With 12:01 left in the game, Nebraska led defending national champs Indiana 17-6 but as fast as the Green Lantern could launch skyward to a sonic boom, they immediately transformed from the error-free group we had enjoyed most of the day to the mistake-plagued Huskers of recent history who needed less than 5 minutes to cough the two-score lead up to the Hoosiers.
A combination of blown coverages on defense and an offense which failed to re-ignite after Anthony Colandrea’s 39-yard-run, which appeared
to have put them in the driver’s seat. But the car ran off the highway as it only took the Hoosiers seven plays to score their only two touchdowns of the day.
Josh Hoover and Nick Marsh, who had 6 catches for 187 yards and 2 TD’s, teamed up for the lion’s share of the damage. First, it was the first blown coverage as Marsh got behind the defense for a 75-yard paydirt on Indiana’s first play after Colandrea’s run.
The Huskers’ first two plays were a 10-yard sack followed by a Colandrea pick after which he was bailed out by a roughing the passer. However, the penalty was their best play and they punted three plays later.
Indiana then drove to the Husker 44 and went for it on 4th and 1. With shades of James Brown and Texas in the 1996 Big 12 title game playing in older fans’ heads, those watching were then treated to the Huskers not bothering to cover Marsh for a second time , whose presence on the field for the short yardage situation should have been a huge red flag that something was up.
Refrigerator Perry could have walked it in, but Indiana had Marsh, who probably couldn’t believe his luck as the Blackshirts bit on the play action just as in 1996, calmly hauled Hoover’s pass in and scored what would be the winning touchdown as Colandrea and crew would never get it out of their own end and things concluded after a hook and ladder also went nowhere.
