After a day spent in self-reflection, Nebraska football has begun preparation for its toughest test yet this season with the reigning national champion, Indiana, set to visit Lincoln on Saturday afternoon.
“We tried to do a good job yesterday of really looking at ourselves, and now turn our attention to Indiana,” Rhule said on Monday.
The Hoosiers enter Saturday’s game 5-0, just like the Huskers. Fifth-year quarterback Josh Hoover, a transfer from TCU, has stepped in for Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 NFL Draft pick Fernando Mendoza. He’s completed 71% of his passes for 1,101 yards and 15 touchdowns with a 86.4 quarterback rating. He also has plenty of weapons around him, including junior wide receivers Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh.
Rhule said he thinks Indiana has the most efficient offense in the country.
“It’s just well put together, they always have an answer, and then at the end of the day you have to get off a block and tackle,” Rhule said. “Their backs run through contact, their backs never run out of bounds, their receivers never, ever, ever run out of bounds, and they block their tails off on the perimeter, and then they can win the 50/50 balls. So they’re just really talented players in a really good system that play with great technique.”
Nebraska is doing well too. The Huskers are 5-0 for the first time since 2016 and will look to avenge a 2024 loss to the Hoosiers.
Rhule said he recently watched the 56-7 loss. In that contest, the Huskers turned the ball over five times. Currently, Nebraska is fourth nationally in fewest turnovers, while Indiana is first. Rhule said this is a better Husker team than the 2024 squad.
“I think it was poorly done by us as coaches in terms of not giving our guys the best chance and then kind of maybe panicking a little bit,” Rhule said. “They went tempo and just kept throwing some fade routes up versus man, and they were winning. They’re going to catch some of those, right? So instead of doing that, I think we started to do some other things, and pressure without understanding exactly what they’re doing.”
Although Rhule feels this team is different, there are still areas he’d like to see improve. This includes the penalties. The Huskers racked up 16 for 132 yards against Maryland. Rhule said he did not agree with some of the calls but knows Nebraska will need to clean it up before facing Indiana. He said he keeps track of who gets penalties so that they can work on it in practice.
“I think it always starts with, hey, who is it?” Rhule said. “Hey, was it a good call in terms of the flag? Not to take shots at the officials, but more like I’m not going to penalize a kid because he’s playing, right? And then, how can we practice it better?”
Nebraska will continue practicing for Indiana while getting ready to welcome Big Noon Kickoff to Lincoln as well. Rhule said he expects it to be a great atmosphere.
“I know there’ll be a lot of people coming to the game to watch a nationally televised game, watch Big Noon FOX, watch Indiana,” Rhule said. “My message to our recruits is that’s what our crowd looked like at North Dakota, and Ohio. There are a lot of people that come to watch the Huskers too.”
As for the team’s mentality, Rhule said he likes the physicality and toughness the Huskers show.
“We’re not a perfect team, so we kind of have to be gritty,” Rhule said. “We’re not going to run people off the field, but that grit and that mentality and that toughness, hopefully it will show itself this Saturday versus a really gritty, tough team that doesn’t beat themselves.”
Nebraska welcomes Indiana to Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on FOX, and the players have one goal in mind.
“It’s cool to be 5-0, but it’s better to be 6-0,” fifth-year defensive lineman Anthony Jones Jr. said after beating Maryland.
