The first team to clinch bowl eligibility now goes to work on seeing if they can fulfill their coach’s initial bold prediction.
No. 16 Indiana comes off its bye week with a Big Ten Conference game against Nebraska on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind. The Hoosiers (6-0, 3-0) have won every game by at least 14 points.
When Curt Cignetti accepted the head coaching job, one of his first stops was Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where the Big Ten championship game was being played the next day. Cignetti went on Big Ten Network and said, “I figured I had to make this trip up here since we’ll be playing in this game next year.”
Many laughed when Cignetti uttered those words. Now, Indiana has a reasonable chance to be 9-0 before it plays Michigan and Ohio State in consecutive games. The guy who ushered James Madison into a successful beginning in FBS has showed he quickly can build a winner in a big conference.
“This is culture and mindset,” he said after the Hoosiers’ 41-24 win at Northwestern on Oct. 5. “These are guys that came from championship programs that have now won 20 of their last 21 games. And a lot of other transfers that come from good programs.
“And the guys that stayed had a chip on their shoulder and something to prove.”
Indiana is second in FBS in scoring at 47.5 points per game and fourth in total yardage at 515.7 yards per game. Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke is completing nearly 74 percent of his passes with a 14-2 touchdown-interception ratio.
Not to be outdone, the defense is allowing fewer than 15 points per game and has logged 19 sacks. Just two of the Hoosiers’ six opponents have gained more than 100 rushing yards.
Meanwhile, Nebraska (5-1, 2-1) also is coming off a bye. Its last game was a 14-7 home win over Rutgers on Oct. 5 that saw it gain just 261 total yards and allow four sacks. But the Cornhuskers avoided the kind of bitter loss that has defined the program in recent seasons.
Second-year coach Matt Rhule’s team fell out of the rankings in late September after a 31-24 overtime loss at home to Illinois. Saturday’s game and next week’s trip to No. 4 Ohio State provide Nebraska with a golden opportunity to return to the relevance Rhule seeks.
“Probably a top 10 team that we’re facing,” he said of Indiana, “but they are not getting the credit in the rankings because they started unranked.”
The Cornhuskers will present the Hoosiers’ offense with perhaps its stiffest challenge of the year. Nebraska has permitted just 11.3 points per game and has recorded 20 sacks to go along with two interception returns for touchdowns.
Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola is connecting on nearly 67 percent of his passes but is coming off perhaps his least effective performance in the win over Rutgers. He completed only 13 of 27 attempts for 134 yards with an interception.
