Nebraska and Indiana Introduction and Prediction – The Daily Hoosier

The back half of Indiana’s schedule is here.

And soon things will get very interesting.

For the first time in nearly three years, Memorial Stadium is sold out. FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff is here. And Nebraska represents the biggest challenge the national favorite Hoosiers have faced to date.

Here’s everything you need to know about Indiana’s matchup against the Cornhuskers.

No. 25/RV NEBRASKA (5-1, 2-1) at No. 16/18 INDIANA (6-0, 3-0)

• Start: Noon ET, Saturday
• Location: Bloomington, Ind., Memorial Stadium (52,626; turf)
• TV: FOX – Gus Johnson (pbp), Joel Klatt (analyst), Jenny Taft (sideline)
• Electricity: Fox Sports
• Radio: IU Football Radio Station
• Opportunities: Indiana is the 6.5-point favorite
• Weather at kick-off: 64 degrees, sunny, wind 2 mph, 0% chance of precipitation.
• Series: Indiana leads 10-9-3
• The trainers:
  • Curt Cignetti is in his first year as head coach at IU. In his 14th season as a collegiate head coach, he holds a record of 125-35.
  • Matt Rhule is 57-51 in his ninth season as head coach. He is 10-8 at Nebraska.

Still cream and crimson, just setting a new standard. pic.twitter.com/YTsoE76x4N

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) October 19, 2024

STORY FROM TAPE

THE COMPLETE BIG TEN WEEK EIGHT WRITING

FRIDAY, OCT. 18
Oregon at Purdue 8pm FOX

SATURDAY, OCT. 19
Nebraska at Indiana (HC) 12pm FOX
Wisconsin at Northwestern, 12 p.m. Big Ten Network
UCLA at Rutgers (HC) 12 p.m. FS1
Michigan at Illinois 3:30 p.m. CBS
USC at Maryland (HC) 4:00 p.m. FS1
Iowa at Michigan State (HC), 7:30 p.m. NBC

NEBRASKA 2024 RESULTS

Aug. 31 UTEP FOX W, 40-7
September 7 Colorado NBC W, 28-10
September 14 Northern Iowa BTN W, 34-3
September 20th #24 Illinois* FOX L, 24-31 (ot)
Sept. 28 at Purdue* Peacock W, 28-10
Oct. 5 Rutgers* FS1 W, 14-7

NOTES AND NUMBERS OF NEBRASKA

(Via Nebraska Athletics)

The Huskers are 5-1 through the first half of the 2024 season and are coming off a 14-7 home win over Rutgers on Oct. 5. Nebraska’s 5-1 start marks its best start in six games since 2016. Nebraska put together an impressive defensive effort to secure the Big Ten victory and improve to 2-1 in league play. They limited a powerful Rutgers offense to just 78 yards on the ground and didn’t allow a point until the final five minutes of the game.

Saturday’s game marks just the schools’ fourth meeting since Nebraska joined the Big Ten and is just the Huskers’ second trip to Bloomington in that time, following a Husker victory in 2016.

Nebraska opened the season with three consecutive non-conference wins, marking its first 3-0 start to the season since 2016. It was also the first time since 2016 that Nebraska was flawless in non-conference play. The Huskers’ 5-1 mark at the halfway point of the season is also NU’s best six-game record since 2016, when Nebraska began the season with seven wins.

True freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola was impressive in leading Nebraska to a 5-1 start. Raiola has thrown for more than 200 yards four times, including a career-high 297 yards and three touchdowns against Illinois. Overall, Raiola has thrown for 1,358 yards and nine touchdowns against three interceptions. His yardage makes FBS true freshmen and he is one of only six freshmen (true or redshirt) with more than 1,200 passing yards.

Coming off its best start since 2016, Nebraska has shown the ability to control games from start to finish. The Huskers didn’t trail in their first three games, outscoring opponents in non-conference games by a combined 102-20. In six games, Nebraska trailed by a total of 15:15 minutes, including just over 11 minutes against Illinois and less than four minutes at Purdue.

Nebraska scored on its first drive in each of the first three games. These scoring drives included 72, 49 and 75 yards.

In six games, Nebraska has outscored opponents 65-3 in the second quarter. In 2023, Nebraska was outscored 81-66 in the second quarter. They have held each of their last two opponents (Purdue, Rutgers) scoreless in the first half. Overall, Nebraska posted three shutouts in the first half after also shutting out Colorado in the first half.

The opponents had very little success at the start of the games. Since its inception in 2023, Nebraska has allowed just two first-quarter touchdowns in its last 13 games. Only two opponents have scored a touchdown on their first drive in the last 19 games.

Nebraska is the only team in the country not to allow a rushing touchdown in 2024. Since last season, Nebraska has not allowed a rushing touchdown in 11 of its last 13 games.

Nebraska has only committed four turnovers in six games in 2024. The Huskers’ four turnovers are the 11th fewest in the country. Nebraska has a turnover margin of +6 this season after finishing the 2023 season at -17.

Nebraska has won five of its first six games, matching its win total from the 2023 season. Nebraska is one of just 20 teams in the FBS rankings that have matched or exceeded their 2023 win total, including three Big Ten teams (also Indiana, Illinois). Indiana currently leads this group with a win total of +3 in 2023.

PREDICTIONS

It will be strength versus strength as Indiana’s strong offense meets Nebraska’s strong defense. Will there be a high score like all Indiana games or a low score like Nebraska? Probably somewhere in between. It looks like it could go either way, but fans will leave sold-out Memorial Stadium happy.

TDH PREDICTION: INDIANA 31 NEBRASKA 27

• ESPN SP+ (Computer): Indiana 25 Nebraska 20 (63% win probability)
• ESPN FPI (Computer): Indiana has a 75.7% chance of winning.

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