Justice Ellison ran for 105 yards and two first-half touchdowns and No. 16 Indiana continued its best start in 57 years with a 56-7 rout of Nebraska on Saturday, matching the Hoosiers’ most lopsided Big Ten win in program history.
Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke injured his right (throwing) hand and was on the sideline in street clothes in the second half. Tayven Jackson replaced him for the rest of the game.
“A little thumb thing, I feel good about it, I really do,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said of Rourke. “It was precautionary (to take him out).”
The Hoosiers (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) have yet to trail this season and each victory has been by double digits. The 49-point margin of victory was the biggest in conference play since a 49-0 win at Minnesota in 1945. The last time Indiana started with seven consecutive wins was 1967, when it opened 8-0.
Cignetti is the first coach in program history to win his first seven games. He’s never had a losing season in 14 years as a head coach.
“I’m not going to let ‘em get complacent, and not the coaches, either,” Cignetti said. “I was a maniac in the fourth quarter.”
The Cornhuskers (5-2, 3-2) were supposed to be the stiffest opposition to date for Indiana. But the only defense in the country to not allow a rushing touchdown surrendered five, including Ellison’s 5-yard TD on the opening possession.
“We’ve got some real blue-collar guys up front,” Cignetti said. “They put a good day’s work in.”
Ellison, a senior transfer from Wake Forest, added a 31-yard TD rush for a 28-7 lead just before halftime. His 105 yards came on just nine carries.
“This happened on my watch,” Nebraska second-year coach Matt Rhule said. “And I’ll be honest, I didn’t see this coming. I’m not embarrassed of our players, but I’m embarrassed about the job I did.”
Rourke completed 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards with one TD and one interception. He threw a 7-yard TD pass to Myles Price for a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
“You keep winning, people are going to come,” Cignetti said after Indiana’s first sellout since 2021.
Jackson added a pair of scoring passes to Miles Cross and Elijah Sarratt.
Ty Son Lawton ran for 64 yards on eight carries with a 1-yard TD. The Hoosiers averaged 9.3 yards per offensive play in the first half.
A Nebraska defense that had limited five of six opponents to 10 points or less allowed a season high in points to the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense, which entered with a 47.5-point average.
Nebraska freshman Dylan Raiola completed 28 of 44 passes for 234 yards with three interceptions and a lost fumble.
The takeaway
Nebraska: A slow start coming off an open date kept getting worse as the Cornhuskers suffered their most lopsided loss since Ohio State beat them 62-3 in 2016. The defense couldn’t get stops and the offense failed to score on three red-zone drives.
Indiana: The schedule looks to be more challenging with home games against Washington and Michigan as well as a road trip to Ohio State, but the Hoosiers’ confidence continues to rise. Projected to finish 17th in the 18-team league, the upstart Hoosiers have established themselves as legitimate title contenders.
Poll implications
The Hoosiers could earn a big promotion in the Top 25 depending on how teams ahead of them fare Saturday.
Up next
Nebraska: visits Ohio State next Saturday.
Indiana: hosts Washington next Saturday.
