The Huskers’ 27-22 win over the Indiana Hoosiers wasn’t the prettiest but at the end of the day they found a way to leave Bloomington with their perfect record still intact.

If you can believe it, our Huskers are now 6-0 and your number 8 team in the country.

This game had all the makings of a good ol’ fashioned Husker rout when the Big Red jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead but then some ghosts of last season had to go and rear their ugly head.

There were special teams miscues (a blocked punt for a safety was far from ideal), Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw a pair of interceptions, the second so mind boggling that peak 2015 Bad Tommy would have been all WTF, and the Blackshirts momentarily forgot how to play defense. Mike Riley made sure to get in on the action by forgetting how to manage the clock at the end of the first half. The Huskers started a drive at their own 35 with 1:14 to play and a couple timeouts to work with. They got as far as mid-field but went into the locker room without taking a shot to the end zone and their timeouts in Riley’s back pocket.

The start of the second half was such a pile of boredom that not even free shots of whisky could make the game exciting. There was seriously a 15 minute stretch where I read up on repairing cracks in stucco walls. The game was that bad.

Things certainly got interesting when Indiana made it 17-15 at the end of the third quarter when a 39 yard return of a 45 yard punt led to a two play, nine second touchdown drive for the Hoosiers.

The Huskers pulled away again in the fourth when Tommy connected with Stanley Morgan Jr. on a 72 yard touchdown pass that was arguably his most ridiculous TD strike since his 99 yard bomb to Quincy Enunwa in the Gator Bowl.

Indiana answered right away with a five play, 75 yard touchdown drive of their own to make it 24-22 with ten minutes left to play.

Husker Nation would not able to relax until economics major Aaron Williams made it a Black Saturday for the Hoosiers with a game sealing interception on the second play of their last ditch drive.

On to the fun stuff.

Mike Riley’s Balloon Watch

Mike Riley’s decision to go for it on 4th and 1 from Indiana’s 48 with the Huskers clinging to a two point lead and nearly five minutes left to play took balls but it was the right call if you’re playing to win rather than playing to “hopefully not get beat.”

By getting the first down and eventual field goal, the Huskers put Indiana’s back to the wall by making it a touchdown or nothing situation, but that didn’t matter a whole lot since they were able to chew an extra four minutes off the clock and force Indiana use their remaining timeouts.

The Huskers might not have buried the Hoosiers on the scoreboard but their fourth quarter dominance continued via the clock. Nebraska held the ball for 11:16 of the final 15 minutes. Their final time-of-possession advantage was a mere 5:52.

Our Score Prediction

At least we got the seven right in the Huskers’ score.

NUMBERS TO IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS WITH

17: A Drew Brown field goal + a Terrell Newby TD run from four yards out + a Chris Jones pick six = the Huskers’ biggest first quarter offensive output of the season so far. Up until yesterday, the Big Red has been (mostly) reliable to score exactly one touchdown in the first quarter.  Only Northwestern has been able to pitch a shutout in the opening period.

360: The Huskers put up their lowest offensive numbers of the season with 152 yards rushing and 208 through the air. The only time they’ve posted a lower total on the ground was for 138 against Wyoming. That day, Tommy threw for 377, going 20 for 34.

*The last time the Huskers put up a lower overall total was 292 against Illinois in 2015 and we all know how that went.

8: Chris Jones, number 8 in your program, and Stanley Morgan Jr., also number 8 in your program, both had big days. Jones and had the aforementioned pick six and Stanley’s 72 yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter was a thing of beauty that made a trio of Indiana defenders look the Three Stooges. Oh, and in case you missed it. The Huskers are now ranked #8.

-4: Aaron Williams’ return yardage on his game sealing interception. As someone who’s still traumatized by the infamous LeKevin Smith interception against Texas Tech, it was a joyous sight to see Williams immediately slide to the turf.

.666: The Huskers’ batting average (6/9) when going for it on 4th down.  Mike Riley’s propensity to go for it and his beastly success rate makes you wonder if he struck a deal with a certain someone over the summer.

2: Terrell Newby’s 102 yards rushing and 140 against Illinois means he now has his first ever 100 yard game streak. Took him until his senior year to accomplish the feat but better late than never. Here’s hoping he gets to extend it to three when Purdue chugs into town.

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