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.


• Some final stats: Indiana had a 495-304 edge in total yards and averaged 7.9 yards per play. Between Kurtis Rourke and Tayven Jackson, Indiana QBs completed 24 of 29 passes for 280 yards.

One of the incomplete passes was thrown by RB Justice Ellison. Indiana running backs rushed for 215 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry against one of the best run defenses in the Big Ten.

Indiana was plus-4 in turnover margin with two fumble recoveries and three interceptions. Indiana had one pick.


• FINAL - Indiana 56, Nebraska 7. This was supposed to be a test. It turned out to be a statement beyond almost anyone's wildest imagination. What a remarkable performance from the Hoosiers. Time to start dreaming the biggest dreams. Big Ten title, College Football Playoff ... the lot.

• Indiana 56-7, 345 4Q. Time to head downstairs for postgame. We'll update the live blog again after the game. Call me crazy, but I think the Hoosiers have this in-hand.

• Touchdown Indiana. Elijah Green with a 1-yard touchdown run, the seventh different Hoosier to reach the end zone today. Unreal.

• Indiana 49-7, 500 4Q. Rolijah Hardy gets in on the interception act for Indiana. Hoosiers inside the Nebraska 10 now.

• Indiana 49-7, 1031 4Q. Nebraska got to the Indiana 5, but their drive stalled and Dylan Raiola was sacked on fourth down by Mikail Kamara. He also forced a fumble - the third fourth-down turnover by the Huskers - and Indiana takes over at their own 15. There was some scrapping after the play that had to be broken up.

• Indiana 49-7, 1255 4Q. Kurtis Rourke is hanging out on the sideline, no longer in uniform. Hard to tell from on-high in the Memorial Stadium press box, but there is definitely a bandage of some sort on his throwing hand. He's hiding it in a windbreaker, so I haven't had a clean look at it, but that's where it stands with Rourke at present.

• Indiana 49-7, 1305 4Q. During the 4-play, 43-yard drive, Justice Ellison went over the century mark in rushing yards as he now has 105 rushing yards. Attendance today is 53,082. A great day all-around if you're an Indiana fan.

• Touchdown Indiana. Kaelon Black gets in the act with a 10-yard touchdown run on the left side. The obliteration of the Cornhuskers continues apace.

• Indiana 42-7, 1449 4Q. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule managed to give Indiana first down with a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct on the sideline. Wanna get away, Cornhuskers?

• End third quarter. No. 16 Indiana 42, Nebraska 7. Complete and utter domination from the Hoosiers.

• Indiana 42-7, 103 3Q. Some statistical standouts for Indiana: Kurtis Rourke completed 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown before he left the contest. Tayven Jackson has since completed all four of his passes for 68 yards and 2 touchdown passes.

MIles Cross has 7 catches for 65 yards and a TD. Elijah Sarratt has 3 catches for 65 yards and a TD.

Justice Ellison has 91 rushing yards on just 7 carries for 2 touchdowns.

Linebacker Aiden Fisher has 11 tackles. Indiana has forced three turnovers.

• Indiana 42-7, 146 3Q. Worries about Kurtis Rourke aside, Indiana is making an absolute statement today. Hoosiers have 413 yards of total offense. They're averaging 9.4 yards per play against what was supposed to be an elite defense. There's been no disruption in the offense with Jackson running the show. The sky is the limit for these Hoosiers.

• Touchdown Indiana. Tayven Jackson stands tall in the pocket and fires a 15-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Sarratt. The throw was right on target, the over-the-shoulder catch was perfect by Sarratt.

• Indiana 35-7, 300 3Q. Jamier Johnson intercepts Dylan Raiola on the left sideline as Indiana forces its third turnover. Raiola has pocket presence when he's not under pressure, but when he is pressured, he looks rattled and hasn't always made great decisions. No sin for a freshman, but Indiana is feeding on it. Hoosiers take over at their own 49.

• Indiana 35-7, 625 3Q. Jackson completed both of his pass attempts, including a 16-yard pass to Cross to put the Hoosiers inside the 5. Indiana is in good shape in this game, but the obvious concern is over Kurtis Rourke and his throwing hand.

Touchdown Indiana. Tayven Jackson finds Miles Cross all alone in the left slot for an easy 2-yard touchdown connection.

• Indiana 28-7, 735 3Q. Fourth down tries and Nebraska have not mixed. Dylan Raiola tried to thread the needle, but Shawn Asbury II stepped in front of the pass and took off. He nearly broke it, but his 78-yard interception return from the Indiana 3 sets the Hoosiers up nicely.

Tayven Jackson is indeed in at quarterback for the Hoosiers.

• Indiana 28-7, 1025 3Q. Going to be interesting to see if Kurtis Rourke plays on Indiana's first series. Nebraska is currently on a long drive to start the second half. No signs that Rourke won't play, but still questions about his throwing hand.

Update: Tayven Jackson is warming up on the sideline.

• Halftime: Indiana 28, Nebraska 7. Hoosiers already have 343 yards of total offense. The degree of defensive difficulty went up for the Hoosiers and they have been completely up to the task so far. Perhaps the most impressive half of the season for the Indiana offense in a year full of them.

• Indiana 28-7, 109 2Q. Indiana runs a textbook two-minute drill. Most of the production came on the ground as Ty Son Lawton had a 29-yard gain two plays before the touchdown. On the TD, Ellison ran lateral to the offensive line. A hole opened next to Drew Evans and Ellison turbo'd his way into it. Nebraska was over-committed at the line of scrimmage. Ellison beat the one Husker he needed to and broke free.

• Touchdown Indiana. Justice Ellison with a 31-yard run. The cut he made to find daylight was to die for.

• Indiana 21-7, 234 2Q. Indiana holds Nebraska to a three-and-out. Some conjecture about Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who hit his thumb on a Nebraska defender during a throw on the last series. He was checked out and is apparently OK as he's out to start Indiana's series, which will begin at their own 26.

• 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.

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Todd Golden
TODD GOLDEN

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