Hoosiers Now

LIVE BLOG: Follow As No. 16 Indiana football tries to stay unbeaten against Nebraska

Welcome to our live blog for No. 16 Indiana's Big Ten home game against Nebraska. We'll keep you updated with all the news and views in real time, with opinion and highlights thrown in as well, live from Memorial Stadium

Todd Golden

Indiana fans surround the stage for the FOX Big Noon Kickoff Show on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 outside Memorial Stadium.
Indiana fans surround the stage for the FOX Big Noon Kickoff Show on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 outside Memorial Stadium. / Hoosiers On SI | Todd Golden
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It's game day, Indiana fans! No. 16 Indiana hosts Nebraska. Hoosiers are unbeaten at 6-0 and 3-0 in the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. It's the biggest game in Bloomington in three years and one of the biggest ever.

Read our live blog throughout the day as we chronicle the game as it happens.

• Indiana 21-7, 347 2Q. Nice block by left guard Drew Evans to give Lawton the space to hit paydirt. Prior to that, Kurtis Rourke kept the Hoosiers moving with a beautifully-thrown ball on a deep sideline curl route by Elijah Sarratt. The 22-yard catch put Indiana in Nebraska territory and the Hoosiers steadily drove to the end zone from there.

• Touchdown Indiana. Ty Son Lawton with a 1-yard run to the left side.

• Indiana 14-7, 740 2Q. Cornhuskers had some success running tempo. Dylan Raiola completed passes of 25 and 19 yards and was helped out by a pass interference by D'Angelo Ponds on the sideline. Nebraska didn't have a single third down in its 12-play, 75-yard drive. Indiana defense looked vulnerable on that series. Hoosiers are using quite a few new bodies on the defensive side. Worth keeping an eye on.

• Touchdown Nebraska. Jacory Barney scores on a 7-yard jet sweep to the left side.

• Indiana 14-0, 1337 2Q. That was Kurtis Rourke and his receivers at their absolute best. On the 75-yard series, Elijah Sarratt extended to make a 28-yard catch on the sideline. Two plays later, Omar Cooper Jr. made a beautiful leaping grab to set the Hoosiers up inside the 10. On the next play, Indiana ran the rollout RPO. Rourke could have run, but Price was open on the sideline. He found him and he strolled into the end zone. Indiana's offense made a good Nebraska defense look ordinary.

• Touchdown Indiana. A gorgeous 7-yard touchdown connection from Kurtis Rourke to Myles Price. Best way I can describe it is that it was a rollout RPO.

• End first quarter. Indiana 7, Nebraska 0. Hoosiers have a 108-50 edge in total yards so far.

• Indiana 7-0, :56 1Q. Nebraska drove inside the red zone, converting a pair of third downs along the way. The Huskers elected to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the Indiana 12 rather than take the field goal. Dante Dowdell probably had the first down distance, but he was hit by Jailin Walker, who forced the ball out of his hands. Jacob Mangum-Farrar recovered the fumble at the 13-yard line. Huskers probably should have taken the three points in the first place. Paid the price for it.

• Indiana 7-0, 544 1Q. Indiana rolled the dice, and for once, came up with snake-eyes. Hoosiers elected to go for it on 4th-and-2 from the Nebraska 26, but quarterback Kurtis Rourke was sacked for a nine-yard loss.

• Indiana 7-0, 739 1Q. Indiana forces Nebraska to punt deep in their own territory. The problems for the Cornhuskers began when Jacory Barney inexplicably decided to field the kickoff at the pylon. He stepped out of bounds, so the Huskers began at their own 1. No idea why he did that. Ball might have been on its way out of bounds. Or at the very least, it would have been a touchback.

Dylan Raiola was fortunate to get away with grounding in the end zone, which is a safety. The Huskers got as far as the their own 13 before they were forced to punt. Myles Price had a good return to the Nebraska 45.

• Indiana 7-0, 935 1Q. The big play was a 42-yard run by Ellison on 3rd-and-1 in Indiana territory. Nebraska forced a fourth down try by the Hoosiers, which was converted via a 10-yard pass to Miles Cross. Indiana scored on the next play as Ellison went up the gut and bulled his way into the end zone. Just the start that the Hoosiers wanted.

