Iowa

Keys to Victory: Nebraska at Iowa

Published

1 year ago

November 28, 2024

Nebraska heads to Iowa City on Friday for the annual Black Friday matchup against the Hawkeyes. At 6-5, the Huskers are bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. Iowa comes into the game at 7-4, having won three out of their last four. Of the two teams’ mutual opponents, Iowa lost to Ohio State 35-7, beat Wisconsin 42-10, and lost to UCLA 20-17.

On behalf of the Common Fan podcast, here are three keys to victory for the Huskers, and two keys to victory for all the fellow Common Fans.

NEBRASKA’S KEYS TO VICTORY

Stop (or Slow Down) Kaleb Johnson. After having an atrocious offense last season, Iowa is back to being respectable on the offensive side of the ball, especially when it comes to the run game. The Hawkeyes boast the #13 rushing offense in the nation. Starter Kaleb Johnson has rushed for 1,492 yards and 21 touchdowns this season, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. He is legitimately one of the best backs in the country. What’s more, Iowa is on their fourth starting quarterback of the season. While there have been some rumblings this week that Cade McNamara and/or Brendan Sullivan–both of whom have started games under center this year–would play on Friday, it sounds like Jackson Stratton will be the guy. Stratton attempted a total of 14 passes last weekend against Maryland, completing 10 for 76 yards. Considering the strength of Nebraska’s defense has been stopping the run all season long, this matchup should favor the Huskers. But it’s Iowa, so who knows. If the Big Red can contain Iowa’s run game, I like their chances to win the game.

More of That Offense, Please. Iowa teams of recent years have been known for great defense. Not just great defense – they have had some elite defensive units. This year’s Hawkeye defense is perhaps not quite as dominant as what we’ve seen in recent years, but they’re still very good. They come into the game ranked #17 nationally in total defense, #12 in scoring defense, and #26 in rushing defense. They have been susceptible to giving up the big play, and currently rank #41 in opponent yards per play, after finishing the 2023 season at #1 in that category.

What will we see out of Nebraska’s offensive unit this week? Are we going to see the squad that had its way with Wisconsin? Or will we see the unit that struggled to move the ball for most of the year? If new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen can sprinkle a little more magic on the Nebraska offense, perhaps they can get out to a lead and take Iowa out of their comfort zone.

Make Special Teams Special. Another defining characteristic of Iowa teams in recent years has been outstanding special teams play. On the other side of the equation, all Common Fans know that Nebraska’s special teams play has struggled for most of this season. That said, against Wisconsin, Jacorey Barney had a 45 yard kickoff return to set up Nebraska’s first scoring drive, and place kicker John Hohl was 3-for-3 on field goals. Progress.

Can someone make a game changing play against the Hawkeyes? Can the Huskers at least make sure special teams doesn’t hurt them on Friday?

COMMON FAN KEYS

Soak It In. This is painful to say, but it’s the first time in eight years that Nebraska will be playing Iowa with bowl eligibility already secured. Husker fans don’t have to hold our breath, stressing that the team’s postseason fate rides on this game. I’d love nothing more than to see the Big Red pick up where they left off against Wisconsin, come out and pummel the Hawkeyes. But whatever happens, this isn’t the end of the road for the Huskers.

At least for me, the Iowa game has emerged as a great Thanksgiving weekend tradition. Iowa is the closest thing we have to a rival since joining the Big Ten. Embrace it. Enjoy it. We’re going bowling this year, no matter what happens against Iowa. So load up with some leftover turkey and mashed potatoes, maybe an extra piece of pie, and enjoy the ride, Husker fans.

Going to Kinnick? Common Fan Podcast co-host Matty O was in the house for the Wisconsin game, and after the win, pulled the trigger on tickets for the Black Friday battle against Iowa. He and his son will be making the trek to Iowa City on Friday. That’s the impact of beating the Badgers, getting to bowl eligibility, and starting to believe in this program again.

Are any other Common Fans out there going to be in the house? Hats off to anyone representing the Big Red in enemy territory. And, if you are going to be there on Friday, we’d love to hear from you. Send us an email to commonfangbr@gmail.com or hit us up on social media (@commonfangbr on X) to share your experience. Send pictures, stories, smart remarks…whatever you’ve got! Let’s go 1-0 this week and beat those Hawkeyes!

As always, GBR for LIFE.

MORE: Nick Handley Show: Iowa Football Preview with the Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow

MORE: Nebraska Football Commit Christian Jones Makes Final Visit Before Signing

MORE: Nebraska Football Recruiting: Lamarcus Barber Recaps Visit, Names Huskers Top Choice

MORE: 2026 Wide Receiver Blaise LaVista Details Nebraska Football Recruiting Visit

MORE: 2027 OT Reece Mallinger Details Nebraska Football Visit

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

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Iowa

Iowa State football running back Carson Hansen to leave Cyclones

Published

3 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

Iowa State football running back Carson Hansen to leave Cyclones

Iowa State football running back Carson Hansen announced on Dec. 23 that he “will be pursuing new opportunities with my last year of eligibility.”

Hansen is the latest Cyclones star to indicate that he will transfer to another school in the wake of coach Matt Campbell’s departure to Penn State. Quarterback Rocco Becht and cornerbacks Jeremiah Cooper and Jontez Williams are among the other Iowa State standouts leaving Ames.

