In a sold-out stadium on a picturesque fall afternoon in Bloomington, Indiana football entered its nationally televised Homecoming matchup against Nebraska with an opportunity to legitimize its 6-0 start.
The Hoosiers jumped on the Cornhuskers, taking a 7-0 lead before the visitors’ first possession. And after taking a 28-7 lead into halftime, the Cream and Crimson throttled the Cornhuskers 56-7 inside Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Sixth-year senior quarterback Kurtis Rourke guided Indiana to the end zone on four of its six drives in the opening half –– the other two being a turnover on downs and an interception on a hail mary. And while the Hoosiers dominated the first half, Rourke suffered a hand injury during the second-to-last drive of the second quarter.
The running back duo comprised of fifth-year senior Justice Ellison and seventh-year senior Ty Son Lawton rushed for a combined 153 yards and three touchdowns on 13 attempts in the first half.
Coming out of halftime, Nebraska received the kickoff and proceeded to go on a 15-play drive into Indiana territory before senior defensive back Shawn Asbury II intercepted Nebraska freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. Asbury returned the pick to Nebraska’s 19-yard line.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Tayven Jackson took over for Rourke to begin the second half, tossing a 2-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Miles Cross. After another Raiola interception, Jackson threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Elijah Sarratt to take a 42-7 lead with just less than two minutes left in the third quarter.
The Hoosiers tacked on another touchdown via redshirt junior running back Kaelon Black’s 8-yard rush early in the fourth quarter.
Then, with Nebraska going for it on fourth-and-six, nearly five minutes into the fourth quarter, redshirt junior Mikail Kamara forced stripped Raiola. He subsequently recovered the ball to secure Indiana’s fourth takeaway of the contest. Raiola later tossed his third interception of the game as the Cornhuskers finished with five total turnovers.
Redshirt junior running back Elijah Green added a 1-yard touchdown with just under four minutes left in the game as the Hoosiers improved to 7-0.
Indiana hosts Washington at noon Oct. 26 as it looks to improve to 8-0.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
