No. 7 Indiana football walloped Rutgers 47-15 Oct. 3 to earn its 21st consecutive win and improve to 5-0 in the 2026 season.
In their first game away from home, the Hoosiers torched the Scarlet Knights with 593 yards of offense. Backfield duo junior running back Turbo Richard and redshirt senior running back Lee Beebe Jr. spearheaded the effort with a combined 326 yards on the ground. Redshirt senior quarterback Josh Hoover completed 20 of 27 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
Indiana boasts a top 10 rushing attack in the Football Bowl Subdivision, averaging 252.6 yards per game. Richard (587 yards) and Beebe (520) are the current top two rushers in the Big Ten.
“That's the standard here,” redshirt senior offensive lineman Joe Brunner said Tuesday. “You want to be able to run the ball. We have incredible running backs who run their tails off every week and credit them for doing a spectacular job. For us, it’s about putting our heads down and working.”
Junior wide receivers Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh netted 15 total catches for 227 yards and three touchdowns to join Beebe and Richard with over 100 yards each. The group made Indiana the first Big Ten team with two running backs and two wide receivers in triple digits in a game since 1995.
“Good road win Saturday night,” head coach Curt Cignetti said at a press conference Monday. “We did a lot of things well. Still some things to clean up.”
But the Cream and Crimson aren’t the only undefeated team in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers’ second road contest of the season is at noon Saturday against Nebraska (5-0) at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Meet the Cornhuskers
Head coach Matt Rhule is in his fourth season leading the Cornhuskers. When he isn’t appearing on HBO's "Lanterns", he’s coaching winning teams in back-to-back seasons after a 5-7 start in 2023.
Rhule came to Lincoln after nearly two and a half seasons as head coach of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Prior to his time at the professional level, he took Baylor University to the Sugar Bowl in 2019 with an 11-win season.
In 2026, Rhule’s Cornhuskers are scoring 43.6 points per game while defeating opponents by an average of 29.4 points.
“We've got a tremendous challenge this week in Nebraska,” Cignetti said. “Very impressive team on tape. A lot of respect for Coach Rhule, what he's accomplished throughout his career, the kind of person he is, what he represents and what they put on tape.”
Nebraska has found success in both the run and pass game so far. Senior quarterback Anthony Colandrea does both. The 6-foot St. Petersburg, Florida, native has thrown for 1142 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for 249 yards and two touchdowns.
The last time Cignetti coached against Colandrea was his final year with James Madison University. In a September 2023 matchup, the Dukes erased an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to earn a 36-35 win over Colandrea’s University of Virginia. Colandrea threw for 377 yards, but three future Hoosiers — D’Angelo Ponds, Ty Son Lawton and Kaelon Black — found the end zone for James Madison to overcome the Cavaliers.
“He's had a lot of success throughout his career,” Cignetti said of Colandrea. “He's very talented. He's savvy, first of all, and I think he sees the field really well, and he's very mobile and elusive too. So, if there's nothing there, he has the ability to create plays with his arm and his legs.”
In addition to Colandrea, three other Cornhuskers have at least 195 rushing yards this season — junior running back Mekhi Nelson, sophomore running back Isaiah Mozee and freshman running back Jamal Rule. Rule leads the team with 333 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Nebraska’s top weapon in the passing game is junior wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer. The 6-foot-2 wideout has hauled in 29 passes for 387 yards and six touchdowns, including two in a 25-point win over Maryland on Oct. 3.
On the defensive side, the Cornhuskers lead the Big Ten in sacks with 16. They’ve also snagged six interceptions and forced five fumbles. Nebraska’s defense is a balanced group, with four players above 20 tackles and six with at least two sacks. Additionally, all six interceptions have been by a different defender.
Last time the two programs met, Indiana demolished Nebraska 56-7 in October 2024. Two years later, the Cream and Crimson will take on the Cornhuskers at noon Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
“It's a Big Ten game on the road against an undefeated team,” Cignetti said. “So, it's a huge challenge.”
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
