9-yard line and took a sack on third down that led to a fumble and touchdown for the Hoosiers.

After the game, Joseph said it was a planned series for Purdy, and that they wanted to get him some reps.

***Wide receiver Trey Palmer was electric on Saturday. He was the fastest player on the football field with eight catches on nine total targets for 157 yards. His 71-yard TD catch from Thompson in the fourth quarter changed the football game.

***There were three colors in Memorial Stadium – red, white and yellow. In all, there were 23 penalties for 203 yards. The officiating crew had far too much presence in this football game.

***The struggles with Bryce Benhart continued at right tackle. He was pulled a couple of time in favor of Hunter Anthony. By the game’s end, they appeared to rotate on the right side. It will be interesting to see if they start Anthony or Benhart this week at Rutgers.

***Left tackle Turner Corcoran was ejected after throwing a punch. The play before he was assessed a personal foul for grabbing an Indiana defender after the whistle blew. The defender was on top of Thompson. Both flags were questionable, and it was quite the sequence by the officiating crewing to eject Corcoran.

***Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren was present at the Indiana vs. Nebraska game.

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The final grade out

	Grade	HOL Take
Rushing Offense	B	Nebraska got exactly what they needed from their running attack and Grant. They lacked the explosive big runs, but it was a steady diet of 3 to 7-yard runs. NU finished with 163 sack-adjusted rushing yards. The long run of the game was 17 yards.
Passing Offense	B-	Thompson was 18-of-27 for 270 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. His pick was costly, as the Huskers appeared to take control of the game with an interception of their own, but on the ensuing play, Thompson threw one. Thompson had long pass plays of 21, 34, 34 and 71 yards vs. Indiana. Purdy also was sacked and fumbled in the end zone which led to a Hoosier touchdown.
Rushing Defense	A	Indiana had just 93 sack-adjusted rush yards with long runs of 34 and 13 yards.
Passing Defense	A	Hoosier QB Connor Bazelak was missing two of his top receivers and it showed at times. He was just 22-of-44 for 223 yards. NU forced seven three-and-outs and had one stop on fourth down.
Special teams	A-	The Huskers scored off a blocked punt for the first time since 2009 at Baylor. Palmer had the Huskers’ longest punt return of 22 yards since Cam Taylor-Britt went for 27 yards at Purdue in 2020. The only knock on the grade was for a couple of shanked punts by Brian Buschini.