Mistakes and Penalties Doom Hoosiers in Lincoln

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

Both Indiana and Nebraska entered Saturday night’s game in Lincoln in desperate need of a victory. Both squads committed a lot of penalties and made a whole lot of mistakes but Nebraska made more plays in the fourth quarter and prevailed with a 35-21 victory that drops IU to 3-2 and puts them in major danger of missing a bowl game for the second straight season.

The Hoosiers had an explosive second quarter but against a Nebraska defense that had been full of holes in every other game this season, they failed to consistently move the ball and struggled mightily without top targets D.J. Matthews and Cam Camper. Connor Bazelak continues to struggle with accuracy, going 22 for 44 with one touchdown and one interception. Trey Palmer was the player of the game, catching eight passes for 157 yards and the game-winning score.

IU began the contest with the ball but went nowhere on the first possession, quickly punting to Nebraska without picking up a first down. The Huskers took over at the 28-yard line, picked up a first down on a long pass to Trey Palmer and then Casey Thompson connected with Oliver Martin for the opening score. Before the Hoosiers could blink, it was 7-0 Nebraska. IU again went three and out and things were in danger of getting away from IU very early. However, the defense stood tall as Noah Pierre was brought on a blitz and Thompson was called for intentional grounding and Nebraska was forced to punt. Nebraska pinned the ball at the five-yard line but the IU offense finally found a bit of success, getting a couple of first downs before flipping the field with a nice punt from James Evans. The Huskers brought in backup quarterback Chubba Purdy and the IU defense made them pay as Cam Jones and Louis Moore met at the quarterback. The ball was knocked free as Purdy was sacked on top of Jones and Myles Jackson fell on it in the endzone for an IU touchdown to tie the game at 7. The teams traded three and outs but IU’s punt was blocked by Nebraska with the ball being scooped and returned for a touchdown to make it 14-7. The Hoosiers went three and out and the Huskers had good field position for their next drive. They capitalized with a quick possession that ended in a Jaquez Yant short touchdown run. With the score 21-7, the IU offense finally woke up. Connor Bazelak connected on multiple nice passes, the tempo offense got Nebraska on their heels and Emery Simmons caught a wide-open pass in the end zone to cut the deficit in half. Nebraska quickly went three and out IU took over at the 30-yard line with 2:05 remaining the first half. Jaylin Lucas ripped off a big run, Andison Cody caught a slant to get inside the five-yard line and with 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Shaun Shivers dove into the end zone to tie the game at 21 at the half. Indiana racked up 192 yards in the wild second quarter after only 27 in the first.

The third quarter was full of more penalties and mistakes from both teams. Nebraska punted with the first series, Indiana had an offensive pass interference that backed them up and Javon Swinton got hammered on a throw across the middle that was bobbled and intercepted by Luke Reimer. On the very next play, Bryant Fitzgerald made an acrobatic interception and rolled out at the one-yard line. The Hoosiers ran it on three straight plays and punted, setting up Nebraska with good field position in IU territory. A holding penalty backed them up and halted the drive but they again pinned IU inside the five-yard line. The Hoosiers went three and out again and Nebraska again had good field position that they again squandered. The Hoosiers were at the 30 and completed a great play to Andison Coby for a first down but a dropped pass caused a punt. Nebraska finally broke free in the beginning of the fourth quarter on third and nine as Trey Palmer got behind the IU secondary and Casey Thompson lofted it to him in stride for a long touchdown to make it 28-21. The Indiana Hoosiers offense continued to be stuck in mud, failing to convert on another third down. The Huskers faced a third and long that Thompson converted to Palmer for a first down to advance past midfield, Anthony Grant ran for a first down into scoring territory and another one to get inside the 20-yard line. On third and four, Palmer caught another pass for a first down and Casey Thompson ran in for a touchdown to make it 35-21. IU had to punt but forced Nebraska to give the ball back after a three and out. The Hoosiers took over at the 36-yard line and quickly went backwards, allowing a sack on second down and failing to convert on fourth and 16.

The Hoosiers were penalized 11 times, awarding Nebraska 92 yards and were outgained 290 to 385. They were also 2-16 on third down compared to Nebraska’s 7 for 16. Things are bleak and they don’t look any brighter moving forward as IU returns home to host College Football Playoff contender Michigan next Saturday at noon. Hoosier Huddle will have continuing coverage of another disappointing loss for the Hoosiers.