Nebraska travels to Bloomington, Indiana Saturday to take on a Hoosier squad that is undefeated and ranked 16th in the country. It is a major opportunity for the Huskers to try to get a big win in front of a big audience with FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff on site for the contest. Like the Nebraska, Indiana is coming of a bye week and will surely be revving high to match the energy that will certainly be flowing around campus Saturday morning. The Huskers will have to bring their A game in this matchup against a team that has yet to trail this season.
Husker Offense vs Indiana Defense
On paper, Indiana’s defense appears to be a mismatch for the Nebraska offense. The Hoosiers rank in the top 20 in the four major defensive categories, and within the Big Ten, they trail only Nebraska in sacks with 19. Junior defensive lineman Mikail Kamara has been particularly disruptive, leading the league with five sacks. Meanwhile the Nebraska offense ranks in the middle of the pack nationally in total yards and scoring, and have fallen to 13th in the Big Ten in rushing.
However, the stats in this case might be a bit deceptive. Oh, the Hoosiers defense is good. It is very sound structurally and the players fly around with confidence. That said the 5 FBS opponents IU has played have an average offensive ranking of 102nd nationally. The best of those offenses, Maryland, ranks 43rd nationally, and the Terps put up a very respectable 28 points and 401 yards on the Hoosiers. Further skewing the numbers is the fact that Indiana held Western Illinois, a 2-4 FCS team to just 109 yards of total offense.
This is a defense that Nebraska should be able to move the ball on.
That is, of course, if the Huskers can show some consistency. In each game of the season, NU has played one half like a top 20 offense and the other like one in the bottom 50. A major cause of this unevenness is a lack of explosive plays, particularly in the running game. Lack of chunk plays puts far too much pressure on the unit to sustain long drives, a tough task for a group that has a number of new pieces still coming together.
This would be a good time for NU to fully gel. One beaming spot of hope for Saturday is Dylan Raiola’s performance against zone coverage. According to pro football focus, Raiola holds a 90.2 passing grade against zone defenses this season, the fifth best rating in the country. Conversely, he owns a 44.4 passing grade against man coverage, which ranks 132nd. Fortunately for Raiola and the Huskers, Indiana has played zone defense on over 90% of its snaps this season, one of the highest uses of zone in the country.
If the offensive line gives Raiola time to see the holes in the zone, Nebraska could be in for a big offensive performance on Saturday.
Nebraska Defense vs Indiana Offense
This is the matchup that football fans around the country are salivating to watch on Saturday. Indiana has proven to be one of the best offenses in the nation this season. It is a high scoring outfit that is one of just two teams in the nation that average over 300 yards passing and 200 yards rushing. IU has the best unit the Blackshirts have faced this season. The Hoosiers may not be as explosive as Colorado, but they are incredibly efficient.
This efficiency stems from their RPO (run/pass option) system that allows poised and experienced quarterback Kurtis Rourke to make quick decisions by either handing the ball off to his duo of fast running backs or throwing to his bevy of receiving options. Counting the tight ends, the IU receiving room has six legitimately skilled options led by wideout Elijah Sarratt, one of 13 transfers that followed new Hoosier head coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison this offseason. Rourke does his work behind an offensive line that has paved the way for 23 rushing touchdowns and has given up just six sacks this season.
Looking to add to that sack total is a Blackshirt defense that is relishing this challenge. After an uncharacteristically leaky night against Illinois at the end of September, the Husker defense has reasserted itself as one of the best groups in the nation. This season, 25 teams have forced 10 turnovers. 11 teams are allowing less than 14 points per game. 6 teams have recorded 20+ sacks.
Only one team has done all three: Nebraska.
The Huskers are also the only team in the nation that has yet to allow a rushing touchdown. And as of this week, ESPN’s SP+, an advance analytics rating system, ranks the Huskers as the very best defense in the nation. How about that?
But on the field Saturday they’ll have their work cut out for them facing this Indiana offense. But so will they. The Hoosiers have played some decent defenses this season in Northwestern and UCLA. But they are not anything close the 2024 Blackshirts.
This matchup should be dynamic, so grab your early morning popcorn.
Game Notes
- Indiana leads the all-time series with Nebraska 10-9-3.
- Nebraska won the last meeting 35-21 in 2022, which was Mickey Joseph’s first win as a head coach.
- Indiana is one of just 11 remaining unbeaten teams in FBS
- Indiana has won 6 straight games by double digits for the first time since 1896!
- Nebraska’s 5-1 record to start the season is its best mark through six games since 2016.
- Nebraska has trailed just 15 minutes and 50 seconds of game action this season.
- Indiana has never trailed in a game this season.
- Nebraska has outscored its opponents 65-3 in second quarters this season.
- Nebraska has pitched three first half shutouts this season.
Broadcast Information
TV: FOX (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
Internet Audio: Huskers.com
App Audio: – Official Huskers App