Nebraska
Four Observations From Nebraska Football’s Loss to Iowa
LINCOLN—Nebraska and Iowa met for a Black Friday battle with both teams at 7-4.
By the end of the day, Iowa was 8-4, and Nebraska’s 7-5 record felt like a gut punch from another rivalry loss to the Hawkeyes. Below are four observations from the game.
“That’s unacceptable.”
– Nebraska coach Matt Rhule after the loss
Let’s begin with a couple of notes that went Nebraska’s way.
The Blackshirts opened the game with a pair of three straight three-and-outs, even with the latter ending in a field goal. In the first quarter, Iowa managed just 2.6 yards per carry.
On special teams, Nebraska recovered a kickoff that Iowa mistakenly let fall. Kyle Cunanan made all three of his field goals.
With those out of the way, oof. Bad misses galore.
On Nebraska’s first kickoff, head coach Matt Rhule and special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler elected to challenge Iowa returner Kaden Wetjen. Through 11 games, he averaged nearly 30 yards a return on kickoffs with one touchdown, adding three more scores on punt returns.
Wetjen took that kickoff 51 yards. A penalty moved it up another 15 yards, which meant the three-and-out by the Blackshirts still resulted in Iowa points.
“Certainly, the kickoff return and the field position tilted in the first half against us,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said after the game. “At one point, they had 10 points, and they had nine plays or something like that. I said, ‘Calm down; just keep playing.’”
In the second quarter, Iowa was picking up more than seven yards on every run. From the second quarter on, the Hawkeyes picked up 7-of-10 third downs, staying on the field longer against an increasingly tired Blackshirt unit.
That defensive unit had to spend extra time on the field in the third quarter. With Nebraska having just a pair of three-and-outs for drives in the quarter, Iowa had the ball for 12:38. The Huskers could have had another drive, but Jacory Barney Jr. got blown up while attempting to return a punt, and the ball sputtered into the end zone, which Nebraska did recover, but resulted in a safety.
The Blackshirts were eaten up by another quarterback who can make you pay with his legs. Mark Gronowski rushed for 64 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw just his eighth touchdown pass of the season. Gronowski’s 166 yards through the air are his most since throwing for 186 yards at Rutgers back in September.
In the punt game, Archie Wilson was forced to do most of his work into a strong south wind. The Australian averaged just 32 yards a punt, with a long of 35.
Despite a good start by the defense and moments where the special teams offered sparks, the field constantly tilted in Iowa’s favor. That’s what the Hawkeyes do under Kirk Ferentz, and they did it well again on Friday.
“To me, today was about big plays,” Rhule said. “They had control, and they ended up running. The play action off the run game and just having to do too much to sell out.”
In the same week Emmett Johnson was left off the finalist list for the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s top running back, Johnson showed that he was snubbed and should have been included.
Johnson finished with a career-high 217 yards and one touchdown on the ground. That’s the first 200-yard game by a Husker since Ameer Abdullah (225 yards) in 2014.
“I was just trying to leave it all out there on the field,” Johnson said after the game.
On the year, Johnson is up to 1,451 yards rushing. That’s good for eighth place on the NU single-season rushing chart. He also passed Abdullah (1,103 yards in 2013) for the most rushing yards in Big Ten Conference games, picking up 1,125 yards in the nine league games.
Johnson also passed Abdullah for career receiving yards, now up to fourth with 702 yards.
With 22 yards receiving, Johnson had 229 all-purpose yards on the day. He now has 1,821 all-purpose yards in 2025. That moves him onto the NU top-10 list for a single season, passing Marlon Lucky (1,743 yards in 2007), and Mike Rozier (1,790 yards in 1982) for eighth.
Johnson almost single-handedly had Nebraska in the game at halftime. He had already rushed 19 times for 177 yards and his touchdown. Within those rushing yards was his 70-yarder to set up the only touchdown Nebraska would get in the contest.
The Husker junior now has a couple of decisions to make: whether or not to play in the bowl game and whether or not to go early for the NFL draft.
“I’m just going to go back home and talk to my family and let God take over that,” Johnson said. “I’m going to take this time to just pray about everything. I love this place a lot, so I just got to go pray about it and let God decide what I’m going to do.”
