The Nebraska Cornhuskers had a dominant first half and had the Indiana Hoosiers on the ropes in the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers avoided a knockout blow and seized control of the game in the final minutes, escaping Lincoln with a hard-fought 20-17 victory. The Hoosiers have now won 22 games in a row entering a showdown against Ohio State next Saturday. Indiana’s running game was never a factor and Nebraska’s Anthony Colandrea burned the Hoosiers over and over with his legs, particularly on third downs. Nebraska took a 3-0 lead with a field goal on their first drive and led 10-3 at halftime as they converted on 8 of 11 third down chances. The Hoosiers had a nice drive to begin the second half but failed to cash in and settled for a second field goal from Nico Radicic to make it 10-6. Indiana missed a golden chance for a 98-yard touchdown as Josh Hoover’s pass to Nick Marsh got caught in the wind and fell incomplete and Nebraska later responded with a long touchdown run from Anthony Colandrea.
With the score 17-6 in the fourth quarter, Hoover connected with Marsh for a 75-yard touchdown to chop the deficit to 17-13. Indiana’s defense had Nebraska facing 2nd and 19 and Preston Zachman intercepted a long pass but Tyrique Tucker was called for roughing the passer to keep the ball with the Cornhuskers. Indiana refused to give in and forced a punt with 9:33 remaining. On fourth and one, Josh Hoover lobbed a pass to Nick Marsh and he jogged into the end zone with 7:13 remaining to put IU ahead 20-17. Nebraska surprisingly tried to convert a 4th and 9 in their own territory and turned it over on downs with 4:41 to play. IU was unable to put the game away on offense, punting it back to Nebraska. The Huskers had the ball at the 5-yard line with 3:15 to play. Nebraska got a couple of first downs but the Hoosiers buckled down and Tobi Osunsanmi sacked Anthony Colandrea on fourth down with 1:15 remaining. Nebraska got the ball back with less than 15 seconds remaining and no timeouts and a last-gasp prayer play came up well short.
How it Happened for the Hoosiers
-Nebraska controlled the lines of scrimmage in this game. IU’s running backs combined for 41 yards on 17 carries while Nebraska had 128 yards on the ground (largely thanks to Colandrea).
-Despite the wind causing a lot of issues for the passing game, Nick Marsh was massive for Indiana. He had 187 yards with two touchdowns, the only two of the day for IU’s offense.
-Facing a fourth and short, Mike Shanahan dialed up a playaction pass as Nebraska sold out against the run. Both Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker were wide open for what proved to be the game-winning score.
-Indiana’s defense was much better in the second half but it is fair to point out the continuing issue the Hoosiers have with mobile quarterbacks (Colandrea consistently created plays with his legs) and passes in the middle of the field.
-That game was not particularly pretty but Indiana weathered some bad play, an inspired effort by a Nebraska team that was playing in front of a raucous crowd and found a way to emerge victorious.
Key Stats
-Josh Hoover had an odd game. He only completed 12 passes but threw for 263 yards and a pair of touchdowns plus he used his legs well a couple of times for first downs.
-Indiana was 1-10 on third down while Nebraska was 10-19. Rare to win a game with that disparity.
-The Huskers also won the possession battle by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 (39:33 to 20:27).
-The defense was able to generate just enough negative plays: five sacks and eight tackles for loss.
-Through six games, IU’s offense still has not turned the ball over and the Hoosiers have only one turnover total (that came on a punt return).
Who’s Next
The Indiana Hoosiers return home to battle the Ohio State Buckeyes next Saturday. The game will again be on FOX’s Big Noon time slot.
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