Nebraska vs. Iowa Recap: Huskers Embarrassed By Hawks 40-10 In Kinnick

Nebraska won the toss calling “Foltz” but deferred to the second half, giving the ball to Iowa to start the game.

First Quarter:

Desmond King of Iowa returns the opening kickoff to the 29 yard line. LeShaun Daniel takes the first handoff for 5 yards. However, fullback Drake Kulick was lost for the game with what appeared to be a dislocated ankle. Two more plays but Iowa couldn’t complete a pass, giving up the ball on a 3 and out. Ron Colluzzi kicked it far, and De’Mornay Pierson-El got the ball to the Nebraska 23 yard line.

Nebraska started with Tommy Armstrong at quarterback, giving the ball to Terrell Newby on the first play for 5 yards on a inside zone. The Huskers got the initial first down of the game with a TA keeper on 3rd and 4, which the Big Ten felt the need to review the play to reverse the call and make it 4th and 1. Nebraska lined up to go for it, but Iowa needed a timeout to think about it. On the 4th down, Luke McNitt got the ball and the first down. After a Newby rush and an almost interception by Iowa, 3rd and 10 brought a YOLO bomb that was incomplete. Caleb Lightbourn did the rugby punt and the Hawkeyes got it back on their 23 with no return.

Hawkeyes started with a Daniels run, then a CJ Beathard to Riley McCarron 15 yard pass to get it to midfield. Two Akrum Wadley runs brought up 3rd and 6, where Carlos Davis got to Beathard for the sack and BOGO Big Macs for y’all.

Colluzzi punted to the Nebraska 24-yard line, where it started the next drive.

The drive started with a Jordan Westerkamp RPO toss, where he broke a tackle and got a first down. A Newby run and a Cethan Carter catch & truck stick got the ball to the Nebraska 46 on another first down. After a Nebraska timeout, an Armstrong rush right and a bad RPO toss to Westerkamp brought up 3rd and 9. Iowa brought the blitz and Tommy got the ball off in time, but Stanley Morgan didn’t pick up the hot route. The Huskers were forced to punt to Desmond King, who fair caught the ball on the 20 yard line.

Iowa started the drive with Wadley going for 5 yards on the zone run. On the next play, Beathard audibled and caught Nebraska in a numbers disadvantage, using Wadley on a stretch for the 75 yard TD run. Two plays, 80 yards on the TD run. The PAT was blocked on the play, however, and Iowa leads 6-0 with 4:55 to go in the quarter.

Jordan Nelson took the kickoff out to the 26 yard line for the next Huskers drive. Nebraska started with a jet to Pierson-El for 3 yards, and then a 2 yard carry by Tre Bryant, bringing up 3rd and 5. Anthony Nelson tipped the ball for Iowa and the pass fell incomplete. Caleb Lightbourn had another strong punt, and Desmond King muffed the fair catch but recovered his fumble at the Iowa 23 yard line

The Hawkeyes next drive was one play with Beathard selling the play-action and Riley McCarron getting behind Kieron Williams for a 77 yard TD pass. The PAT was good and it’s 13-0 Iowa with 3:28 to go in the quarter.

Tre Bryant took the kick back to the Nebraska 29 yard line, where the drive started with Newby and Bryant runs to get the first down. Armstrong went deep on first down, but just overthrew Brandon Reilly. Second down had a Bryant screen that got 6 yards, bringing up 3rd and 4. TA decided to throw another 9 route to Reilly, this was not complete either. Lightbourn came on and had a straight up shank, hitting a 5-yard shank.

Iowa started the next drive on their 49 yard line. A Daniels run for 5 and a McCarron RPO with a couple missed tackles got the first down inside the Nebraska 40. The final play of the quarter was a Daniels 2-yard run.

Second Quarter:

A Hawkeye rush and incomplete pass started the next 15 minutes, making it 4th and 6 Iowa. A delay of game penalty backed it up 5 yards for Colluzzi, who drew a Pierson-El fair catch at the Nebraska 16 yard line.

