Hawkeyes Hold on to Hex Huskers as Fourth Quarter Foibles Flummox Frost and Co.
I hate Iowa! For the third year in a row, the Nebraska Cornhuskers fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes by less than a touchdown as Iowa won their sixth straight against Nebraska 26-20 in Iowa City. I despise the Ditch Chickens! After last week’s limp and lame performance against Illinois, The Huskers battled hard throughout in this contest and if not for two fourth quarter turnovers, and an untimely holding call nullifying a 27-yd gain to the Iowa 20, the Huskers may have prevailed. But wins have been very hard to achieve for Nebraska in the Frost era and they missed a great opportunity today against an average Iowa team this year. Iowa sucks!
If you would have told me before the game that the defense would hold Iowa to 129 yards rushing on 45 carries (2.9 average) and 193 passing, I would have said that we won the game by at least 7. The Blackshirts did their job. Iowa had averaged 41.7 points on offense in the previous 3 games. Not only did the defense hold Iowa to 26 points, the Hawkeyes converted just 4 of 14 on third down, and their longest rush of the day was for just 13 yards. The defense also got their first sack against Iowa since 2016. Even though offense and special teams put the Blackshirts in some tough spots today, they played well enough to give the Huskers a chance. Iowa is frustratingly annoying!
The offense looked decent in spurts as both McCaffrey and Martinez contributed. McCaffrey ran five times for 42 yards in the game, and Martinez completed 18 of 20 passes for 174. The Huskers had reached the Iowa 39 with still roughly 90 seconds to play, and then a missed block by Matt Farniok led to the only offensive turnover on their last offensive play. The Huskers even had perhaps their best drive in the second half this season as they took the kickoff and drove 70 yards in 8 plays to lead 20-13. Five different Huskers touched the ball in a sequence that was free of penalties and at full tempo, with no bad snaps from Cam Jurgens who was a circus act in the first half. The offense also had a promising drive to start the fourth quarter as they drove from their 25 to the Iowa 20 on a 27-yard scramble by Martinez before it was nullified by a weak hold by Bryce Benhart resulting in essentially a 40 yard penalty that killed the drive. What’s the #1 pickup line in Iowa? Nice tooth.
Wan’dale Robinson accounted for 117 yards from scrimmage including 42 rushing yards on six carries, and nine receptions for 75 yards. It marked the second straight game Robinson has totaled more than 100 yards, with 120 last week against Illinois. His nine receptions were a career-high, surpassing his eight catches at Illinois last season. It was his most well-rounded and balanced performance of the season thus far. Another highlight was an incredible acrobatic catch by 6’8” Austin Allen (2 catches for 28 yards) who used every bit of his length to hall in a 23-yard catch on 3rd and 23 that led to a game-tying score right before halftime. It marked his fifth straight game with at least 25 receiving yards. He is the first tight end to have five straight games with 25 or more receiving yards since Kyler Reed had six straight games with 25 yards or more in 2010. Freshman running back Rahmir Johnson (5 carries for 23 yards) had a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter for his first rushing touchdown of the season and the second of his career. What does an Iowa divorce and a tornado have in common? Someone’s going to lose a trailer house.
On defense, Luke Reimer (12 tackles with 1 TFL) played very well despite the bum ankle and led the team with a career high in stops surpassing the 10 he had against Northwestern. Will Honas added 8 tackles and JoJo Domann, Deontai Williamd and Marquel Dismuke had 7 tackles each as Domann also forced a fumble and had two pass breakups. Cornerback Dicaprio Bootle had a second-quarter interception, marking his first career interception. It’s surprising that it has taken this long for the senior to get his first pick. Sophomore defensive lineman Casey Rogers recorded his first career sack on a nine-yard sack to end the first half. Rogers tied his career high with five tackles. The defense finished with six tackles for loss on the day. What do you call a bunch of tractors parked in front of a McDonalds on Friday night in Iowa? Prom.
Special teams had a poor game as the punt muff by Cam Taylor-Britt resulted in a turnover that occurred as the defense had just forced their first 3 and out on the day. It allowed the Iowa drive to continue from the Husker 38 and led a field goal bumping the score to 26-20. You could tell on both kickoffs and punts that the Huskers were trying to play keepaway from the Iowa return men, and it resulted in the Hawkeyes consistently getting good field position. On one punt where Will Przysup was supposed to get it to the side or out of bounds, he kicked it right to Charlie Jones who returned it 31 yards. Przystup probably had his worst day of the season punting as he averaged only 37.0 yards on five punts. Place-kicker Connor Culp made field goals of 31 and 39 yards in the second quarter. It improved Culp to 9-of-10 on the season including six consecutive field goals made. However, he struggled getting any distance on his kickoffs and had no touchbacks on five kicks. Why did Forrest Gump choose “Bama over the U of Iowa? He wanted an academic challenge.
It is inexcusable to lose to Iowa six years in a row. It is embarrassing and heart-wrenching. But Iowa ended up doing what they do best. Play consistent hard-nosed ball and wait until their opponents make mistakes. Unfortunately, once again, Nebraska complied. If Nebraska would have played like this last week against Illinois, they would have won handily. Instead, Nebraska falls to 1-4 and absolutely has to win its final two games against Purdue and Minnesota (to probably avoid a rematch against Penn State). The season is hanging in the balance and the Huskers still haven’t figured out how to avoid giving games away. What's the difference between Kinnick Stadium and a cactus? The cactus has its pricks on the outside. Go Big Red!!
