Lincoln, Neb. — The Indiana Hoosiers are going to be playing postseason football for the first time since 2016 after defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers 38-31 Saturday afternoon in Lincoln.

Indiana (6-2, 3-2) competed in a tight battle for the second consecutive week as Nebraska (4-4, 2-3) took the Hoosiers to their final drive before Indiana could achieve their first win in Lincoln since 1959.

The Cornhuskers started the game with energy from the sell out crowd in Memorial Stadium as sophomore quarterback Noah Vedral (starting for quarterback Adrian Martinez) moved his offense down the field in five plays to strike first early on.

After an Indiana field goal from Logan Justus, the Cornhuskers went down the field and found pay-dirt to take a 14-3 lead. Indiana responded with an eight yard touchdown run from quarterback Peyton Ramsey (who got the start in place of Michael Penix), but a missed extra point made the score 14-9.

In his third start of the season, Ramsey used both his arm and legs to aid the Hoosier offense, throwing 27-for-40 for 351 yards and two touchdowns while adding 42 yards on nine carries and a score. Ramsey had help from the receiving core as Whop Philyor continues to lead Indiana receivers hauling in 14 receptions for 178 yards.

Indiana QB Peyton Ramsey sets up to throw against the Nebraska defense.

Both teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter after a touchdown pass from Ramsey to Ty Fryfogle put the Hoosiers up by two before Nebraska answered with Luke McCaffrey’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Kanawai Noa, giving the Cornhuskers a 21-16 lead at the half.

Indiana took the lead for the first time after a one yard run off a jet sweep by David Ellis and a two-point conversion catch by tight end Peyton Hendershot making the score 24-21 in the third quarter. The Cornhuskers responded with a field goal on the next drive but the Hoosier’s found the end zone as the third period ended with Ramsey hitting Matt Bjorson with a two-yard pass for the score.

Indiana entered the fourth quarter up seven points and sophomore running back Stevie Scott pushed his way through the Nebraska defense putting the Hoosiers up by two touchdowns with over 12 minutes to play.

Nebraska marched right down the field on the next series going 75 yards in six plays with aid from two 15-yard penalties on the Hoosier defense. Cornhusker running back Wan’Dale Robinson brought life back into the Nebraska crowd with a four yard touchdown run bringing the score to 38-31 with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Indiana’s defense was tested all day as Nebraska marched down the field once again in the fourth quarter. However, the defense did not fold as freshman Tiawan Mullen stepped up on fourth down and deflected a Vedral pass intended for Jack Stoll for the game winning stop.

The Hoosiers picked up their sixth win of the season but before they can go bowling they have four games remaining in the regular season with two of those being against Penn State and Michigan.

Key Stats

Up Next

Indiana returns home next week for a matchup under the lights against Northwestern (1-6, 0-5). The game is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen live on FS1.