Nebraska’s win over Indiana was ugly. But ugly never looked so pretty

LINCOLN — They argued and scrapped, screwed around, stumbled around, stuck around, fought, threw up their hands, narrowed their eyes, threw the ball halfway to heaven and, finally, celebrated like kids at midfield and running into the tunnel because, what the heck, they’d earned the right to do arm-waving airplanes for a night.

Nebraska won a Big Ten football game for the first time in a year, 35-21 over Indiana, in a game so ugly — 23 penalties, more clock stoppages than a round of competition chess, more reviews than a Marvel movie — that only the team that won it could love it.

The Huskers won. The Huskers did.

“You’re happy for the kids,” coach Mickey Joseph said. “They’ve been through a lot.”

Head coach fired. Defensive coordinator too. So many changes. Inside linebacker Luke Reimer called the last three weeks “chaotic.” NU (2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten) played like it, too, stopping itself more often than could Indiana (3-2, 1-1), which played without its top two receivers.

Banged up, harassed, yelled at by his own offensive coordinator after a series, Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson was the microcosm of all that. He left the game twice — once for a benching, another because he got drilled on a blitz — and returned with an admittedly hurting shoulder.

“It’s something I should be able to manage,” Thompson said.

He still was able to wind up and throw the ball far and high, to the speedy transfer he knew could catch up. Trey Palmer ran under Thompson’s pass and ran away for the 71-yard fourth-quarter touchdown that clinched NU’s first win over an FBS team in almost a year.

“We always tell Casey, when you’re throwing the ball to Trey, just hit your back foot and throw it as far as you can, and he’ll go get it,” Joseph said. “And it fell in our favor.”

It was the kind of game where the referee, having announced so many penalties, said “Indiana” and pointed toward Nebraska. But it’s a game NU put in the win column. Ugly never looked so pretty. The 86,804 at Memorial Stadium even belted out a “Go Big Red!” chant with six minutes left.

“Every Big Ten game’s going to be like this,” Joseph said. “If you look around the conference, everything’s a tight game like this. We’ve got to win the fourth quarter. And we did.”

That Thompson, the Texas transfer, delivered the big throw had a note of power to it. He had absorbed three sacks, got chewed out by offensive coordinator Mark Whipple and briefly sat on the bench while his backup gave Indiana its first touchdown.

“I have to do a better job of knowing when to throw it away and where to throw it,” said Thompson, who took a 11-yard sack on a third-and-two. In the third quarter, Thompson threw an interception right after Reimer’s interception had set up the Huskers at the IU 32.

But on third-and-nine from his own 29, a patchwork line gave him enough time to survey IU’s coverage, locate Palmer running a slot stop-and-go, and throw to the heavens. Palmer caught the ball in stride and raced home.

“My number got called,” Palmer said, “and I made the play.”

The Husker defense — dragged through the mud for a month — forced 11 punts and kept IU’s play total to 67. Indiana gained just 290 yards as Nebraska notched three sacks. Joseph credited the players for playing fast and defensive coordinator Bill Busch for simplifying schemes in a way that allowed it.

“I thought they put their face in the fan,” Joseph said. “I didn’t see anyone shy away.”

Junior edge rusher Garrett Nelson celebrated wildly as he ran off the field Saturday night.

“Pretty sweet, pretty sweet,” said Nelson, who had two sacks. “It’s always good to get a win. Highest of highs.”

Plus, the rare big play from Nebraska’s special teams sweetened a sour first half.

Early in the second quarter, Husker linebacker Chris Kolarevic blocked a punt that had barely left Indiana punter James Evans’ foot and freshman cornerback Malcolm Hartzog — getting the first start of his career — returned it 30 yards for a score. It was the first NU blocked punt for a touchdown since 2009. Joseph said he talked to the team — and Hartzog — all week about making a play on punt block.

“We told him, if you don’t block it, you’ve got to pick it up, and he did,” Joseph said of Hartzog.

That play gave the Huskers a 14-7 lead in a half dominated by penalties (15 incurred between the two teams), blitzing defenses and frustrated quarterbacks.

Thompson completed 11 of 14 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, but he also took two intentional-grounding penalties and an 11-yard sack on a third-and-2 play. When Thompson left the field after the sack, Nebraska offensive coordinator Mark Whipple yelled at Thompson for 35 seconds, motioning, at one point, for Thompson to get away from him.

“I have to do a better job of knowing when to throw it away and where to throw it,” Thompson said.

NU led 7-0 at the time. Soon, the game would be tied as Thompson’s backup, Chubba Purdy, entered the game, absorbed a sack in Nebraska’s own end zone, coughing the ball up as he sat on a Hoosier player. IU defensive end Myles Jackson recovered the fumble for a touchdown.

The Huskers went three-and-out on their next drive. So did Indiana — that’s when Kolarevic blocked the punt.

A 22-yard punt return by Palmer set up Nebraska’s next touchdown drive, as Thompson hit passes of 14, 10 and 21 to set up Jaquez Yant’s one-yard plunge for a score.

Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak, cold for much the first half, hit passes of 28, 15 and 13 yards — the last of them for a touchdown — on the following drive. Nebraska’s next possession got blown up by a personal foul on Turner Corcoran — ejected for throwing a punch — and Indiana quickly capitalized, going 70 yards in six plays and one minute, 53 seconds to tie the game.

The Huskers scored on their first drive of the night, but struggled to get out of its own way with penalties and miscues.

Corcoran got ejected from the game, officials said, for throwing a punch at an IU player who was on the ground, even though, upon further review, it appeared Corcoran was merely finishing a block and his hand hit a helmet. By the end of the first half, NU’s offensive line consisted of Brant Banks, Ethan Piper, Trent Hixson, Broc Bando and Hunter Anthony.

The third quarter — a scrum of penalties, punts and turnovers — gave way to the fourth quarter. And Nebraska controlled it. The Thompson-to-Palmer throw was followed by a six-minute touchdown march that put the game out of reach. Nebraska’s D forced a punt and then got a stop on downs. IU had five yards in the final quarter. Nebraska had 140.

“It’s just a huge morale booster, knowing we can play a fourth-quarter game, a close game,” Reimer said. “Last year, we lost every single close game we had and Northwestern (this year) as well. It just seemed like a mountain we just couldn’t climb.”

NU climbed it Saturday — and celebrated that way, too.

The Huskers ran off the field to cheers. Marques Buford did an airplane. Joseph pumped his fist as he ran alongside Thompson, who smiled. After a long, tough month, the victory was a relief.

“We’ve been overdue to finish a game in victory (formation) and take a knee,” Thompson said.