TLDR: Nebraska is 5-0 for the first time since 2016, and nobody outside Lincoln has to take it seriously yet. That changes if the Cornhuskers can handle the defending national champs at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, October 10.
Unbeaten Nebraska hosts No. 6 Indiana, the defending national champion, in a Big Ten game where both teams have mostly beaten soft schedules. Josh Hoover has kept Indiana's offense rolling after Mendoza left, and Anthony Colandrea's Huskers finished the Maryland win with 34 straight points. Indiana opened as more than a touchdown road favorite, so the open question is whether Nebraska's start holds up against a champion.
+Colandrea: 346 total yards, 3 TD passes vs Maryland
+Closed Maryland out with 34 unanswered points
+Already won on the road at Michigan State
−Early mistakes and lots of penalties vs Maryland
−WR L. Miles out, TE Nelson questionable
−Unranked, schedule light on real opponents
This one comes down to two quarterbacks nobody had circled in August. Josh Hoover took over an Indiana offense that lost Fernando Mendoza to the No. 1 pick in the draft, and the Hoosiers haven't skipped a beat: he went 20-of-27 for 251 yards, 4 touchdowns and no picks in the 47-15 win at Rutgers. On the other side, Anthony Colandrea piled up 346 yards of total offense and threw 3 touchdown passes as Nebraska pulled away from Maryland 48-23.
Turbo Richard is the name to watch on the Indiana side. He's listed probable with an ankle and still ran for 204 yards on 13 carries against Rutgers, so the ankle didn't look like much of a problem. Nebraska is without receiver L. Miles, who's out with an undisclosed injury, and tight end C. Nelson is questionable with a leg issue but expected to play. Indiana opened as more than a touchdown favorite on the road, which tells you how the market sees the gap between these two.
Here's what doesn't fit the defending-champion story: who Indiana has played. North Texas, Howard and Western Kentucky got blown out, with Howard and WKU held scoreless. Then Northwestern stayed within 29-23, the only Hoosiers game decided by one score so far. Nebraska's schedule hasn't been much harder, but at least the Huskers have already won a road game, 31-13 at Michigan State, plus a Big Ten game at home.
The Maryland win wasn't clean. Nebraska made early mistakes and got flagged all afternoon, and Dwayne McDougle III's 81-yard pick-six is what turned it. After that, the Huskers scored the game's final 34 points and the defense shut Maryland down. That second-half finish is what Nebraska needs to bring to an 11 a.m. kickoff against a team that has scored at least 29 points every week.
The forecast says clear and low 70s with a 13 mph wind, which is a good day for football in Lincoln. With a FOX audience, an early kickoff and both teams unbeaten, this is about as big a stage as Memorial Stadium has had in years. Indiana gets a real road test for its new quarterback. Nebraska gets the chance to show 5-0 means something.
Indiana Hoosiers at Nebraska Cornhuskers — Unbeaten Nebraska Gets Its Proof Game Against No. 6 Indiana | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush
Howard55-0
North Dakota34-7
