Nebraska came out of Saturday looking like a team that could finally flip one of these games. For three quarters, the Cornhuskers had the defending national champion Indiana Hoosiers on the ropes and looked every bit like the better side. They were close enough to smell their first win over a Top 25 team in 31 games.
Then the game swung on the kind of play Nebraska simply couldn’t survive.
Indiana hit a 75-yard pass to Nick Marsh down the middle, stretching the lead to 17-6 and turning a 17-13 game into a moment Nebraska never fully recovered from. From there, the Huskers were back in the familiar spot of trying to claw their way through a game instead of closing it out. Even so, they kept battling right to the end, including a drive that started in the shadow of their own goal line and carried all the way to midfield.
That’s the frustrating part for Nebraska. For most of the afternoon, it looked like a team that was sending a message to the Big Ten: “We’re back.” But when the game tightened and someone needed to take control, the same old problems showed up again.
The Huskers cannot be giving up a 75-yard touchdown pass right after building an 11-point lead if they want to keep moving forward. And just as important, they can’t let a shot like that knock them off course the way they did Saturday.
Curt Cignetti’s Indiana team showed Nebraska the difference between being close and being ready. The Hoosiers didn’t blink when the Huskers were rolling after the long Anthony Colandrea touchdown run pushed Nebraska to a two-score advantage. They stayed calm, let Nebraska press, and took advantage of a safety spot that has been a weak point for the defense all season.
The encouraging part for Nebraska is that this was nothing like the 56-7 loss it took against Indiana the last time around. That alone says something.
But now the Huskers have to prove this was more than just a better-looking defeat. At some point, one of these hard-fought losses has to become the win that changes the conversation.
In Other News...
Nebraska's New-Look Roster Already Faces A Big Ten Readiness Test
Nebraskas revamped mens basketball roster got its first real look in an exhibition against St. Louis, and the night offered a useful reminder of how much the Cornhuskers still have to figure out before Big Ten play arrives. With eight newcomers joining seven returnees, the mix was still taking shape, even as freshman Jacob Lanier led Nebraska with 15 points in a 79-74 loss that gave Fred Hoiberg an early baseline for where his team stands.
The stat sheet was close enough to suggest the Huskers can compete, with both teams grabbing 41 rebounds, but Hoiberg said afterward that Nebraska was out-toughed. That kind of edge is exactly what exhibition games are supposed to expose, and for a roster built almost from scratch, the challenge now is turning individual promise into the kind of physical, connected play that travels in conference games. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Let Another Big Opportunity Slip Away Under Matt Rhule
Nebraska had another chance to turn a promising moment into something bigger Saturday, and again the chance slipped away. The Cornhuskers fell to No. 7 Indiana, 20-17, in a game that fit too neatly into a familiar pattern for a program still trying to climb back into the national conversation. The loss extended Nebraskas losing streak against top-25 opponents to 31 games, a run that underscores how hard it has been for the Huskers to cash in when the opponent is at its best.
For Matt Rhule, the frustration is starting to take on a historical edge. Nebraska has not beaten a top-seven team since 2015, and Rhule is still searching for his first win over a ranked opponent since arriving in Lincoln. The broader story around this team remains the same: competitive enough to stay in the fight, but not yet able to land the kind of signature victory that changes how the season is viewed. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Let Another Winnable Game Slip Away Under Matt Rhule
Nebraska had a real chance to leave Indiana with a result that would have felt like a statement, but the Cornhuskers let a winnable game slip away in a tight contest decided by a handful of fourth-quarter plays. The loss also snapped Indianas 22-game winning streak, a reminder that this was not some throwaway opponent or empty Saturday, but the kind of game Nebraska has to be able to finish if it wants to keep building under Matt Rhule.
Instead, the late moments belonged to Indiana, and Nebraska again found itself on the wrong side of a one-score game. It is the sort of defeat that lingers because the opportunity was there, the margin was thin, and the details in the final period made all the difference, leaving the Cornhuskers with another frustrating lesson about how small the gap is between progress and disappointment. [Read more 🡒]