November has been a tough month for Husker football fans for some time.
Nebraska is just 2-10 in the month under Matt Rhule. The Huskers have not won more than one game in November since 2016.
Since joining the Big Ten Conference, Nebraska is just 21-37. That includes going 4-0 in 2012.
“When you end the season the way we have the last two games, it has to rest solely on me,” Rhule said in his postgame opening statement.
Against Iowa, Nebraska is now 30-23-3 all-time. That includes going 3-1 in the first four years of being conference foes in the Big Ten.
But over the last decade-plus, it has been all Hawkeyes. Iowa has won 10-of-11 Black Friday contests. The lone win for the Huskers came under interim coach Mickey Joseph in 2022. The last full-time head coach for Nebraska to beat Iowa was Bo Pelini.
Nebraska’s only win over Iowa since joining the Big Ten was in the first year of the game, becoming a rivalry: 2011.
The talk from many (most? all?) of us surrounded the almost mythical boost Matt Rhule’s teams have taken in year three under him. Temple went 2-10 and 6-6 before posting back-to-back 10-win seasons. Baylor jumped from 1-11 to 7-6 to 11-3.
Nebraska has made improvements each season under Rhule. The 6-7 2023 was followed by a 7-6 last year. The Huskers are 7-5 and heading to a second straight bowl game, but these seven wins feel much further back compared to the seven wins in 2024, where Nebraska was getting over the hump by finally getting back to a bowl game and even winning it.
Hindering the potential for more wins down the stretch were injuries at the quarterback position. Dylan Raiola was lost midway through the USC game. TJ Lateef filled in admirably, leading the Huskers to a win at UCLA before struggling at Penn State and having a tough day against Iowa, which included tweaking his hamstring and limiting the type of playcalls that could involve him moving around.
“TJ got hurt early on in the game, and that limited a lot of the things that we wanted to do,” Rhule said. “(Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen) was like, ‘Hey, I’m not going to be able to move him around.’
“One of our big thoughts this game was, in the drop back game, he’d scramble around because sort of the way that they play, and we had to kind of abandon that early.”
Lateef finished 9-for-24 for 69 yards and no touchdowns through the air. This comes after another week of speculation and increased reports about Raiola’s future in Lincoln.
Ask Husker fans and media about Lateef being able to take the reins after the UCLA game? You’d have definitely received favorable answers. After the Iowa game? It might be better to roll into 2025 with some experience at that position, barring a major offseason of improvement for Lateef.
Nebraska was also playing a bunch of underclassmen all over the roster. The depth chart seemingly got younger by the week. That’s another place where another year of development could pay off handsomely for the program.
The year three bump didn’t happen, but some could also argue this was really year two (Scott Frost got a year zero!). That’s not the camp that I’m in, but whether that’s the case or not does not change how expectations lead into 2026.
Even if the record didn’t take a jump, the trajectory of the program looks improved. Questions remain ahead of signing day next week and the transfer portal in January. If the Huskers can get to next fall with this young talent making offseason jumps, the real Rhule bump could be just around the corner.
“I think people have a right to be upset with how (the season) ended,” Rhule said. “I’m going to work as hard as I can, as long as I can. I’m going to surround myself with really positive people, not toxic people, and try to continue to move the program forward.”
Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.
Nebraska Football 2025 Schedule
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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – A deeper look tonight as First Alert 6 continues to dig deeper into the state of mental health care in Nebraska and possible solutions, ever since last week’s two instances involving law enforcement.
A Douglas County sheriff’s deputy was shot responding to a domestic call. Investigators said the suspect, Brian Huggins, had a history of behavioral health issues. Huggins died by suicide.
And then Noemi Guzman, who police say kidnapped a 3-year-old from inside an Omaha Walmart and cut him in the arm and face with a stolen kitchen knife. Omaha police officers shot and killed her before she could strike again.
Guzman had been on a court-ordered mental health treatment plan since last summer for her schizophrenia. According to court records, psychiatrists determined she could live in the community. Remember, this was after she was arrested for setting her father’s house on fire and threatening a priest with a knife.
