Any time Indiana beats Nebraska in football the Hoosiers are going to celebrate a little extra regardless of the relative strength of the two programs -- just as Nebraska is always going to live it up if and when it beats Indiana in basketball no matter how long IU basketball has been down.
But following IU's 38-31 win in Lincoln on Saturday, the Hoosier contingent seemed to add a little spice to their post-game comments, referencing a beef no one seemed to know existed.
“I’m very, very happy for our kids and very, very happy for our fans, because like Tom (Allen) said tonight, we’re sick of talking about how close we’ve been, one to a signature win and two to qualify for a bowl,” IU AD Fred Glass told the Indianapolis Star on Saturday. “To hit both of those things today at Nebraska was particularly gratifying, particularly knowing Nebraska’s staff had no respect for our program.”
Nebraska head coach Scott Frost seemed to have no idea what Glass was referencing when asked on Monday.
According to Crimson Quarry, an SB Nation blog, Nebraska has complained to Big Ten headquarters that Nebraska sees too much of Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan and not enough of Indiana, Rutgers and Maryland. From the report: Details aren’t uber-specific about the context of the remarks, but multiple sources around the conference confirmed to Crimson Quarry that Frost had raised complaints in discussions privately and publicly that Nebraska had been saddled with a difficult of a cross-divisional Big Ten schedule in future seasons. His specific complaint? His team needs more games against historically weaker programs, citing Indiana specifically by name. The Big Ten added SEC-style annual cross-over games when its conference schedule expanded to nine games in 2016; Nebraska was paired with Ohio State through 2021, and the Big Red will get Michigan on a yearly basis from 2022-25. From 2017-21, only four of Nebraska's 15 games opposite East Division opponents come against Rutgers, Maryland or Indiana. In 2024, the Huskers will get Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in successive games. While one must understand Crimson Quarry is an IU blog and, thus, its sources are likely giving a pro-IU slant, this comment from Hoosier receiver Whop Philyor -- who, by the way, torched Nebraska to the tune of 14 catches for 187 yards on Saturday -- seems to confirm that Nebraska wanted more Indiana and less Ohio State.
Either way, Nebraska will not face Indiana again until Oct. 1, 2022 -- and, in the meantime, they'll face Ohio State twice and Penn State and Michigan once apiece.