Nebraska football once again blew a big opportunity to reclaim genuine relevance on Saturday afternoon, but perhaps the Cornhuskers and their fans can take some solace in knowing that this latest high-profile stumble came courtesy of some ingenuous play-calling. Probably not. Nevertheless, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and his staff deserve ample credit for the game-swinging play they called in Saturday’s 20-17 comeback victory in Lincoln.
Trailing 17-13 with less than seven and a half minutes remaining, and facing fourth-and-1, the Hoosiers deployed a bunched-up formation before sending their pass-catchers downfield. A completely unsuspecting Nebraska defense left Nick Marsh wide open for a 44-yard touchdown. Cignetti stumped the Huskers and delivered Matt Rhule another bitter loss versus a ranked opponent. He did not want to take all the credit, however.
“Kansas made that one famous with the guy who’s starting quarterback for Tampa (Jalon Daniels),” the national championship-winning HC said, per ESPN’s Max Olson. “That guy is a good coach. Stole that one about 5-6 years ago.”…