There are a ton of injuries for Nebraska. Who is going to play and who won’t be able to go? I’m guessing Adrian Martinez is out.
Mood check
First Quarter
Noah Vedral gets the start (as many of us suspected) despite Martinez being dressed and going through warmups (with a knee brace). Game plan? Heavy dose of Dedrick Mills.
AND JD SPIELMAN IS WIDE OPEN. First and goal Nebraska.
Vedral keeps for the touchdown. Barret Pickering sighting for the PAT. That is good news.
Huskers 7 Hoosiers 0
Indiana made it out to midfield and faced fourth and two at the Husker 40. They went for it and Patrick Ramsey found a wide open receiver to enter the red zone. The Huskers were called for roughing the passer (Mohamed Barry) to set up the Hoosiers at the 8 yard line. First and goal.
The Blackshirts held and forced an Indiana field goal.
Huskers 7 Hoosiers 3
Trickeration time!
Spielman finds a wide open Vedral. The Hoosiers hit Vedral late (I didn’t think it was a late hit FWIW). I get why they threw the flag, but it was BS. Huskers are inside the 25 yard line.
Wan’Dale Robinson and MOAR Wan’Dale. Third and goal (at the one). Bring in the fullback (Dedrick Mills), and Vedral scores his second rushing touchdown! Pickering nailed the PAT.
Huskers 14 Hoosiers 3
Or is it Wan’derful? (h/t to Drone)
Hoosiers get across midfield quickly (open receivers everywhere). The pass game is firing on all cylinders for the Hoosiers right now and they’re ripping of decent chunks with each pass play (but going nowhere on the ground). First and goal Indiana (10 yard line).
Ramsey keeps for the Hoosier touchdown. The PAT missed.
Huskers 14 Hoosiers 9
On a day where Nebraska breaks out the Blackshirt alternates, this game is all about the offenses so far.
Dedrick Mills. Bulldozer (14 yards)
Wan’Dale. More Wan’Dale. Third and three. Wan’Dale first down near midfield.
Austin Allen sighting. They didn’t mention he is tall. Wut?
Kade Warner couldn’t grab the high throw. Fourth and one. Wildcat snap to Mills (with Vedral turned to the sideline) to catch the Hoosiers off guard. First down. End of first quarter.
Second Quarter
Vedral is looking like a running back out there. He’s got decent wheels.
Huskers enter the red zone on a Dedrick Mills run. Third and two.
DAMN. Vedral fumble. It looked like an Indiana scoop and score but Noah ran him down to make the tackle at the Husker eight yard line. Indiana touchdown. Dicaprio Bootle in coverage.
Hoosiers 16 Huskers 14
Wyatt Mazour brought the kickoff out to the 37 yard line. The offense went backwards but was bailed out by a facemask penalty on the Hoosiers. Husker ball near midfield.
Mike Wiliams, where ye been? 34 yard reception for the senior.
Third and four at the 15 yard line. Wan’Dale gets 3 1/2. Fourth down. First down...or not. Huskers were flagged for illegal formation. Barret Pickering comes out for the 32 yard field goal. No good.
Hoosiers 16 Nebraska 14
The Hoosiers started to find their footing on the ground with a few nice carries.
Ben Stille SACK! Third and 17. Ramsey made a few defenders miss, but the Huskers stopped him short to force the punt. Khalil Davis was injured on the play.
Indiana downed the punt inside the five yard line.
Sigh. Vedral fumble. Huskers recover (Dedrick Mills). Noah was injured on the play.
Luke McCaffrey enters the game. Dedrick Mills can’t pick up the third and one. Isaac Armstrong punts from the end zone. Hoosier ball near midfield. A couple of plays later they were near the red zone.
INTERCEPTION ALEX DAVIS!!
I like this McCaffrey kid! (Wan’Dale too)
Luuuuuuuke!
TOUCHDOWN MCCAFFREY TO KANAWAI NOA!!!! PAT is good
Huskers 21 Hoosiers 16
The kickoff was brought out to the nine yard line. 34 seconds left in the half. Indy takes a knee.
Halftime
Receiver JD Spielman has caught a pass in all 29 games in his Nebraska career, with at least two receptions in 28 of 29 games.
Quarterback Noah Vedral had two first-quarter rushing touchdowns. He entered today’s game with two career rushing touchdowns at Nebraska (1 in 2018, 1 in 2019) and four career college rushing touchdowns, including two at UCF.
Senior linebacker Alex Davis intercepted a pass in the second quarter, marking his first career interception.
