LINCOLN, Neb. – It’s fourth-and-1 for No. 7 Indiana football with 7:21 left in the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers are down 17-13 to Nebraska, at the Cornhusker 44-yard line.
It had been a massive struggle all game for IU. More than 85,000 screaming fans at Memorial Stadium made life very challenging for the undefeated Hoosiers through three-and-a-half quarters.
Curt Cignetti backed out of going for it on the Hoosiers’ first three fourth down situations. But this time, there was no doubt.
Indiana lined up in a shotgun formation, and Nebraska responded by stacking the tackle box. But the Hoosiers were not handing the football off.
Josh Hoover dropped back, and found an uncovered Nick Marsh, who walked it in to give IU their first, and only, lead of the game.
Despite being outplayed for a majority of the contest, the Hoosiers held on to win, 20-17. The victory improves their record to 6-0 on the season.
If you have followed Indiana football since Cignetti arrived in 2024, it should come as no surprise the Hoosiers found a way to win.
What did it take?
“You got to have an indomitable will, a will that cannot be defeated, and you have to be resilient,” a smiling Cignetti said postgame. “No matter how bad it gets, you never let anxiety and frustration enter your mindset. You’re gonna find a way, it’s just a matter of time.”
That indomitable will has now stretched across an FBS-best 22-game winning streak, including 14-straight Big Ten wins. There have been many close calls in that timespan, but Indiana has not lost in 659 days.
It looked like Saturday afternoon could be the time Indiana wasn’t going to pull one out. Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea’s 39-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter put Huskers up 17-6, the largest deficit the Hoosiers have faced since their playoff loss at Notre Dame nearly two years ago.
Only 12:01 remained in the game, and IU had done next to nothing offensively.
When Indiana’s offense took the field down 11, the sellout crowd was as loud as it had been all game. The Hoosiers were facing a long 75 yards to the end zone, a place they hadn’t seen all afternoon.
“They were loud. You’ve got to give Nebraska credit. Their fans made it a tough environment,” Hoover said postgame on the crowd. “It’s always tougher to communicate when things get loud.”
The response was immediate.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Hoover found Nick Marsh across the middle of the field, and he proceeded to take it all 75 yards to the house. That play was the spark Indiana needed to fuel its comeback.
Marsh caught both touchdowns in the fourth quarter, finishing with six catches for 187 yards and two scores.
“It was just hold your composure, the clock didn’t hit zero yet,” Marsh added postgame. “It was no ups and downs, we had to stay right there in the middle and close out the game.”
IU’s defense made their mark as well in the fourth quarter, as they were able to contain the elusive Colandrea after his long touchdown run. The Hoosiers forced a punt and then turned over Nebraska’s offense on downs on its final three possessions.
Tobi Osunsanmi’s sack on the second fourth down allowed Indiana to burn most of the clock out. Stephen Daley had two sacks. Jacob Savage and Josh Burnham had fourth quarter tackles for loss. Rolijah Hardy had a huge fourth quarter open field play for no gain.
“We had problems with the quarterback. He’s a good player, very explosive,” Cignetti said of his defense. “I think the biggest thing is we just settled down at halftime; I told them good teams find a way to win.”
Indiana was far from perfect on this warm and windy afternoon in Lincoln.
But it doesn’t matter how pretty it looked. Indiana football went on the road and defeated an undefeated Big Ten team in front of a sold out stadium.
And the Hoosiers will have another massive challenge next week, as they will welcome in No. 5 Ohio State to Memorial Stadium. The matchup could possibly be the biggest game ever in Bloomington. Kickoff is scheduled for noon Eastern on FOX.
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