Even with its top three quarterbacks dealing with injuries, Nebraska’s offense finally got something going against Indiana on Saturday for the first time in weeks.
Unfortunately, its defense, wearing the Blackshirts alternate uniforms, had no answers for backup quarterback Peyton Ramsey and the Hoosiers’ passing game.
Ramsey, who got the start in place the injured Michael Penix, ended up completing 27-of-40 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-31 win over the Huskers.
Nebraska was already without No. 1 quarterback Adrian Martinez (leg injury), and then starter Noah Vedral left the game with a left leg injury of his own late in the second quarter. True freshman Luke McCaffrey took over and led NU on three scoring drives to stay close, but the defense couldn’t slow down Indiana all day.
After scoring just one offensive touchdown in each of the past three games, the Huskers ended up with four TDs and 514 yards of total offense. But Indiana answered with more than 450 yards of its own and only punted three times.
Nebraska falls to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play, while the Hoosiers clinched bowl eligibility by improving to 6-2, 3-2.
Vedral and Nebraska’s offense wasted no time at all, with Vedral connecting on his first two passes for 61 yards and then running into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown on the opening drive.
But Indiana answered right back by marching 71 yards on 11 plays, including converting a fourth-and-two from the NU 40, to get on the board with a 22-yard field goal from Logan Justus.
The Huskers kept on rolling, though, with Vedral hauling in a 22-yard catch from JD Spielman (plus a 15-yard late hit penalty) on the first play of the ensuing series. After a 31-yard catch and run from Wan’Dale Robinson, Vedral finished it off with his second rushing score from a yard out to make it 14-3 with 6:57 left in the first quarter.
The track meet continued when Indiana’s offense took over again, with Ramsey completing five straight passes and then ran in an eight-yard touchdown. A missed extra point left the score at 14-9 going into the second quarter.
Nebraska was off and running on its third drive until Jamar Johnson knocked the ball away from Vedral in the backfield, and IU’s Shamar Jones picked it up. Jones rumbled 68 yards before Vedral chased him down at the Huskers’ 8-yard line.
It took one play for Ramsey to find Ty Fryfogle for an eight-yard touchdown pass, giving the Hoosiers their first lead of the day at 16-14.
After getting bailed out on an IU facemask penalty on what should have been a third-and-long stop, Vedral hit Mike Williams on a 34-yard strike deep into Indiana territory. But a false start on Williams negated a converted fourth-down run by Robinson, and that led to a missed 32-yard field goal from Barret Pickering.
The Blackshirts finally forced the first punt of the game, but Vedral suffered a left leg injury, and McCaffrey took over with 5:07 left in the second. The drive quickly ended in NU’s first punt, giving the Hoosiers the ball back at midfield with 3:37 still to play before halftime.
Indiana marched down to the Nebraska 23, but linebacker Alex Davis came up with a critical interception on a botched pass from Ramsey to get the Huskers the ball back. The combination of McCaffrey and Robinson drove NU into Hoosier territory, and McCaffrey found Kanawai Noa in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown pass with 39 seconds left.
That would give Nebraska a 21-16 lead going into halftime, as the Huskers put up 313 yards of total offense and completed 11-of-12 passes as a team for 207 yards and a touchdown.
The third quarter started with back-to-back punts, but Nebraska’s was a 19-yard shank that spotted Indiana at the NU 35. That led to a seven-yard touchdown run by David Ellis, and a successful two-point conversion pass gave Indiana a 24-21 lead with 7:30 left in the third.
The Huskers responded by moving the ball to the IU 12 on a 13-play drive and settled for a 30-yard field goal from Pickering to tie it up at 24-24.
It didn’t take long for Indiana to reclaim the lead, however. Ramsey hit tight end Peyton Hendershot for a 40-yard completion and then found Matt Bjorson for a two-yard touchdown toss.
McCaffrey hit Noa on a nice pass to get past midfield, but Noa coughed up the football, and Indiana recovered. Ramsey completed a 38-yard pass to Fryfogle on a second-and-20, and then the Hoosiers converted a fourth-and-seven.
Running back Stevie Scott capped it off with a nine-yard touchdown run to push the deficit to 38-24 with 12:08 remaining in the game.
Nebraska got a nice boost to its rally with two Indiana personal foul penalties on the first play of the ensuing drive. The Huskers capitalized with a four-yard touchdown run by Robinson with 10:21 left.
The Blackshirts were able to answer the call with a key third-down stop at their own 40, and the offense got the ball back at its own seven with 6:36 on the clock. Vedral replaced McCaffrey and hit Spielman on a 31-yard pass to get the drive going.
Vedral found Spielman again on the next two plays, but the Huskers soon found themselves facing a fourth-and-five from the Indiana 34. Vedral rolled right, and his throw fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs with 3:23 remaining.
Ramsey converted a third-and-seven with an 11-yard scramble, and that would be all Indiana needed to run out the rest of the clock and seal the win.
Robinson finished with 22 rushes for 83 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 71 yards, while IU receiver Whop Philyor hauled in 14 catches for 178 yards.
Nebraska will return to action next week when it travels to take on Purdue for an 11 a.m. kickoff on FOX.
