Indiana outlasts Nebraska 20-17 as Nick Marsh scores twice in the fourth
No. 7 Indiana trailed by 11 in the fourth quarter before Nick Marsh's two touchdown catches, including a 44-yarder on fourth down, beat Nebraska 20-17 in Lincoln.
The fourth-down call that decided it
Indiana trailed 17-6 early in the fourth quarter after Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea broke off a 39-yard touchdown run. Hoover answered right away, hitting Nick Marsh for a 75-yard catch-and-run score on the first play of the next drive to cut it to 13-17.
The real difference came later. Facing fourth down at the Nebraska 44, Indiana lined up with an extra lineman and three receivers, a mixed look that had Nebraska's defense out of position. Hoover faked a handoff, Marsh got behind the secondary, and Hoover floated a pass that Marsh caught and carried in untouched for a 44-yard touchdown. That made it 20-17 with 7:13 left, and it held up.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said the design dated back years. "Nick made some big plays over the second half," he said after the win.
How Nebraska got the lead in the first place
Nebraska controlled most of the afternoon. The Huskers out-gained Indiana 391 yards to 328 and won the first-down battle 25 to 13, with Jamal Rule running for 53 yards on 15 carries and Jacory Barney Jr. catching nine passes for 108 yards.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said part of the late breakdown was a mix-up in personnel right before the decisive fourth-down snap. "We should have called a timeout," Rhule said. "It didn't happen. The organization is my fault."
Colandrea finished 25 of 43 for 263 yards with an interception to go with his rushing score. Nebraska also turned the ball over once compared to zero turnovers for Indiana, and was flagged seven times for 59 yards against Indiana's three penalties for 35.
What it means
The win was Indiana's 22nd straight, and Hoover closed it out by going 12 of 22 for 263 yards and two touchdowns, both to Marsh. "Great win on the road, hard fought," Cignetti said.
For Nebraska, the loss extended a longer run of frustration against ranked opponents, and Rhule said afterward he was disappointed for the fan base. "I'm just disappointed we didn't win that game for everybody," he said. "I think it would have been pretty cool downtown tonight."
Indiana moved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play. Nebraska dropped to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the conference.
Facts per ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.