BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A day for the Nebraska football team that began with energy, unbridled excitement and a mad dash onto the field ended with a slow walk.
Many Huskers stared into the distance with stoic expressions as they exited the field while others hung their heads, not wanting to soak in any more of the emotion that had surfaced from a game that rapidly escaped their grasp.
While Nebraska had hoped to end Indiana’s undefeated season, earn a sixth win and prove itself as one of the Big Ten’s better teams, that’s not what transpired on Saturday afternoon.
Instead, an Indiana team that hadn’t trailed a minute all season kept its streak going with a dominant 56-7 win over Nebraska in which the Huskers never truly looked comfortable.
“It was just bad football by us,†head coach Matt Rhule said. “I’m not embarrassed of our players, but I’m embarrassed of the job I did to get our team ready.â€
On paper, it was the type of matchup the Nebraska (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) defense was bound to relish. Indiana’s (7-0, 4-0) high-powered offense had steamrolled opponents all season, but none of them ranked inside the top 10 nationally in run defense, sacks and points allowed like the Huskers do — a strength which was supposed to propel NU into the matchup.
“We trust our defense; we have a pretty darn good defense and we thought we were going to play great defense today,†Rhule said.
Instead, a Nebraska defense which entered the day allowing the seventh-fewest points per game in the nation (11.3) surrendered nearly 500 yards of offense and had 56 points hung on it.
The Huskers also hadn’t allowed a rushing touchdown all season, but that changed six minutes into the contest when running back Justice Ellison punched in a 5-yard score off the backs of a 43-yard gain in which Nebraska missed multiple tackles which could’ve brought Ellison down.
Ellison, Indiana’s lead back, only ran the ball nine times as the Hoosiers averaged 6.5 yards per carry as a team.
“They played fast, they played decisively, their backs ran hard and we didn’t tackle,†Rhule said.
An early seven-point Hoosier lead was the exact start Nebraska would’ve hoped to avoid against a team which tends to jump on its opponents early and is yet to allow any first quarter scoring. But the Huskers weren’t out of it yet, not even when a miscued kickoff return resulted in NU starting from its 1-yard line on its opening drive.
Having set out with a game plan to run the ball and utilize play-action passing looks afterwards, the Huskers got sophomore running back Dante Dowdell involved right away. But when Dowdell coughed up NU’s second fumble of the season on the Huskers’ first trip to the red zone, the situation was never the same.
Sandwiched around Nebraska’s lone touchdown drive of the game, three consecutive Indiana touchdown drives helped the Hoosiers suck the wind out of NU’s sails.
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke picked apart the Husker secondary time and time again, completing a trio of passes for 20 or more yards in the first half. Rourke’s lone touchdown pass, a 7-yard strike to Myles Price, was followed by a 10-play and four-play scoring drive which helped the Hoosiers take a commanding 28-7 halftime lead.
“I haven’t seen a day like that defensively, even if you go back to Michigan for us last year obviously that game got away from us, but never a day where we just couldn’t get a stop,†Rhule said.
Rourke completed 17 of the 21 passes he attempted to help Indiana finish the game with 15 explosive plays of 10 or more yards. The Hoosiers also averaged 7.9 yards per play overall as a result of their ability to push the ball down the field.
“At times a big play would happen and everybody’s heads were kinda down,†defensive lineman Jimari Butler said.
With the Huskers down big, freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola attempted a career-high 44 passes in the loss, completing 28 of them for 234 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. Nebraska’s ground game again went missing as the Huskers ran for just 70 yards and averaged 2.4 yards per attempt.
“As it got away from us, it was like, ‘Hey, we’re going to have to go to more of a dropback (offense) to get back in the game,’†Rhule said. “And I don’t know that we’re going to win just dropping back and throwing it every play; we need a run game to go with it.â€
Raiola did lead an impressive 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in which he completed passes of 25 yards to tight end Thomas Fidone and 19 yards to wide receiver Jahmal Banks. But apart from that drive, was capped by a 7-yard Barney rushing touchdown, Nebraska’s 10 other drives ended with punts and turnovers.
Needing to convert a 4th-and-8 from inside the Indiana red zone on NU’s first drive of the second half, Raiola forced a throw into a tight window that was intercepted by Indiana’s Shawn Asbury.
“That’s probably one of the ones I wanted back,†Raiola said.
Running back Rahmir Johnson ran down the defender to prevent a pick-six but Indiana found the end zone three plays later. Another interception from Raiola on the ensuing drive again led to a Hoosier touchdown, one which extended their lead to 42-7.
Despite the game getting out of reach, Rhule kept Raiola in the game until late in the fourth quarter when a third and final interception ended the freshman’s day. Considering the challenges Raiola faced, Rhule said he hopes it’ll be a learning experience for his quarterback.
“That stunk today, in terms of being in that situation, but that situation will pay off for him in so many ways,†Rhule said of Raiola. “What I loved was that he just kept wanting to go back out there and just kept competing.â€
As the game’s final minutes ticked down, even Indiana’s backups had their moment in the sun.
As Rourke sat out the entire second half with a hand injury, backup quarterback Tayven Jackson completed the first six passes he attempted, including two for touchdowns, to continue the Hoosiers’ offensive dominance.
The final score, 56-7, reflected a truly stunning measurement of the two teams from a contest Nebraska expected to be competitive in, if not win.
“I thought they had our number today,†Rhule said. “I can usually see things coming, and I’ll tell you right now, I did not see this coming.â€
Instead, it’ll be back to the drawing board for Nebraska ahead of an equally difficult road test at No. 4 Ohio State next week. The Huskers have now lost their last 26 games against ranked opponents and are still searching for an elusive sixth win which would secure the program’s first bowl game since 2016.
While Rhule took the lead in apologizing for Nebraska’s performance in the loss, he couldn’t help but point out that the Huskers are still far from finished with at least five games left to play.
A 49-point loss to Indiana might shake the Huskers to their core, but the curtains haven’t closed on Nebraska’s 2024 season just yet.
“I just think that our guys are going to bounce back,†Rhule said. “I’ve never doubted the character of those guys; we’ve got a lot of guys in that room who love Nebraska. They’re resilient and they want to battle.â€
Photos: Nebraska football at Indiana on Fox's 'Big Noon Kickoff' — Oct. 19