Black Friday or Groundhog Day?
Whatever day it is, the same miserable script played itself out yet again the day after Thanksgiving, with the same miserable result: Iowa 13, Nebraska 10.
The Hawkeyes retain the Heroes Trophy for the ninth time in 10 years. For the fifth time in that decade run, Iowa clinched its victory with a field goal on the final play of the game. And, for the second straight year, a Husker turnover set up the Hawkeyes for the game-winning field goal to break a 10-10 tie.
But as miserable losses go, this one might sting the worst. Nebraska outgained Iowa, 334-164, collected 20 first downs to UI’s five, possessed the ball 39 minutes to Iowa’s 21, ran 76 plays to the Hawkeyes’ 46, and converted 8-of-17 third downs while holding Iowa to 0-of-10.
There was one glaring statistic that went the Hawkeyes’ way: two takeaways by the Iowa defense compared to none by the Blackshirts. And both takeaways set up Iowa field goals.
Nebraska built a 10-0 lead through the first half, and even then, it felt like the Huskers had dominated by more. They’d outgained the Hawkeyes 182-20. Nebraska ran 17 more plays in the first half. A 1-yard touchdown run by Dante Dowdell with 38 seconds to go in the half gave NU a 10-point lead heading into the locker room, with a displeased Kinnick Stadium crowd booing the Hawkeyes as they left the field for halftime.
Momentum seemed t0 stay with the Huskers to begin the third quarter. Nebraska had the first possession, and marched down the field before the drive sputtered in the Iowa red zone, setting up John Hohl for a 34-yard field goal. But a bad snap threw off the timing of the kick, Hohl missed it, and the opportunity to push the lead to 13 was squandered. Special teams mistake No. 2 came on the ensuing possession. A Kaleb Johnson run gained 25 yards and took the Hawkeyes to their 47. But the Blackshirts stiffened forced a punt. The punt landed and though the returner, Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda, avoided the ball, Vincent Shavers, Jr., blocking on the punt return team, did not, and the ball glanced off him and was recovered by Iowa at the four. Though the Hawkeyes had to settle for a field goal, momentum inched further toward Iowa.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Hawkeyes snatched the momentum totally away from the Huskers. Kaleb Johnson, Iowa’s All-Big Ten running back, caught a swing pass, bounced off several Nebraska attempted tackles, and rambled 72 yards for the game-tying touchdown.
The score stayed tied and Nebraska took over with a chance to drive for the winning score at its 20 with 1:42 remaining in regulation. The Huskers seemed to avoid disaster two plays in when Emmett Johnson recovered his own fumble on a play that netted NU a first down. Nebraska picked up another first down to take the ball to its 43. But as Dylan Raiola dropped back to pass, Max Llewellyn blew by Bryce Benhart, sacked Raiola, stripped him of the ball and recovered the fumble. The Hawkeyes took over on the NU 36, gained one yard on three plays, but set up Stevens for his game-winning field, which snuck just inside the right upright as time expired.
The ending erases a dominant performance by the Blackshirts. They held Johnson to just 45 yards on 17 attempts. Other than Johnson’s screen pass touchdown, Iowa gained just 92 yards on 40 snaps. John Bullock paced the effort defensively with five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Malcolm Hartzog, Jr., added five tackles, including two for loss. Offensively, Raiola were 22-for-32 for 190 yards. Johnson rushed for 71 yards on 18 attempts, while also serving as NU’s leading receiver with six catches for 25 yards. Iowa’s Jackson Stratton was just 8-for-15 through the air for 115 yards, all but 43 coming on the Johnson screen pass.
But in the end, it didn’t add up to a win for the Huskers, who are now 9-35 in its last 44 one-possession games. Nebraska will now wait until next weekend to find out where it will be going for its bowl game, its first since 2016.