Hawkeyes’ ability to win close games could help at Nebraska

Hello folks, your regular host Matt is on assignment today (AKA he’s getting lit celebrating Thanksgiving), so I, your fellow degenerate, am taking the reigns for the week. In the past three games, Daniels has scored seven touchdowns and will look to pound in another one on Friday.

I think this game follows the same script as the past two weeks. On to the picks! If Cook doesn’t play, Tyler O’Connor would be in line for his second start.

“Coach Ferentz called right after I hurt my knee and said they still wanted me to come to Iowa, ” Fisher said.

“When we have a good team, typically we find a way to win close games”, Ferentz said.

“I don’t sense it as much with this team because they’ve been so level headed and even keel all year”, Long said. I expect the same kind of effort from Penn State, and for me it would depend on whether Connor Cook plays. The three-game slide at the end of the 2014 season left Iowa off of a lot of people’s radars and respect has been slow to return. Belief and confidence suddenly aren’t problems for the Huskers, who will be playing before the most amped-up crowd you’ve ever seen for a 5-6 team. Greg Davis had a bunch of different plays past year using the jet sweep motion that he pulled out against Nebraska.

“Based on how they ended past year (7-6 with losses in their last three games), with a brand new quarterback with only one start under his belt and a running back situation that was not really defined yet, yes, I would say I am surprised”, Long said.

The Cornhuskers played stingy defense for a half, allowing only 4.3 yards per play and only letting Iowa run 26 plays. Nebraska is going for its third win in a row and a 6-6 record that will secure bowl eligibility. Iowa was No. 17 before beating Nebraska. Iowa is not overly explosive but they move the ball well through the air thanks to a pair of good receivers and a couple of good tight ends.

Navy has the inside track to an AAC West championship, having already beaten Memphis. Houston lost some luster after they lost at UConn, but they still have the playmaking ability to keep up with Navy.

In the cold, overcast Memorial Stadium in Nebraska, neither offense could get anything going early. We had not had a pass-rush game or a sack game like that all year, and we did a better job. They let IL score twice in the final 5 minutes of the game to lose by 1 when the Illini had been held scoreless in the first 55 minutes.

Beathard has proven very capable of putting the game on his shoulders. They had a insane comeback against Miami in the fourth quarter only to blow it in OT. This is another line that seems surprising to me.

“I take pride in those type of things”, he said. “Typically, any team that is doing well has good leadership”. The junior quarterback has thrown for 2,560 yards this season and has 21 touchdowns to 12 interceptions on the year. I can’t imagine they will be able to get in with one loss but if they can win on Friday and then knock off the B1G East champion next weekend, the Hawkeyes will achieve what many thought was impossible when this journey began. A 29-yard catch and run by Carter set up the Huskers’ first score, and he had back-to-back receptions of 27 and 20 yards to help NU squeeze out a field goal just before halftime.