Iowa 28, Nebraska 20

Nebraska fell to Iowa 28-20, as the Hawkeyes close out the regular season undefeated. Iowa has met every challenge, exceeded every expectation. They are 42nd on offense and 28th on defense in the S&P+ rankings.

Iowa is not flashy.

In a season full of firsts, Iowa added yet another notch to its football history belt in Lincoln Friday. If Navy had been that team on December 6, the day after championship Saturday, the committee would have waited a week until after the Midshipmen played Army on December 12 to complete the New Year’s Six matchups. Quarterback C.J. Beathard kept a lookout for his dad, Casey. Beathard offers a rebuttal. Most stats in the game favored the Huskers, doubled Iowa’s 11 first downs with 22 and holding the Hawkeyes without a conversion on third down in the entire game. “We didn’t plan our schedule. And we’ve done just that so far”. Odds are he’ll accept his lot, seeing as though the 12-0 Hawkeyes are headed toward a Playoff play-in scenario in the Big 10 Championship Game against either Michigan State (if they beat Penn State), Ohio State (if they beat Michigan and MSU loses), or Michigan (if they beat OSU and MSU loses). That much is clear. “I’m a little bit speechless on that”, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.

“At the same time”, the quarterback said, “when you do hear some of that stuff, it kind of lights your fire”. “That’s something I’ve got to fix and something I’m going to fix”. Iowa also played 10 games against Power Five competition, a rarity among the eight conference-game set of the ACC, Big Ten and SEC. The opponent will be determined Saturday, but for the Hawkeyes, it could serve as an elimination game to advance to the CFP semifinals. They showed the toughness and fortitude they’ve displayed all season to grab this victory even though they didn’t have a mistake-free outing. Don’t laugh. It could happen.

It’s more about the critics’ unwillingness to accept Iowa as a contender.

“The only thing I thought that would save them, which is turning out to be the case, is being in the West Division”.

Seeing the Hawkeyes finish a flawless season was a very special experience for a number of fans. “This team fought all year; there was never a game where they didn’t compete in”. Jordan Canzeri, LeShun Daniels and Akrum Wadley lead a potent ground game averaging 208 yards a game. Iowa is undefeated and Nebraska is 5-6, but the two teams have been on extreme ends of variance. “It was those other parts we couldn’t overcome”. “It’s about the teamwork and relationships”.

Nebraska played the second half without safety Nate Gerry, who was ejected for targeting late in the first half, although Banker wouldn’t point to that as a reason for the big plays. “We got an under control stable team, a lot of offense, a lot of defense, a total package”. “I don’t know why people wouldn’t like that”.

Iowa’s path to the playoff appears simple.

As Iowa wins, its confidence grows.

Oregon State (2-10, 0-9 Pac-12) trailed 31-7 at halftime but got within 31-21 in the third quarter. That’s all we can say. If not, it’s time.