IOWA CITY, Iowa – Nebraska football dropped to 6-6 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten after a two-game finish to the regular season that began with a get-over-the-hump win over Wisconsin last Saturday but concluded with a ridiculous 13-10 loss to Iowa in the annual Black Friday rivalry game.
Following a perfect non-conference slate and an overtime loss to ranked Illinois, the Huskers bounced back with wins over Purdue and Rutgers but fell at Indiana and Ohio State in losses that felt drastically different in both vibes and the actual final score. Then, the UCLA game happened. Then, a hard-fought loss came – yet again – on the road at USC.
Last weekend, the Huskers finally broke through, ending a four-game losing streak and a 10-game losing streak to Wisconsin with a 44-25 win and finally breaking through to the postseason to end a seven-season bowl game drought.
The Huskers followed that breakthrough win with an equally debilitating loss by the exact same final score (13-10) as the Nebraska-Iowa game in 2023.
Despite the season ending in another loss at the hands of their rivals to the east, several Huskers saw notable performances, and a few players hit some career milestones during the rivalry game. Below are the most noteworthy from Friday night at Kinnick.
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>> Iowa won on a game-winning field goal with less than 20 seconds remaining for the second straight season, both by 13-10 margins. With the loss, Nebraska leads the all-time series 30-22-3 while the Hawkeyes own a 10-4 advantage since the Huskers joined the Big Ten Conference.
>> Nebraska held Iowa scoreless in the first half, marking the fourth opponent this season Nebraska has shut out in the first half (Colorado, Purdue, Rutgers). The first-half shutout is Nebraska’s second straight at Kinnick Stadium against Iowa, as the Huskers led 17-0 at halftime in 2022.
>> The Huskers held Iowa to five first downs and 164 total yards. Both of those are the fewest totals Nebraska has allowed in a Big Ten Conference game. The previous low for first downs allowed by Nebraska in a Big Ten game was nine on three occasions (most recently 2020 at Rutgers), while the previous lost for opponent total offensive yards in a Big Ten game was 175 against Michigan on Nov. 9, 2013.
>> Overall, Nebraska allowed its fewest first downs (5) since Kansas also managed five first downs against Nebraska on Nov. 13, 2010. The Huskers allowed their fewest total yards (164) since holding Northern Illinois to 149 yards on Sept. 16, 2023.
>> Nebraska held Iowa to 115 passing yards, the fewest by an opponent this season. NU has gone 22 consecutive games without allowing 300 passing yards, dating back to last season. That is the longest streak for the Huskers since a 29-game stretch without allowing 300 passing yards spanning the 2008 to 2010 seasons.
>> Nebraska freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola completed 22-of-32 passes for 190 yards. With his 190 passing yards, Raiola increased his season passing yardage total to 2,595 yards. He moved into 10th place on the Nebraska season passing lists and moved within 22 yards of tying Adrian Martinez’s freshman passing record of 2,617 in 2018.
>> Raiola has completed 71.3 percent of his passes over the past three games, connecting on 77-of-108 passes.
>> Running back Dante Dowdell had a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter to give Nebraska a 10-0 lead. It was his 12th rushing touchdown of the season. His 12 rushing TDs are the most by a Husker running back since Devine Ozigbo also had 12 in 2018. It is the most by any Husker since quarterback Adrian Martinez rushed for 13 touchdowns in 2021.
>> True freshman receiver Jacory Barney Jr. caught three passes for 29 yards, giving him 52 catches this season. He is three catches from JD Spielman’s record for the most receptions by a freshman in school history (Spielman caught 55 passes in 2017).
>> Barney also moved within three catches of the top 10 on Nebraska’s season receptions list. Johnny Rodgers (55 in 1972) and JD Spielman (55 in 2017) are tied for 10th place on that chart.
>> Offensive tackle Bryce Benhart started his 12th straight game this season and the 53rd of his Nebraska career. He tied place-kicker/punter Alex Henery (2007-10) for the most starts in program history.
>> Bryce Benhart and Ty Robinson each played in their 59th career game at Nebraska, extending their school record for games played.
>> Nebraska senior defensive lineman Ty Robinson continued his dominant season with three tackles, a TFL and a quarterback hurry. Robinson finished the regular season with team-leading totals of 6.0 sacks and 11.0 TFLs.
>> Tonight’s game captains were WR Elliott Brown, RB Emmett Johnson, S DeShon Singleton and LB MJ Sherman.
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