Monitoring system
We wanted to know who is part of the system monitoring those who may not be following their mental health treatment plan and are a risk to others or themselves. When that happens, the Board of Mental Health will often notify the local sheriff so a warrant can be issued and deputies can track the individual down.
Here are the numbers since 2023:
In 2023, 842 warrants were issued for those not following their treatment plans according to the Board of Mental Health. In 2024, 756. In 2025, 690. So far in 2026, 190.
But out of these 2,500 warrants, 85% of them didn’t have a second warrant, meaning deputies picked them up, got them back into treatment and the individuals continued to thrive after the one hiccup.
But in 15% of these cases, the individuals messed up again and had another warrant issued by the Board of Mental Health. Twenty-five individuals had five or more issued in Douglas County.
Sheriff Hanson said there has to be a better way, a more team approach for this.
One model to explore is the way Nebraska’s problem-solving courts work like drug court and veterans’ treatment court where experts from a variety of stakeholders help individuals who are on the fringes to do everything to make them productive citizens.
Copyright 2026 WOWT. All rights reserved.
(InvestigateTV) — Sometimes sports are about more than the final score.
For Jack Burke, a high school football player in Nebraska, a medical diagnosis at birth has never stopped him from competing — and a touchdown catch in his first play back from open heart surgery proved it.
Born with a rare heart defect
Burke was born with Scimitar syndrome, a rare heart defect in which babies are born with an underdeveloped right lung and pulmonary artery. The condition also affects blood flow to the right lung. Treatment often includes surgery, and many adults with the condition go on to live healthy lives.
“As a kid, I never really understood,” Burke said. “It was always natural for me that I had to push myself harder to keep up.”
His mother, Bridget Burke, says the condition was not initially considered dangerous for sports participation.
“His Scimitar Syndrome never really came into play as being dangerous for him to play sports,” she said.
The decision to operate
That changed in the spring of 2025, when Burke’s family and doctors decided it was time for a surgery that had been anticipated for years.
“I’ve kind of known I’ve had to get surgery my whole life,” Burke said. “Once I knew I could get the surgery sooner, I was all in. I wanted to get it so I could get back to sports.”
His father, Ryan Burke, says the timing was deliberate.
“This will be done before school gets started, and still have a chance to do almost everything you want to do,” Ryan Burke said.
Jack Burke underwent open-heart surgery, leaving a visible reminder of what he went through.
“There’s a six-inch scar in the middle of his chest that represents a pretty big thing that happened,” Ryan Burke said.
For Bridget Burke, the moment her son was taken to the operating room was difficult.
“When the rubber hits the road and your kid is being wheeled back to the OR, it is scary and emotional,” she said.
The comeback
Burke eased back into football following his cardiologist’s recommended recovery timeline. His return came in week three of the season.
“Before the Schuyler game I talked to his dad and he’s like, ‘I think we might be ready,’” said coach Jay Landstrom.
Bridget Burke says the family approached the return with caution.
“I mean, I was nervous. We didn’t really know how much he would play. It was going to be some cautious situations,” she said.
Those concerns were set aside — at least for a moment — when Burke caught a touchdown pass on his very first play back.
“All the parents were high-fiving everybody and they were like, ‘Was that really Jack?’” Bridget Burke said.
Landstrom called it a special moment.
“It was just meant to be and that was really special,” he said.
For Burke, the touchdown meant something beyond the scoreboard.
“I just remember one of my teammates came up to me and said, ‘He’s back. He’s back,’” Burke said. “It kind of shows something that tried to stop me — I hurdled that obstacle.”
Burke says the surgery has given him a new sense of freedom.
“Now I can do whatever I want. Nothing can hold me back,” he said.
Copyright 2026 Gray Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Sunday, April 19, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on April 19.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 19 drawing
4-3-3
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from April 19 drawing
14-19-24-30-34
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning 2 By 2 numbers from April 19 drawing
Red Balls: 01-02, White Balls: 09-26
Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning MyDay numbers from April 19 drawing
Month: 08, Day: 16, Year: 61
Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 19 drawing
32-42-52-53-55, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- 2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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