Greetings and salutations folks. Michael Snow, who normally does these, needed the weekend off to deal with some family things. So, therefore, you have me to pinch hit for the young man.

Finding five reasons that the Nebraska Cornhuskers will defeat Indiana would seem somewhat easy, but it’s how you look at things that point out how Nebraska can walk out of Bloomington with a victory.

Here’s what I got:

Indiana’s Offense Isn’t As Great As It Has Been

For all the chatter on how good the Indiana offense has been under Kevin Wilson, this year it seems like the O has taken a step back. Yes, the passing O is pretty good, going for 293 yards a game. However, if you take out where they went for 496 yards vs. Wake Forest, they have not clipped 300 yards a game. It takes the average down to 242 yards a game.

Indiana is averaging only 26 ppg, which is a full 10 points south of what they did last year, and is about average with their 2014 average of 25 ppg, where they went 4-8 by losing 6 of their last 7 games, all Conference games.

Indiana has 15 TD’s in 5 games, which gives them the 85th ranked scoring O in FBS. Iowa, for all their issues on Offense, is ranked higher at 74th. ‘

Indiana’s Defense Has Not Done Well vs. Mediocre Teams

Indiana has done alright with their D this year, holding teams to straight up 25 points per game. However, take away the Ohio State game this year, and you’re hard pressed to find a good Offense Indiana has played. The teams they have played and their rankings are as follows.

Ball State - #65

FIU - #102

Michigan State - #103

Wake Forest - #110

That average without seeing Ohio State is 95th. 95TH! There are 128 FBS schools in play, so it’s not like they have really stopped bigger O’s. Out of those schools, Indiana has only outscored those teams 28-20 on average.

Nebraska isn’t the best offense they’ve seen, but it’s not like they’re going to see too much better save maybe Michigan this coming season.

The Hoosiers Are Slow Starters

Indiana has scored a grand total of 25 points in the first quarter this season in 5 games. The second quarter has not been as kind with the Hoosiers scoring all of 24 points in that frame as well. The Huskers have given up a grand total of 8 points in the first quarter of games this season, but have also given up 49 in the second quarter.

Indiana has seemed to be slow starters, and if a team with a bye week can keep that trend going, Nebraska has to like their odds on scoring first and getting a decent lead into halftime. Especially in a place they have not played at in a long time.

Tanner Farmer & Alonzo Moore Are Healthy & Ready To Go

You’re never going to be fully healthy, but reports from this week’s presser seem to show that Tanner Farmer will be able to make the trip and start at right guard. Nebraska seemed to struggle at times with a pretty decent Illinois defensive line, and getting Farmer back will help. As far as Alonzo, he’s seemingly the big hitter that Nebraska really likes over even Jordan Westerkamp this season. With Brandon Reilly in the slot for this game per reports, Nebraska should be able to stretch the Indiana defense and get not only open looks for Tommy Armstrong to throw to, but also get numbers out of the box and make the running lanes open up.

The Number 30 Means A Lot To Both Teams

Nebraska has scored 30 or more all but once this year, but that was the only road game that the Huskers have played. Indiana has eclipsed 30 points scored twice this year, but not since their second game versus Ball State. Matter of fact, Indiana’s offensive output has gone down each game this season. You can argue that Nebraska should have had more than 24 vs. jNU, but they’ve been consistent in scoring this season.