Nebraska Football Opens as Four-Point Underdogs for Heroes Game Matchup with Iowa

The Huskers are underdogs for the fifth time this season heading into their regular-season finale.

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback TJ Lateef looks to throw a pass during the third quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Nebraska football will once again play as the underdog for its regular-season finale.

The Huskers (7-4, 4-4 Big Ten) are four-point underdogs in the opening betting lines for the Black Friday matchup in the Heroes Game against Iowa (7-4, 5-3 Big Ten). Betting lines opened on Friday evening, and slightly adjusted to give the Hawkeyes a half-point edge. As of Sunday morning, Iowa remained favored by 4½-points as a road favorite.

DraftKings matches the consensus line at 4½-points, while Fan Duel and Bet Rivers each have Nebraska as 5½-point underdogs. bet365 also lists Nebraska as an underdog at five points.

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback TJ Lateef (14) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Nebraska football has now opened as an underdog only three times this season, while the closing line has placed the Huskers as an underdog four times. Nebraska has been listed as a favorite eight times this season, including its neutral-site matchup with Cincinnati in the season opener on Aug. 28 at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium and in back-to-back games at Maryland and Minnesota. The Huskers have been underdogs in two home games this season against Michigan and USC.

The opening total for the contest was set at 44½-points, as the consensus line moved drastically lower to 38½-points by Sunday. FanDuel, BetRivers, and bet365 each listed the over/under at 38½-points as of Sunday morning.

Nebraska is 4-6-1 this season against the spread in 2025, going 3-2-1 at Memorial Stadium, 1-3 away from Lincoln, 1-4-1 as a favorite, and 2-2 as an underdog. The Huskers won the season opener over Cincinnati 20-17 but failed to cover as six-point favorites, but rebounded with blowout wins over Akron (68-0) and Houston Christian (59-7) as 34½-point favorites against the Zips and 48½-point favorites against the Huskies. Nebraska's 30-27 loss to Michigan failed to cover the Nebraska 1½-point underdog line, as the Huskers then failed to cover the final 13-point spread in a 38-27 home win over Michigan State.

Nebraska's Emmett Johnson carries the ball against Northwestern | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The Huskers failed to cover back-to-back road lines as a seven-point favorite at Maryland on Oct. 11, then dropped a Friday night tilt at Minnesota 24-6, failing to cover the 6½-point spread. Nebraska met the spread at seven points when facing Northwestern, earning the outright win 28-21. Nebraska did cover as a 4½-point underdog against USC, covering in the 21-17 home loss. NU covered as a 2½-point underdog on the road at UCLA before its final regular-season bye week. The Huskers were then dispatched by Penn State 37-10 in Happy Valley, failing to cover the final seven-point underdog spread.

The Huskers are 8-3 on the season in their over/under history this season. Nebraska failed to cover the point total in its season opener at Arrowhead Stadium against Cincinnati and against USC (59½ points), but did hit the over against Akron (47½ points), Houston Christian (59½ points), Michigan (47½ points), Michigan State (48½ points), and Northwestern (44½ points). The Big Red failed to cover for the first time at home against USC (59½ points) on Nov. 1, setting the over/under home record at 5-1.

Nebraska is 5-1 in road over/unders, notching 65 total points in the Huskers' road win at Maryland and covering the 47½ total points, but could not muster enough scoring to match the 47½-point total at Minnesota. NU and UCLA covered the 46½ point total on Nov. 8 prior to Nebraska's bye week. The Huskers and Nittany Lions covered the 45½ total points in Penn State's win over Nebraska.

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz reacts during the second quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Iowa is 8-3 this season against the spread, going 4-3 at home, 4-0 on the road, 3-3 as a favorite, and 4-0 as an underdog. The Hawkeyes had won three-in-a-row against the spread from Oct. 25 through Nov. 15, beginning with a 41-3 win over Minnesota followed by back-to-back outright losses to Oregon and USC. Iowa failed to cover on Saturday against Michigan State as 17½ point favorites over the Spartans.

The Hawkeyes are 4-7 overall in over/under point totals in 2025, going 3-4 at home, 1-3 away from Kinnick Stadium, 3-3 as a favorite, and 0-4 as an underdog. After a brief run of overs, Iowa has failed to hit the over in point totals in its past three games, unable to cover 41½ points against Oregon, 48½ points at USC, and 42½ points at home against Michigan State.

The Hawkeyes are seventh in the Big Ten Conference standings currently with a conference record of 5-3 and 7-4 overall. Iowa started off on a slower note to its season after a 16-13 road loss to Iowa State in week two, then won its Big Ten opener over Rutgers 38-28 on Sept. 19. The Hawkeyes traded wins and losses throughout conference play, falling to No. 2 Indiana 20-15, No. 7 Oregon 18-16, and No. 15 USC 26-21 but securing wins over unranked foes Wisconsin, Penn State, Minnesota, and Michigan State. The Hawkeyes earned a walk-off win at home on Saturday over the Spartans, converting a 44-yard field goal as time expired to earn its seventh win on the year.

Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski (11) hands the ball to Iowa Hawkeyes running back Kamari Moulton at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I talk to our players all the time there’s nothing easy about winning games in college football, and today was a great example. Certainly the start of this game didn’t go the way we had hoped or the way we wanted, but really the most important thing is the way you finish," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said following the win.

"These guys had every reason just to kind of pack it up, and believe me, there’s a lot of people who don’t mind doing that sometimes," Ferentz said. "But it was clear their players made a decision — I assume it starts with the coaching staff — they made a decision they’re going to keep playing and keep playing competitively."

Nebraska is eighth in the Big Ten standings following a road loss at Penn State Saturday. The Huskers hold a 4-4 conference record but are 7-4 overall. Nebraska and Iowa have only faced three similar opponents as the Huskers took down Michigan State 38-27 on Oct. 4, but fell to Minnesota 24-6 and Penn State 37-10. Iowa is 3-0 against those same Big Ten teams.

Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule stands on the field during warmups prior to the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

"I told them when we get on the plane we're on to next week. We've got no time, no time, no time to worry about what just happened as bad as it was," Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said after the loss at Penn State Saturday.

"But just a disappointing day. We don't have a lot of time to worry about it, think about it. We've got a big game on Friday. Take this L and put it on me as a head coach. Credit to them. We have to move forward fast," Rhule said.

Nebraska returns home for a short week for its annual Black Friday matchup with Iowa. The game is set to kickoff from Lincoln's Memorial Stadium at 11 a.m. CST with television coverage on CBS. The game can also be heard across the Husker Radio Network's affiliate stations.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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