Nebraska at No. 16 Indiana

This week’s turning point was a combination of drives by the Nebraska Cornhuskers that squandered an opportunity to get back into a game already slipping through their fingers.

The Indiana offense came out humming Saturday afternoon. It was clear from the first couple of plays that they were on their A game, proving that their multiplicity and physicality would be a lot to deal with for the Blackshirts. After the Hoosiers went up 14-0, pressure was placed on the shoulders of the offense. If Nebraska was going to pull off the upset, the offense needed to put together their best performance of the season. 

Dylan Raiola and the O stepped up to the challenge, putting together a 13-play, 75-yard drive to bring the game within seven. The defense, however, could not pay back the effort. 

The Hoosiers marched down the field and regained their 14-point lead four minutes later. Despite the defensive unit’s shortcomings, the offense still had an opportunity to bring their team within seven and potentially tie to begin the second half. 

But Marcus Satterfield’s group did not answer the bell. 

Back-to-back three-and-outs squandered a prime opportunity to create the desperately needed momentum to execute an upset of this magnitude. The offense’s inability to establish the run, coupled with its failure to stretch the field, left it one-dimensional. Despite the line’s success in protecting the freshman quarterback, his best option was to dump the ball off in the flat. 

The Hoosier defense took advantage, keeping the Big Red in front of the sticks for a three-and-out. Indiana again took advantage of the offense’s shortcomings and marched down the field, adding seven more points. 

Despite being down 21, the Huskers still had hope. A good drive in the last minute of the half, followed by another good drive to begin the second, could give them an opportunity to compete in this contest. 

But that sentiment was all for not after yet another three-and-out. 

These six atrocious offensive plays were wasted opportunities to get back into the Big Red’s biggest game of the year. Instead, their incompetence was the nail in the coffin in an afternoon to forget for NU.

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