BLOOMINGTON — Nebraska coach Matt Rhule set the stage for this weekend’s showdown against Indiana football during his weekly press conference.
“Truly, playing against good teams allows you to show what you can do,” Rhule said. “You can’t show what you can do when you play bad teams, you do that when you play good teams.”
Indiana and Nebraska have played their fair share of bad teams this season.
The No. 18 Hoosiers (6-0; 3-0 Big Ten) set all sorts of single-game records in a blowout victory over Western Illinois — a FCS team that came to Bloomington on a 25-game losing streak — while the Cornhuskers have played an FCS opponent (Northern Iowa) and a one of the last FBS teams to get a win (UTEP).
This weekend’s game won’t be a walk in the park for either team.
Jump into our weekly preview, The Runout, for what else stood out during the week, players to watch, a prediction and more:
More:Indiana football’s biggest opponent this weekend isn’t Nebraska. Here’s why.
Indiana football vs. Nebraska: Tale of the tape
- When: Saturday, Oct. 19 at 12:00 p.m. ET
- Where: Memorial Stadium (52,626), Bloomington, Indiana
- TV: FOX
- Line: Indiana -6.5
- Series: Indiana leads 10-9-3
- Last meeting: Nebraska def. Indiana, 35-21, on Oct. 1, 2022
More:Indiana football players spotlight offensive line’s success amidst historic success
Indiana football players to watch vs Nebraska
Kurtis Rourke, QB: The quarterback matchup this weekend is one to watch. Rourke on one side as a former MAC Offensive Player of the Year who has quietly entered the Heisman conversation in his fifth season and highly decorated true freshman Dylan Raiola on the other.
Raiola, the son of longtime Detroit Lions offensive lineman and former All-American Dominic Raiola, was ranked as the top quarterback prospect in the country by multiple recruiting services.
The winner of the duel will give his team a big advantage.
One focus for Nebraska will be limiting IU’s explosive plays in the passing game. The Hoosiers are tied for the third most plays of 20-yards or more (32) — a number through six games that’s just four shy of how many they had last season — with Nebraska coming into the matchup having only allowed 10 completions of 20-yard or more.
Jailin Walker, LB: Cignetti seemingly revealed Walker avoided a serious injury against Northwestern despite missing the second half.
The coach told reporters on Monday that he expects Walker to start this weekend, but how close to 100 percent will he be? And can handle a workload (78 snaps) like the one he had against Maryland if needed?
Indiana likes the depth its developing at linebacker with Isaiah Jones and Rolijah Hardy, but Walker’s athleticism is a step above his counterparts.
D’Angelo Ponds, CB: Nebraska’s most imposing skill player is receiver Isaiah Neyor, a two-time transfer who had a standout season at Wyoming in 2021. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder is leading the Cornhuskers in receiving yards (291) and touchdowns (four).
He’s been the team’s best red zone and vertical passing threat.
Ponds will be tasked with slowing Neyor while facing a significant size disadvantage at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds. He’s been solid this season — he leads IU with five pass breakups — but IU needs some more impact plays from the secondary that only has two interceptions as a group this season.
More:Pool party at Curt Cignetti’s house? Pat McAfee itching to bring College GameDay to IU
Indiana football: Odds and Ends
Master of disguise: Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White and his players talked a lot about disguising their coverages being a key to this week’s game plan. Linebacker John Bullock described IU quarterback Kurtis Rourke as “super savvy” and said he carved up Northwestern throughout the game when it stuck to the two-high safety look they showed pre-snap. Rourke ranks third in the country with a completion percentage of 73.8%.
Finish him: It was clear from Rhule’s comments on Monday that he’s impressed with the way Indiana closes out games. He repeatedly brought up the Hoosiers outsourcing opponents 80-17 in the fourth quarter during his press conference. It’s a point of pride for Cignetti as well and here’s some other impressive stats — IU’s opponents are only 2 of 22 on third downs (9.1%) and the Hoosiers have only given up 32 rushing yards in six games in the fourth.
Record watch: Two of the The Herald-Times’ bold predictions before the season involved Kurtis Rourke breaking the single-season program record for yards (3,573 yards) and touchdowns (28). At midseason, Rourke is on pace to do both with the team already qualifying for a bowl. He would finish the year with 3,796 yards and 30 touchdowns if his season averages hold. He would become only the fourth quarterback in program history with 3,000 passing yards in a season.
Turtle power: Indiana running backs coach John Miller has nicknamed his top back the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because like their cartoon counterparts they all have similar builds and different personalities. The nickname has received mixed reviews from the group — Ty Son Lawton joked he didn’t approve the moniker — but they did agree on who is who. Justice Ellison is Leonardo, Kaelon Black is Raphael, Elijah Green is Donatello and Ty Son Lawton is Michaelango. “I’m the cool guy,” Lawton said.
More:Indiana football has sold out half of its remaining 2024 home games
Indiana football stat of the week
500: Indiana’s offensive production continues to be off the charts. They put up 500-plus yards for a third straight game (529 yards) in a win over Northwestern. The Hoosiers have hit the mark four times this year and that’s already tied for the program’s third most 500-yard games in a single season. They are three away from tying the record set in 2015.
Indiana football quote of the week
“I think what I’ve learned up to this point is that we have unlimited potential as an institution and football program,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said.
Prediction: Indiana 31, Nebraska 21
A good day at the office for Nebraska’s defense would be holding IU to less than 40 points and 500 yards of offense, but that still leaves room for the Hoosiers to win the game pretty convincingly.
The Cornhuskers offense just isn’t built to survive in any kind of shootout with a freshman quarterback and a fairly pedestrian group of skill players.
If Indiana gets to 30 points, it will leave Memorial Stadium with a 7-0 record on Saturday afternoon.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
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