First Look: Nebraska Presents Indiana With a Different Kind of Test

Indiana’s next challenge takes the Hoosiers to Lincoln for a matchup that presents a different set of problems on both sides of the football.

Nebraska enters the week unbeaten at 5-0 after a 48-23 victory over Maryland, while Indiana brings its own unbeaten record and 21-game winning streak into Memorial Stadium. This is the beginning of a significant stretch for the Hoosiers, and Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea immediately jumps off the scouting report.

Nebraska Offense: The Quarterback Changes the Math

Colandrea is not simply a quarterback who can scramble when protection breaks down. He is a legitimate dual-threat problem. Through five games he has completed roughly 66 percent of his passes for more than 1,100 yards with 13 touchdown passes, while Nebraska is averaging better than 43 points per game.

Against Maryland, Colandrea produced 346 yards of total offense, including 108 rushing yards on only 10 attempts. That is the number that should get Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ attention.

Indiana has had its share of problems with mobile quarterbacks, particularly when the original play breaks down and the quarterback escapes the rush. Nebraska will test the Hoosiers’ rush-lane discipline as much as their ability to generate pressure.

Does Indiana Use a Spy?

This becomes one of my first questions entering the week.

Does Haines employ a quarterback spy in certain situations?

I would not expect Indiana to dedicate a defender to Colandrea on every snap. Doing that removes a defender from either coverage or the normal run fit. But third down, obvious passing situations and selected pressure packages could be different.

The objective has to be simple: pressure Colandrea without giving him an escape hatch.

Controlled rush lanes, edge contain and a situational spy could all become part of the plan. Getting close to Colandrea is not enough. Losing rush integrity can turn what appears to be a sack into a 20-yard quarterback run.

Nebraska Offensive Players to Watch

QB Anthony Colandrea — The player who changes the entire defensive equation. Indiana must defend both the called play and what happens after the play breaks down.

WR Kwazi Gilmer — One of Nebraska’s primary receiving threats and a player capable of punishing a defense that commits too many resources to containing the quarterback.

The challenge is interconnected. Indiana cannot become so concerned with Colandrea’s legs that it compromises its coverage structure against Nebraska’s receivers.

Nebraska Defense: Playmakers at Every Level

Nebraska’s defense gives Indiana another significant test. The Huskers have multiple defenders capable of creating negative plays and changing possessions.

Owen Chambliss has been one of Nebraska’s most productive defenders and has shown the ability to impact both the run game and passing game.

Dwayne McDougle III has been among Nebraska’s leading tacklers, while Vincent Shavers Jr. has provided disruption and takeaway production. Up front, Williams Nwaneri gives Nebraska another pass-rush threat.

There are opportunities, however. Maryland moved the football effectively during the first half against Nebraska before the Huskers tightened things considerably after halftime. That first-half film will be something Mike Shanahan and the Indiana offensive staff study closely.

The Other Question: Can Indiana Solve the Last Five Yards?

Indiana piled up nearly 600 yards of total offense and more than 300 rushing yards against Rutgers. Yet one concern continues to show up when the field becomes compressed.

Can Indiana consistently get the football into the end zone from the 5-yard line and in?

We saw signs of the problem against Northwestern, and it surfaced again against Rutgers. Between the 20s, Indiana has demonstrated that it can run the football. Inside the 5, the defense no longer has to defend the entire field. Safeties are closer to the line of scrimmage, gaps become condensed and there is less horizontal and vertical space to manipulate.

This is where the offensive staff has work to do this week.

Do we see more pre-snap movement? Split-flow action? Perimeter runs? RPO concepts? Play-action? A Josh Hoover bootleg?

Or does Indiana begin using Hoover himself as part of the goal-line run equation?

Could Josh Hoover Be Part of the Answer?

This connects directly to something we discussed before Rutgers.

Indiana does not need Hoover to become a running quarterback. It needs the defense to believe that Hoover might run.

When the defense can sell out against the running back near the goal line, adding the quarterback back into the run equation changes the numbers. One or two calculated keeps can force a backside defender to respect Hoover instead of crashing immediately toward the running back.

That could mean a zone-read keeper, quarterback draw, bootleg or another tendency-breaking concept. It does not require turning Hoover into a 10-carry quarterback.

It requires making Nebraska defend all 11 players.

Coach Griff’s First Look

This matchup gives Indiana two very different problems to solve.

Defensively, the Hoosiers have to keep Colandrea contained without compromising the structure of the defense. Offensively, Indiana needs to determine whether the problems inside the 5 are execution problems, schematic problems or a combination of both — and find an answer before those missed opportunities become costly.

Nebraska will provide a much different examination than Rutgers.

Can Indiana keep Colandrea in the cage?

And when the Hoosiers reach the other end of the field:

Can they finally solve the last five yards?

Those are two of the first things I will be watching as Indiana prepares for a major showdown in Lincoln.