3 game-changing keys Nebraska football must master to defeat Indiana

Nebraska football is gearing up for its biggest game of the year this Saturday against the Indiana Hoosiers. I bet you didn't think we'd be saying that back in August. But in the new world of college football, any game can be the biggest of the year.

With a win over Indiana, Nebraska will become bowl-eligible for the first time since (say it with me) 2016. This is exactly where I predicted Nebraska to be before the season started: 5-1 heading into this game in Bloomington. I didn't expect Indiana to be such a formidable opponent in Curt Cignetti's first year as head coach.

Nebraska football has a tremendous opportunity to make a statement to the country and end the bowl game curse. What do they need to do to make it happen? Here are my three keys for a Husker win over the Hoosiers.

Nebraska football needs to withstand the opening wave of emotion

Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana, is not an intimidating place to play. It holds about 53,000 people. This Saturday, it will be sold old, and there is a lot of excitement on campus for the Huskers coming to town. With an early kickoff, there's a part of me that worries if Nebraska will be locked in and ready to play. They have to be because Indiana absolutely will.

Nebraska must start fast and stem the tide in the first seven or so minutes of the game. Starting fast doesn't mean Nebraska needs to go up 7-0 or 14-0. But it does mean playing within themselves, every man doing their job, avoiding costly mistakes, and making this game as boring as possible (see key #2).

Nebraska football needs to limit possessions and score in the red zone

At some point, these keys start to sound like broken records, right? But that's why football is marvelous: it's incredibly complicated yet mind-bogglingly simple at the same time. If Nebraska football wants to beat Indiana, they can't feed into how Indiana wants to play. Like many of their recent opponents, I think Nebraska should try to slow the game down and limit possessions. This will deflate the air out of the excited Hoosier faithful.

Indiana is second in the nation at about 47 points per game. While they haven't exactly played a murderer's row of defenses this year, it says something about them that they've been able to be that potent on offense.

Nebraska's offense, on the other hand, has been stuck in second gear for a few weeks. They have been tremendous between the 30s, but their inability to score has held them back. Did the bye week help fix these issues? Let's hope so.

Blackshirts need to make the offense play behind schedule and force TOs

Nebraska needs to force Indiana into uncomfortable situations. Second and long, third and medium or long. If Indiana is able to get five to six yards on first down--or chunk plays at will--Nebraska won't win the game. If Nebraska puts Indiana in obvious passing downs, look for the Husker pass rush to wreak havoc

The Illinois game seems to have served as a wake-up call for the Nebraska football defense. The poor communication and resulting missed assignments we saw were largely fixed against Purdue and Rutgers. Can Tony White's unit keep that going against much stiffer competition?

While Indiana presents quite the challenge to Nebraska, the Huskers will be the best defense the Hoosiers have faced--and it's not close. I expect White to dial up some things Indiana has yet to see on film, forcing Indiana to make some early mistakes. If there's one area where Indiana is susceptible it's turnovers. They are -3 in turnover margin in their last three games (including a -4 margin in their win against Maryland).

Can the Husker defense get a couple of turnovers to give their offense a short field or, better yet, score?

Can Nebraska football become bowl-eligible this week?

I picked Nebraska to lose to Illinois before the season and be 5-1 heading into this game. I also had the Huskers beating Indiana easily. I don't think it will be as easy as I thought in August, but I'm sticking to my original prediction of a Husker win.

Let the bowl destination theories begin.

Nebraska 28, Indiana 27