On a frigidly cold Black Friday in Memorial Stadium, the Iowa Hawkeyes held the Nebraska Cornhuskers at bay for a half and then pulled away after intermission for a thoroughly dominating 40-16 victory and retained control of the Heroes Trophy. It was the second straight blowout loss for Nebraska and third on the season that was supposed to be a step forward for the Huskers return to relevance. Nebraska hasn’t beaten Iowa in Memorial Stadium in 14 years. They have now dropped 10 of the last 11 contests. That does not fit the definition of a rivalry, even if many of those games were close. This one wasn’t.

After opening the season 5-1 for the second year in a row, Nebraska goes 2-5 to round out the year and 1-4 in November. That’s 2-12 in November since Matt Rhule assumed the helm. At least the 2024 schedule featured two playoff teams, but the 2025 schedule was considerably weaker and 2026 will be far more arduous as the Huskers play Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon. The Huskers had to get better this year and I’m not sure that they did. Much can be said about this squad being the youngest in the league, but these underclassmen are going to have to markedly improve for the team to flirt with .500 next year.

With NIL and the transfer portal, it’s impossible at this point to know who will return and who will be added. It’s highly likely that the best player this season, Emmett Johnson, will opt out of his senior year and declare for the NFL draft. A reliable backup running back failed to emerge this season. We don’t even know who the signal caller will be as rumors abound about Dylan Raiola exploring his options. Will 3.5 million buy two offensive tackles?

On to the game, which was a disappointing display all its own. After punting on its first possession, Nebraska began their second series at their own 10-yard line and went 90 yards on four plays highlighted by a 70-yard scamper by Emmett Johnson to inside the one. It was extremely well blocked and was about the only highlight for the Huskers. On the ensuing kickoff, John Hohl did exactly what you cannot do; kicked a line drive boot to Kaden Wetjen who returned it 51 yards and then Hohl was flagged for 15 more and Iowa had the ball at the NU 29-yard line. The defense held Iowa to a field goal, before the Hawkeyes scored touchdowns on five of their next seven possessions.

The game was tied at 10-10 after the first quarter before Nebraska traded field goals for touchdowns in the second and trailed 24-16 at the break. At that point, Nebraska had out-yarded Iowa 231-198 and out-rushed the Hawkeyes 189-112. In fact, before Iowa’s 75-yard scoring drive just before half, the Blackshirts had held Iowa to just 123 total yards. Nebraska even forced two punts to begin the second half, before the game turned on a fumbled punt by Jacory Barney that resulted in a safety. Granted, it appeared that the fumble occurred after he was targeted on a direct helmet to facemask shot, but Nebraska seldom will get that call. At that point with 11:16 to go in the 3rd quarter until the end of the game, Nebraska was outscored 16-0 and out-yarded 174-84 with 74 of Nebraska’s yards coming on their last drive, which they fumbled away inside the 1-yard line. Iowa held a 20:36-9:24 advantage in second half time of possession.

Nebraska wasted a stellar performance by Emmett Johnson who rushed 29 times for a career-high 217 yards and one touchdown and had two catches for 22 yards accounting for 239 of Nebraska’s 300 total yards. Johnson ran like a man possessed and was the first Husker to rush for 200 yards since Ameer Abdullah rushed for 225 yards against Rutgers in 2014. His rushing total was the most against Iowa this season, bettering a 145-yard effort by Penn State’s Kaytron Allen and he was just the fourth player to have a 200-yard rushing game against Iowa since 2015. Johnson’s eight 100-yard rushing games this season are also the most for a Husker since 2013. His six 100-yard rushing games in Big Ten play are the most by any Power Four conference player in league games. His 70-yard run was also the longest rush against Iowa since 2014. Imagine what a disaster this season would have been without EJ. No, don’t imagine that.

Freshman quarterback TJ Lateef had an apparent hamstring injury in the first half and was a non-factor as he completed just 9 of 24 passes for a paltry 69 yards with a long completion of 13 yards. He was not sacked but rushed just one time for 2 yards. Iowa covered the perimeter extremely well and harassed Lateef on rollouts leading to multiple overthrown passes. When he threw an accurate pass, Iowa was able to break up almost all the 50/50 balls. After having his way against UCLA’s poor defense, he was incredibly pedestrian against good defenses. With the improvement in blocking by the offensive line, one wonders how the outcome may have been different with a healthy Dylan Raiola taking the snaps.

Dane Key led receivers with 3 catches for 16 yards, and Luke Linenmeyer had 2 receptions for 20 yards. I really thought that the tight ends could have been a more significant factor than they were. Nyziah Hunter and Jacory Barney each had a catch for minimal yards with Hunter at least drawing a DPI. Again, other than Johnson, the Husker offense did about nada.

Defensively, the Blackshirts surrendered six explosive plays that accounted for 194 of Iowa’s 379 total yards. One was a 35-yard passing touchdown and the other five plays all led to scores. Iowa was 7 for 12 converting 3rd downs and 1 for 1 on 4th down conversions as the defense only forced 3 punts in the game. They failed to sack Iowa QB Mark Gronowski who, despite his girth, repeatedly eluded defenders and rushed for 64 yards. I continue to remain puzzled that DC Butler insists on 3-man fronts even on the goal-line. Granted, we may not have the right personnel, but this defense will not allow us to be competitive in the run heavy Big Ten.

Redshirt freshman cornerback Donovan Jones was the co-leader with nine tackles to increase his season total to 51. He is just the fifth freshman with 50 tackles in a season since freshmen regained eligibility in 1972. Javin Wright also had 9 stops and freshman safety Rex Guthrie had three tackles to increase his season total to 60 tackles, leaving him just five tackles from Michael Rose-Ivey’s freshman record of 65 tackles in 2013. Marques Watson-Trent had five tackles to give him 400 career tackles and is just the second active FBS player with 400 career tackles.

Special teams needed to be perfect for Nebraska to have a chance and they weren’t. Place-kicker Kyle Cunanan connected on a season-high three field goals to finish 16 of 19 for the year. Archie Wilson had all four punts against a stiff breeze and averaged just 32 yards but did not allow a return. The kickoff team surrendered 71 yards on two returns with a long of 51 yards. The kickoff team also got a big break when Derek Wacker recovered a kickoff at the Iowa 26. Jacory Barney had a fumbled punt return that didn’t count, then fumbled twice on one that did before having a 28-yard return that was a net 13-yarder after a personal foul penalty.

Nineteen players were honored on Senior Day and they should be thanked for their blood, sweat and effort during their tenure in Lincoln. We will find out by Monday where the Huskers land for their bowl game. It will be interesting to see who will be available to play and who will opt for the NFL or the portal. As I mentioned above, we have no idea what the squad will look like next year. Will Rhule find and pay the coin for offensive and defensive line help? Will we go after a running back if Johnson doesn’t return. Will Raiola return for his junior season? Lots of questions with nothing definitive at this point. Rhule was hired based on his record to show year after year improvement because of his capacity to develop talent. The results thus far are underwhelming, but here’s to hoping for better things to come. Getting blown out by the Ditch Chickens definitely sours one’s perspective. Go Big Red!!

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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

Home games are bolded. All times central.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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