Iowa City – Nebraska dominated Iowa on both offense and defense, but lost 13-10 on a 53-yard walk-off field goal on Friday night.

Nebraska (6-6, 3-6) more than doubled the total yardage of Iowa (334-164) and nearly doubled the Hawkeyes (8-4, 6-3) in time of possession (39:01-20:59) on total plays (76-41), but two bizarre lost fumbles in the second half were enough for the Hawkeyes to defend the Heroes Trophy on a freezing evening at Kinnick Stadium.

Nebraska built a 10-0 halftime lead and racked up 182 yards in the first half, while the Blackshirts held the Hawkeyes to just 20 yards rushing on 20 plays. The Huskers forced a three-and-out by Iowa on the game’s first drive before Raiola and the offense launched a 64-yard march that required 10 plays and culminated with John Hohl’s 31-yard field goal midway through the first quarter .

The rest of the half, Iowa played field position football and produced only one first down while trying to wear down Nebraska and force a fumble on the punt game or a turnover on offense. Iowa managed to shorten the game, but Nebraska played flawless football in the first half and went into halftime with a 10-point lead.

The Huskers took a 10-0 lead on a one-yard shot from Dante Dowdell up the middle with 38 seconds left in the first half, capping a 12-play, 74-yard drive that took 4:01 .

Raiola finished the night 22 of 32 for 190 yards through the air and added three rushing yards. He completed six passes for 25 yards to Emmett Johnson, who also had 18 carries for a game-high 71 rushing yards. Dowdell added 13 runs for 50 yards, including his 12th rushing touchdown of the season. Rahmir Johnson contributed 21 yards on four carries and added one reception for five yards.

Jahmal Banks had four catches for a team-high 41 receiving yards, while tight end Nate Boerkircher added two receiving yards for 39 yards. Jacory Barney Jr. added three balls for 29 yards on the night.

John Bullock, Malcolm Hartzog Jr. and DeShon Singleton each recorded five tackles for the Blackshirts, while Isaac Gifford had four stops. Hartzog recorded two tackles for loss while Bullock added 1.5 TFL. Nine of Nebraska’s 41 total tackles in the game were lost, including one sack. On the other hand, Iowa had 81 total tackles but only eight tackles for loss as the Huskers controlled the line of scrimmage from start to finish.

The Huskers held Kaleb Johnson to just 45 yards on 17 carries, but he had two catches for 73 yards and Iowa’s only touchdown. Iowa finished the game with 49 rushing yards after starting the game with eight consecutive 200-yard rushing performances. Jackson Stratton went 8 of 15 through the air for 115 yards.

Nebraska started the second half with the ball and went on another long march. The 11-play drive began at the Nebraska 19 and ended at the Iowa 19, but ended with a missed 34-yard field goal by Hohl. The free kick went wide left after a shot outside the goal that was parried by keeper Brian Buschini, but the ball placement and timing of the free kick were disrupted.

At the end of the third quarter, Nebraska’s lead in total yardage grew to 267-65, but Iowa cut the lead to 10-3. Iowa got on the scoreboard with a field goal after a two-yard drive that started inside the Nebraska 5. The Hawkeyes gained possession of the ball on the field, which was considered a turnover, although it was not touched by either the return man or the nearest Nebraska player. Instead, it was retrieved by John Nestor of Iowa at the NU 4. Nestor was in the process of retrieving the football when Vincent Shavers Jr. arrived to challenge him for it. The word on the field was that Shavers touched the ball before Nestor, and that ruling stood after video review.

In the fourth quarter, Iowa managed to outscore the Huskers 99-67, with 72 scored on the first play of the quarter on a screen pass from Jackson Stratton to Kaleb Johnson to tie the score at 10.

The final points for the Hawkeyes came after Raiola had the ball taken away in the pocket by Iowa’s Max Llewellyn with 16 seconds left. The play was ruled an on-field fumble even though the ball never touched the ground. The ball was ripped from Raiola’s grasp as he stood in the pocket, but he held onto the ball with his hands and legs as it fell to the ground. When Llewellyn was on the ground, he pulled the ball from behind and under Raiola. This turnover was confirmed by repetition.

Iowa took over at the Nebraska 36 and Johnson gained two yards before being tackled for a one-yard loss on the second play. Drew Stevens hit a 53-yard field that snuck just inside the right upright as time expired.

Game summary
Iowa 13
Nebraska 10
November 29, 2024
Kinnick Stadium
Iowa City, Iowa

First quarter (NEB 3-0)
7:28 – NEB – John Hohl 31 FG, 10 plays, 64 yards, 5:23 – NEB 3-0

Second quarter (NEB 10-0)
0:38 – NEB – Dante Dowdell 1 run (hollow kick), 12 plays, 74 yards, 4:01 – NEB 10-0

Third Quarter (NEB 10-3)
4:30 – IOWA – Drew Stevens 20 FG, 4 plays, 2 yards, 2:06 – NEB 10-3

Fourth quarter (IOWA 13-10)
14:44 – IOWA – Kaleb Johnson 72 pass from Jackson Stratton (Stevens kick), 3 plays, 86 yards, 1:02 – 10-10
0:00 – IOWA – Stevens 53 FG, 3 plays, 1 yard, 0:16 – IOWA 13-10