NOTEBOOK: Battle of Unbeatens; 21 and Counting; Big-Play Richard
By Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Curt Cignetti has been to a lot of places during his five-decade run as a college coach, and even more when he’s not working, but he’s never been to the state of Nebraska in general and the town of Lincoln specially.
That will change on Saturday when the No. 5/7 Hoosiers (5-0 overall, 2-0 in the Big Ten) face Nebraska (5-0, 2-0) at Tom Osborne Field at Memorial Stadium.
“I'm looking forward to it,” Cignetti said during Monday’s weekly press conference. “I've heard great things about the stadium, the fans. Obviously, a great tradition and history there through the years.”
Nebraska’s rich football history includes five national championships (1970, ’71, ’94, ’95 and ’97) plus 46 conference crowns. Osborne won 255 games with national titles in 1994, ’95 and ’97.
The current coach is Matt Rhule, who is 24-19 with the Cornhuskers in four seasons after previous coaching stops at Temple, Baylor, and the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Nebraska went 5-7 in his first season before consecutive 7-6 records.
“Coach Rhule and his entire staff have done a tremendous job of developing that program, and what they've put on tape this year is extremely impressive.”
IU has a knack for beating undefeated teams. Northwestern was 2-0 when it lost to the Hoosiers a couple of weeks ago. Ohio State was 12-0 and ranked No. 1 nationally when it lost to IU 13-10 in last December’s Big Ten title game.
Neither of those games were on the road. However, the Hoosiers did win at then No. 2 Oregon (5-0) last October.
“It's a Big Ten game on the road against an undefeated team,” Cignetti said, “so it's a huge challenge, which we have to respond to. Our guys will be excited to play.
“I have a lot of respect for Coach Rhule, what he's accomplished throughout his career, the kind of person he is, what he represents, and what they put on tape.”
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How impressive is IU’s 21-game winning streak? Consider it’s the longest nationally since Georgia won 29 straight games from 2021-23. It’s the longest in the Big Ten since Ohio State won 23 in a row from 2013-14.
Also, the Hoosiers had no penalties and no turnovers against Rutgers. That hasn’t happened for IU since at least 1972.
Still, no one is satisfied.
“We did a lot of things well,” Cignetti said. “Still are things to clean up.”
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The last time Nebraska opened a season 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten was in 2016. It has won all five of its games by at least 18 points. Its closest game was a 31-13 win at Michigan State. It’s also beaten Ohio 49-21, Bowling Green 56-7, North Dakota 34-7, and Maryland 48-23.
The Cornhuskers average 43.6 points and allow 14.2. They run for 231.0 yards a game and allow 100.6. They throw for 244.6 yards and allow 165.2. They have 16 sacks and 31 tackles for loss. They’ve intercepted six passes and recovered two fumbles.
Nebraska thrives on punt coverage with a pair of blocked punts, including one against Maryland.
Quarterback Anthony Colandrea, the Mountain West offensive player of the year last season at UNLV, completes 65.7 percent of his passes for 1,142 yards, 13 touchdowns, and two interceptions. He’s athletic enough to hurdler a defender, and rugged enough to rush for 249 yards and two TDs. He doesn’t like to slide despite Coach Rhule’s attempts to convince him.
Colandrea threw for 3,459 yards and 23 touchdowns at UNLV. In two years at Virginia before that, he threw for a combined 4,083 yards and 26 TDs.
Colandrea is one of four Huskers to have rushed for at least 195 yards. The others are Jamal Rule (333 yards, five touchdowns), Mekhi Nelson (266 and four), and Isaiah Mozee (195, one).
Kwazi Gilmer is the leading receiver with 29 catches for 387 yards and six touchdowns.
Defensively, six Cornhuskers have intercepted a pass. Dwayne McDougle III has an 81-yard pick-six.
Like IU, Nebraska has played four of its five games at home. Its smallest home crowd was 85,033. Memorial Stadium’s official capacity is 85,458.
“They're outscoring the opposition 44 to 4; they’re plus-six in the turnover ratio; average 230 yards a game rushing; and throw it well,” Cignetti said.
“The quarterback I know well. We played against him at JMU when we went to Virginia. He was a true freshman, stepped in, really played well. He’s had an outstanding career. He can beat you with his arm and his legs.
“They fly around on defense, try to keep you off balance. It’s an impressive football team. We'll have to play really well.”
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IU running back Turbo Richard thrives at busting big runs, which explains his 9.3-yards-per-carry average, and 587 yards with five touchdowns overall.
He had a 23-yard run against North Texas, a 20-yard run against Howard, a 31-yard run against Western Kentucky, a 33-yarder against Northwestern, and a 57-yarder against Rutgers.
“He prepares himself,” Cignetti said. “He's a real consistent guy. His standards are high, his work ethic, his preparation. I think he sees the game quickly. He has good cutting ability, very patient, but has a burst and acceleration too.
“He's a great guy to have on the team in terms of leadership and the running back room. He's got excellent hands, and he's really good at pass pro. Really good. He's had some outstanding games; almost every game, outstanding.
“He's a real weapon.”
Patience is one of running backs coach John Miller’s keys that all the Hoosier running backs have bought into. Lee Beebe Jr. has 520 rushing yards with four touchdowns and a 70-yard run this season.
“It’s patience, vision, and then the ability to accelerate and hit the hole,” Cignetti said. “That was especially important against Rutgers. They were doing a lot of twisting and linebacker movement, so it’s finding the creases because they're not big creases a lot of times.
“Those guys do a good job of finding them, and Coach Miller does a tremendous job of preparing them.”
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Since Cignetti and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines have arrived at IU for the 2024 season, the Hoosiers have held opponents to less than 100 rushing yards 25 times, including the 59 they allowed against Rutgers.
This leads all major-college programs. Ohio State (22) and Miami (21) are next.
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At 6-foot-2 and 257 pounds, Kellan Wyatt is playing linebacker as well as defensive line this season. He’s embraced the dual role under Haines.
“Coach Haines has implemented something for me to play more backer,” Wyatt said. “It’s going well. I like it. It shows my versatility. I’m willing to do whatever’s best for the team. If I need to play backer, I’ll do whatever’s good for the team.”
Haines’ excels in getting players to perform at high levels.
“He gets the right guys,” Wyatt said, “and we have the right guys around the building. It’s all about putting the best 11 guys on the field. We have guys across the team who are ready to step in.”