With a huge home game on deck next week against Ohio State, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti hasn't had to get creative to find a way to keep his players locked in on the immediate task at hand. Not with a visit to Nebraska up next on Saturday.
“Well, it’s a Big Ten game on the road against an undefeated team so it’s a huge challenge, which we have to respond to, and our guys will be excited to play,” Cignetti said. “I’ve never been to Nebraska. I’ve never been to the state
of Nebraska, and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve heard great things about the stadium, the fans. Obviously great tradition and history there through the years.”
No. 7 Indiana (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) and Nebraska (5-0, 2-0) are two of the three Big Ten teams without a loss, and the defending national champion Hoosiers will carry a 21-game win streak into Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers are 7.5-point favorites against a team that has lost 30 straight against Top 25 opponents.
The backdrop is similar to two years ago in Bloomington, Indiana. It was the Hoosiers' seventh game under Cignetti and, after winning their first six by a total of 196 points, Nebraska was billed as their toughest opponent to date. The Huskers turned over the ball five times in Indiana's 56-7 win.
“I went back and watched it this week,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “I like to feel the pain myself and relive the pain.”
Rhule, in his fourth season in Lincoln, has the Huskers off to their best start since 2016. Dual-threat quarterback Anthony Colandrea has proved to be every bit the playmaker he was expected to be when he transferred from UNLV as the Mountain West offensive player of the year, and the defense has a conference-leading 16 sacks, one more than the Hoosiers.
“We’ve played guys that are mobile and can throw it,” Cignetti said. “A guy that can spin it pretty good and process and get it where it’s got to be accurately as quickly as possible, on time, on rhythm, that can also extend plays and make his with his legs, that’s a real weapon for the offense. So we’ll have to do a great job of caging this guy and putting pressure on him."
This will be the second time Cignetti and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines have schemed against Colandrea. Cignetti was coach at James Madison in 2023 when the Dukes played at Virginia, the first of Colandrea's three schools.
Colandrea was making his first career start that day and threw for 377 yards and two touchdowns. James Madison won 36-35, scoring the winning touchdown in the final minute.
Indiana running backs Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. each are averaging better than 100 yards per game.
Richard showed no lingering effects of the ankle sprain he sustained against Northwestern two weeks ago as he piled up a career-high 204 yards on 13 carries in a 47-15 win at Rutgers last Saturday. Beebe ran 18 times for 122 yards and a TD.
Richard leads the Big Ten with 117.4 yards per game and Beebe is third with 104.
Indiana and Nebraska have combined for just three turnovers. The Hoosiers are tied for the national lead with one turnover and the Huskers are tied for fourth with two. The Hoosiers have committed a total of 18 turnovers since Cignetti took over in 2024, fewest among teams that have been in the Bowl Subdivision the entire time.
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