No. 5 Indiana survived Nebraska. Now comes Ohio State.

Two throws changed the afternoon

With 12:01 left in Lincoln, Indiana trailed Nebraska by 11 points and had yet to reach the end zone. Ten seconds later, Nick Marsh had changed the game.

Josh Hoover found Marsh for a 75-yard touchdown. On the next Indiana possession, the two connected again, this time for 44 yards on fourth down. With 7:13 remaining, the Hoosiers finally had the lead. They left with a 20–17 victory, Marsh’s six catches for 187 yards and an unbeaten season that had come uncomfortably close to ending.

Now the margin for error gets another examination. No. 5 Indiana hosts No. 4 Ohio State on October 17 in the first top-five matchup in Memorial Stadium’s history. The Hoosiers are 6–0, the Buckeyes 5–1, and both are 3–0 in the Big Ten. Kickoff is set for noon on FOX, according to Ohio State’s game center.

The comeback supplied the highlights. The rest of the afternoon supplied the concern: Indiana rushed for 65 yards, converted one of 10 third downs and ran 44 offensive plays to Nebraska’s 83. Two explosive completions were enough to overcome all of it. That is a difficult way to keep winning.

The streak behind the escape

One part of Indiana’s game remained dependable even while its offense stalled. The Hoosiers have finished even or ahead in the turnover battle in 30 consecutive games, a run dating to 2024 that Indiana’s game-week notes identify as the longest in the FBS since at least 1995.

Hoover enters the Ohio State game as one of two quarterbacks nationally with at least 15 touchdown passes and no interceptions this season, according to those notes. His finish against Nebraska showed the value of keeping both possibilities available: protecting the ball while still finding the throws that can overturn a game.

The defense gave him time. Jamari Sharpe intercepted Anthony Colandrea in the third quarter. Stephen Daley finished with two sacks for the second straight week, and Tobi Osunsanmi extended his sack streak to five games, according to Indiana’s postgame report. The Hoosiers’ winning streak reached 22.

That combination explains how Indiana survived an afternoon in which so much of the possession game belonged to Nebraska. The defense kept the deficit within reach, and the offense delivered before the opportunities ran out.

A familiar opponent, a different stage

Ohio State has already experienced Indiana’s ability to finish a tight game. The Hoosiers won their last meeting 13–10 in the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game. The Buckeyes won 23–3 on their previous trip to Bloomington in 2023. Saturday brings the rematch to a stadium hosting this kind of ranked matchup for the first time.

For Indiana, the clearest improvement would come before another fourth-quarter rescue is necessary. More productive early downs would ease the pressure on Hoover, give the running game a larger role and make the offense less dependent on Marsh turning a completion into a touchdown.

Ball security can keep a contender alive on its difficult days. Against Ohio State, Indiana has a chance to pair that discipline with a more complete offensive performance. The Hoosiers saved their unbeaten start in Lincoln. Saturday will show how much they learned from having to save it.