Indiana’s biggest snap in Lincoln came with a Kansas fingerprint on it.
No. 5 Indiana was staring at a fourth-and-1 from the Nebraska 44-yard line with 7:22 left Saturday, and instead of simply grinding out the yardage, the Hoosiers uncorked the kind of play that can flip a game in an instant. Josh Hoover hit Nick Marsh wide open for a 44-yard touchdown, and that strike put Indiana ahead for good in a 20-17 comeback win.
Afterward, Curt Cignetti explained where the idea came from: Lance Leipold and Kansas.
Cignetti said he had spotted the play while digging through red-zone film from Kansas during the Jalon Daniels era. “Kansas made that one famous with a guy starting at quarterback for Tampa Bay,” Cignetti said, referring to Daniels. “And that guy’s a good coach.”
Indiana calls the play “Burger King,” and it was not the first time the Hoosiers had leaned on a version of it. They had used a variation against Northwestern earlier this season, but this one arrived with the game hanging in the balance.
Nebraska had pushed out to a 17-6 lead early in the fourth quarter, only for Indiana to answer with a 75-yard Hoover-to-Marsh touchdown. From there, the Hoosiers got the ball back, faced the key fourth down, and went right to the Kansas-inspired call.
Marsh got loose, Hoover found him, and Indiana suddenly had control.
The Hoosiers held on to improve to 6-0.
There’s another Kansas name tied to the play, too: Andy Kotelnicki. He was Kansas’ offensive coordinator during the Jalon Daniels era, when the Jayhawks earned a reputation for inventive offense.
Kotelnicki left for Penn State after the 2023 season, then returned to Lawrence ahead of the 2026 season to rejoin Leipold’s staff. So while Cignetti credited Kansas for the play that helped beat Nebraska, the concept was born from the offense Leipold and Kotelnicki built together in Lawrence.
However bumpy the last few seasons have been for Kansas, Cignetti’s comments were a reminder of how much creativity Leipold’s staff brought to the program. On Saturday, that showed up in the middle of Indiana’s biggest moment.
In Other News...
Kansas Let A Winnable Utah Game Slip In A Familiar Way
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What kept this from becoming a breakthrough was the same issue that has too often undercut winnable games: self-inflicted mistakes. Kansas was flagged 10 times for 90 yards, and those penalties helped hand Utah extra chances that eventually showed up on the scoreboard. Even with the defensive improvement, the Jayhawks left with a 41-24 loss and the familiar frustration of knowing they were close enough to make the result sting. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Let A Shootout Slip Away As Sideline Frustration Boiled Over
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For the Jayhawks, the bigger concern was how quickly a promising shootout turned into frustration on the sideline as the game slipped further away. A team that had hoped to get moving in conference play instead fell to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the league, leaving Kansas to sort through a loss that had enough explosive plays to feel competitive, but not enough stops to make it matter. [Read more 🡒]
Lance Leipold Weighed In On A Costly Kansas Penalty Vs Utah
Kansas game against Utah had its share of frustration before a late explanation added another layer to the night. During a drive that ended in a touchdown, cornerback Syeed Gibbs was flagged twice for pass interference, and the sequence left Lance Leipold clearly annoyed as the flags piled up on a possession that swung the momentum.
Leipold was later penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after an official believed he was charging toward the referee to argue, when he was actually heading over to check on Gibbs. In his postgame media session, Leipold clarified what happened and said the pass interference calls were difficult ones, a reminder of how quickly confusion can turn an already costly stretch into an even bigger sideline headache. [Read more 🡒]