The Nebraska football team got a win against Indiana on Saturday. After the two teams traded punches for a while, the Huskers were able to pull away in the second half in much the same fashion that they did against North Dakota.
That should give people pause when they start really celebrating this win. There’s a chance that it isn’t an indication that things are getting better, as some have pointed out. There are indications that this was just an ugly win against a bad team.
Cooler heads would tell you that the Huskers still looked shaky at best a number of different times on Saturday night. The offense stalled more than it had any business stalling against an Indiana defense that allowed more than 40 points to Cincinnati the week prior. It allowed 30 points to Western Kentucky.
Yes, there are plenty of reasons not to overreact to the Nebraska football victory over the Hoosiers, but there are three big reasons why people can and should overreact and have some real hope for the rest of the season.
The Nebraska football defense was dominant in the second half
While the Huskers struggled a bit in the first half, eventually getting outgained by the Hoosiers and entering the break tied 21-21, the second half was an entirely different story.
Much has been made in the days following the win that the Huskers held Indiana to 71 total yards, but it’s even more impressive when looking deeper at the stats.
NU allowed just seven yards on eight carries. In other words, the Hoosiers averaged 0.9 yards per carry.
IU was also awful once the Cornhuskers were able to get them to third down, going a combined 1-for-9 on 3rd and 4th down. Of course, this was one area where the “D” excelled in the first half as well, and the Hoosiers finished the game 2-for-16 in those instances overall.
QB Connor Bazelak had some success throwing the ball in the first half, going 13-for-24 for 159 yards and a touchdown. However, he ran into a buzzsaw in the second half, going 9-for-20 for just 64 yards and an interception.
That kind of defensive turnaround should have Nebraska football fans hoping that the simplification of the defensive calls that new defensive coordinator Bill Busch talked about is working.