What Went Wrong and What Went Right in Indiana's 35-21 Loss at Nebraska
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Indiana suffered its second consecutive loss of the season on Saturday, falling 35-21 at Nebraska. The Hoosiers overcame a shaky start in a hostile environment in Lincoln to tie the game at halftime, but this momentum quickly went away as Nebraska held Indiana scoreless in the second half.
With this loss, Indiana moves to 3-2 on the season with No. 4 Michigan coming to Bloomington next week. This was a win Indiana really needed to bolster its bowl-game chances with a tough road moving forward.
Before we look ahead to next week, let's break down what went wrong and what went right on Saturday at Nebraska.
What went wrong
1. Third down offense
The Hoosiers converted a woeful 2-of-15 third down plays on Saturday, leading to 11 punts and seven three-and-out drives. Five of these possessions ended in incomplete passes, and running backs Shaun Shivers and Josh Henderson were each stopped for minimal gains on third-down runs.
Indiana finished with its worst third-down efficiency of the season and was held below 300 total offensive yards for the first time in 2022. Nebraska's defense ranked 127th out of 131 FBS teams in total yards allowed per game entering Saturday, but that unit shut Indiana out in the second half, holding the Hoosiers to five fourth-quarter yards.
"I think it's just being focused on the details, doing the little things right," Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak said. "That's what it comes down to, doing the little things right, focus on the details, execute, we win that game."
2. An unorganized start. Again
Indiana called a timeout before running its first play of the game. Indiana was checking out of a play when it saw how Nebraska's defense lined up, and a loud Memorial Stadium made that difficult.
"That should never happen," Indiana coach Tom Allen said. "That's a mistake on the coaching staff ... Inexcusable, should never happen."
After a 3-play, 56-second drive with two rushes for three yards and an incomplete pass, Indiana had to punt. The Hoosiers still haven't scored a first-quarter touchdown all season, and they've scored just nine points in the first quarter through five games.
3. Overcoming loss of Matthews, Camper
Allen said D.J. Matthews would be day-to-day approaching the Nebraska game, but he wouldn't specify the injury that Matthews suffered in Indiana's Week 4 loss at Cincinnati. Matthews traveled with the team and went through pregame warmups, but he did not play. Allen said Matthews was still not 100 percent, and they didn't want to risk any setbacks. Camper had a non-COVID illness, which kept him from traveling with the team.
"Hopefully we'll get those guys back next week if at all possible," Allen said.
This left Indiana without its top two receiving targets. Camper leads Indiana with 33 receptions for 418 yards and one touchdown, and Matthews has caught 17 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns.
Emery Simmons and Andison Coby emerged as the main replacements for this duo. Simmons led Indiana with six catches for 57 yards and a touchdown, and Coby posted five receptions for 54 yards.
"Obviously [Camper and Matthews] are huge parts of our offense and really good, so it was tough not having them," Bazelak said. "But we had some guys step up, made some plays, but just got to find ways to make more, I guess. I got to be more accurate on some of those balls."
4. Time of possession wears defense out
A downside of Indiana's fast-paced offense is that when it doesn't sustain drives, the Hoosier defense has very little time to catch its breath. Indiana had five offensive possessions on Saturday night that took less than a minute off the game clock.
It showed in the fourth quarter when Nebraska took the lead as Trey Palmer blew past the Indiana secondary for a 71-yard touchdown reception. Indiana then ran three plays for four yards in 45 seconds before punting the ball for the 10th time.
Indiana's defense took the field on the next possession, and Nebraska churned away six minutes of clock to seal the game. Anthony Grant ran seven times for 31 yards on this drive, which concluded with a 1-yard walk-in touchdown from Thompson to give Nebraska a 14-point lead. Indiana was on its heels the whole drive as Nebraska steadily marched down the field.
Nebraska finished with a 10-minute time of possession advantage, which slowly decimated the Indiana defense as the game went on.
5. Punt blocked, returned for touchdown
After Indiana tied the game and forced a quick Nebraska punt, the Hoosiers' offense had a three-and-out drive of its own with 10 minutes left in the second quarter.
James Evans lined up to punt for Indiana, but the Nebraska rush immediately broke through the line. Chris Kolarevic got a hand on Evans' punt, and Malcolm Hartzog scooped the ball up for a touchdown.
