Nebraska 28 Iowa 31: Recap and Afternoon Games Thread

Good news Husker fans! JD Spielman is going through warmups in uniform. Even if his ankle injury limits him to a few “decoy” plays, it is great to see him out there.

The betting line has moved from Iowa being 10 point favorites to being 7-9 pt favorites.

Weather update: The chance of rain increases significantly throughout the game. There is a 60% chance of precipitation by 2 pm central and 95% by 3 pm. The wind is expected to pick up and the temperature will decrease slightly from 48 degrees to 45 degrees.

Is it a rivalry?

Iowa won the toss and elected to receive the ball.

First Quarter

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Blackshirts force a third and long and promptly give up 25 yards. Hawkeyes moved to midfield and past in short order and then to the red zone. Their game plan is pretty clear - run the damn ball and play action passes. Of course, most people could have told you that 10 years ago. It was still effective as Nate Stanley connects with Brandon Smith (Dicaprio Bootle in coverage). Touchdown Hawkeyes.

Iowa 7 Nebraska 0

Maurice Washington brought the kickoff out to the 20 yard line. The Husker game plan also seemed obvious - get the ball to the perimeter. Washington, Devine Ozigbo, Stanley Morgan Jr., Bryan Reimers, and Adrian Martinez all got a chance to tote the rock. The big play was a Martinez keeper that moved Nebraska near the red zone. He evaded a sack (sweet move) but overthrew a wide open Jack Stoll in the end zone. After another evasive move by Martinez (completing a pass on the run to Stanley at the five yard line) Jack Stoll found pay dirt. The Barret Pickering kick was good.

If Twitter is to be believed, Stanley Morgan is right around 950 yards receiving for the season and has taken the career receiving yards lead from Kenny Bell.

Nebraska 7 Iowa 7

The Iowa defense [re: Adrian Martinez] on that drive:

The kickoff came out to the 15 yard line. Cam Taylor made a clutch tackle, otherwise there would have been more room to run.

Another common sight this season...an opposing team’s receiver running wide open but the QB overthrows him. Whew. Thus far, Iowa is three for three on third down conversions. Noah Fant moved the Hawks past midfield. The blocking by this Iowa offense is really opening up holes. The Blackshirts are going to have to bear down and start plugging those holes. In the red zone, the run game continued to gash Nebraska. First and goal Iowa (five yard line.) End of first quarter. Time to wave at the kids in the hospital.

Second Quarter

Two plays into the quarter Toren Young found the cutback lane and the end zone. Touchdown Hawkeyes.

Iowa 14 Nebraska 7

Time of possession in the first quarter favored Iowa 11:13 to 3:47.

Kickoff touchback. Holy commercials Batman. Apparently this game is moving too fast and Fox is afraid they won’t get all their sponsors’ ads broadcast?

Some plays were run and then Mo Washington juked his way to the red zone (nice block by Mike Williams.) On third and 10, Martinez was brought down short of the line to gain, bringing up fourth down and Barret Pickering for the 27 yard field goal. Good.

Iowa 14 Nebraska 10

The Blackshirts forced a three-and-out. A much needed one. Khalil Davis was doing a good job pressuring Nate Stanley during that series. The Huskers tried to block the punt, but didn’t quite get there. Morgan made the fair catch on the Husker 40 yard line.

Devine Ozigbo atoned for a whiffed block on the previous series with a 20 yard run to the Hawkeye 20. The Huskers would go no further as two consecutive sacks of Martinez forced a punt. Hawkeyes take over on their 15 yard line.

Noah Fant and Aaron Williams got tangled up and received offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties. On third and seven, a quarterback draw (I’m getting tired of those) resulted in a first down. Sigh.

After gifting Nebraska a passing series on their previous possession, Iowa returned to the run game behind Mekhi Sargent and Toren Young. It carried them across midfield where another curious playcall by Iowa resulted in a fourth and three. They left the offense on the field. Of course there was an open receiver. First down Hawkeyes. Then, touchdown Hawkeyes. The body language by the Husker defense is not encouraging. 45 seconds left in the half.

Iowa 21 Nebraska 10

With less than a minute to work, Nebraska went to the passing game. Behind Morgan and Kade Warner, the Huskers moved across midfield in two plays. With 28 seconds and a third and one at the 44 yard line, he found Jack Stoll for a seven or eight yard gain. Scott Frost used his first timeout with 21 seconds left in the half. Martinez took a hard hit on first down - fortunately overthrowing two Iowa defenders. With 12 seconds left, it looked like Scott Frost was playing for the field goal - going back to the horizontal passing game. Nebraska gets the ball to start the second half, so points are critical, but Husker fans want more than three right here. With five seconds left, the Huskers had fourth and eight at the 34 yard line. Pickering came out for the 51 yard attempt. Iowa took two timeouts to ice the freshman.