Edit: Today’s droppings are a bit abbreviated because it is my wife’s birthday and I promised her a quick blog.
I hate Iowa! For the third year in a row, the Nebraska Cornhuskers fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes by less than a touchdown as Iowa won their sixth straight against Nebraska 26-20 in Iowa City. I despise the Ditch Chickens! After last week’s limp and lame performance against Illinois, The Huskers battled hard throughout in this contest and if not for two fourth quarter turnovers, and an untimely holding call nullifying a 27-yd gain to the Iowa 20, the Huskers may have prevailed. But wins have been very hard to achieve for Nebraska in the Frost era and they missed a great opportunity today against an average Iowa team this year. Iowa sucks!
If you would have told me before the game that the defense would hold Iowa to 129 yards rushing on 45 carries (2.9 average) and 193 passing, I would have said that we won the game by at least 7. The Blackshirts did their job. Iowa had averaged 41.7 points on offense in the previous 3 games. Not only did the defense hold Iowa to 26 points, the Hawkeyes converted just 4 of 14 on third down, and their longest rush of the day was for just 13 yards. The defense also got their first sack against Iowa since 2016. Even though offense and special teams put the Blackshirts in some tough spots today, they played well enough to give the Huskers a chance. Iowa is frustratingly annoying!
The offense looked decent in spurts as both McCaffrey and Martinez contributed. McCaffrey ran five times for 42 yards in the game, and Martinez completed 18 of 20 passes for 174. The Huskers had reached the Iowa 39 with still roughly 90 seconds to play, and then a missed block by Matt Farniok led to the only offensive turnover on their last offensive play. The Huskers even had perhaps their best drive in the second half this season as they took the kickoff and drove 70 yards in 8 plays to lead 20-13. Five different Huskers touched the ball in a sequence that was free of penalties and at full tempo, with no bad snaps from Cam Jurgens who was a circus act in the first half. The offense also had a promising drive to start the fourth quarter as they drove from their 25 to the Iowa 20 on a 27-yard scramble by Martinez before it was nullified by a weak hold by Bryce Benhart resulting in essentially a 40 yard penalty that killed the drive. What’s the #1 pickup line in Iowa? Nice tooth.
Wan’dale Robinson accounted for 117 yards from scrimmage including 42 rushing yards on six carries, and nine receptions for 75 yards. It marked the second straight game Robinson has totaled more than 100 yards, with 120 last week against Illinois. His nine receptions were a career-high, surpassing his eight catches at Illinois last season. It was his most well-rounded and balanced performance of the season thus far. Another highlight was an incredible acrobatic catch by 6’8” Austin Allen (2 catches for 28 yards) who used every bit of his length to hall in a 23-yard catch on 3rd and 23 that led to a game-tying score right before halftime. It marked his fifth straight game with at least 25 receiving yards. He is the first tight end to have five straight games with 25 or more receiving yards since Kyler Reed had six straight games with 25 yards or more in 2010. Freshman running back Rahmir Johnson (5 carries for 23 yards) had a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter for his first rushing touchdown of the season and the second of his career. What does an Iowa divorce and a tornado have in common? Someone’s going to lose a trailer house.
On defense, Luke Reimer (12 tackles with 1 TFL) played very well despite the bum ankle and led the team with a career high in stops surpassing the 10 he had against Northwestern. Will Honas added 8 tackles and JoJo Domann, Deontai Williamd and Marquel Dismuke had 7 tackles each as Domann also forced a fumble and had two pass breakups. Cornerback Dicaprio Bootle had a second-quarter interception, marking his first career interception. It’s surprising that it has taken this long for the senior to get his first pick. Sophomore defensive lineman Casey Rogers recorded his first career sack on a nine-yard sack to end the first half. Rogers tied his career high with five tackles. The defense finished with six tackles for loss on the day. What do you call a bunch of tractors parked in front of a McDonalds on Friday night in Iowa? Prom.
Special teams had a poor game as the punt muff by Cam Taylor-Britt resulted in a turnover that occurred as the defense had just forced their first 3 and out on the day. It allowed the Iowa drive to continue from the Husker 38 and led a field goal bumping the score to 26-20. You could tell on both kickoffs and punts that the Huskers were trying to play keepaway from the Iowa return men, and it resulted in the Hawkeyes consistently getting good field position. On one punt where Will Przysup was supposed to get it to the side or out of bounds, he kicked it right to Charlie Jones who returned it 31 yards. Przystup probably had his worst day of the season punting as he averaged only 37.0 yards on five punts. Place-kicker Connor Culp made field goals of 31 and 39 yards in the second quarter. It improved Culp to 9-of-10 on the season including six consecutive field goals made. However, he struggled getting any distance on his kickoffs and had no touchbacks on five kicks. Why did Forrest Gump choose “Bama over the U of Iowa? He wanted an academic challenge.
It is inexcusable to lose to Iowa six years in a row. It is embarrassing and heart-wrenching. But Iowa ended up doing what they do best. Play consistent hard-nosed ball and wait until their opponents make mistakes. Unfortunately, once again, Nebraska complied. If Nebraska would have played like this last week against Illinois, they would have won handily. Instead, Nebraska falls to 1-4 and absolutely has to win its final two games against Purdue and Minnesota (to probably avoid a rematch against Penn State). The season is hanging in the balance and the Huskers still haven’t figured out how to avoid giving games away. What's the difference between Kinnick Stadium and a cactus? The cactus has its pricks on the outside. Go Big Red!!
Edit: Today’s droppings are a bit abbreviated because it is my wife’s birthday and I promised her a quick blog.
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