Nebraska Football Preview: No. 16 Indiana

The Huskers hit the road after the bye week aiming to lock up a bowl berth for the first time since 2016 while facing a rejuvenated No. 16 Hoosier team under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti.

Running back, Dante Dowdell (23), runs through an Illinois defender on a run. / Amarillo Mullen

Fresh off bye weeks and treated to the FOX Big Noon stage, the Nebraska Cornhuskers face their biggest test of the 2024 season with a surprising ranked trip to No. 16 Indiana where they’ll face an upstart Hoosiers squad under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti.

Plenty is on the line for the Huskers who enter the second half of its schedule only one win away from locking up its first bowl berth since 2016. While a loss wouldn’t crater NU’s season, a win over a ranked opponent on the road to kick off a difficult later half of the schedule would do wonders for Nebraska’s confidence in making this season a special one. 

But the pressure may be on the Hoosiers who have inspired College Football Playoff talks from the national talking heads after their perfect 6-0 start. Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke is the best quarterback to wear the Cream and Crimson since Michael Penix in 2020, throwing for over 1,700 yards and 14 touchdowns in just six contests. 

What awaits him is a Blackshirt unit that’s the only team in the NCAA to not allow a touchdown and are top ten nationally in rushing and scoring defense. A classic may ensue in Bloomington, but first here’s all you need to know ahead of Nebraska’s second trip to Indiana as a member of the Big Ten. 

How to Follow Along 

Matchup: Nebraska (5-1, 2-1 B1G) at No. 16 Indiana (6-0, 3-0 B1G)

Line: Indiana (-6.5), 50.5 O/U (BetMGM) 

Where: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IND

Time: 11 a.m. CDT 

TV: FOX

Broadcast Crew: Gus Johnson (PxP), Joel Klatt (Color) & Jenny Taft (Sideline) 

Radio: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Sep 14, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti reacts at the end of the game against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Indiana Scout

Head Coach: Curt Cignetti | 1st season at Indiana | 125-35 Career HC Record | 2023 Sun Belt Coach OTY, 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Coach OTY | Previous HC stops at IUP (FCS), Elon (FCS) and James Madison (FCS into D1). 

2023 Record: 3-9 (1-8 B1G, 7th B1G East) | Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award Winner, One All-B1G First-Team selection (Media), One All-B1G Second Team selection (Coaches), Three All-B1G Third Team members (Coaches & Media), four All-B1G Honorable Mentions | Did not qualify for the postseason. 

All-Time Series: Indiana leads 10-9-3 (2022 last meeting, 35-21 NU) 

Fun Fact: Saturday’s game will mark the sixth time in the past eight meetings at least one of the teams has been nationally ranked. It will be the first time that both teams have been ranked in at least one of the national polls entering a Nebraska-Indiana matchup. The Huskers are No. 25 in the Coaches Poll. This will only be the fourth matchup between the two schools as members of the Big Ten. 

Key Returners: Omar Cooper Jr., WR, R-Soph. | Amare Ferrell, DB, Soph. | Jacob Mangum-Farrar, DL, Gr. | Josh Sanguinetti, DB, Gr. | Lanell Carr Jr., DL, Gr.

Key Additions:  Kurtis Rourke, QB, R-Sr. (Ohio) | Justice Ellison, RB, Gr. (Wake Forest) | Ty Son Lawton, RB, Gr. (James Madison) | Elijah Sarratt, WR, Jr. (James Madison) | Myles Price, WR, Gr. (Texas Tech) | Miles Cross, WR, Sr. (Ohio) | Aiden Fisher, LB, Jr. (James Madison) | Jailin Walker, LB, Sr. (James Madison) | Shawn Asbury II, DB, Sr. (Old Dominion) | D’Angelo Ponds, DB, Soph. (James Madison) | Mikail Kamara, DL, R-Jr. (James Madison) | James Carpenter, DL, Gr. (James Madison). 