Nebraska’s drive started with a nice stick route TA to DPE for 16 yards. Newby had a 6 yard rush when he was hit hard and bent backwards. The B1G reviewed the play and moved on. Armstrong with the zone keep to get the first down near midfield. Two plays later, Armstrong hit Westerkamp on a stretch RPO down the field for 19 yards. A Carter false start backed up the 1st down play by 5 yards, then a Westerkamp catch followed by a Josey Jewell late hit out of bounds put Nebraska at the Iowa 20. Two runs brought up 3rd and 8 from the Iowa 18, where Armstrong tried to hit Reilly once again, but Brandon fell. A field goal from Drew Brown was good from 35 yards, making it 13-3 Iowa with 9:57 in the half. 10 plays and 66 yards on the scoring drive.

Drew Brown’s kickoff was returned by Desmond King to the Iowa 31 yard line to open the drive. A 5 yard run by Daniels was followed up by a 56-yarder to get inside the Nebraska 10. Two plays later, Aaron Williams overshoots the gap and Daniels makes him pay, going around the right end for a 4-yard TD run. 4 plays, 69 yards, and it’s 20-3 Iowa with 7:49 to go in the half.

Nebraska got the ball on the touchback to the 25. Two Bryant runs got it to 3rd and 5, where Armstrong hit Stanley Morgan on the cross for the first down, but a Nick Gates hold made it 3rd and 15. Armstrong bailed out Gates hitting Brandon Reilly with a 16 yard square in for the first down. Newby returned to the game, getting 5 yards on first down and 4 ¹⁄₂ on second down. 3rd and a quarter of a foot had Armstrong sneak it for a first down. First down brought a missed throw from Armstrong to Reilly in the seam, where a QB keep on second down got Armstrong to 3rd and 8 on the Nebraska 48 yard line. Armstrong had Reilly down the sideline, but overthrew the ball. The punt was better by Lightbourn, and the Hawkeyes started at their own 8 yard line for the next drive.

Hawkeyes start the drive with a holding call, then a nice play by Josh Banderas getting the tackle in the backfield. Daniels got 9 yards to make it 3rd and 7, where the Hawks got Wadley on the screen to get the first down on the 22. Iowa commits a chop block foul, putting it 1st and 18. Two Daniels runs got it to 3rd and 12 with :38 left in the half. The Hawks took a knee, and it’s halftime with a 20-3 deficit for the Huskers.

Halftime notes:

--Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. made his 44th career start in today’s game to set a Nebraska record for a quarterback. Armstrong was previously tied with Taylor Martinez at 43 career starts.

-Senior receiver Jordan Westerkamp caught three passes in the first half, marking his 36th consecutive game with at least one reception, one shy of Johnny Rodgers’ school record of 37 straight games.

--Westerkamp’s three receptions increased his career total to 166 moving him into a tie for second place on the NU career list, matching Nate Swift’s 166 career receptions.

--Cornerback Joshua Kalu blocked an extra point in the first quarter, marking NU’s first blocked kick of any kind since Kalu blocked an extra point last year at Purdue (Oct. 31).

--Senior defensive end Ross Dzuris had a career-high six tackles in the first half, bettering five-tackle efforts last year at Purdue and earlier this season vs. Oregon.

Third Quarter:

Nebraska started the half on the 25 after the touchback, but a quick incomplete and Newby 2 yard run brought up 3rd and 8. Armstrong once again overthrew a deep ball, this time to Stanley Morgan. The Lightbourn punt was returned 44 yards, then a Mohammed Barry late hit added 15 and gave the ball to the hawks at the Nebraska 13 yard line.

Iowa gave the ball to LeShun Daniels twice to get it 1st and Goal at the Nebraska 1 yard line, where Beathard went play-action rollout and hit George Kittle for the touchdown. 3 plays and 13 yards on the scoring drive. The Hawkeyes missed the XP, but Josh Kalu was offsides, and the Hawks decided to go for 2. Beathard went 5 wide and tried a QB draw, but it didn’t work out. 26-3, Hawkeyes with 12:40 in the third.

