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It was a long game for Nebraska football against Indiana in Bloomington.
The Huskers came into Saturday hoping to win their first ranked road game since 2011, however, their dreams were swiftly crushed by the Hoosiers. Indiana could simply do anything it wanted on the way to its 56-7 win. Anytime Nebraska found an ounce of momentum, the Hoosiers or the Huskers themselves found a way to stop it.
Here are three takeaways and a question from the catastrophic loss:
Defense has a long way to go
Nebraska’s defense entered the game as one of the best units in the conference and emerged looking terrible.
Indiana had 12 drives in the game and eight of them ended in a touchdown. Hoosiers’ senior quarterback Kurtis Rourke torched the Huskers all game. Indiana scored a touchdown on 4-of-6 drives that Rourke was in for and one of those would’ve likely ended in another score if his receiver didn’t drop a wide-open catch.
The Hoosiers’ receivers found space all game and Rourke hit them every single time. Even though Nebraska’s standout senior cornerback Tommi Hill returned from injury, the secondary had a tough time containing anything Indiana drew up. Even when the Hoosiers’ backup quarterback, sophomore Tayven Jackson came in, there was no pushback from the defense.
The Husker defensive backs had a rough time tackling, allowing Indiana’s receivers to turn short catches into big plays. They have struggled at containing receivers in space and that issue was glaring today.
Nebraska’s poor tackling also seeped into the team’s poor attempt to stop the Hoosiers’ rushing attack. Coming into the game, the Huskers had not allowed a single rushing touchdown all year, however, senior running backs Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton gashed Nebraska all day.
The duo combined for 17 carries for 169 yards and three touchdowns in the blowout win. Every time either of them touched the ball, Nebraska looked helpless trying to bring them to the ground.
There’s only one word to describe this performance: Embarrassing. The Huskers’ defense looked solid most of the season but fully crumbled under the pressure of a real offense. Indiana has one of the best offenses around and used the Nebraska defense as a punching bag to send a message to the rest of the country.
Huskers’ run game is nonexistent
Despite how bad the Blackshirts played, the Huskers’ rushing attack somehow contended for the worst part of the game.
Nebraska’s run game has been inefficient all season, but it was fully shown on display against the Hoosiers. The Huskers fed sophomore running back Dante Dowdell early and he continued to be as inexplosive as he usually is. Dowdell already looked poor, but a fumble that ended one of Nebraska’s few good drives opened up a spot on the bench for him.
Fellow sophomore Emmett Johnson came in to relieve Dowdell, but even he couldn’t do much as he had a measly 24yards on eight carries. Johnson has looked like the best back in the running back room, but even he has failed to have a true breakout game.
The Huskers’ inability to find a flow in the running game flat-out won’t cut it in the Big Ten. The air attack has been alright, even in bad games, but it isn’t good enough to supplement the running game.
Opposing defenses don’t even need to game plan for the ground game at this point.
Offense needs to finish drives
Although it wouldn’t have made an impact against Indiana, the Huskers struggled to finish their few good drives. Nebraska had three drives of 10 or more plays, however, it only mustered seven points between them.
It seems the Huskers’ turnover issues from last season may have returned as they gave up the ball twice in the red zone. The last thing Nebraska can do, especially in games where possessions are scarce, is give up the ball in enemy territory.
The Huskers’ lack of a competent placekicker also doesn’t help when it comes to finishing drives. Sophomore kicker Tristan Alvano missed another game and Nebraska didn’t give freshman John Hohl a chance to potentially whiff a kick in front of the opposing crowd.
After last season, the Huskers are still adjusting to the feeling of being on the opposing team’s side of the field, but they need to start acting like they’ve been there before.
How does Dylan Raiola bounce back?
Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola has been dreadful these past two games. Raiola has not thrown a touchdown since week four against Illinois and has thrown five interceptions in his last two starts. With a trip to Columbus to play top-five Ohio State on the schedule, Raiola will need to regroup.
Raiola was asked to do a lot today, as he threw the ball a season-high 44 times and he didn’t deliver. It didn’t help that he didn’t have a run game to fall back on.
As the game went on, it was easy to tell that Raiola was wearing down. The freshman looked somewhat poised despite an early deficit but faltered as the game progressed. Raiola did not throw any interceptions in the first half, but a lousy effort in the second half led to him throwing three.
Raiola looked like a superstar in the first chunk of the season but has shown he is still a freshman. Opposing coaches are figuring out how to scout him and he has yet to adjust. Raiola potentially has a long career of football ahead of him but will need to use his last two performances as a learning tool to do that.
sports@dailynebraskan.com
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