Indiana football grades: Hoosiers nearly perfect in 56-7 win vs Nebraska

BLOOMINGTON – Indiana football’s remarkable run continued unbothered Saturday, in a 56-7 steamrolling of Nebraska. The No. 18 Hoosiers barreled their way firmly into the Big Ten title race, and the College Football Playoff discussion along with it. Here’s how they graded out:

INDIANA OFFENSE: A+

No one had made No. 25 Nebraska look remotely like this yet this season. The Hoosiers (7-0, 4-0) tore their visitors apart on the ground like no one has this year. They threw the ball to the boundary and back with impunity. Kurtis Rourke was impeccable until his hand injury — 17-of-21, 189 yards, one touchdown and a meaningless interception — and Tayven Jackson looked unfazed in replacing him. IU’s team rushing performance was the best by orders of magnitude for a Nebraska opponent this season. Another dominant performance from a seemingly unstoppable offense.

Kurtis Rourke injury update: Indiana football quarterback Kurtis Rourke suffers hand injury against Nebraska

INDIANA DEFENSE: A+

If the key to stopping Nebraska (5-2, 2-2) is rattling Dylan Raiola, Indiana had no trouble meeting its remit. Nebraska’s freshman quarterback possesses undeniable arm talent and flashed it with a handful of impressive throws Saturday. But more often, IU’s pass rush left him flustered and flushed. He was sacked twice and threw three picks. The Cornhuskers’ hot-and-cold offense never warmed up, and what was meant to be a showcase game turned into a rout.

INDIANA SPECIAL TEAMS: A

The only reason we can’t in good conscious add the plus here is that once again, Indiana’s special teams weren’t really needed. Freshman kickoff specialist Quinn Warren made up for his one ball out of bounds by stopping a kickoff return for a touchdown with a clean open-field tackle later on. Nicolas Radicic remains perfect on all his kicks this season. What more can Indiana ask?

INDIANA COACHING: A+

Indiana could have been sidetracked by a lot of distractions this week. The Hoosiers arrived fresh off a bye. Fox’s national crew was in town. It was homecoming. People were starting to whisper “Indiana football” in the same sentences as “College Football Playoff.” Nebraska looked really tough on defense. This was supposed to — at very least — be a tougher test of IU’s mettle than anything the Hoosiers had faced before. It turned into one of the most lopsided conference wins in program history.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Justice Ellison, running back

Saturday marked the best rushing performance from a Nebraska opponent this season, the first time a team scored a rushing touchdown on the Huskers and the first 100-yard rushing performance from an individual player since Nebraska’s loss to Iowa to end the 2023 season. Ellison was explosive, tearing off runs of 43 and 31 yards. The second of those was Ellison’s second score on the day. He finished with 105 yards and two touchdowns, on just nine carries.

Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

(This story was updated to change a video.)