Hawkeyes hand Huskers crushing 27-24 defeat

Nebraska had one last chance to salvage its season and earn a bowl berth for the first time since 2016 in its annual Black Friday showdown vs. Iowa.

But as the story of the season has gone, the Huskers once again let opportunity slip through their fingers.

Keith Duncan drilled a 48-yard field goal in the final seconds, as the Hawkeyes came into Memorial Stadium and handed NU a 27-24 defeat for their fifth-straight victory in the series.

With the loss, Nebraska ended the regular season at 5-7, marking its third sub-.500 finish in a row.

Barring a series of fortunate events outside of their control over the next 24 hours, the Huskers are unlikely to be one of (if any) 5-7 teams to qualify for a bowl bid.

After the teams traded punts to open the game, Iowa struck first with a 45-yard reverse that Ihmir Smith-Marsette for a touchdown on the third series of the day.

Nebraska’s defense and special teams were able to flip the field over the next two drives and get the offense ball starting in Hawkeye territory. That led to a 41-yard field goal from Matt Waldoch that cut the deficit to 7-3 with 4:03 left in the first quarter.

But Iowa quickly took back all of the momentum two plays later with a 55-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Tyler Goodson.

Nebraska’s offense struggled on into the start of the second quarter and the Hawkeyes again marched deep into NU territory to the 19-yard line, but three straight tackles for loss held it to a career-long 49-yard field goal from Duncan that made it 17-3.

Just when it looked like Iowa was going to run away with it, the Blackshirts came up with the jolt play they needed. JoJo Domann tipped a Nate Stanley and the ball fell into the hands of Cam Taylor-Britt, and the sophomore cornerback ran it back 38 yards for a touchdown to pull back within 17-10 at the 8:54 mark.

Just like that, however, that spark was immediately extinguished when Smith-Marsette broke free on the ensuing kickoff for a 95-yard return for a touchdown to make it 24-10.

Nebraska tried to end the half on a positive note and was putting together its best drive yet, but those hopes ended when Adrian Martinez was picked off by Jack Koerner at the Iowa five-yard line.

The Huskers managed just three offensive points and 114 total yards in the first half, while Iowa rushed for 163 on the ground alone in a fairly one-sided first two quarters.

Desperate to get something going on offense, McCaffrey checked in for Martinez midway through Nebraska’s second drive of the third quarter. On his very first snap, he threw an option pass to JD Spielman for a 39-yard touchdown that made it a one-score game.

On the other side of the ball, the Blackshirts held Iowa to minus-10 yards over its first three drives of the second half to force three straight punts.

Behind a fourth-and-6 conversion on an 11-pass to Kade Warner to the Iowa 18, senior Wyatt Mazour barreled his way into the endzone from nine yards out for the tying touchdown with 32 seconds left in the third.

Nebraska ended up rushing for 81 yards in the third quarter and held the ball for nearly 12 minutes, while Iowa mustered just 17 total yards in the second and third quarters combined.

Both offenses stalled through much of the fourth quarter, but Iowa got the ball at its own 37 with 3:14 remaining with a chance to win it. Mekhi Sargent started the drive off with a 30-yard run to the Nebraska 36, but he then coughed up the football on the very next play and the Huskers recovered at the 31.

Nebraska moved the ball to midfield, but a personal foul set up a second-and-20 with less than a minute left in regulation. The Huskers played for overtime from there before punting it away, leaving Iowa with 32 seconds and no timeouts from its 26.

It looked as if Stanley found Nico Ragaini on the first play for a 38-yard completion to the NU 36 with 27 seconds still remaining, but a review of the play reverse the call to an incomplete pass.

Two plays later, though, Stanley did find Smith-Marsette for a 22-yard pass to midfield and then hit Sam LaPorta for another 22-yard strike one snap later.

That set up Duncan for a 48-yard field goal attempt with seven seconds to go, and the Lou Groza Award finalist drilled it in for the victory.

Martinez ended the 10-of-18 passing for just 50 yards and a pick while rushing 21 times for only 44 yards. Running back Dedrick Mills finished with 94 yards on 24 carries and hauled in four catches for 34 yards.

Stanley only threw for 99 yards in the game, but 44 of those came on Iowa's game-winning drive.