The Husker defense limited Indiana to 79 yards and three first downs in the second half, leading Nebraska to a 35-21 win over Indiana at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.
Playing in front of the NCAA-record 386th consecutive sellout in Lincoln with 86,804 fans in attendance, Anthony Grant carried the ball 32 times for 136 yards to become the first Husker with four 100-yard rushing games in a season since Devine Ozigbo had five 100-yard games in 2018.
The Husker offense totaled 385 yards, with 270 yards through the air and 115 yards on the ground. Casey Thompson completed 18-of-27 passes for 270 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Trey Palmer pulled in eight catches for 157 yards and a touchdown, followed by Oliver Martin with three receptions for 65 yards and a score.
The Big Red held the Hoosiers to 290 yards, with 223 passing yards and 67 yards on the ground. Isaac Gifford was one of four Huskers with a team-high five tackles, while adding two tackles for loss. Quinton Newsome, Luke Reimer and Nick Henrich added five tackles apiece. Reimer snagged an interception while Garrett Nelson and Ty Robinson garnered two sacks and one sack, respectively.
Nebraska forced a three-and-out to open the game, before racing 72 yards in just three plays capped by Thompson’s 34-yard touchdown strike to Martin to put the Huskers up 7-0 just 1:43 into the game.
Indiana got on the board for the first time early in the second quarter on Myles Jackson’s fumble recovery in the endzone on Louis Moore’s strip-sack of Chubba Purdy with 12:17 left in the first half.
The two teams traded three-and-outs, before Chris Kolarevic broke through Indiana’s protection to block James Evans’ punt. Malcom Hartzog recovered the blocked punt and raced 30 yards into the endzone to give the Big Red its second lead of the night at 14-7 with 10:03 remaining in the half.
Following another forced three-and-out from the Nebraska defense, the Huskers constructed an 8-play, 55-yard drive capped by Jaquez Yant’s one-yard touchdown run to double the lead with 5:54 left on the clock.
The Hoosiers tacked on two scores in the final 3:09 to tie the game at 21 at the half. Emery Simmons hauled in a 13-yard touchdown score, while Shaun Shivers scored on a one-yard run with 15 seconds remaining to tie the game.
Defense dominated the third quarter, where both teams were held scoreless and combined for 104 total yards. Each team collected two first downs, while the Hoosiers held a 66-38 advantage in third-quarter offense.
Nebraska’s first drive in the fourth quarter began at its own 13-yard line with 14:42 left in the game. A personal foul against Indiana and a one-yard rush by Gabe Ervin Jr. set up a 71-yard strike from Thompson to Palmer on third and nine to put the Huskers ahead 28-21 with 13:43 remaining.
Following a three-and-out from the Hoosiers, the Huskers pieced together a 12-play, 54-yard drive capped by a one-yard scoring run from Thompson to jump ahead 35-21 with just over six minutes left.
Indiana had two drives in the final seven minutes of the game with an opportunity to cut into the Nebraska lead but managed only five yards and one first down. After forcing the Hoosiers into a turnover on downs, the Huskers took over with 2:49 remaining and ran out the clock to preserve the 35-21 win on Homecoming.
Nebraska returns to action next weekend, as the Huskers venture to Piscataway, N.J. for a matchup on Friday night at Rutgers. The game will be broadcast on KBBN 95.3 FM courtesy of the Huskers Radio Network
