The Hoosiers are a veteran squad who sit atop the Big Ten conference. For head coach Curt Cignetti this group of older student athletes needs to improve and learn every week.
“Dealing with success is a lot better than dealing with failure,” Cignetti said Monday at his press conference. “But you've got to stay humble and hungry and maintain your edge. Yeah, I think you're always learning. Did I learn? Yeah.”
The No. 16 team in the country ranks at No. 4 in total offense and No. 6 in total defense with a handful of players ranked inside the top 20 in some individual statistics.
But you’d never guess that based on how humble these players act, regardless of their resume, senior running back Justice Ellison said Tuesday.
“And the guys in the room have been doing a really good job with staying focused on, how can I make the team better, how can I continue to develop, and how can I be able to extend these touchdowns so that we can, you know, blow these teams out,” Ellison said.
A bond built by faith
The bond this team has is impressive to say the least, from the shoutouts to each other, to the smiles, giggles and the solemnity when it’s necessary. Ellison contributes the bond to the shared faith the team has.
“When you believe in something greater than you it breeds success and a better version of yourself,” Ellison said. “That’s the storyline of this year. A lot of people didn’t believe in Indiana, what they were going to do, but we believed before we could see it. I’ve been thankful to be around a group of guys that are doing the same things.”
A team that continues to learn, develop and have stronger faith each and every day is a recipe for success that’s proven by this 6-0 squad.
Husking the Cornhuskers
Nebraska is a team that shares a similar vision as Cignetti’s Hoosiers, which Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule highlighted Monday.
“You hope that while we’re in year three, year four and year five, you have things established,” Rhule said when discussing special teams and the phases of the game. “In year two you’re still trying to figure out who can do what, which probably sounds hard for people to hear, but guys grow fast, they get better.”
The Cornhuskers are a young team that prides itself on physicality, as Big Ten football teams usually do.
Their last game was two weeks ago against Rutgers, in which they won 14-7 at home. Rutgers is a team with a similar defensive front to IU running nickel and 5-2 looks.
The main difference is Rutgers defensive line was regularly pushed back 2-3 yards a play. Rutgers allows around 6 yards a play compared to Indiana’s 4.5 average.
The movement upfront allowed sophomore running back Dante Dowdell to average 4 yards per carry and senior back Rahmir Johnson had nearly 7 yards a carry.
Although when a few Scarlet Knights got into the freshman phenom quarterback Dylan Raiola’s face there were some poor results. Raiola threw a pick straight to the defense and finished with a completion percentage of 48.2%.
Raiola will make tight throws at times, which is to be expected of a QB as talented as Raiola. But, if IU pressure gets home it could get ugly for the young gunslinger.
All Nebraska's points came from designed run plays that beat obvious blitzes Rutgers were sending in the red zone. Which speaks to Rhule’s ability as a strong play caller, especially against the blitz.
The Nebraska defense is what poses the largest threat to the Hoosiers. Nebraska is No. 6 in the country allowing 4.2 yards a play and No. 7 in scoring defense allowing a bit over 11 points per game.
A mainly nickel defense that can go into a 5-2 easily, with a safety who plays as a money backer that causes chaos with senior DB Isaac Gifford. He will play over top, in the box and blitz off the edge if the play calling gets frisky enough. The Cornhusker defensive line lived in the backfield against Rutgers. Sophomore edge James Williams paired with senior defensive linemen Nush Hutmacher and Ty Robinson all earned stats in sacks and TFLs two Saturdays ago. This defense flies around the field and makes plays which is why they rank at No. 13 in total defense.
This Nebraska team is by far Indiana’s biggest threat to date. But a sold out Hoosiers crowd, Big Noon Kickoff, Barstool in the tailgate lots, and a possibly legendary homecoming weekend on the line all add more fuel to the Hoosier fire.
Kickoff is at Noon ET on Fox for Hoosiers vs. Cornhuskers.
