Huskers prepare for No. 16 Indiana, Buschini earns Blackshirt in bye week
LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - Coming off their first bye week, 5-1 Nebraska will travel to Bloomington, IN to face undefeated Indiana. The No. 16 Hoosiers will be the second Top 25 team the Huskers have faced so far this season. The first was then-ranked No. 24 Illinois, who the Big Red ended up falling to, 31-24 in overtime, in the Huskers' lone of the season.
“This is as big of a game as we’ve probably ever played in terms of the stakes and all the things that get people excited – on the road, ranked team, best offense that we’ve faced, one of the best that we’ll see. I’m sure our guys are focused,” said Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule in his Monday morning press conference.
The Hoosiers boast a top-ten offense and defense. IU has scored an average of 47.5 points per game while also allowing an average of only 255.7 yards per game.
“They’re leading the Big Ten in passing and they’re close, if not the top, in rushing. They’re top 10 in the country in offense, they’re top 10 in the country in defense. They’re the only team that hasn’t trailed all year and they’ve scored 80 points in the fourth quarter. This is probably a top 10 football team we’re facing," said Rhule.
During the bye week, the Huskers awarded two Blackshirts to two players. USC transfer Ceyair Wright received a black jersey since he’s Big Red’s starting cornerback at the moment. Senior cornerback Tommi Hill remains day-to-day with a foot injury.
Senior punter Brian Buschini was also awarded a Blackshirt per the request of the defense.
“When Marques Buford (Jr.) texted me at home and said, ‘Coach, we need Buschini in black,’ I thought that was a tremendous message," said Rhule. “Whether it was the tackles at Purdue on the game-saving tackles during the field goals. The punts he made last week, to get hit like that, some guys get hurt and they come out to finish the game, he accelerated. I did it because it was from the players, they feel like he is part of that unit so let’s roll.”
Nebraska and Indiana square off on Saturday, October 19th at 11 a.m. CT in Bloomington. The game will be broadcast on FOX.
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