Three Last Minute Iowa vs. Nebraska Predictions

Head coach Kirk Ferentz has once again led his Iowa Hawkeyes to a winning season. Sitting at 7-4, the only thing standing in their way of an eight win season are the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Sure, they have the same record as the Hawkeyes, but that shouldn't scare Iowa fans. Even though Iowa just went to the limit with 3-8 Michigan State, Nebraska is nowhere near the team they used to be. In fact, they just got embarrassed by Penn State, a team Iowa beat just a few weeks ago.

1. Mark Gronowski Ends On A High Note

There's no better time to see freshman Jeremy Hecklinksi in action. Fifth-year senior quarterback Gronowski got off to an extremely slow start against the Spartans, something he was able to overcome with a stellar fourth quarter. Iowa would love the chance to play Hecklinski in their final game, which would require Gronowski to play lights out.

Shockingly, some of Iowa's best games have come on the road this season. They had a wild game at Rutgers, and dominated Wisconsin, 37-0. Hawkeyes fans would love a similar performance against the Cornhuskers, a team that allowed just one incompletion a week ago. Not only that, but Gronowski should have no issue using his legs as Nebraska allowed well over 200 rushing yards against PSU.

2. The Kamari Moulton Show

In no world should Iowa not give Moulton fewer than 20 carries against Nebraska. After seeing what Penn State's Kaytron Allen did with his 25 carries for 160 yards with a pair of touchdowns, it seems silly not to think Ferentz won't replicate that success with Moulton.

Iowa's offensive line remains one of the top in the nation, and it's silly to think Nebraska is all of a sudden going to fix their defense in a week. Moulton has been the main man in this run-game, and there's no reason to have him stop now.

3. Iowa Holds Emmett Johnson Under 100 Yards

Nebraska's run-game is just as stellar, and it goes through junior Emmett Johnson. With a freshman quarterback under center, that has only increased just how much this team needs to use Johnson. This year, he has 222 carries for 1,234 yards with 11 touchdowns.

Johnson has gone four straight games with 100+ yards. From September 13 to October 17 he had a stretch where he finished four of five games with fewer than 83 yards, but he never finished with less than 63. Johnson is a one-man wrecking crew, and Nebraska would love to burst through Iowa's defense and rely on Johnson to lead them to a victory. Ultimately, that's going to be much easier said than done.

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