On Saturday at 11am the Huskers take the field in Bloomington against an undefeated 6-0 Indiana football team. Indiana has been surprisingly dominant this year scoring at least 30 points in every game so far. This group led by Curt Cignetti, the former James Madison head coach, has been incredible to start the season. Winning 42-13 against UCLA, 42-28 against Maryland and a decisive 77-3 victory over Western Illinois early in the year. The matchup we will see on Saturday will be an interesting back and forth matchup of Big 10 contenders.
On the offensive side Nebraska must establish a run early. The Huskers will most likely not lean heavily on the run game against Indiana but will instead need Dylan Raiola to have the best game of his young career. Raiola typically plates very well against the zone and Indiana runs more zone defense than any team in the Big 10. With an over 70% completion rate while opposing defenses are in zone defense, Raiola is one of the top quarterbacks in the nation against the zone. Fitting the football into tight windows and having experienced receivers that can find the hole in the zone and adjust their route accordingly are all factors that play into such a high rating. Raiola will be facing a defense that is a vastly more talented version of UTEP as far as scheme is concerned. The running back room has yet to have someone step up and take control of the reins, but in this game it is highly likely that we see Dowdell and Rhamir Johnson get a lion’s share of the carries.
The rushing attack needs to be used to slow down Indiana’s pass rush as vigilantly as possibly. With multiple players with more than one sack on the year, if given the chance Indiana will raise a commotion in the backfield. Using their aggressive pass rush nature against them with sweeps to Barney and screens off the edge to Rhamir will be of huge benefit to Nebraska if they want to escape Indiana with a win.
The defense will be getting back Tommi Hill Saturday. Pairing Hill up with Wright and the rest of the secondary will be the best defensive backfield Indiana has played all year. Adding in the front seven and an emerging superstar pass rusher in James Williams, Indiana and their impressive scoring attack should be held to under 30 points.
If Nebraska can keep the pressure on the Indiana passing attack and Raiola can mount one of his own, Nebraska could be heading back to Lincoln 6-1 and bowl eligible for the first time in a long time. A Husker win would be huge before the Ohio State game and would keep Rhule’s promise of being relevant in November.
