Nebraska Ends Decade-Long Ranked Drought, Stuns No. 7 Indiana 10-6 to Start 6-0 Under Matt Rhule

Nebraska finally broke through. The Cornhuskers held off reigning national champion Indiana 10-6 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, ending a 31-game losing streak against ranked opponents that stretched back a decade and pushing Matt Rhule’s team to a 6-0 start for the first time since 2016. The result also snapped the Hoosiers’ 21-game winning streak and dropped the nation’s No. 7 team to 5-1.

The win carries extra weight given the history behind it. Nebraska hadn’t beaten a ranked team since knocking off No. 22 Oregon on Sept. 17, 2016, and Rhule himself had gone 0-8 against ranked opponents in his first three seasons in Lincoln — including a lopsided 56-7 loss to this same Indiana program back in 2024. Rhule, now in his fourth year rebuilding the Huskers after a 5-win debut season in 2023 and a bowl-winning 7-6 campaign in 2024, has steadily built toward a signature moment like this one.

Colandrea Delivers in Big Noon Spotlight

Quarterback Anthony Colandrea was the engine behind the upset. Playing in front of a sellout Memorial Stadium crowd for Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff,” the dual-threat passer finished 18-of-29 for 190 yards and an interception through the air, then broke the game open with his legs — a 39-yard touchdown run proved to be the decisive score. Colandrea carried 14 times for 57 yards and the touchdown, continuing a season in which Rhule has leaned on him as a weapon defenses have to account for on every snap. Indiana entered the afternoon ranked fifth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 10.8 points per game, which made Nebraska’s ability to find the end zone at all a notable accomplishment.

Indiana’s defense lived up to its billing for most of the afternoon, holding the Huskers to field goals and a single touchdown while limiting mistakes of its own. But Nebraska’s defense matched that intensity, smothering an Indiana offense that had rolled through its first five opponents, and the Huskers made the one explosive play they needed to count for the game’s turning point.

What Comes Next for Nebraska

The victory moves Nebraska to 3-0 in Big Ten play and validates the buzz that has followed the program through its best start in a decade. For bettors tracking the Huskers’ surge up the rankings, the shift in perception has been dramatic — a team picked for middling results in August now walks into November as a legitimate Big Ten contender, and a look at the latest DraftKings promo code offers is worth it for anyone looking to get in on Nebraska’s title odds before they shift further.

The schedule does not get easier. Nebraska travels next to face No. 13 Oregon, then still has matchups against No. 5 Ohio State and No. 20 Iowa in November — a closing stretch that will determine whether Saturday’s breakthrough was the start of something sustained or a signature outlier. For a fan base that has waited a decade for this specific kind of win, the ranked-opponent drought is over, and the Huskers now carry real expectations into the back half of the season. Anyone mapping out how to follow the rest of Nebraska’s gauntlet should also check the latest Nebraska sportsbook options, given how much betting interest the program is suddenly generating nationally.

Rhule has been candid about what the losing streak meant to him personally, saying earlier in the week that he rewatches losses like the 2024 blowout to Indiana to “feel the pain” and hold himself accountable. Saturday’s result gives him and his program the signature answer they had been chasing, and it arrives at the perfect moment — with the Huskers ranked, unbeaten, and squarely in the center of the Big Ten and College Football Playoff conversation for the first time in years.