Indiana vs. Nebraska: Keys to victory, HuskerOnline score predictions for Saturday
Indiana (3-1, 1-0) will come to Memorial Stadium for only the second time to face Nebraska (1-3, 0-1) since the Huskers joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011.
The Hoosiers and the Huskers both find their seasons in different spots. Indiana’s Tom Allen is trying to bounce back after a rough 2021 season, while the Huskers are led by interim head coach Mickey Joseph and interim defensive coordinator Bill Busch.
As things get closer to kickoff, here are today’s keys to victory for Nebraska over Indiana, along with the HuskerOnline Saturday score predictions. The Huskers are currently a 6-point favorite over the Hoosiers. Tonight’s game is set for a 6:30 p.m. CST kickoff on the Big Ten Network.
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KEYS TO VICTORY: Indiana at Nebraska
KEY 1: Early game focus
How will Nebraska come out of the gates on Saturday? It’s been a long week filled with plenty of emotions. The Huskers need to come out with focus and stand strong to the first bit of adversity they face.
KEY 2: Give the ball to No. 10
The game plan on Saturday should be pretty simple. Mark Whipple needs to control the pace of this game and let his running back Anthony Grant get into a rhythm. This will help out his offensive line and quarterback Casey Thompson, along with keeping the defense off the field.
KEY 3: Defensive alignment
What difference will two weeks make for the Nebraska defense? Will Busch have things simplified enough to get the Blackshirts lined up properly? The Hoosiers will try to run around 100 plays if they can. The defensive alignment will be critical today.
KEY 4: Get off the field on third down
Nebraska has some of the worst third-down defense in the country. Can they have enough early down success today against Indiana to be put in winnable third-down situations?
KEY 5: Keep the crowd engaged
Despite Nebraska’s struggles, there will still be 87,000 people in Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. That’s an advantage. The Hoosiers have not played in front of a crowd like this all season. The Huskers need to keep the crowd engaged and make them a factor in the game. The team needs to feed off this emotion.
EXPERT TAKE: Indiana at Nebraska
Sean Callahan – HuskerOnline Pubisher
Nebraska is coming off a bye week and should come out of the gates fresh with another good opening play script. However, I still have my questions about the Husker defense and if they can get enough stops to close this game out. The Hoosiers will win it late in the fourth quarter.
Indiana 41, Nebraska 34
Steven Sipple – HuskerOnline columnist
Both defenses are vulnerable, obviously. But it’s just too easy to imagine Connor Bazelak zipping passes to open receivers against the Big Ten’s worst pass defense. The bye week will help Nebraska. Casey Thompson will come out firing. But you wonder if the Husker staff is on the same page as far as tempo goes. This much is certain: Indiana will run an extremely quick tempo. The Hoosiers know exactly who they are, and that in itself can be a sizable advantage.
Indiana 38, Nebraska 35
Robin Washut – HuskerOnline senior writer
I’m still surprised this point spread is leaning so heavily toward Nebraska. I am firmly in the camp that I need to see tangible evidence of progress before I buy into the idea that all of the recent staff shakeups and a bye week will suddenly fix all of NU’s problems. Indiana comes in with its own issues, but I just don’t trust the Huskers enough right now. Hopefully they prove me wrong.
Indiana 42, Nebraska 35
Andy Kendeigh – KETV ABC-Omaha
Hunt or be hunted. Interim Head Coach Mickey Joseph is using that phrase imploring his team to be the hunters. Nebraska will have plenty of opportunities to score but can the Huskers stop, or at least slow down Indiana? These are the two worst defenses in the Big Ten — it may take 40 to win this one.
Nebraska 42, Indiana 38
Jim Rose – 1110 KFAB Radio-Omaha
The bye week was a god-send to this program which needed the time to process the coach change, get a little healthier and zero in on some fundamentals.
Nebraska 42, Indiana 31
Mike’l Severe – Big Red Wrap-Up
Nebraska should be rested and fairly healthy coming off the bye week. I like the match-up of the Huskers’ skill players vs the Hoosiers secondary. If Nebraska can get set vs Indiana’s pace on offense and force some three and outs I think NU holds on for the win.
Nebraska 31, Indiana 27
HuskerOnline Week 5 Score Predictions
| Week 5 | Sean Callahan | Steven Sipple | Robin Washut | Andy Kendeigh | Jim Rose | Mike’l Severe |
| Indiana at Nebraska | 41-34 Indiana | 38-35 Indiana | 42-35 Indiana | 42-38 Nebraska | 42-31 Nebraska | 31-27 Nebraska |
| Michigan at Iowa | 23-14 Michigan | 21-17 Michigan | 12-10 Iowa | 15-11 Michigan | 28-14 Michigan | 27-14 Michigan |
| Purdue at Minnesota | 38-17 Minnesota | 37-21 Minnesota | 31-17 Minnesota | 34-31 Minnesota | 35-17 Minnesota | 34-20 Minnesota |
| Illinois at Wisconsin | 27-23 Wisconsin | 24-21 Wisconsin | 23-10 Wisconsin | 24-14 Wisconsin | 17-14 Wisconsin | 24-17 Wisconsin |
| Kentucky at Ole Miss | 37-31 Ole Miss | 31-27 Kentucky | 28-27 Kentucky | 37-27 Ole Miss | 35-31 Kentucky | 31-24 Ole Miss |
| Okla. State at Baylor | 34-30 Baylor | 27-24 Baylor | 34-31 Baylor | 27-24 Baylor | 31-28 Baylor | 30-28 Okla. State |
HuskerOnline Score Prediction Standings
| Expert Picker | Straight Up | vs. the Spread | Cumulative Total |
| Mike’l Severe Big Red Wrap-Up | 14-5 | 10-9 | 24 |
| Robin Washut HuskerOnline | 12-7 | 10-9 | 22 |
| Steven Sipple HuskerOnline | 11-8 | 10-9 | 21 |
| Jim Rose KFAB Radio | 11-8 | 10-9 | 21 |
| Sean Callahan HuskerOnline | 11-8 | 7-12 | 18 |
| Andy Kendeigh KETV ABC-Omaha | 10-9 | 8-11 | 18 |
