Nebraska vs Indiana: When the Football Gets Real
The Profizer's Pigskin Preview - Indiana Week
A true tale of two halves unfolded in Lincoln last Saturday evening. The first half was a horror story. Laundry was all over the field. There was hardly a series that didn’t feature a smattering of penalties. At times, it felt like a horrible trip down memory lane. Good ole Nebraska U got out the old gun and began shooting themselves in the foot over and over again. Maryland was moving the ball up and down the field at will. Racking up 177 passing yards and 123 rushing yards in the first half on their way to amassing 23 first half points. This was the same team that just one week before could only conjure 3 points and 39 total rushing yards against UCLA at home.
It was doomy. It was gloomy. Déjà vu. Nebraska can’t keep its end of the bargain. We will limp into the Indiana game, coming off yet another disappointing loss, feeling like the season was about to be sent into a total tailspin as the defending national champs come to town to collect another hide from the sacrificial lamb in Lincoln. We were all thinking it. Rhule keeps going for ill-advised fourth downs. Calling timeouts like they are going out of style. And Maryland was driving down the field again to extend their led to 16 before halftime. That was until Dwayne McDougle III, like an angel from above, slipped right in front of Malik Washington’s pass. A crowd pop that could be felt from the TV. Then Mr. McDougle III hit the lane without breaking stride. Crowd pop number two. Then we held our breath, was he going to make it. He had to. It felt like the game hinged on it. Finally, elation. Touchdown. You could sense the release from the pressure cooker that was Memorial Stadium. The team, the fans, everyone could finally exhale. It was going to be alright. The trigger that sparked 34 unanswered points.
The second half came. Domination ensued. The Blackshirts smelled the blood in the water and they wanted more. They saw Malik Washington wanted nothing to do with contact. That this was a team that when you apply the appropriate amount of pressure, they will break. And that’s exactly what they did. Nebraska racked up 252 second half yards, while holding Maryland to only 95 total yards, including buckling down and holding the Terrapins to only 18 rushing yards. Again the Huskers put on a scoring barrage in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 points, putting the game well out of reach.
The team showed a resiliency that hasn’t been there in the past. In fact, Maryland was the team that withered when the heat turned up. Did we get lucky? Or have we finally established a culture in Lincoln of toughness? Of never giving in? There definitely seems to be a competitive fire in this team that has been lacking, best seen in QB1 himself. But, September is over. Green Day is being awoken. Big boy football is coming. Soon we will have all our answers. We will know exactly what this team is made of. Does it get any bigger than the defending National Champions coming to your house? B1G Noon kickoff in town. The lights are getting brighter. Will the Huskers fade away into the background like we have seen the past decade? Remember, no ranked wins since 2016. Or is this a team that shines when the lights are brightest? One thing is for certain. A Curt Cignetti coached team will not beat themselves like Maryland. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. When you get a shot at the champ, you got to hit ‘em as hard as you can. It’s been so long since Nebraska won one of these damn things that the Profizer – and most of Husker Nation – might have forgotten what it takes. Accomplish these three things, you’ve got a chance. This is Nebraska vs Indiana. This is the Profizer’s Pigskin Preview.
1. Clean your Damn Room – Penalties. They have reared their ugly head too much in the first five games of the season. Even erased two touchdowns off the board. Nebraska ranks 133rd nationally in penalties per game, with 9.8/game and ranks 129th nationally in penalty yards per game, averaging 80.5 yards. Now let’s face it. The first five games weren’t exactly against world beaters. But when you start spotting good teams free yards and field position, they are going to make you pay. And not pay with field goals like we saw with Maryland last Saturday, but with touchdowns. When you look at the best teams in the nation, such as Indiana, they just don’t get penalized. Indiana is one of the least penalized teams in the country, ranking 5th in the nation in penalties per game and 2nd in the nation in penalty yardage per game. They are a very disciplined team. Nebraska can learn a lot from a team like that, if we aren’t too proud. If the Huskers want a chance, they have to play a clean game.
2. Home Field Advantage – There is going to be plenty of juice inside Memorial Stadium come Saturday afternoon. The Huskers cannot let that juice be poisonous. The team must stay within themselves. Too many times, in the past, the team has come high on their own product. Players try too hard to make the big splash play, instead of focusing on the job they are tasked to do, and it has lead to dud after dud of performances on the big stage. Coaches will preach, prepare like any other game, all the while, everyone knows it is not just like every other game. It’s not every week you get your shot at the champs. Players are human too. Everyone will have a little extra juice on Saturday, but the team that controls it the best will win. Harness the energy of the crowd. Use it to your advantage and unleash Husker Nation upon the Hoosiers.
3. Compete – Statistically throughout the season, Indiana and Nebraska have looked very, very similar. Both teams come into the matchup boasting a top-ten scoring offense, both are in the top 20 defenses, and both are staring down the barrel of a much tougher schedule in October. That being said, they both have had a relatively easy run of games up to this point (although, that Northwestern win on a Friday night is looking better and better each week for Indiana). Both teams will have to prove what they have Saturday afternoon. Can the Blackshirts stand up against a vaunted rushing attack? Does the offense have the physicality to run the ball against one of the top defenses in the B1G? There will be multiple times throughout the game where Nebraska is going to have to pick itself up off the ground and throw another punch. And it is about time we started landing some of these damn things.
I called the Michigan State game a must-win. The Huskers answered that call. Maryland was a test of mental toughness. It was touch and go there for a bit, but C’s get degrees. Now comes the midterm.
No more gimmes. No more cupcakes. No more wondering whether Nebraska is better. We’re about to find out just how far we have come.
The defending National Champions are coming to Lincoln. B1G Noon Kickoff will be right there with them. The spotlight Nebraska has spent the better part of a decade trying to crawl back underneath is finally pointed directly at Memorial Stadium. So what is this team going to do with it?
Nebraska will fight. Memorial Stadium remembers what big-time college football is supposed to feel like. For four quarters the Huskers will finally remind the country who we are.
Toe meets leather at 11AM.
The review is in. The cast is great. The show is riveting. But sometimes the better team just wins. The Huskers fall short but for the first time in a long time, they make the champs earn it.
Nebraska 24 – Indiana 30
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