Hoosiers Move to 7-0 With Big Noon Blowout Over Nebraska 56-7

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Written by: TJ Inman

The Indiana Hoosiers began the season 6-0 and enjoyed a bye week as analysts and opposing fan bases congratulated them but also questioned IU’s strength of schedule and debated whether or not the Hoosiers were a legitimate squad. FOX brought Big Noon Kickoff to Bloomington and raw excitement and passion flooded the Indiana University campus as 5-1 Nebraska came to town. Curt Cignetti’s IU team gave the fans that packed Memorial Stadium a whole lot to cheer about as they took a 14-0 lead on Nebraska and never looked back, burying the Huskers with a dominant 56-7 victory to improve to 7-0. Indiana outgained Nebraska by nearly 200 yards and still have not trailed for a single second in the 2024 season. Indiana remains unbeaten and the Hoosiers will be knocking on the door of the top ten in the coming AP and Coaches Polls.

Nebraska won the toss and elected to give IU the ball first. The Hoosiers got a huge 43-yard run by Justice Ellison on third and short and then overcame a holding penalty with a fourth-down conversion by Miles Cross to set up a five-yard touchdown run by Ellison. The rushing score was the first surrendered by Nebraska all season and it set the tone for the day’s proceedings. The Cornhuskers have had an issue with special teams all season and it reared its head again as the kick returner fielded the kickoff and stepped out of bounds at the one. Nebraska picked up one first down but had to punt and gave the Hoosiers great field position. Indiana failed to capitalize on an early opportunity though as the Huskers sacked Kurtis Rourke on fourth down to give the ball back to Dylan Raiola. Nebraska had a nice drive to get into scoring position but the IU defense forced a fumble on a fourth and short and recovered at the 12-yard line to end the first quarter. Indiana’s offense hit the turbo button with a 28-yard completion to Elijah Sarratt followed by a long completion to Omar Cooper and then a quick eight-yard touchdown to Myles Price to seize the 14-0 lead. A pass interference penalty on Indiana gave the Huskers life on offense and Dylan Raiola got comfortable as Nebraska moved into scoring territory and finished the drive with a run for Jacory Barney to slice the deficit in half. IU’s offense responded quickly though, showing the same execution and comfort they have all season. Elijah Sarratt converted a third and long and TySon Lawton punched in a short run to make it 21-7 with 3:47 remaining in the first half. There was a potentially very meaningful play during the drive as Kurtis Rourke hit his thumb on a Nebraska player’s helmet and was visibly bleeding afterwards. The Huskers went three and out and gave the ball back to IU’s offense with 2:26 remaining. The Hoosiers got a 29-yard run from Lawton and then a 31-yard touchdown run from Justice Ellison to bust the game wide open at 28-7. Nebraska again was forced to go three and out and Kurtis Rourke deep pass was intercepted by Nebraska as time expired. IU had 344 yards in the first half and six plays of more than 20 yards.

Nebraska got the ball to start the second half and they would need to be perfect in the second thirty minutes to get back into the game. The Huskers converted four straight third down plays and got into scoring position but a fourth and eight throw near the end zone was intercepted by Shawn Asbury and returned to the Nebraska 27-yard line. The drive took 7:25 off the clock but the Huskers came up empty. Tayven Jackson came in at quarterback as Kurtis Rourke roamed the sidelines with a large pad on his injured thumb. Jackson’s first play was a 16-yard completion to Miles Cross and his second play was a beautifully designed pass to a wide-open Cross to make it 35-7. The next Nebraska drive resulted in another Raiola interception, this one by Jamier Johnson near midfield. A long play on a screen pass to TySon Lawton went for 35 yards and then Tayven Jackson connected with Elijah Sarratt for another touchdown as IU poured it on to end the third quarter at 42-7. Nebraska turned it over on downs and the Hoosiers scored again, this time on a rumbling run from Kaelon Black that extended the lead to 49-7 in front of the raucous and appreciative Indiana faithful. Marcus Burris pressured Dylan Raiola and Rolijah Hardy came up with the third interception of the day. The beatdown continued as Elijah Green ran in another touchdown. The defense that surrendered zero rushing touchdowns all season gave up five to the Indiana Hoosiers this afternoon.

Kurtis Rourke was 17-21 for 189 yards with a touchdown and Tayven Jackson was 7-8 for 91 yards with two touchdowns. Indiana gashed Nebraska’s vaunted run defense for 218 yards on 6.6 yards per carry and Indiana outgained Nebraska 495 yards to 304. The 49-point victory ties Indiana’s largest ever over a Big Ten opponent. The Indiana Hoosiers host Washington next Saturday and Hoosier Huddle will have ongoing coverage of this incredible day in Bloomington.

-Key Takeaways-

  • The pieces were in place for a memorable day for Indiana Hoosiers football: Big Noon Kickoff, Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on the call, a historic brand coming in at 5-1 to play 6-0 IU. The only question was how the Hoosiers would respond. Curt Cignetti’s squad answered that in a resounding way with a complete annihilation of Nebraska.

  • The status of Kurtis Rourke and his injured thumb will be a key storyline during the coming week. Tayven Jackson played quite well in relief and that does provide some confidence heading into the game against Washington, regardless of whether or not Rourke can go for the Hoosiers.

  • Indiana’s defense turned up the pressure on Dylan Raiola. It did not result in many sacks but the freshman was made uncomfortable and Indiana capitalized on his mistakes with three interceptions.