INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Terrell Newby ran for one score and Tommy Armstrong Jr. hooked up with Stanley Morgan Jr. on a 72-yard touchdown pass with 9:57 left to play, helping No. 10 Nebraska hold off Indiana 27-22 on Saturday.
The 10th-ranked Cornhuskers (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) won their seventh straight game overall and their fifth in a row in this series, last played in 1978. It's also the first time since 2001 that Nebraska has won its first six.
But the improving Hoosiers (3-3, 1-2) sure didn't make it easy as it tried to beat its first top 10 team since 1987.
After unveiling new uniforms that incorporated Indiana's trademark candy stripes on their shoulders and a script Indiana on the pants, in hopes of changing course, it didn't quite work.
Nebraska opened the game by driving for a field goal then got Newby's 4-yard TD run and Chris Jones' 33-yard interception return for a score in a 14-second span to make it 17-0. The Hoosiers answered with the next 15 points, finally getting into the end zone on the final play of the third quarter, a 33-yard TD run from Devine Redding on a fake reverse.
Nebraska took advantage when Indiana's two safeties ran into one another, allowing Morgan to turn about a 20-yard gain into a 72-yard TD.
Five plays later, Redding scored on a 4-yard TD catch that made it 24-22 with 8:26 to go.
The Cornhuskers closed it out by using all but 45 seconds of the remaining time while surviving a near-fumble from Newby 2:06 left. The officials ruled Newby was down when the ball came out and it was not overturned by replay review and they got a 39-yard field goal.
THE TAKEAWAYS
Nebraska: The 'Huskers could start to lock up the Big Ten West over the next two weeks. Nebraska is the only unbeaten team left on that side of the conference standings, and No. 8 Wisconsin comes to town in two weeks. A win there - or a loss by the Badgers before then - would make Nebraska a clear favorite to book a trip to December's Big Ten championship game.
Indiana: The Hoosiers are in solid shape heading into an easier second half. They've already upset one ranked team, seriously challenged two more and their usually maligned defense has proven it can hold up. That bodes well for the Hoosiers, who need three wins to become bowl eligible for a second straight season for the first time in a quarter century.
UP NEXT
Nebraska: Now the Cornhuskers head back to Lincoln with something to prove against Purdue. A year ago, the Boilermakers stunned Nebraska. But after Iowa's 49-35 victory, the Boilermakers are reeling and Nebraska needs to keep its momentum rolling before facing No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 2 Ohio State after Purdue.
Indiana: After finishing a brutal stretch against three straight Top 20 foes, the Hoosiers visit a Northwestern team that has underperformed. For the Hoosiers, it's a chance to get back on the right track with two more winnable games after Northwestern.
