Indiana survives Nebraska in comeback win, extends nation's longest active winning streak

The longest active winning streak in college football lives another week.

No. 7 Indiana was pushed to the brink by Nebraska, but ended up winning 20-17 on the road Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. For a while, it looked like Nebraska was going to hand the defending national champions their first loss since the first round of the 2024 College Football Playoff, but a fourth quarter comeback prevented that.

Indiana hadn't even trailed in a game since the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State, eight games ago.

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The win was Indiana's 27th straight against unranked teams, as Indiana's previous loss to an unranked opponent came Nov. 25, 2023, against Purdue. For Curt Cignetti, he improved to 33-2 as Indiana's head coach.

Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover did just enough in the win, completing 12 of his 22 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns while wide receiver Nick Marsh was outstanding, catching six passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

While rallying late, the Indiana offense struggled in the first half. The Hoosiers ran just 17 plays and managed 115 yards of total offense, scoring their only three points on a 42-yard field goal by Nico Radicic in the first quarter.

Nebraska, on the other hand, started fast. The Huskers opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal by Kyle Cunanan, capping a 13-play, 66-yard drive to take a 3-0 lead.

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After Indiana responded with a field goal of its own, the Nebraska offense went to work on another long drive.

Wide receiver Nyziah Hunter scored on a 10-yard end-around for his first touchdown of the season , putting Nebraska ahead 10-3 after a 10-play, 75-yard drive. The Huskers had an opportunity to add to their lead at the end of the first half, but Cunanan's 40-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.

Nebraska held the ball for more than 22 minutes in the first half alone.

Indiana received the second-half kickoff and drove into Nebraska territory but was kept out of the end zone and forced to settle for another Radicic field goal, this time from 35 yards, making it 10-6.

After the Indiana field goal, the game turned into a field-position battle.

On the ensuing possession, the Huskers made their first mistake of the game. Facing third-and-16 from the Indiana 36-yard line, Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea was forced out of the pocket and heaved a pass toward the end zone intended for Hunter. Instead, Indiana defensive back Jamari Sharpe leaped and intercepted the pass at his team's 2-yard line .

However, the Nebraska defense pinned Indiana deep in its own territory, forcing a three-and-out . After the punt, the Huskers took over at the Indiana 41-yard line.

The Nebraska offense squandered the opportunity, going three-and-out, but pinned Indiana at its own 1-yard line with an excellent punt. As the fourth quarter began, the Hoosiers were forced to punt again after the Nebraska defense kept them pinned deep inside their own territory.

Then, the floodgates opened.

Colandrea finally broke through the Indiana defense with a 39-yard touchdown run on third-and-5. On a read-option play, Colandrea kept the ball, picked up the first down, cut back upfield and turned the corner for Nebraska's second touchdown of the game, extending its lead to 17-6.

Just as the raucous Nebraska crowd erupted after Colandrea's score, Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover connected with wide receiver Nick Marsh on a 75-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the ensuing possession, silencing the Huskers faithful and cutting the deficit to 17-13.

The Nebraska offense couldn't respond, giving Indiana a chance to take its first lead of the day . On fourth-and-1 from the Nebraska 44-yard line, the Huskers defense bit on a play-action pass.

Hoover found a wide-open Marsh for a 44-yard touchdown, giving Indiana a 20-17 lead.

Nebraska, sensing the game was slipping away, went for it on fourth-and-9 from its own 44-yard line with just under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The gamble failed, as Indiana forced an incompletion and took over on downs, despite Nebraska still having two timeouts and the two-minute warning.

However, the Nebraska defense forced a three-and-out, giving its offense another chance to mount a comeback. The Hoosiers defense held firm, forcing another turnover on downs with a sack of Colandrea.

Nebraska gave the defending national champions a run for their money, but Indiana proved too much to handle.

Nebraska fell to 5-1 with the loss and will look to bounce back against No. 13 Oregon next week.

Indiana has another big game next week against No. 5 Ohio State at home.