NEBRASKA vs. IOWA
November 24, 2023 | MEMORIAL STADIUM
LINCOLN, NEB. | 11 a.m. CT
MEN
Record: 5-6, 3-5 Big Ten
Last game: at Wisconsin, L, 24-17 (OT)
Ranking: NR
Head Coach: Matt Ruhl
Career/NU Record: 52-49 (8th year)/5-6 (1st year)
vs. Iowa: 0-0
HAWK EYES
Record: 9-2, 6-2 Big Ten
Last game: vs. Illinois, W, 15-13
Ranking: AP – 20, Trainers – 19
Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz
Career/Record at IOWA: 195-117 (25th year)/207-138 (28th year)
vs. Nebraska: 8-6
SERIES HISTORY
All-time streak: Nebraska leads, 30-20-3
At Lincoln: Nebraska leads, 15-7-1
Last game: Nebraska, 24-17 (2022)
Winning streak: Nebraska, 1 game
RELEASE INFORMATION
TV – CBS (Tom McCarthy, Ross Tucker, Tiffany Blackmon)
RADIO NETWORK – Huskers Radio Network
INTERNET RADIO – Huskers.com
APP AUDIO – Official Huskers App
The coincidence
Nebraska ends the 2023 regular season against Iowa in its traditional Black Friday game, and the schools will compete for the Heroes Trophy presented by Pioneer. The contest between the border rivals is set for 11 a.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium. The game will be broadcast to a national audience on CBS and can be heard on the Huskers Radio Network, the official Huskers app and Huskers.com.
Nebraska will enter the game at 5-6 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten after a third straight setback Saturday at Wisconsin. The Huskers need a win against the Hawkeyes to secure their first bowl appearance since the 2016 season.
The Huskers took an early 14-point lead in Madison before the Badgers rallied with 17 straight points. A Husker field goal in the final seconds forced an extra session, but Wisconsin scored a touchdown on its possession before shutting down Nebraska’s offense on downs. Nebraska once again had a strong running game against the Badgers, gaining 195 yards on the ground.
Iowa will enter Friday’s game with a 9-2 overall mark, including a 6-2 record in Big Ten Conference play. With their 15-13 win over Illinois on Saturday, the Hawkeyes clinched the Big Ten West Division and a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 3. The Hawkeyes were ranked 20th in the Associated Press poll and 19th in the coaches poll heading into the game.
The Hawkeyes have an outstanding defense and special teams leading the nation in net sacks while also ranking in the top 10 in scoring defense (3rd), passing defense (4th) and total defense (7th).
Series history: Nebraska vs. Iowa
Nebraska and Iowa meet for the 13th consecutive year on Black Friday in a game that will mark the 54th permanent meeting between schools. Nebraska holds a 30-20-3 advantage in the series overall and ended Iowa’s seven-game winning streak last November in Iowa City.
• Iowa holds an 8-4 advantage in the series since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, including a 5-1 record against the Huskers in Lincoln. Nebraska still holds an 11-6 lead overall in games at Memorial Stadium.
• The last five meetings between the teams have been decided by a total of 26 points, including last-second field goals in 2018 and 2019.
• The schools met 41 times before Nebraska joined the Big Ten, but played just six times between 1946 and 2011. Nebraska won three of four games in a four-game series between 1979 and 1982 and swept the series from households in 1999 and 2000.
Nebraska, Iowa will battle for the Heroes Trophy
Nebraska and Iowa will battle for the Heroes Trophy when they take the field Friday at Memorial Stadium. The Heroes Game is the annual trophy game between Nebraska and Iowa. The game is sponsored by Pioneer.
• While both teams look to win the trophy on the field, Nebraska and Iowa wished their annual meeting was more than just a football game. The schools partnered not only to create a trophy, but to use their stage to honor a citizen hero from each state. In addition to the trophy claimed by the game winner, both the Iowa and Nebraska native will be honored for outstanding actions.
• Citizen heroes were selected from each state, with Josh Hicks selected as Nebraska’s Hero and Eric Koum selected as Iowa’s Hero. Hicks lives in Lincoln and played a key role in rescuing and removing a man from a van that fell off a freeway into a lake near Wichita, Kan., last July. Kum has been a professional agriculture teacher and FFA advisor since 1997 in the South O’Brien (Iowa) School District. Without his leadership, many small towns in northwest Iowa would be without veterinarians, agronomists, welders, agriculture teachers, farmers and many other agriculture-related jobs.
Big Red on Black Friday
Nebraska continues its long tradition of playing the day after Thanksgiving. This Friday’s game with Iowa will mark the 34th straight season the Huskers have played on Black Friday.
• Nebraska has met Oklahoma in the last six seasons of the Big Eight (1990 through 1995), then played Colorado in all 15 of the Huskers’ Big 12 Conference games (1996 through 2010) before facing Iowa each of the 13 seasons it has been a member of the Big Ten, including this year.
• Nebraska is 10-7 at home in Black Friday games since 1990, including 1-5 against Iowa.
• In addition to playing Iowa on Black Friday the last 12 seasons, Nebraska and Iowa also closed out the regular season against each other nine times from 1892 to 1916.
This week’s numbers
3 – Nebraska has started three quarterbacks this season, including Heinrich Haarberg (8 starts), Jeff Sims (2 starts) and Chuba Purdy (1 start). It marks the first time since 2013 at Nebraska that three different quarterbacks have started games.
34 – Friday’s game marks Nebraska’s 34th straight season playing on Black Friday. That streak includes games against Oklahoma (1990-95), Colorado (1996-2010) and Iowa (2011-23).
75 – Rover Isaac Gifford has a team-high 75 tackles in 2023. Gifford is the first Nebraska quarterback to record at least 75 tackles in a season since Nathan Gerry had 79 tackles in 13 games in 2015.