• Touchdown Indiana. Justice Ellison with a 5-yard run with 9:35 left in the first quarter.

Indiana starters - Offense: QB Kurtis Rourke, RB Justice Ellison, WR Elijah Sarratt, WR Myles Price, WR Miles Cross, TE Zach Horton; LT Carter Smith; LG Drew Evans; C Mike Katic; LG Bray Lynch; LT Trey Wedig.

Defense: DE Mikail Kamara, DE Lanell Carr Jr., DT CJ West, DT James Carpenter, DT Marcus Burris Jr., LB Aiden Fisher, LB Jailin Walker, LB Roliaj Hardy, S Amare Ferrell, CB D'Angelo Ponds, CB Bryson Bonds.

Pregame - Indiana injuries today submitted to the Big Ten for the availability report, all players listed as out: K Derek McCormick, DB Te'Derius Collins and DT Robby Harrison are all out.

Nebraska lists K Tristan Alvaro and OL Turner Corcoran as out.

• Indiana loses the coin toss. Hoosiers start with the ball for the sixth time in seven games this season.

• Fashion report: Indiana never deviates from its home red and white pants. Nebraska is going all-white with their classic sans-seif 'N' helmet.

• Pretty crazy down in the Big Noon Kickoff pit. I went down there to soak it in a little bit. I think most fans were just there out of wonderment, wondering what it was all about? The FOX staging is pretty impressive. There's several places where they do their standup interviews. The one with John Mellencamp was conducted on one of them.

As you might suspect, the adult beverages and their aftermath, was already evident even by 9:30-10 a.m. It was fun, though, and memorable for those who were in there no doubt.

• I arrived at the stadium at about 9 a.m. It was already Bloominggeddon. I live in Bloomington and I took Rogers Street to the bypass - this ain't my first rodeo - and the bypass was already jam-packed. I took a gander down 17th Street off of Rogers and it was already bumper-to-bumper ahead of the Walnut/College intersection. Good luck to you if you don't already have a parking pass.

• From there Oughta Be A Law Department, the secondary market for IU parking passes is kind of scandalous. When I looked a week ago, and mind you, this was before Big Noon Kickoff, John Mellencamp, etc., the chepeast ticket in an IU-owned lot was $234. It's $300 as I look now. This isn't "free market". This is weaponized, corporate secondary market taking advantage of a situation. It happens here, it happens a lot of places and it prices a lot of people out of attending games before a ticket is even purchased. Yes, there are other parking options, but some people can't park a billion miles away. I'm ranting into the wind and don't have a solution, but the secondary market for things like parking need to be reigned in.

Related stories on Indiana football

  • HOW TO WATCH: Indiana football continues the 2024 season against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday at Noon ET at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. Here's how to watch, with game time and TV information, the latest on the point spread, series history, coaching information and more. CLICK HERE
  • SABAN ON CIGNETTI: Curt Cignetti's former boss speaks highly of the Indiana coach. CLICK HERE.
  • MELLENCAMP IN BLOOMINGTON: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Mellencamp will be a part of Saturday’s pregame festivities at Memorial Stadium. Parking and other game day details included in story. CLICK HERE
  • JACK'S TAKE: Indiana’s offensive line and run game have been vital to its high-powered offense, but the Hoosiers face stiff competition against Nebraska’s defensive front. That matchup will go a long way in deciding Saturday’s game. CLICK HERE
  • CIGNETTI KEEPING HOOSIERS HUMBLE: On his Inside Indiana Football radio show, Curt Cignetti talked about how he wants fans to be excited, but his team to stay hungry. CLICK HERE
  • PREDICTIONS, 3 KEYS FOR NEBRASKA GAME: How does Hoosiers On SI see this game? CLICK HERE.
  • MEET THE OPPONENT: Read all about what Nebraska brings to the table for Saturday's game against the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE.
  • INDIANA ADJUSTING TO MORE ATTENTION: Curt Cignetti noted that it's all part of being successful. CLICK HERE.
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Todd Golden
TODD GOLDEN

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