It was a total breakdown by the Indiana special teams unit.
6. Run game
Aside from the win over Idaho, the Hoosiers have been unable to run the ball on a consistent basis. That continued on Saturday at Nebraska.
Shaun Shivers ran the ball nine times for 25 yards, and Josh Henderson took five carries for 22 yards. Shivers tied the game with a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but Indiana finished the game with 2.9 yards per carry. Both Shivers and Henderson have shown a few impressive runs this season, but they couldn't find room to run behind Indiana's offensive line for most of the night.
True freshman Jaylin Lucas was a bright spot, and we'll break down his performance below.
What went right
1. Final drives of first half
Indiana's offense showed its most drastic signs of up-and-down play on Saturday night. The Hoosiers failed to sustain drives for the majority of the game, but it looked like they figured out the Nebraska defense on two drives late in the second quarter.
Bazelak completed his first three passes of the drive for 55 yards, and he scored Indiana's first touchdown of the night with a 13-yard pass to Simmons. Indiana showed good balance on this drive with a 13-yard run from Henderson and even a five-yard quarterback draw from Bazelak.
Indiana tied the game on its next possession with a 1-yard touchdown run from Shivers. Bazelak completed a 9-yard pass to Simmons and a 21-yard gain to Coby, and Jaylin Lucas set up Shivers' score with 34-yard run.
Indiana's uptempo offense is difficult to stop when it's clicking, but it's been far too inconsistent this season.
2. Jaylin Lucas
I don't think it's a stretch to say true freshman running back Jaylin Lucas had the most impressive offensive play of the night for Indiana. Lucas made two devastating cuts to the outside that made a pair of Nebraska defenders fall helplessly to the turf before bursting down the sideline for a 34-yard gain.
Lucas received praise from coaches and teammates throughout fall camp for his high-level speed and agility, which were on full display on this run.
I asked Indiana running backs coach Craig Johnson about Lucas on Tuesday.
"We're trying to find ways to get him on the field," Johnson said, "Every game, as you know, has come down to the wire, so I'm not trying to put him in a position he can't flourish in. I think he's got tremendous bounce, and he's got tremendous quicks. We're trying to continue to find a way to put him in him the game. The great thing that I feel about Jaylin, during practice he's going out and he has been very assignment-competent, which is key, which gives me confidence that I can put him in the game that he'll know what he's doing. I think his future is going to be bright. The other guys obviously have played well, but we've got to continue to get better. I think as long as he continues to show in practice what he's doing, we're going to figure out a way to get him in there."
Allen expressed a similar sentiment after the Nebraska game.
"Jaylin Lucas showed what he can do with the ball in his hands, so we got to continue to find ways to give him the football," Allen said. "He's a dynamic player, and we got to do a better job of giving him the football more frequently without question."
Indiana didn't give Lucas the ball at all in the second half, though, and Nebraska held the Hoosiers scoreless.
3. Cam Jones, Louis Moore bring the heat
Indiana was in danger of letting this game slip away early on, but the defense came through with a crucial play to shift the momentum in the second quarter.
Defensive back Louis Moore blitzed from the left side, and linebacker cam Jones found a hole in the Nebraska offensive line with the help of Lance Bryant. Moore and Jones had a free lane to backup quarterback Chubba Purdy, sandwiching him in the end zone. Purdy lost the ball, and Indiana's Myles Jackson pounced on it for an Indiana touchdown to tie the game at seven.
Related stories on Indiana football:
- TOM ALLEN REACTS TO LOSS AT NEBRASKA: Indiana drops its second road game of the season to Nebraska, who won 35-21 on Saturday night. Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen addresses the loss in a post game press conference. Read his full transcript, or just watch the attached video of the entire interview. CLICK HERE
- WHAT CONNOR BAZELAK SAID AFTER LOSS TO NEBRASKA: Read what Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak said after the Hoosiers' 35-21 loss to Nebraska on the road. Bazelak completed 22-of-44 passes for 223 yards in the defeat. Follow along with the transcript, or watch the attached press conference video. CLICK HERE
- HOOSIERS FALL TO NEBRASKA: Indiana had all the momentum heading into the halftime locker room, but the Hoosiers were shut out in the second half in a 35-21 loss to Nebraska on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb. CLICK HERE
