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Nebraska Football: Huskers vs Hawkeyes, An Early Look at Iowa

By Brent Craig

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While much of the nation will be out looking for Black Friday deals, the Husker faithful will be watching the Nebraska Football Team take on their last scheduled opponent for the 2015 season, the Iowa Hawkeyes.

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To Nebraska fans over the years, Thanksgiving, and now, the day after Thanksgiving have been synonymous with Nebraska Cornhusker Football.  It has been tradition for the Huskers to play on one of those two days.

The Thanksgiving tradition began on the first year of existence of Nebraska football when the Bugeaters of Nebraska defeated the Omaha YMCA on Thanksgiving Day, 1890 by a score of 10-0.  The Huskers have played a total of 47 Thanksgiving Day games with a record of 28-16-3 and played against 22 different teams like Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Syracuse,  and Washington to name a few. The last Thanksgiving game was a loss to Oklahoma in 1972.

The day after thanksgiving games have a more recent tradition as the Huskers have played in consecutive Black Friday games since the 1990 season.  Before then, there had been only 5 other day after Thanksgiving games.  The first was in 1954 when the Huskers traveled to Honolulu to defeat Hawaii 50-0.

The Huskers Black Friday record stands at 21-9. And over the course of Nebraska football history, the most deciding win for the Huskers came in 1910 on Thanksgiving Day when Nebraska beat Haskell 119-0.  The worse loss for the Huskers came on Thanksgiving Day in 1931 when Pitt beat the Huskers 40-0, although the 2001 loss to Colorado ranks up there in my book.  The most exciting victory had to be the 1971 Game of the Century!

So what does all this tradition have to do with Iowa? When the the Huskers joined the Big Ten for the 2011 season, the League agreed to have Iowa and Nebraska meet on Black Friday, trying to create a rivalry that compares to the old Husker/Sooner rivalry.

Yeah, that hasn’t happened yet. But what many of you may not know is that Iowa was the first future Big Ten team the Huskers would face on Thanksgiving Day.  In 1891 Iowa defeated the Huskers 22-0.  At the time Iowa was an independent and did not join the Big Ten until 1899.  The Huskers have faced Iowa on Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving a total of 12 times with a record of 7-3-2 and had it not been for the current overtime rules, the 2014 game could have ended in another tie.

Jan 1, 2014; Tampa, Fl, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz looks on from the field during the second half against LSU Tigers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

So what will the Huskers face this season with our old foe? Iowa is led by long time head coach Kirk Ferentz. He came to Iowa in 1981 and served as the offensive line coach until he took a head coaching position at Maine from 1990-1992. He then served six seasons in the NFL with two different teams, Cleveland and Baltimore, before replacing Hayden Fry as the new head coach of Iowa in 1999.

Many football fans, including many Iowa fans are having doubts that Ferentz can win any more football championships and he may even be on the coaches hot seat if he doesn’t start winning more games.

The big problem is if Ferentz was to be fired, Iowa would be paying vast amounts of money due to his contract, therefore he might be here to stay. His record as a head coach is 127-106, but does have two Big Ten Championships (2002 & 2004).  And like the other Big Ten teams, this will be a first time match-up between Ferentz and Riley.

Gone is starting quarterback Jake Rudock as he has transferred to Michigan but quarterback C.J. Beathard is still there to lead Iowa this season. Beathard surpassed Rudock on the depth chart towards the end of the season, causing Rudock to transfer schools. Beathard is a very capable passer and has a strong arm. Beathard threw for 645 yards with 52 completions last season while Rudock threw for 2,436 yards. Rudock had 230 passing against the Huskers in 2014.

Iowa has two receiving threats returning this season in wide receiver Tevaun Smith and tight end Jake Duzey.  Smith caught 43 passes for 596 yards, while Duzey caught 36 passes for 392 yards last season.  Against the Huskers, Smith had 71 yards receiving with one touchdown, while Duzey had 28 yards receiving.

Iowa will be replacing their starting running back Mark Weisman who rushed for 82 yards against the Huskers with senior running back Jordan Canzeri, who rushed for 55 yards against the Huskers last season. Canzeri had 513 yards rushing last season but did not score any touch downs. His longest run was 32 yards.

On defense the secondary is probably the part of the team with the most depth.  Junior corner back Desmond King will be the player to watch on Defense.  He had three interceptions last season for 72 yards and one touchdown. The linebackers will be a major concern for Iowa.  On the defensive line, Iowa will see two new starters at the tackle positions but the end positions should be well in hand with Nate Meier and Drew Ott at either end.

If all goes as I hope on November 27, I do not expect much of a game between the Huskers and Hawkeyes giving the Huskers another victory. Although, some of our games against Iowa have been closer than one might think in the 29-13-3 series. Athlon predicts the Hawkeyes to finish 4th in the Big Ten West and 53rd over all.  That is about where I see them as well. Go Big Red!

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