Freshman quarterback Luke McCaffrey completed his first career touchdown pass on a 24-yard pass to Kanawai Noa in the second quarter.
Receiver Kanawai Noa had 40 receiving yards in the first half. He had 23 receiving yards in Nebraska’s first four Big Ten games.
Scott Frost: “We can't be so dumbass stupid early on in the game."
— Erin Sorensen (@erinsorensen) October 26, 2019
That's it. That's the tweet. I'm providing no further context.
Third Quarter
Mood check
Hoosiers got the ball to start the half. JoJo Domann planted Ramsey as he delivered a pass. (It hurt)
Third and twelve at the Hoosier 40. Dammit. First down. Ramsey is definitely not feeling good, but he delivered the pass. Unsportsmanlike conduct on Hoosiers (taunting).
Third and seven at midfield. Incomplete as Ramsey was being chased by several Blackshirts. Punt.
Luke McCaffrey came out with the offense. Whatever Vedral’s injury is, it appears it will keep him out of the game. Three and out for the Husker offense.
Crappy punt and the Hoosiers get the ball on the positive side of the field (for them).
First and goal (one yard line) Indiana thanks to, guess what, an open receiver. Ramsey might be hurting but he is making the throws. Touchdown Hoosiers. They went for two. The first try found DiCaprio Bootle getting flagged for PI. The second try was good.
Hoosiers 24 Huskers 21
Wan’Dale is quick. McCaffrey is skinny. Between them, they get the Huskers past midfield.
Aaaaand another Indiana defender is “injured”.
OPTION PITCH TO MAZOUR! That made Husker fans feel all tingly. First down.
McCaffrey to Robinson gets the Huskers near the red zone. First down. False start. Drink. Broc Bando is in the game (Boe Wilson injured I believe). Wan’dale is a dude.
Fourth and two inside the 10. Here comes Pickering. Good. Tie game.
Huskers 24 Hoosiers 24
The kickoff went out of bounds. Hoosier ball at the 35. Ramsey keeper to midfield. Wide open tight end. Red zone. Shit.
Lamar Jackson PI. Hoosier ball at the two. First and goal. Touchdown Hoosiers.
Absolutely nobody is talking on D. Like, literally nobody. That’s why ppl are running free ♂️ ♂️ ♂️ ♂️ ♂️ #Huskers
— FABIAN WASHINGTON (@FABEWASH31) October 26, 2019
Hoosiers 31 Huskers 24
Fourth Quarter
Wyatt Mazour takes the kickoff out to the 35.
Luke McCaffrey scrambled (he could have run to pick up the first down) and found Kanawai Noa who promptly fumbled. Hoosier ball near midfield. Holding on Hoosiers.
BIG GAIN by the Hoosiers. Sigh. Lamar Jackson in coverage. Ramsey is up to 316 yards passing. Fourth and seven at the 26. First down. Sigh. Personal foul on Nebraska (roughing the passer Carlos Davis).
Touchdown Hoosiers.
Indiana 38 Nebraska 24
Indiana commits two penalties on the play (roughing the passer and late hit out of bounds). Nebraska got both penalties as one was after the play. That 30 yards is the best offense we’ve seen this entire half.
Direct snap to Wan’dale. Tempo (expect an Indiana defender to mysteriously be laying on the turf soon). McCaffrey keeper for a first down. He is not entirely healthy but staying in the game. Another to set up first and goal.
On cue - Indiana defender “down” on second and goal.
TOUCHDOWN WAN’DERFUL!!!!
Hoosiers 38 Huskers 31
Blackshirts need to show up on this drive. Third down - you could see the confusion by Nebraska pre-snap aaaaand...easy first down past midfield. 23 yard gain by Indy.
SACK by Khalil Davis on third down. Fourth and five at the 40. Punt. Downed at the six.
Noah Vedral is back in the game. Either McCaffrey’s injury is worse than thought (he has ice on a knee on the sidelines) or Vedral’s injury is better than thought. My guess is a bit of both - Luke is hurt and the coaching staff feels like they have to pass the ball and trust Vedral to do that.
JD JD JD JD JD JD JD JD!!!
Robinson reeled in an errant handoff and managed to hang on after getting whaled on. Fourth and five at the 35. Go for it. Incomplete. Holding on offense. Declined. First down Indy.
Third and seven....Sigh....first down Ramsey. Scott Frost looks like he is visibly ill on the sideline.
Another first down. 2:30 left in the game. First down again (near the red zone) 1:30 left. Huskers down to one timeout. Game over. The Huskers needed this one and didn’t get it.
This sucks. Be nice.