Nebraska drops 31st straight vs. ranked teams to Indiana

For 3 quarters this looked like the day the streak finally died. Nebraska came in 5-0, and Anthony Colandrea kept moving the chains.

Pete Nakos

@PeteNakos

Matt Rhule and Nebraska played musical chairs in the transfer portal at QB this offseason. It's safe to say the Cornhuskers got the right guy in Anthony Colandrea. Just makes clutch play after clutch play on 3rd down. t.co/UoruCXL6J7

Colandrea finished 25-of-43 for 255 yards, and Nebraska led 10-3 at halftime. That was the first time Indiana had trailed at the half since last season's Big Ten title game. By early in the 4th quarter it was 17-6, the Huskers led by 11 with about 12 minutes to go, and the national writers were starting to get the upset alert ready.

Nicole Auerbach

@NicoleAuerbach

Indiana is officially in danger of suffering its first loss since 2024.

Then Josh Hoover, who had missed a few deep shots, finally connected. He hit Nick Marsh for a long touchdown that got the Hoosiers back in it. Hoover only went 12-of-22, but those completions covered 263 yards, and Marsh caught 6 balls for 187.

The winner was even worse for Nebraska. Facing 4th down, Hoover found Marsh again, this time for a 44-yard touchdown. That made it 20-17, and Nebraska never got the lead back. Indiana is the defending national champion, and it is now 6-0 (3-0 Big Ten) with the longest active winning streak in FBS.

Chris Vannini

@ChrisVannini

Nebraska now has lost 31 straight games against ranked teams, going back to 2016. Indiana overcomes a 17-6 fourth quarter deficit to win 20-17.

For Nebraska the number is 31. The Huskers haven't beaten a ranked team since a 35-32 win over No. 22 Oregon in September 2016. Matt Rhule is now 0-10 against ranked teams in his 4 seasons in Lincoln, and this one hurts more than most because his team led by double digits in the 4th quarter at home. Nebraska is still 5-1 and has a real season going, but every time it gets a shot at a ranked team, this keeps happening.

Brett McMurphy

@Brett_McMurphy

Nebraska loses 31st consecutive game to an AP ranked opponent, the last 10 under Matt Rhule

Things don't get easier for Indiana. Ohio State comes to Bloomington next week with the 22-game streak on the line, and Hoover can't wait until the 4th quarter to hit his deep shots in that one. Nebraska's next chance at win No. 1 against a ranked team comes whenever the schedule gives it one. Until then the streak sits at 31, and it goes back a full decade.