Indiana hands Nebraska its first loss, 20-17, and turns to Ohio State

Nebraska's unbeaten start ended Saturday, Oct. 10. No. 7 Indiana, the defending national champion, left Lincoln with a 20-17 win and kept its own record clean.

HuskerOnline of On3 published a closing photo gallery of the day, shot by Casey Fritton and Ken Juszyk. The outlet called it a "rowdy environment" for the noon kickoff, which aired on Fox. The Hoosiers are now 6-0 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play. Nebraska drops to 5-1 and 2-1.

The gallery shows how big the day was around Memorial Stadium. Fox brought its Big Noon Kickoff pregame show to Lincoln, with Rob Stone, Urban Meyer, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn and Mark Ingram on the set. Joel Klatt called the game. The pregame also included balloons and a flyover. Boxing champion Bud Crawford, an Omaha native, was on the sideline, along with Governor Jim Pillen and athletic director Troy Dannen.

The weekend also mattered for recruiting. HuskerOnline's photos include several of Nebraska's commitments, among them five-star quarterback Trae Taylor and four-star receiver Khalil Taylor. A long list of 2028 prospects also visited, including four-star offensive lineman R'Monie Edwards and four-star linebacker Brodie Metzger. Matt Rhule's staff got to show those visitors a full stadium for a game against one of the best teams in the country. The result just didn't go Nebraska's way.

The game photos show Nebraska's defense getting to Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover, including a sack by linebacker Vincent Shavers. On the other side, Anthony Colandrea led the Husker offense. Even so, Nebraska couldn't find the last score it needed. A three-point loss to the champs at home doesn't sink the season, but it costs the Huskers ground in the conference race in the first half of the year.

For Curt Cignetti's team, this was another close win on the road in a hostile stadium. That's what contenders need in a league schedule that doesn't let up. The next test may be the biggest yet: Ohio State visits Bloomington on Oct. 17.

The market has the Buckeyes as the road favorite. Ohio State is -174 on Novig, one of the venues listing the game. The best sportsbook price on the Buckeyes is -178 at FanDuel. On the spread, Indiana is a 4.5-point underdog at home even with its perfect record and its title. The full matchup page is at /odds/ohio-state-at-indiana-2026-10-17.

That line shows how the Hoosiers' wins have been viewed. They keep winning, but beating Nebraska by three on the road didn't change much about how they're priced against a top opponent. A win over Ohio State would put Indiana in control of the Big Ten race.

Nebraska gets a week to regroup after its first loss. It still has a winning record in the conference and plenty of the schedule left to respond.