Special Teams: A
For the second week in a row, the Nebraska special teams did an outstanding job. Not only did the Huskers execute two field goals, one that was late and from 47 yards out right before halftime, but Nebraska also won on two other key plays.
Iowa iced the @HuskerFBNation kicker before half.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 23, 2018
Instead, Iowa jumped offside on the miss and Pickering got another chance.
He nailed it, and it's 21-13 Iowa at half: pic.twitter.com/X4JxZRT7R8
The first was a fake field-goal attempt by Iowa. Nebraska wasn’t fooled and kept the Hawkeyes out of the end zone. That kept the lead at 28-13 instead of 31 or 35-13. Also, the Huskers successfully converted on their own fake punt. Nebraska got a first down and eventually came back to tie the game, something that probably wouldn’t have happened without those two plays.
Coaches:Â A
It’s hard to lose on the road to your rival, but you have to give this Nebraska coaching staff credit. Under Mike Riley, Iowa just demolished the Huskers. The game was never really close. This time around, Iowa won, but the massive gap between the two teams wasn’t there.
Nebraska moved the ball well against the Huskers and while a faster start would have been better, it was clear Iowa was the tougher, more talented team. At least the Hawkeyes are for now.
Good coaches can win with less talent and the fact that Frost had his team in a position to win means he got the most out of his players. Now, it’s time to upgrade and when that happens, which it already is, Iowa and the rest of the Big Ten West is going to be in trouble.