Justice Ellison ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns Saturday as No. 16 Indiana rolled to a 56-7 Big Ten Conference blowout of Nebraska in Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosiers (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) rolled up 495 yards of offense against a top-15 defense nationally despite losing starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke to a hand injury. Before departing at halftime, Rourke completed 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards with a touchdown.
Backup Tayven Jackson came in and the high-powered offense didn’t miss many beats. He was 7 of 8 for 91 yards and two scores in the second half as Indiana passed what some considered to be its toughest test to this point.
While the Hoosiers were sharp in every phase, the Cornhuskers (5-2, 2-2) weren’t. Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola completed 28 of 44 passes for 234 yards but also tossed three interceptions, two of which turned into Indiana touchdown drives.
Not to be outdone by the offense, the Hoosiers’ defense forced five turnovers and logged seven tackles for loss. Nebraska managed only 70 yards on the ground.
Indiana set an immediate tone by marching 75 yards on the game’s opening drive, Ellison capping it with a 5-yard run. Rourke made it 14-0 with 13:37 left in the half on a 7-yard touchdown pass to Myles Price.
Jacory Barney Jr.’s 7-yard scoring jaunt drew the Cornhuskers within 14-7 at the 7:40 mark, but the Hoosiers took control with two touchdowns in the final 3:47 of the half. Ty Son Lawton scored on a 1-yard run to finish a 75-yard drive and Ellison made it 28-7 at the break on a 31-yard run.
The game was a rout with two more Indiana scores in the third quarter. Jackson converted a short field after an interception, finding Miles Cross for a 2-yard touchdown pass, and then connected with Elijah Sarratt on a 15-yard strike with 1:46 left.
Kaelon Black added a 10-yard touchdown run less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, and Elijah Green capped the scoring on a 1-yard run with 3:45 remaining.
–Field Level Media