His first attempt missed, but Iowa was offsides. The 46 yard attempt was good.

Iowa 21 Nebraska 13

Third Quarter

The Husker offense started on their seven yard line (Mo kneeled instead of signalling fair catch.) Martinez was sacked on the three yard line (bringing up third and 14). Ozigbo found some room, but not enough and the Huskers punted. This was exactly the opposite of what Nebraska needed on this possession. The Hawkeyes took over on their 44 yard line.

The run game mixed with play action pass continued to pay dividends for Iowa and they were into the red zone in short order...and then the end zone. Touchdown Iowa.

Iowa 28 Nebraska 13

Mo Washington was brought down at the 22 yard line. Nebraska was flagged for holding, backing the Huskers up to the 12.

Frost continues to stick with the perimeter passing game in a way that makes a casual fan like me wonder WHY? WHY? WHY? The Huskers again went three and out.

The Isaac Armstrong punt was returned to the Husker 40 yard line.

The Hawkeyes are just plain stronger in the trenches as they are just running their base offense and moving the ball at will. Third down conversions continue to be a bugaboo as this one is starting to slip away from Nebraska. And it’s only the third quarter.

The Blackshirts forced a fourth down and the 21 yard field goal. FAKE! The Blackshirts sniffed it out and forced the stop. Husker ball on the two yard line. Scot Frost called his own fake and LUKE GIFFORD GOT THE FIRST DOWN. The Hawkeyes were flagged for unnecessary roughness. First down Nebraska. It looks like Gifford is okay after staying down on the turf for a while. Husker ball on the 29 yard line.

Behind Martinez and Ozigbo, the Huskers approached midfield. A Martinez run was reviewed for a fumble (he was down before the ball came out). Ozigbo gained one on a third and two, bringing up another big call by Scott Frost. Martinez got the yards to keep the drive alive. After an overthrow of Stanley and a short gain by Washington, the third quarter ended.

Fourth Quarter

Morgan gained three on a third and five. The fourth down was converted by Stanley to get Nebraska to the 28 yard line. On first and 10 - MAURICE WASHINGTON FOR THE TD!!! The XP was good. Morgan has broken his single-season receiving yards record and is 12 yards from 1000.

Iowa 28 Nebraska 20

The kickoff came out to the 27 yard line. The Hawkeyes went backwards and the Blackshirts forced a much-needed three-and-out. Tyrin Ferguson and Mo Barry came up big on that series.

Stanley muffed the punt but fell on it immediately. Stoll was flagged for holding, negating an Ozigbo first down run. Martinez and Warner got the yardage back but then 2AM was dropped for a loss. On third and six, Ozigbo gained four. Martinez kept it fourth down and gained enough for the first. On the next play, he was looking for Morgan, but found a Hawkeye defender instead. Interception with 9:27 left in the game. The Huskers were flagged for unnecessary roughness, giving the Hawks the ball in great position. They quickly moved into the red zone.

On third and nine from the 20, Stanley’s pass was incomplete and Iowa came out for the 37 yard field goal. NO GOOD! Husker ball on the 20.

Iowa 28 Nebraska 20

Jack Stoll decided to out-Iowa some Iowa defenders and shrugged them off for an 18 yard gain. Than 2AM found Stanley Morgan - WHO BECOMES THE FIRST 1000 YARD RECEIVER IN NEBRASKA HISTORY with a 13 yard gain.

Mo Washington was doing some dirty work in getting tough yards. Martinez wasn’t to be outdone in gaining a nice chunk on a draw play. Inside the red zone, Nebraska went to, who else?, Devine Ozigbo. The clock is ticking - under five minutes. On third and one from the five...2AM found Stanley for the first down. First and goal 3:38 on the clock.

Martinez keeps and TOUCHDOWN NEBRASKA!! 2AM had a nice jab with the shoulder to punctuate his trip into pay dirt. Nebraska takes a timeout after looking at the Iowa defensive alignment on the two-point conversion. Is this where 2AM becomes “Closing Time”?!????

A scrambling Martinez finds Kade Warner and THE GAME IS TIED!!

Nebraska 28 Iowa 28

With 3:22 left, this one is far from over, but Husker fans everywhere are celebrating the grit and never-give-up attitude of their team.

The kickoff came out to the 35 yard line. Iowa went right into their run offense and moved across midfield with a big run as the clock ticked under two minutes.

The rain was really coming down in Iowa City. Iowa gained three yards on third and 11. With 42 seconds left, the Iowa offense came out to snap the ball at the 37. They found TJ Hockenson for 10. First down Hawkeyes.

With three seconds left, Iowa lined up for the 41 yard field goal. It was good. The Hawkeyes win with a walk-off field goal.