Hansen, a native of Lakeville, Minn., rushed for 952 yards on 188 carries during his junior season with the Cyclones. In three years with Iowa State, he compiled 1,771 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.

Hansen was the Cyclones’ leading rusher in 2024 and 2025.

“My three years here at Iowa State have been a life changing experience because of the people who make up Ames …” Hansen wrote on Twitter/X. “Thank you to the fans that shook Jack Trice every Saturday and for your belief in this football team.”

Campbell announced on Dec. 5 that he was leaving Iowa State after 10 years as the Cyclones’ head coach. He was quickly succeeded by Washington State’s Jimmy Rogers, who has a big job in front of him to replace the exodus of talent transferring out of Ames.

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Iowa

Iowa Supreme Court overturns doctor’s child sex abuse conviction

Published

15 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Iowa Supreme Court overturns doctor’s child sex abuse conviction

The Iowa Supreme Court overturned the sexual abuse conviction of a West Des Moines doctor.
The court ruled that allowing the child victim to testify via one-way video violated the Iowa Constitution.
This decision is one of several that has set Iowa apart from other states on the issue of remote testimony.

The Iowa Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a West Des Moines doctor found guilty of sexually abusing a child, ruling that allowing the victim to testify via one-way video violated the Iowa Constitution.

The court on Tuesday, Dec. 23, reversed the conviction of Lynn Melvin Lindaman, a longtime central Iowa surgeon who practiced at the Lindaman Orthopaedics clinic in West Des Moines before he was charged in 2023 with second-degree sexual abuse. The case was remanded for a new trial.

The decision is the latest in a string of rulings that have set Iowa apart as the only state in the country whose highest court has barred one-way video testimony in criminal trials, even in cases involving child victims.

Those decisions already have begun reshaping prosecutions across the state and have prompted lawmakers to launch the process of amending the Iowa Constitution. The change would ultimately require voter approval.

Lindaman, now 75, was convicted after a jury trial in Polk County. Prosecutors alleged that on June 26, 2023, he committed a sex act in Ankeny against a child under the age of 10. A second count of sexual abuse was dismissed prior to trial. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 42½ years because of a prior sexual predatory offense in 1976. He also faced a separate and now-dismissed civil lawsuit from an Iowa woman who claimed he sexually assaulted her in 1975.

The Iowa Offender Search still lists Lindaman as in custody of the Iowa Medical & Classification Center.

On appeal, Lindaman argued that his constitutional rights were violated when the district court allowed the child to testify from another room via one-way closed-circuit television, rather than from the witness stand in the courtroom.

“Today’s decision from the Iowa Supreme Court is an important win for Lynn Lindaman and a major step toward a fair result,” said Lucas Taylor, the attorney representing Lindaman. “Although the court did not rule in our favor on every issue, this ruling recognizes serious errors in the prior proceedings and gives Mr. Lindaman the chance to present his defense to a new jury.”

In a 4-3 ruling issued earlier this year in State v. White, the Iowa Supreme Court agreed with that argument, holding that one-way video testimony violates the confrontation clause of the Iowa Constitution. Writing for the majority in that case, Justice David May said that “when the accused and the witness are prevented from seeing each other, there is no face-to-face confrontation, and the Iowa Constitution is not satisfied.”

The ruling came despite U.S. Supreme Court precedent allowing such testimony and laws in many other states permitting it. Under the Iowa statute the court overturned, judges had been allowed to authorize remote testimony by minors, or witnesses with mental illnesses or disabilities, if a judge found that “trauma caused by testifying in the physical presence of the defendant … would impair the minor’s ability to communicate.”

The White decision arose from an Osceola County case, but its effects have since spread and courts across Iowa have begun hearing challenges from defendants convicted in cases where one-way video testimony was used.

Following the ruling, Lynn Hicks, a spokesman for the Polk County Attorney’s Office, said at least five Polk County defendants convicted under similar circumstances could be entitled to new trials.

One of those defendants, Michael Dunbar, already has received a new trial. Dunbar was resentenced after the victim testified in person from the witness stand, and the court again imposed a life sentence.

Dissent fuels push to amend Iowa Constitution

The State v. White ruling has drawn sharp criticism from prosecutors and state leaders, including Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, who has argued the decision unnecessarily traumatizes child victims.

Bird has proposed a constitutional amendment to allow children to testify remotely in certain cases. The measure has passed both chambers of the Legislature once and must pass again before going to voters in a statewide referendum.

“Children shouldn’t be forced to testify at arm’s length from their abusers, and many kids can’t. This opinion shows how important it is to restore protections for a child victim to testify remotely,” Bird said in a Tuesday statement to the Des Moines Register. “Our office will continue to fight for a constitutional amendment to ensure kids are protected and abusers are brought to justice. We are grateful our effort has received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Iowa Legislature.”

Justice Thomas D. Waterman, writing in a dissent in the opinion issued Tuesday, rejected the majority’s historical interpretation of the confrontation clause.

“Thunder comes during rainstorms; it does not follow that thunder requires rain. That video testimony was not used in 1871 tells us more about technology than it does about constitutional interpretation,” Waterman wrote.

He also said there is “no historical evidence that the framers of the Iowa Constitution intended a different meaning for confrontation rights than the Sixth Amendment,” and warned that the majority was reading requirements into Iowa’s Constitution that do not exist in its text.

Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at nelhajj@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.

This story was updated to add new information and to correct an inaccuracy.

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