Fresh off a bye week, Indiana football is 6-0 following its win two weekends ago over Northwestern.
The Hoosiers look to remain undefeated this upcoming weekend, as Nebraska comes to Bloomington to do battle with Indiana. The Cornhuskers enter the matchup 5-1 on the season with the group's lone loss this year coming at home in overtime against Illinois.
Take an early look at Indiana's week eight opponent, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
KEY PLAYERS
- Quarterback Dylan Raiola: A true freshman, Dylan Raiola's collegiate career is off to a strong start. The former five-star recruit has completed 66.9% of his passes through the first six games of his college career, as he's guided the Cornhuskers to a 5-1 start. Raiola has thrown for 1,358 yards and nine passing touchdowns to just three interceptions. The 6-foot-3 signal caller came into the season with uncertain expectations, but Raiola has played beyond his years to begin the 2024 season.
- Running Back Dante Dowdell: Dante Dowdell is just a sophomore, but he's a big bodied back. At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Dowdell is no stranger to running over defensive players. On the season, Dowdell has 334 yards rushing. He's averaging 4.5 yards per carry and has found the end zone five times on the ground this year. Dowdell isn't much of a factor in the Cornhuskers' passing attack, he has just three catches on the season.
- Wide Receiver Isaiah Neyor: Isaiah Neyor is one half of Nebraska's two-headed attack in the passing game. Alongside fellow standout Jahmal Banks, Neyor is one of Raiola's favorite targets. Neyor, a long and rangy 6-foot-4 receiver, has 17 catches for a team-best 291 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. Averaging 17.1 yards per catch, Neyor is a big play waiting to happen.
- Linebacker John Bullock: A Nebraska native, John Bullock leads the Cornhuskers in tackles through the first six games of the season. Bullock's team-high 33 tackles are accompanied by 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, an interception, three pass breakups and a forced fumble. Standing at 6-foot and 230 pounds, there's not much Bullock can't do on the defensive side of the ball.
- Defensive Back Ceyair Wright: Ceyair Wright is one of Nebraska's top players in the secondary. Wright has managed to impact the game in a handful of different ways this season. He has 16 tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss and a sack as well. Meanwhile, the 6-foot, 180 pound defensive back has an interception and four pass breakups this year too. Wright's ability to not only play in pass coverage, but also step up in the run game and even put a bit of pressure on opposing quarterbacks off the edge, makes the Los Angeles, California native a potential game breaker for Nebraska.
KEY STATS
- The Cornhuskers rank No. 13 in the country in total defense this season. They're allowing 272.5 total yards of offense a game.
- Nebraska has the seventh-best scoring defense in the nation, having allowed just 11.3 points a game this year.
- Nebraska leads the Big Ten in both sacks (20.0) and tackles for loss (42.0) this season.
- The Cornhuskers are tied for seventh in the conference with seven interceptions through their first six games of the year.
- Nebraska is one of three Big Ten teams with two defensive touchdowns on the season.
- The Cornhuskers have converted on 19/24 (79.2%) of their trips to the red zone this season. That's the fourth-worst mark in the Big Ten.
- The Cornhuskers are the most penalized team in the Big Ten. They are called for an average of 7.8 penalties a game.
OTHER NOTES
- Saturday's matchup in Bloomington will be the first time Indiana has played host to Nebraska since 2016. It's just the second time the Cornhuskers have visited Bloomington since they joined the Big Ten in 2011.
- Indiana leads the all-time series between the two teams 10-9-3.
- The last time these two teams met, Nebraska won 35-21 in Lincoln in 2022.
- Nebraska went 5-7 a season ago and 3-6 in conference play.
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