Casey Thompson threw for two
touchdowns and ran for another and Nebraska beat a Football Bowl Subdivision
opponent for the first time in 364 days with a 35-21 victory over Indiana.
Thompson, benched for a series in
the first half and shaken up on a big hit in the third quarter, threw a 71-yard
touchdown pass to Trey Palmer early in the fourth to break a 21-all tie and
followed with a 1-yard run to give the Cornhuskers a two-score cushion.
The win ended a nine-game losing
streak against FBS opponents — the Huskers' previous one was against
Northwestern on October 2, 2021 — and was Mickey Joseph's first since he was
named interim head coach following the firing of Scott Frost on Sept. 11.
The Huskers (2-3, 1-1 Big Ten)
broke open the game in the fourth quarter as Thompson came through with big
plays during what had been an up-and-down performance.
The Hoosiers were hamstrung on
offense because their top two receivers, Cam Camper and D.J. Matthews, were out
with injuries.
"Obviously, they're huge
parts of our offense," Bazelak said. "So it was tough not having
them, but we had some guys step up and we made some plays but we've got to find
ways to make more."
Thompson got chewed out on the
sideline by enraged offensive coordinator Mark Whipple after taking a
drive-killing sack in the second quarter. Thompson was on the bench when
Nebraska got the ball back at its 10.
Whipple was sending Thompson a
message, but it came with a cost. On third down Purdy fumbled while a blitzing
Louis Moore began pulling him down, and Myles Jackson recovered for a TD.
Nebraska's Chris Kolarevic
blocked James Evans' second-quarter punt and Malcolm Hartzog picked up the ball
with a clear path to the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown. It was Nebraska's
first blocked punt returned for a touchdown since 2009.
Nebraska offensive lineman Turner
Corcoran was ejected late in the second quarter after getting called for
unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct on consecutive plays. Corcoran
charged into the pile after Thompson's facemask was pulled while going down,
negating the penalty on the Hoosiers. On the next play Corcoran punched Aaron
Casey while the linebacker was on the ground.
The Helmet Project found here:
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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1145292-power-ranking-all-124-college-football-stadiums
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