Game Week: Indiana
NEBRASKA vs. INDIANA
Oct. 19, 2024 | MEMORIAL STADIUM
BLOOMINGTON, IND. | 11 AM CT
HUSKERS
Record: 5-1, 2-1 Big Ten
Last Game: vs. Rutgers (W, 14-7)
Rankings: AP – RV/Coaches - 25
Head Coach: Matt Rhule
Career/NU Record: 57-51 (9th Year)/10-8 (2nd Year)
vs. Indiana: 0-0
HOOSIERS
Record: 6-0, 3-0 Big Ten
Last Game: at Northwestern (W, 41-24)
Rankings: AP – 16/Coaches - 18
Head Coach: Curt Cignetti
Career/IND Record: 125-35 (14th Year)/6-0 (1st Year)
vs. Nebraska: 0-0
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: Indiana leads, 10-9-3
At Bloomington: Nebraska leads, 3-2-1
Last Game: Nebraska, 35-21 (2022)
Win Streak: Nebraska, 1 game
BROADCAST INFO
TV – Fox (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft)
RADIO – Huskers Radio Network (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
INTERNET AUDIO – Huskers.com
APP AUDIO – Official Huskers App
The Matchup
Nebraska returns to action following a bye week by traveling to Bloomington, Ind., to take on the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers. Game time at IU's Memorial Stadium is set for 11 a.m. CT (Noon ET) with FOX providing the television coverage of the contest. The network will also air its Big Noon Kickoff pregame show from Bloomington. Saturday's game can also be heard on the Huskers Radio Network and the Huskers App.
The Huskers stand at 5-1 through the first half of the 2024 season and are coming off a 14-7 victory over Rutgers on Oct. 5 at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska's 5-1 start marks its best six game start since 2016. Nebraska used an inspired defensive effort to secure the Big Ten victory and improve to 2-1 in league play. The Blackshirts limited a powerful Rutgers rushing attack to just 78 yards on the ground and did not allow a point until the game's final five minutes.
Indiana comes into the game with a perfect 6-0 record, including a 3-0 mark in Big Ten action. Indiana will enter Saturday's matchup as one of 11 remaining unbeaten teams in the FBS ranks, and is ranked No. 16th in the Associated Press Poll and No. 18 in the coaches poll. The Hoosiers feature one of the nation's most potent offenses, ranking second in the nation in scoring offense at 47.5 points per game. Indiana is one of two FBS teams that has not trailed in a game this season and the Hoosiers have scored at least 41 points in each of its three Big Ten victories. The Hoosiers also lead the Big Ten in passing offense at better than 315 yards per game, and their defense ranks in the top 10 nationally in total defense.
Saturday's game marks just the fourth meeting between the schools since Nebraska joined the Big Ten and is only the second trip by the Huskers to Bloomington in that time, joining a 2016 Husker win.
Series History: Nebraska vs. Indiana
Nebraska and Indiana will meet for the 23rd time in school history on Saturday, but for just the fourth time since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011. The trip to Bloomington is just Nebraska's second as a Big Ten program, with the Huskers winning at IU's Memorial Stadium, 27-22, in 2016.
• The two most recent matchups between the schools have been in Lincoln. Indiana posted a 38-31 victory in Lincoln in 2019, with the Huskers winning the most recent matchup, 35-21, in 2022.
• Nebraska and Indiana met 12 straight seasons from 1936 to 1947. The schools also met four straight years from 1975 to 1978, which were the most recent matchups before the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011.
• Saturday's game will mark the sixth time in the past eight meetings at least one of the teams has been nationally ranked. Saturday's meeting is the first time both teams have been ranked in at least one of the national polls entering a Nebraska-Indiana matchup.
Huskers Off to Best Start Since 2016
Nebraska opened the season with three consecutive non-conference victories, marking its first 3-0 start to the season since 2016. It was also the first time Nebraska was unblemished in nonconference play since 2016. The Huskers' 5-1 mark at the midpoint of the season is also NU's best six-game record since 2016, when Nebraska began the season with seven wins.
• Since 2000, this marks the 10th time Nebraska has started a season 5-1 or better. However, this is just the second time in the past 10 seasons Nebraska has reached that mark through six games. A victory on Saturday would give Nebraska a 6-1 start through seven games for the eighth time this century.
• With five wins Nebraska has matched its win total from the 2023 season. Nebraska is one of just 20 FBS teams, including 11 Power Four teams that has already matched or exceeded its 2023 win total. Indiana (+3) and Illinois (equaled) are Big Ten teams who join Nebraska in this group.
• Nebraska is just outside of the Associated Press Poll this week, and is No. 25 in the coaches poll. Nebraska was in both national polls for two consecutive weeks (Sept. 8, Sept. 15). Nebraska rose as high as 22nd in both polls. The No. 22 AP ranking was Nebraska's highest since being ranked 17th entering the 2016 regular-season finale at Iowa.
• The Sept. 20 game with Illinois was the first matchup of two AP ranked teams at Memorial Stadium since 2013 (vs. UCLA) and the first Big Ten games between two ranked teams since 2011 when 13th-ranked Nebraska defeated No. 9 Michigan State.
Nebraska Showing Ability to Control Games
In getting off to its best start since 2016, Nebraska has shown the ability to control games from start to finish. The Huskers did not trail in their first three games, and out-scored the opposition by a total of 102-20 in non-conference play. Through six games, Nebraska has trailed for a total of 15:15 of game action, including just more than 11 minutes against Illinois and less than four minutes at Purdue. Indiana enters Saturday's game as one of only two FBS teams that has not trailed in a game this season.
• Nebraska won each of its first three games by at least 18 points. It marked the first time NU won three straight games by at least 18 points since the middle of the 2014 season, when the Huskers defeated Northwestern (21), Rutgers (18) and Purdue (21). The Huskers added a fourth win by at least 18 points with its 28-10 win at Purdue.
• Nebraska scored on its opening drive in each of the first three games. Those scoring drives covered 72, 49 and 75 yards.
• In six games, Nebraska has out-scored the opposition 65-3 in the second quarter. In 2023, Nebraska was out-scored 81-66 in the second quarter. The Blackshirts have held each of their last two opponents (at Purdue, Rutgers) scoreless in the first half. Overall, Nebraska has pitched three first-half shutouts, after also blanking Colorado in the opening half.
• Opponents have had very little success early in games. Dating back to 2023, Nebraska has allowed just two first-quarter touchdowns in its past 13 games. Just two opponents in the past 19 games have scored a touchdown on their opening drive.
This Week’s Numbers
1 – Nebraska is the only team in the nation that has not allowed a rushing touchdown in 2024. Dating back to last season, Nebraska has not allowed a rushing TD in 11 of its past 13 games.
4 – Nebraska has committed just four turnovers in six games in 2024. The Huskers' four turnovers are the 11th-fewest in the nation. Nebraska is +6 in turnover margin this season after finishing the 2023 season -17.
20 - Nebraska has won five of its first six games, matching its win total from the 2023 season. Nebraska is one of just 20 teams in the FBS ranks who have matched or exceeded its win total from 2023, including three Big Ten teams (also Indiana, Illinois). Indiana currently leads that group with a +3 win total over 2023.
