Coming off a bye week, Indiana has all the momentum in its favor at 6-0 but a tough opponent in Nebraska is coming to town for homecoming weekend.
The Huskers come in at 5-1 and are also making headlines for a turnaround in year two under Matt Rhule, so they are certainly looking for a big time win in what should be a big time game.
While it should be an incredible environment all weekend and in the stands, here are three keys to the game to make sure the Hoosiers walk off the field as a 7-0 team
SCORE EARLY AND PUT PRESSURE ON NEBRASKA'S DEFENSE
While this key to the game may seem painfully obvious, scoring early and often really should be a focus for this Indiana team as they prepare to face Nebraska.
IU has scored the second post points per game and the second most yards per game, but Nebraska's defense is ranked number eight in the country in both of those categories, resulting in a critical battle between the IU offense and the NU defense.
This sets up a great matchup to watch for fans, but it truly is the matchup to keep your eyes on, on the field.
Nebraska has playmakers all over the defense, with John Bullock and Mikai Gbayor at over 30 tackles at the linebacker position, while James Williams and Ty Robinson both have four sacks as defensive lineman.
The run defense for the Huskers has been sensational, as they have allowed the second fewest yards per game in the country and have not yet allowed a rushing touchdown in the six games they've played.
This may open up the passing game a little bit, but is really doesn't matter how IU gets it done, it needs to score early and keep it up against this tough Nebraska defense.
Kurtis Rourke has been known to make big throws early, as the UCLA game comes to mind as a contest where Indiana got in front early and didn't let up.
All this is extremely important for an IU win as, not only will scoring early energize the sellout crowd, but it will put pressure on a Nebraska defense that hasn't seen much of that up to this point in the season.
LET DYLAN RAIOLA SHOW HIS LACK OF EXPERIENCE
Raiola is a superb talent, the highest rated QB in the class of 2024 to be exact, but is still a freshman, meaning IU could expose his inexperience at the college, more specifically the Big Ten, level.
Raiola has looked good so far this season, with impressive performances against Illinois and Purdue, but showed some weaknesses common in freshman even when he was playing well in those games.
The five star from Buford, Georgia has a tendency to try to keep plays alive for too long, resulting in taking an unnecessary sack or throwing an interception rather than throwing it away.
One particular instance came on the last play of Nebraska's lone loss against Illinois, where Raiola looked flustered and, while throwing it away wasn't an option in this particular case, took a sack to lose the Huskers the game.
There are several more examples of this, meaning that if Indiana's defensive line can take advantage of this, they can make Raiola look inexperienced and make the Nebraska offense ineffective.
Raiola is also coming off his worst performance of the year, as he only threw for 134 yards, while also throwing an interception, against Rutgers. He was also sacked four times that game, furthering the point that he will take sacks if the defensive line can get to him.
For an Indiana defense that is ranked 26th overall in sacks per game and has forced turnovers in big moments this season, allowing Raiola to play like a freshman is key, as the talented QB can make plays, but has also been known to make mistakes that young quarterbacks frequently make.
KEEP THE FOOT ON THE GAS THROUGHOUT ALL 4 QUARTERS
This key isn't necessarily specific to facing Nebraska, but after Northwestern crept back into the game and made it close before IU pulled away, it feels like this key should be mentioned.
Keeping intensity and the foot on the gas has been something that Cignetti has preached all year, but the affects if not doing so really didn't show themselves until the Northwestern game.
IU really looked vulnerable for the first time all year and, while it didn't end up trailing at any point, if the Hoosiers let up against Nebraska like they did against NW, there's a good chance that they do end up trailing and could lose the game.
The defense, specifically, did not look good in the third quarter against the Wildcats and, although they stepped up in the fourth, more emphasis needs to be put on the defense keeping up the energy throughout the game.
This shouldn't be as big of an issue as it was against Northwestern, as the sellout crowd should force the Hoosiers to keep the foot on the gas, but it should still be emphasized throughout practice this week that full intensity will be needed to ensure that IU escapes homecoming weekend with a win and a 7-0 record.
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