Nebraska was given the ball back by rule on the touchback to the 25 yard line. Tre Bryant started the drive with a nice run for 11 yards, then another run for 4 yards. But a misread RPO by Armstrong brought up 3rd and 8. Armstrong got Westerkamp down the seam for 16 yards to move to Hawkeye territory. Another failed Armstrong 9 route throw and a missed cross to Carter brought up 3rd and 10 on the Iowa 46 yard line. Armstrong and Morgan hit on a cross and, with the run, got Nebraska 15 yards. Nebraska got the benefit of a Desmond King PI for another auto first down. A Bryant sprint draw for 7 yards on first was followed with a wheel to Newby, but a good play by Brandon Snyder kept it 3rd and 1. Luke McNitt got the trap call, and moved the chains. A Bryant carry and a missed throw to Morgan made it 3rd and 5 from the Iowa 8 yard line. Another Cethan Carter false start moved it back to 3rd and 10 from the 13, where Morgan was missed on the crossing route. Nebraska went for it on 4th down and went back to the well on the Morgan crossing route, but this one went into the end zone.

14 plays and 75 yards on that scoring drive, and the score is 26-10, Nebraska still trailing with 7:47 to go in the quarter.

Hawks got the ball back with Desmond King bringing the Drew Brown kick to the 30 yard line. Daniels started the drive with a 3 yard carry, then another Daniels run made it 3rd and 6 from the 34 yard line. Nebraska brought 5 and the coverage helped get to Beathard, gaining 1 on the hurry. Ron Colluzzi punted all the way back to the Nebraska 10 with a 55-yard kick.

Nebraska started with a Newby inside zone, but Jewell knocked a pass for Sam Cotton down, bringing up a early 3rd down and 5 from the 15 yard line. The Armstrong pass was knocked down by Iowa’s Faith Ekakitie. Lightbourn hit a pretty efficient rugby punt, and with a Hawkeye holding call put the ball on the Iowa 34 yard line.

Iowa started the drive with a 8 yard gain by Wadley on a misdirection pitch, but no gain on 2nd down after a solid stop by Michael Rose-Ivey. 3rd and 1 brought up a big time run blitz and Nebraska stopped Daniels at the original LOS. Ron Colluzzi came in and stomped out another ideal punt, with Pierson-El bringing it back to the 10 yard line once again.

Nebraska started the drive with a Bryant sprint, losing Cole Conrad to injury on the play. Second down brought a Jewell knockdown of a Armstrong pass to Westerkamp. 3rd and 9 gave us Armstrong missing Reilly on the out route. Lightbourn came in and the kick wasn’t great, but the ball did get out to the 44 yard line of Nebraska.

Hawkeyes started with Beathard going to McCarron for 4 yards, then a Daniels run moved the chains for a first down near Nebraska’s 30 yard line. A Daniels run got 3, but Nebraska sent the panhandle and got to Beathard for a 10-yard sack. 3rd and 17 from the Nebraska 40 will be the situation as the final quarter starts.

Fourth Quarter:

The quarter started with a Iowa screen for 9 yards, setting up 4th and 8, with Iowa keeping the Offense on the field. Beathard hits Noah Fant on the cross to get the first down at the 21 yard line. Wadley got 1 on first down, followed by an Iowa timeout. A RPO to McCarron brought up 3rd and 23 from the Nebraska 13 yard line, and Beathard threw it into the stands to set up the FG. The FG was good... but Nate Gerry ran into the kicker and gave Iowa a first down and goal. Daniels got 3 on a carry, then Rose-Ivey had a good pressure on Beathard to make it 3rd and goal from the 6. Beathard found George Kittle for the TD to make it 33-10 Iowa. 12 plays and 44 yards on the scoring drive, 11:13 to go in the game.

Nebraska started the drive with a ill-advised return by Jordan Nelson out of the end zone to the 15 yard line. A 9 route from Armstrong to Pierson-El was dropped, but a Iowa PI by Josh Jackson put the ball on the 30 yard line. Didn’t matter though, as another failed 9 route by Armstrong on 3rd down gave the ball back to the Hawks on the punt at the Nebraska 45 yard line.

The Hawkeyes churned the clock with some Daniels carries, getting one first down after 2 carries, but faced 4th and 2 from the Nebraska 25 yard line. Daniels got the first down to the 22. The Hawkeyes kept it on the ground but faced 4th and 5 from the Nebraska 17 with 3:53 to go in the game. Beathard went naked bootleg, and the Nebraska D went “huh” as the ball got into the 5 yard line. Three plays later, Daniels ended the drive with a untouched TD. 40-10 Nebraska as the drive went 13 plays (all runs) and 45 yards, taking 8:10 off the clock.

