History Says Nebraska-Iowa Will Be Close, and Kirk Ferentz Agrees

If you’re an avid reader of HuskerMax content, you’ve likely listened to every Husker under the sun talk about how close the Iowa series has been in recent years. You’re also likely aware that the last two have gone the Hawkeyes’ way via game-winning field goals in a pair of 13-10 wins over Nebraska.

Well, it turns out the feeling is mutual.

“Look at the last five games,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “They’ve all been one-score games basically over five years. It’s a five-point differential per game. I think it gives you an indication of the way this series has been.”

Nebraska's only won the Heroes Trophy once in the past ten seasons. NU upended Iowa 24-17 in 2022. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Over the last 10 years, Nebraska’s snagged just one win from the series – a 24-17 win in 2022. The rest have leaned Iowa’s way, with some in blowout fashion. The Hawkeyes had a two-year stretch where they outscored NU 96-24.

However, the majority of the game’s been close over the last decade. Since 2020, Iowa has only outscored Nebraska by 12, proving these two teams have been about as evenly matched as you can find over that long a stretch. In that same stretch, though, Iowa’s won four of the five contests, proving they’ve had the pedigree more often than not to come away with the narrow wins.

“I don’t know if I can quantify that or put my finger on it,” Ferentz said. “It just happens, but the bigger point is the closeness. It just seems like every year this game is just back and forth and tough. There’s one that got away that one year, but for the most part we’ve had some crazy turns too. Somehow, some way, if you can get there and get it done, that’s the goal.”

Iowa has won the last two meetings with Nebraska via game-winning field goals. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ironically, that’s the goal for both teams on Friday when they renew the Heroes Game in Lincoln. Both teams think they have what it takes to close out the close games here in 2025, and for good reason.

Nebraska’s finally flipped the switch and earned several one-score wins this season. The Huskers have edged both Cincinnati and Maryland by a mere three points this season, and they’ve tacked on a pair of seven-point wins over Northwestern and UCLA in recent weeks.

As for Iowa, they knocked off Penn State by just one point back on October 18, and last week, they outlasted Michigan State by three in Iowa City for their Senior Day game. Now both programs are 7-4, with only one getting the opportunity to enter bowl season as an eight-win team. It’s certainly setting up to be yet another chapter of a rivalry that’s starting to grow some teeth.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says the Nebraska-Iowa rivalry has intensified more with the fan bases than it has the players. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

“I think it’s probably more fans than players sometimes,” Ferentz said of the growing rivalry between the two programs. “I’m old enough to remember when I got here in the ‘80s, the western side of our state was basically Nebraska territory, and it’s twofold. They really had it rolling back then, Bob Devaney, Tom Osborne – then the flip side of it, we didn’t have it rolling. Fortunately, we got more in our camp than we used to, but I think that’s what makes conference football pretty cool.”

Early on in Nebraska’s tenure in the Big Ten, many fans said the conference was trying to manufacture a rivalry between Iowa and Nebraska after the Huskers left bitter rivalries behind them in the Big 12. All these years later, it’s safe to say Nebraska doesn’t have its share of rivalries to compare to Colorado, Missouri, and, of course, Texas and Oklahoma, but the Iowa rivalry is about as close as it gets.

The reason Nebraska’s not getting outscored 96-24 anymore is also because of the change they made at head coach just three years ago. Matt Rhule is yet to beat Iowa as the head coach of the Huskers, but he’s done more than enough to earn the respect of his coaching counterpart on Friday.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule is getting his third crack at Iowa after falling short in a pair of 13-10 losses. — Nebraska coach Matt Rhule is getting his third crack at Iowa after falling short in a pair of 13-10 losses during his first two seasons. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

“Nebraska (is) really having a good season – 7-4 and third year under coach Rhule, and everywhere he’s been that’s kind of been the track record,” Ferentz said. “He’s gone in and taken over some places where I think they haven’t had a lot of success and has methodically built them. I think that’s what we’re seeing right now.”

Last week’s 37-10 loss to Penn State is still fresh on the minds of the Huskers as they get ready to take on Iowa on Black Friday, but Ferentz knows if any team’s going to bounce back from a game like that, it’s a Matt Rhule-led Nebraska squad.

Even with a backup quarterback, Ferentz admitted they’re prepping for Nebraska much like they would do if Dylan Raiola were under center for NU. The advantage Iowa will have is that there are now two games on film for them to study Husker back-up quarterback TJ Lateef.

Nebraska quarterback TJ Lateef carved up UCLA in a 28-21 win, but fell flat against Penn State in a 37-10 loss last week. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Lateef played nearly flawless football in a 28-21 win over UCLA two weeks ago, but he backed that up with last weekend’s 37-10 loss to Penn State. Friday will be his first official home game as the starter of the Huskers, and Ferentz said they’ve already studied every second of game film they could of Lateef.

“He’s out there playing well,” Ferentz said of what he’s seen from Lateef. “It’s a little tougher. They’ve changed a little bit offensively, but not dramatically, and you still have got to prepare. He’s a really good football player. They’ve made that adjustment and shifted fluidly. The good news is we have film of them playing with him, so now the challenge is to try to stop what they’re doing with him.”

The game kicks off Friday at 11 a.m. CST and will be televised nationally on CBS. As for what fans will see when they tune in?

“Who knows what’s going to happen this week on Friday, but my guess is based on what we’ve seen the last 10 years, it’s going to be another back-and-forth and right down to the end deal,” Ferentz said.

More From Nebraska On SI

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