Key Departures: Brendan Sorsby, QB (Cincinnati) | Kahlil Benson, OT (Colorado) | Trent Howland, RB (Oklahoma State) | Jaylin Lucas, RB (Florida State ) | Aaron Casey, LB (NFL) | Andre Carter, DE (NFL) | Kobee Minor, S (Memphis) | Louis Moore, S (Ole Miss) | Phillip Dunnam, DB (FAU) | Matthew Bedford, OL (Oregon) | Zach Carpenter, OL (Miami, FL). 

Outlook: Indiana is one of the feel good stories at the midpoint of the wild 2024 college football season as the Hoosiers sit at 6-0 their first start to a season since opening up with eight-straights wins in 1967. But new head coach Curt Cignetti doesn’t want his team to be viewed as a feel-good story, but rather a serious contender to disrupt the hierarchy of the Big Ten and make a run at the inaugural 12-Team College Football Playoff. 

Following the firing of previous coach Tom Allen, over three dozen transfers exited the program, scattering around to different Power Four and Group of Five programs across the country. Cignetti, who was on the first staff of Nick Saban at Alabama, went to work on the recruiting trail and transfer portal bringing in 46 players as part of his first recruiting class. That included 30 transfers and over a dozen following him from his previous stop of James Madison, in which he posted a 52-9 (.853) overall record, plus an 11-1 final season mark in 2023. 

Ohio transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke has used his veteran experience from playing in Maction to become the engine of this nearly unstoppable Hoosier offense. Indiana are tops in the Big Ten and top ten in the country in passing offense (315.3), scoring offense (47.5) and total offense (515.7). He’s been completing over 73% of his passes through six games with a 14-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio. 

Sep 28, 2024; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke (9) warms up before a game against the Maryland Terrapins at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Nearly the entire offensive skill players have been plucked from the transfer portal with the Hoosier’s three leading rushers as well as the three of the four top receivers coming from different schools including Wake Forest’s Justice Ellison who leads IU with 409 yards on 64 carries with six touchdowns. Ty Son Lawton splits the reps with Ellison racking up 329 yards of his own with seven scores on 68 carries. One of many transfers from James Madison, Elijah Sarratt is the leading receiver as the junior has recorded 513 yards on a team-high 29 catches and a pair of touchdowns. Returning wideout Omar Cooper Jr. has 375 yards and three scores while Texas Tech transfer Myles Price (266 yards) and Ohio transfer Miles Cross (208 yards, two touchdowns) also factoring into the passing game. 

The calling card of his coaching style, Allen left behind some defensive gems that Cignetti convinced to stay after the transition. Gone is 2023 sack and tackles for loss leader Aaron Casey to the NFL as well as Andre Carter who posted a pair of sacks and 11 TFL. However, grad student and defensive linemen Lanell Carr Jr. is back after five sacks and 8.5 TFL last year. Mikail Kamara has filled that hole from Casey, garnering a team-high five sacks and 7.5 TFL. James Carpenter has been a menace up front from James Madison corralling four-and-a-half sacks and three TFL from the middle. Another follower from JMU, linebacker Aiden Fisher leads the team with 55 tackles which is 21 more than second-place Jailin Walker (34), who also followed Cignetti. 

Granted, all these stats come from a schedule with opponents that have a combined record of 14-22 and no one currently above .500. However, the margin of victory has been extremely lopsided with an average win margin of over 32 points. There is a skill of stomping opponents you should beat, a skill that has escaped the Huskers over the past half decade. 

Momentum is riding high for the Hoosiers and a victory Saturday is necessary for their postseason hopes as it seems unlikely for IU to get into the CFP with a 10-2 record and a lackluster schedule. A reasonable path is to split the games against Ohio State and Michigan while winning the rest. So, plenty is at stake Saturday morning for both teams and it’s safe to assume we’ll see play from both sides that reflects that sentiment. 

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