Iowa Hawkeyes at Nebraska Cornhuskers

Iowa beats Huskers for 10th time in 11 meetings, shutting them down in 2nd half on way to 40-16 rout

The Hawkeyes (8-4, 6-3 Big Ten) broke open what was a one-point game late in the second quarter with three touchdowns and a safety and they shut out the Cornhuskers in the second half. They took home the Heroes Trophy after their 10th win in 11 meetings with their border rival.

“When the defense was kind of giving up some big plays at the beginning of the game, we were able to respond there offensively and kind of be the reason we were in that game at that point,” Gronowski said. “After that first quarter, we kind of really took it away, and the defense locked in a little bit. We were able to run with it. We had a great pass game when we needed it. I feel like we were consistent throughout the entire game. When we're a consistent team, we're a really tough team to beat.”

Johnson had 177 of his career-high 217 yards for Nebraska (7-5, 4-5) in the first half, and he matched his career high with 29 carries.

“I was trying to leave it all out there on the field,” Johnson said. “We talk about helping seniors go out with a win. I wanted to trust my training and do what God put me on this earth to do.”

It was Johnson's eighth 100-yard game of the season and fifth straight. He broke a career-long 70-yard run on the Huskers' first possession.

“The first half was touch and go, certainly, and wasn’t going per script,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We had tremendous respect for No. 21 (Johnson). We got the experience in life today. We had a hard time tackling him, so he ran the ball really well, popped the one real big run. We had our work cut out for us defensively. Offensively, it wasn’t easy, but the guys just kept pushing."

Johnson, who averaged 9.3 yards per carry in the first half, was limited to 40 yards on 10 carries in the second.

The temperature was 26 degrees at kickoff, and intermittent light snow fell in the first half. Iowa started taking control when Gronowski scored from the 1 in the final minute of the half. The Hawkeyes recorded a safety early in the third quarter when Jacory Barney muffed a punt and the Huskers’ Jamir Conn recovered it in the end zone. TD runs of 6 yards by Gronowski and 1 yard by Moulton made it a 24-point game and sent many of the fans home early in the fourth quarter.

“We knew they’d be a tough, physical team, and we ended up breaking them in the second half,” Iowa star kick returner Kaden Wetjen said. “And it feels awesome to get a victory that way. It’s awesome to see a see a crowd clear out like that when you’re playing away.”

Gronowski was 9 of 16 for 166 yards and he carried 13 times for 64.

Nebraska freshman TJ Lateef, making his third start in place of the injured Dylan Raiola and first at Memorial Stadium, played most of the game with a tight hamstring and was just 9 of 24 for 69 yards.

The takeaway Iowa: The Hawkeyes, who gave up 231 yards in the first half, held Nebraska to just 69 in the second. It was Iowa's most lopsided win in the series since 2017. Not counting the shortened 2020 pandemic season, Iowa has won at least eight games every year since 2015.

Nebraska: The Huskers lost four of their last six games after a 5-1 start, lost a fumble at the goal line, muffed a punt and committed two personal fouls. They're 2-10 in November games under Rhule.

“If I'm a fan right now, I'm walking away mad,” Rhule said.

Up next Both teams wait to find out their bowl destinations Dec. 7.