Huskers Leave Iowa City With Loss

Iowa City - Nebraska dominated Iowa on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, but fell 13-10 on a 53-yard walk-off field goal on Friday night.

Nebraska (6-6, 3-6) more than doubled Iowa in total yardage (334-164) and nearly doubled the Hawkeyes (8-4, 6-3) in time of possession (39:01-20:59) and total plays (76-41), but two bizarre lost fumbles in the second half were enough for the Hawkeyes to maintain the Heroes Trophy on a frigid night at Kinnick Stadium.

Nebraska built a 10-0 halftime lead and piled up 182 first-half yards while the Blackshirts held the Hawkeyes to just 20 yards on 20 plays. The Huskers forced a three-and-out by Iowa on the game's opening drive, before Raiola and the offense went on a 64-yard march that took 10 plays and culminated with John Hohl's 31-yard field goal midway through the first quarter.

The rest of the half, Iowa played field position football, producing just one first down while trying to wear Nebraska down and force a mistake in the punt game or a turnover on offense. Iowa succeeded in shortening the game, but Nebraska played error-free football in the first half and took its final drive to the house to head to halftime with a 10-point lead.

The Huskers went up 10-0 on Dante Dowdell's one-yard blast up the middle with 38 seconds left in the first half to cap a 12-play, 74-yard drive that consumed 4:01.

Raiola finished the night 22-of-32 for 190 yards through the air, while adding three rushing yards. He completed six passes for 25 yards to Emmett Johnson, who also had 18 carries for a game-high 71 rushing yards. Dowdell added 13 carries for 50 yards, including his 12th rushing touchdown of the season. Rahmir Johnson contributed 21 yards on four carries while adding one reception for five yards.

Jahmal Banks hauled in four catches for a team-high 41 receiving yards, while tight end Nate Boerkircher contributed two receptions for 39 yards. Jacory Barney Jr. added three receptions for 29 yards on the night.

John Bullock, Malcolm Hartzog Jr. and DeShon Singleton each notched five tackles for the Blackshirts, while Isaac Gifford pitched in four stops. Hartzog recorded two tackles for loss, while Bullock added 1.5 TFL. Nine of Nebraska's 41 total tackles in the game went for losses, including a sack. On the flip side, Iowa totaled 81 tackles, but just eight for losses as the Huskers controlled the line of scrimmage from start to finish.

The Huskers held Kaleb Johnson to just 45 yards on 17 carries, but he did have two catches for 73 yards and Iowa's lone touchdown. Iowa finished with 49 rushing yards after entering the game with eight consecutive 200-yard rushing performances. Jackson Stratton went 8-for-15 through the air for 115 yards.

Nebraska started the second half with the ball and went on another long march. The 11-play drive started on Nebraska's 19 and ended on Iowa's 19, but resulted in a missed field goal by Hohl from 34 yards. The kick was wide left after an off-target snap that was saved by holder Brian Buschini but the ball placement and timing of the kick was disrupted.

At the end of the third quarter, Nebraska's edge in total yardage grew to 267-65, but Iowa cut the lead to 10-3. Iowa got on the scoreboard with a field goal after a two-yard drive that started inside the Nebraska 5. The Hawkeyes gained possession on what was ruled a turnover on the field, although it was touched by neither the return man, nor the closest Nebraska player. Instead, it was recovered by Iowa's John Nestor at the NU 4. Nestor was in the act of recovering the football when Vincent Shavers Jr. arrived to challenge him for it. The call on the field was that Shavers touched the ball before Nestor, and that call stood after video review.

In the fourth quarter, Iowa did manage to out-yard the Huskers, 99-67, with 72 coming on the first play of the quarter on the screen pass from Jackson Stratton to Kaleb Johnson to tie the score at 10.

The final points for the Hawkeyes came after Raiola was stripped of the ball in the pocket by Iowa's Max Llewellyn with 16 seconds left. The play was ruled a fumble on the field, although the ball never hit the ground. The ball was jarred loose from Raiola's grasp as he stood in the pocket, but he maintained the ball with his hands and legs as he fell to the ground. Once on the ground, Llewellyn pulled the ball out from behind and underneath Raiola. That turnover was confirmed by replay.

Iowa took over at the Nebraska 36 and Johnson gained two yards before being tackled for a one-yard loss on the second play. Drew Stevens booted a 53-yard field that narrowly snuck inside the right upright as time expired.

Game Summary
Iowa  13
Nebraska  10
Nov. 29, 2024
Kinnick Stadium 
Iowa City, Iowa

First Quarter (NEB 3-0)
7:28 - NEB - John Hohl 31 FG, 10 plays, 64 yards, 5:23 - NEB 3-0

Second Quarter (NEB 10-0)
0:38 - NEB - Dante Dowdell 1 run (Hohl kick), 12 plays, 74 yards, 4:01 - NEB 10-0

Third Quarter (NEB 10-3)
4:30 - IOWA - Drew Stevens 20 FG, 4 plays, 2 yards, 2:06 - NEB 10-3

Fourth Quarter (IOWA 13-10)
14:44 - IOWA - Kaleb Johnson 72 pass from Jackson Stratton (Stevens kick), 3 plays, 86 yards, 1:02 - 10-10 
0:00 - IOWA - Stevens 53 FG, 3 plays, 1 yard, 0:16 - IOWA 13-10