The Huskers went to Ryker Fyfe for the rest of the game to mop up, and he missed a seam throw and hit Bryant for a minimal gane, but a sack ended the drive.

Nebraska punted, and got hit with a unsportsmanlike on Antonio Reed. A handoff ended the game.

Postgame notes:

4 –– With its nine regular-season wins in 2016, Nebraska improved its regular-season win total by four games after a 5-7 regular-season record in 2015. This marks just the sixth time in school history Nebraska has improved by four or more regular-season wins from one year to the next. It is Nebraska’s best regular-season win improvement since jumping from a 3-6-1 record in 1961 to an 8-2 regular-season record and 9-2 overall mark in 1962.

44 –– Nebraska senior quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. made his 44^th career start in today’s game, the most ever by a Nebraska quarterback. Armstrong was previously tied with Taylor Martinez at 43 career starts.

· Armstrong accounted for 138 total yards in today’s game, including 125 passing yards and 13 rushing yards. With his 138 yards, Armstrong increased his career total offensive yardage to 10,690 moving him up two spots to seventh on the Big Ten career total offense list. Armstrong passed Illinois Juice Williams (10,594) and Illinois Nathan Scheelhaase (10,634) in today’s game.

· Armstrong had one touchdown in today’s game, increasing his career total to 91, the most in Nebraska history. Armstrong was previously tied with Eric Crouch who had 90 total touchdowns in his NU career.

· Armstrong set the record on a 13-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Morgan Jr. in the third quarter.

36–– Senior receiver Jordan Westerkamp caught four passes for 50 yards, marking his 36^th straight game with at least one reception. Westerkamp’s 36-game streak is one shy of the Nebraska school record of 37 straight games by Johnny Rodgers.

· Westerkamp increased his career receptions total to 167, moving him into second place on the Nebraska career receptions list. He passed Nate Swift’s 166 career receptions in today’s game. Westerkamp is 14 receptions from Kenny Bell’s school record of 181 career receptions.

· Westerkamp increased his career receiving yardage total to 2,474. Westerkamp is two yards shy of Nate Swift (2,476) for third on the Nebraska career yardage list and five yards shy of tying Johnny Rodgers (2,479) for second on the list.

Other Notes...

* Nebraska did not commit a turnover in today’s game, marking the third straight game without a turnover. This marks the first time Nebraska has had three consecutive games without a turnover since going four straight games without a turnover in 1995 (Missouri, Kansas State, Colorado, Iowa State).

* Senior safety Nathan Gerry had six tackles, giving him 273 career tackles and moving him within three tackles of the top five on the NU career list. Gerry is also 14 tackles from the school record for defensive backs held by Mike Brown, who had 287 tackles from 1996 to 1999. In today’s game Gerry passed Steve Damkroger (269) and tied Clete Pillen (273).

* Junior Joshua Kalu blocked an extra point in the first quarter, marking Nebraska’s first blocked kick of any kind since Kalu blocked an extra point last season at Purdue (Oct. 31).

* Senior I-back Terrell Newby rushed for 39 yards, increasing his career rushing total to 2,224 moving him up two spots to 23^rd on the Nebraska career rushing list. Newby passed Bobby Reynolds (2,196) and Doug DuBose (2,205) on the career list in today’s game.

* Senior linebacker Josh Banderas collected nine tackles in today’s game, marking his seventh straight game with at least eight tackles. Banderas increased his team-leading season total to 89 tackles. He also increased his career tackles total to 228, moving him into the top 20 on the Nebraska career tackles list.

* Senior defensive end Ross Dzuris had 10 tackles, including six before halftime. The 10 tackles were a career high, bettering his previous high of five at Purdue in 2015, and against Oregon earlier this season.

* Senior linebacker Michael Rose-Ivey had a season-high 10 tackles in today’s game, bettering his eight tackles against both Wisconsin and Ohio State.

* Junior fullback Luke McNitt had two carries for four yards, marking the first carries of his Nebraska career.