Turbo Richard, making his first appearance since hurting his ankle against Northwestern, ran for 204 yards and a touchdown, the first time in his career he ran for over 200 yards, and Curt Cignetti said the staff felt confident about his availability early in the week. Lee Beebe Jr., himself a game-time decision, added 122 yards and a touchdown. Josh Hoover went 20 of 27 for 251 yards and four touchdowns.
The margin was not the story. Four availability questions came back at once. Stephen Daley, in a game played after a Monroe County court injunction restored his and Kellan Wyatt's eligibility, recorded two sacks and three tackles, his first multi-sack game since October 2025, as Indiana's front piled up four sacks and eight tackles for loss. The defense posted a scoreless first half for the fourth time this season and let Rutgers reach Indiana territory on only three possessions. Kicker Nico Radicic made field goals of 39 and 48 yards but missed a 22-yard attempt, and also missed an extra point. One availability question is still open. Linebacker Rolijah Hardy, who opened the scoring against Northwestern with the tackle that forced a safety, left that game hurt and the severity has not been confirmed, so watch the defensive front-seven rotation in Lincoln.
None of it says how a largely new team behaves in a hostile stadium. This roster has 60 returners but only 11 players who made multiple starts during the championship season, and 18 of the 44 newcomers are transfers. The reason to expect it to hold together anyway is coaching, not experience. Mike Shanahan is still calling the offense and coaching the receivers, and Bryant Haines is still running the defense and the linebackers. Same systems, different personnel.
Indiana at Nebraska, noon ET Saturday on FOX
Indiana is a heavy favorite on paper; the model gives it an 82% chance, Nebraska 18%, which says more about the gap in roster quality than about the setting. Memorial Stadium will be full, as it has been for every home game since 1962, a sellout run that passed 410 games before this season began.
The history here is closer than the recent scoreboard suggests. Indiana leads the all-time series 11-9-3 over 23 meetings. But the last meeting was a demolition. Indiana won 56-7 in Bloomington on October 19, 2024, its largest Big Ten margin since a 49-0 win at Minnesota in 1945, with Justice Ellison going for 105 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries and Dylan Raiola throwing three interceptions. Matt Rhule said on his own podcast that Cignetti was "making a lot of us look bad right now" and called Indiana's turnaround "absolutely amazing."
The stakes are straightforward and large. A win puts Indiana's playoff odds at 92%, its Big Ten title-game odds at 81%, its chance of a first-round bye at 51%, and its average projected seed at 4.6. A loss drops those same numbers to 76% playoff, 46% title game, 25% bye, and a 6.1 seed. Those are two branches of the same Saturday, not a sequence.
It also matters where this sits on the calendar. Indiana opened with four home games, then drew Rutgers and now Nebraska, and Ohio State comes to Bloomington next week before the trip to Ann Arbor. Lincoln is the last road stop before the two games that will decide whether the title defense is real, and Nebraska, also unbeaten, is the first opponent all year with the record to back up the crowd. Win and the Ohio State week starts from a position of strength; lose and the margin for error in the hardest stretch of the schedule mostly disappears.
The rest of the board
Three Big Ten results move Indiana's path to Indianapolis, all through the standings rather than anything subtler. Each involves a team Indiana is competing with for one of two title-game spots.
Iowa at Washington: root for Washington
Friday, 9 p.m. ET, no national TV listing supplied. This is the coin flip of the three at 50%, and the most valuable. Washington beating No. 20 Iowa puts Indiana's title-game odds at 77% instead of 72%, a 5.5-point swing. Iowa losing a conference game is worth more to Indiana than Washington gaining one costs it, and Indiana does not visit Washington until Week 12.
Maryland at Ohio State: root for Maryland
Maryland is a long shot here.
Saturday, 4:15 p.m. ET on BTN. The biggest prize on the board, worth 6.4 points of title-game probability, and the one you should spend the least energy on. Maryland's chance of winning in Columbus is under 1%. If No. 5 Ohio State takes a conference loss before it comes to Bloomington, Indiana's title-game odds sit at 81% rather than 75%. Check the score, enjoy it if it is close, and do not plan your evening around it.
UCLA at Oregon: root for UCLA
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. No. 21 UCLA has a 19% shot at No. 13 Oregon in Eugene. A Ducks loss would put Indiana's title-game odds at 78% versus 74% if Oregon holds serve, a 3.8-point difference. Worth a glance between the Nebraska final and the Ohio State kickoff.
The full picture, including every branch of the Nebraska game, is in the interactive guide, and the simulation behind the numbers is explained in the methodology.