Game Day Guide: What you need to know for Nebraska-Indiana

We're back with kegs and eggs football between Nebraska and No. 16 Indiana. And this one isn’t going to be easy for the Huskers.

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

Hope you got all of those bye week projects done and out of the way, because we’re right back into it with kegs and eggs football between Nebraska and No. 16 Indiana. And this one isn’t going to be easy for the Huskers.

The Hoosiers — who are undefeated — have won every game this season by at least two touchdowns. Senior quarterback Kurtis Rourke has completed 73.8% of his passes this season, racking up 1,752 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has only two interceptions. Senior running back Justice Ellison leads the team with 409 yards and six touchdowns, while senior back Ty Son Lawton has 329 yards and seven touchdowns. 

“They’re leading the Big Ten in passing and they’re close, if not the top, in rushing,” coach Matt Rhule said earlier this week. “They’re top 10 in the country in offense, they’re top 10 in the country in defense. They’re the only team that hasn’t trailed all year and they’ve scored 80 points in the fourth quarter. This is probably a top-10 football team we’re facing. They started the season unranked so they’re maybe not getting the dues that they’re supposed to get. Other people can lose to a bad team and they’ll keep them in the top 10 because they started in the top 10. Coach (Curt) Cignetti has done an amazing job. Their quarterback is absolutely fantastic, they’ve got playmakers. They’re good on special teams. It’s a great team.”

How does Nebraska match up? Well, defensive coordinator Tony White and the Blackshirts certainly have their work cut out from them. There was plenty of talk this week about disguising coverages and that being a key in the game plan. With that said, he also was clear that Indiana’s offense reminds him of no other team’s offense.

"Just because they operate so efficiently," White said. "They know exactly what they're doing and what they want to do."

We’ve talked about limiting explosive plays plenty in the past, while also saying Nebraska needs to make its own. That’s the storyline once again, because the Hoosiers are tied for the third most plays of 20-yards or more (32). The Huskers, on the other hand, have only allowed 10 completions of 20 yards or more.

Settle in. It should be an interesting day in Bloomington.¹

Everything you need to know for Nebraska-Indiana:

TV Channel: Fox (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft)

Date: Saturday, Oct. 19

Time: 11 a.m. CT

Live Stream: FoxSports.com (with TV provider)

Radio: Huskers Radio Network 

Location: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana

Weather: Mainly sunny. High of 72 degrees. Winds light and variable.

Line: Indiana -6.5

Over/Under: 49.5

Notable quotes:

Matt Rhule on his message to the team:

“Focus on us. We can’t control the other team. It’s the same message I said at UNI, same message I said at UTEP, same message I say every week. The team that plays the best wins. It’s not the team with the best roster, it’s not the team with the best record. It’s not the team who won last week. It’s not the team that has the better music in the locker room. The team that plays better wins. Have a good week of preparation. Be in the moment, one snap at a time. Don’t worry about the scoreboard and go play. What I respect so much about this team that we’re facing is that they’ve outscored opponents in the fourth quarter 80-17. They’re one-score ball games that they pull away from because they stay in the moment. That’s a veteran team with a bunch of guys who have won a lot of football. They know what it takes. I think our guys have gutted out two straight wins, they’ve had some big moments. They took a tough loss and learned from that. We’re just going to focus on us and go out there and just play.”

Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield on season reflections so far:

“We have to do better on third downs. If we can stay on schedule we’re good. Certain downs and distances we have to throw and catch, we aren’t as good as we need to be. We need to accomplish our goals for the rest of the season.”

Quarterback Dylan Raiola on how he approached the bye week:

“I grinded early during the week. Then I took a couple days to enjoy, I got to go hang out with my mom a little bit. It was good. I got to spend a lot of time with her. When you come back from a little break you get a new boost of energy and you can get ready to go again.”

Linebacker John Bullock on Indiana’s offense:

“I think their quarterback is super savvy. He’s an older guy. He’s a veteran guy so he picks up on the looks of defenses. I think just our disguises this week will help us a lot with that. They have two good backs that run the ball hard. They throw lines pretty well. They block well. We will be ready for them.”

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti on what he’s learned about his team so far:

“I think what I've learned up to this point is that we have unlimited potential as an institution and football program.”

Other games we’re watching this week:

(All games in CT unless noted otherwise)

Erin

UCLA at Rutgers, 11 a.m., FS1

Let’s just put it this way: Rutgers’ defense ranks 74^th in the nation in total defense. The Scarlet Knights are allowing 369.8 yards per game. It’s not so bad specifically in pass defense though, where Rutgers ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 187.0 yards per game. Here’s where things get interesting: UCLA comes into this matchup ranked 130th in the nation in total offense with 272.8 yards per game. Advantage Rutgers?

No. 24 Michigan at No. 22 Illinois, 2:30 p.m., CBS

Fun fact: this is the first meeting between two ranked teams at Illinois’ Memorial Stadium since 2000. It’s also the second straight sellout this season for the Fighting Illini.² As for the game itself, Michigan is rolling with seventh-year senior Jack Tuttle at quarterback. If the Wolverines stick to relying on the run, Illinois should be able to load the box defensively and take control. Does Illinois rush the field if the Illini pull this off? My vote is yes. Take the field goal posts too.

No. 5 Georgia at No. Texas, 6:30 p.m., ABC

I love fun facts. Here’s another: Texas has played 360 minutes of football so far this season and has only trailed for 3:50 of it. Those 3:50 belongs to Oklahoma after taking an early 3-0 lead late in the first quarter last week. But let’s say you’re not impressed by that. How about we go one step further: out of the 180 minutes in second-half time, Texas has not held a double-digit lead for only 15 minutes. That was the third quarter in the win over Mississippi State. Do I think Georgia maybe takes a knock at some of those stats? Sure, but it’s feeling like the Longhorns are on a roll.

Brandon

Arizona State at CIncinnati, 11 a.m., ESPN+

Going way off the beaten path here, but if you want a potentially wild second screen experience this is the game. Jeff Sims is getting the start for 5-1 ASU, so you can do your own, real-time comparison of what was at quarterback at Nebraska and what is. Cincinnati, 4-2, is about a 5-point favorite and I'm not sure it should be favored and it probably wouldn't be if the Sun Devils had their starting QB. Anyway, a lot going on in this one.

No. 7 Alabama at No. 11 Tennessee, 2:30 p.m., ABC

Feels like a playoff eliminator. Both teams were among the frontrunners a couple of weeks ago, and both still have decent odds to make the field right now but one won't after Saturday. After a blistering start, freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava has come back to the pack quickly for the Vols, but the UT defense is probably the best unit in this game. Almost nothing would surprise me in this game, so it should be great television.

Iowa at Michigan State, 6:30 p.m., NBC

I have a strong feeling Iowa (-6.5) is going to hammer Michigan State here, so I'll be tuning in to see if I'm right. Spartan QB Aidan Chiles is undeniably talented, but he's got eight interceptions to five touchdowns through six games. Iowa's defense, as it seems to be every year, is top-20 in interceptions. Seems like a bad combo for the guys in green. The Hawkeyes are flying under the radar now at 4-2, but their two losses are to Ohio State and (by a point) to current top-10 Iowa State. 

1. I’m purposely not bringing up the bowl game talk, except for here.

2. I’m not being snarky here. Do not confuse this note as snark!