Iowa Loss Shows the Huskers Still Haven't Overcome the Biggest Hurdle

T.J. Birkel

The Nebraska football team lost to Iowa 13-10 on a walk-off field goal in another Black Friday classic. Unfortunately for Husker fans, nine of the last ten games in this series have gone Iowa’s way, with four of those wins coming on last second Hawkeye field goals. This one was particularly painful for the Big Red faithful, as the Huskers dominated just about every facet of the game except for the one that matters. 

We cover it all in the topline takeaways. 

CHEERS TO THAT

Winning in the Trenches. Nebraska more than doubled Iowa’s total yardage output. The Huskers had 20 first downs to Iowa’s five. On the defensive side, the Blackshirts completely shut down Iowa’s vaunted run game, holding star running back Kaleb Johnson to 45 rushing yards, which accounted for all but four of the team’s total yards on the ground. By and large, the Huskers won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball for the second week in a row. 

That fact makes the loss all the more maddening, of course. But it is promising to see at this point in the season. The offensive line has played their best football since Dana Holgorsen took over as offensive coordinator. The defensive line has been the strength of the D pretty much all season. This will be an important building block as Matt Rhule tries to get this program to the next level. 

Playmakers of the Future. As the season has progressed, Emmett Johnson and Dante Dowdell have emerged as Nebraska’s top two running backs. The shifty, explosive Johnson and the athletic, powerful Dowdell make for a great 1-2 punch that will almost certainly lead the Huskers’ rushing attack in 2025. Beyond that, we saw Jacorey Barney, Jaylen Lloyd, and Carter Nelson all make impact plays for the Huskers on Friday. And, of course, there’s Dylan Raiola. After some midseason struggles, he seems to have benefited from Holgorsen’s arrival as much as anyone. The offense has plenty of pieces to work with at the skill positions, to go along with a boatload of young offensive linemen whom Rhule brought in through his first two recruiting classes. If Nebraska can lock in Dana Holgorsen as offensive coordinator, there will be reason to hope that the 2025 offense can break out in a way the 2024 unit wasn’t able to. 

The Blackshirts. Nebraska’s defense dominated Iowa’s offense, holding the Hawkeyes to 164 total yards. Their one breakdown–a 72 yard touchdown reception by Kaleb Johnson that involved about five missed tackles–was painful, but it was really the only mistake made by the defense all night. While they haven’t been quite as dominant this season as they were in 2023, Tony White’s unit has been excellent during his two years in Lincoln. Losing the likes of seniors Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, and John Bullock will be a challenge, but Jimari Butler and Marques Buford have already said they plan to return, and there are a ton of young defenders who have gotten quality playing time the last two seasons and will be poised for bigger roles next year. 

DIDN’T LIKE THAT

How Did We Lose That Game? Nebraska had a 10-0 lead at halftime. We’ve already outlined the multitude of ways the Huskers dominated most facets of the game. And yet, they couldn’t close the deal. The boys in red lost that game more than Iowa won it. After an impressive…

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