Another walk-off moment for Iowa football vs Nebraska

On By Littum

IOWA CITY – For the second year in a row in the Iowa-Nebraska rivalry, the final stages of the fourth quarter brought a 10-10 deadlock.

But this time the shoe was on the other Iowa foot.

Drew Stevens, a year after being benched at halftime of Iowa’s game at Nebraska, delivered a 53-yard walk-off field goal for the Hawkeyes’ only lead of the game and a dramatic 13-10 victory in front of an unhinged, freezing audience. at Kinnick Stadium.

A year ago, Ethan Hurkett’s improbable interception in the final minute that set up Marshall Meeder’s fluttering 39-yard field goal gave the Hawkeyes a 13-10 walk-off victory in Lincoln and clinched the Heroes Trophy.

This time, Max Llewellyn was the defensive hero for the Hawkeyes, who finished their regular season with an 8-4 record while sending Nebraska to a devastating loss and a 6-6 finish.

If not for Kaleb Johnson’s heroics, the Hawkeyes might have run out of their own building.

Johnson made a superhuman play on the first play of the fourth quarter with Iowa trailing, 10-3, and its offense nearing the end of a completely futile performance. But on a screen pass on second-and-13, Johnson bounced off a tackler at the line of scrimmage, appeared to be piled back up for a short gain, but kept his legs running and somehow broke away up the right side line. From there, Johnson made a sharp cut near midfield to split two Nebraska defenders who collided and then raced over each Cornhusker into the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown reception. Thanks to Dayton Howard for continuing to stay with the play and offering some downfield blocking help.

On this night, it felt like a Johnson long-gainer or defensive touchdown would be the only two ways for Iowa to get into the end zone, and that’s exactly what happened to tie the score 10-10 and turn this into a frantic ending for the 69,250 fans who braved the freezing cold at Kinnick Stadium.

An unusual third quarter gave the Hawkeyes a chance

With the exception of the Ohio State game, the third quarter has been Iowa’s quarter this season. The Hawkeyes held a 115-55 advantage in the third entering this game and bizarrely ended up winning the third quarter 3-0.

Nebraska missed a short field goal wide left with 9:26 left in the third to cap a strong opening drive out of halftime. Iowa picked up a field goal of its own with 4:30 left in the period, but it was a big disappointment after the game’s first turnover set the offense up for more. John Nestor recovered a fumbled punt return attempt on Cornhuskers‘ 4-yard line. But two failed Johnson runs and a 2-yard pass to Luke Lachey left Iowa with fourth-and-goal at the 2, and Kirk Ferentz picked up the three points on a Stevens 20-yard kick.

Iowa entered the fourth quarter with 65 total yards, but still had a chance, down 10-3.

Iowa’s first-down play in the first half? Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run

One was a Jackson Stratton scramble for 2 yards, but the point remains the same. Eight plays, no passes. The Hawkeyes were so timid about relying on the pass that Nebraska fearlessly stacked the box to absolutely control the first half.

The Hawkeyes gained 20 yards in the first half on six-plus possessions. Twenty snaps, 20 yards, a first down. Johnson, the Big Ten’s rushing leader, had a first-down run for 11 yards, but his other six first-down carries went for minus-1, minus-1, 4, minus-1, 4 and 0.

When people complain about defenses “stacking the box,” sometimes that can be exaggerated. But Nebraska had all 11 defenders within seven yards of the line of scrimmage at times, daring offensive coordinator Tim Lester to break up a pass. Stratton was 2-for-6 passing in the first half for 8 yards and was sacked once for minus-6 rushing.

Lester has been good at adjustments in the second half all year. He was probably slow to punch on this one. But on the three-play drive that ended with Johnson’s 72-yard touchdown catch, it started with a 17-yard pass from Stratton to Jacob Gill. Given Nebraska’s game plan defensively, it made sense to finally open things up.

Poor scoring conditions change Iowa’s usual game plan

Aside from the poor offense in the first half, Iowa’s punt game was about as bad as it has been all year in the first 30 minutes. Freshman Rhys Dakin’s first cold-weather game got off to a rough start with uncharacteristically nasty kicks compared to his usual high spirals.

It’s not like the kicking was terrible, but having four years with Tory Taylor probably makes the team feel spoiled. For example, Ferentz chose to punt on fourth and eight from Nebraska’s 49-yard line in the first quarter. Dakin’s fumbled 32-yard punt to Nebraska’s 17 was not the precision needed to reward such a decision.

After Dakin’s first punt of the day went 45 yards, his next five were 34, 32, 36, 34 and 33 for a 35.7 average. Considering Dakin came in with a 44.9-yard average that ranked 18th in the nation, this was a significant negative in a back-and-forth first half that saw the score 3-0 after 11 possessions. Think of five first downs’ yardage that Iowa usually counts as gone.

To be fair, Nebraska kicker Brian Buschini only averaged 33.8 yards per kick in the decisive first half. Punting in cold weather is rarely a pretty sight.

Dakin’s scoring in the second half was much better. His high point in the third quarter certainly contributed to the Nebraska muff. And he hit one for 49 yards to start the fourth quarter, then 54 when Iowa needed it to push Nebraska back to its own 20 with 1:42 left.

No toast to Wisconsin; What’s next for Iowa?

Black Friday began with a somewhat shocking development considering where Wisconsin football felt it was when it hired Luke Fickell two years ago. With a 24-7 home loss to Minnesota, the Badgers went from a 5-2 start to a 5-7 finish … ending their 22-year bowl game streak.

That December bowl prep loss is a big deal for a developing program, which is why Iowa is always excited to get any bowl-game bid. Ferentz’s teams have been invited to bowl games for 12 straight years and 16 of the last 17. The Hawkeyes are using the extra December practices to increase reps for younger players who have been either special teamers or scout teamers before they cycle back to “regular” in the last week or two before the game.

With the win, the most likely bowl destination for Iowa is the Dec. 31 Reliaquest Bowl in Tampa. It’s the former Outback Bowl, a game the Hawkeyes have played in six times under Ferentz, but not since the 2018 season. Assuming four Big Ten teams make the playoffs (Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana), that would likely put Illinois in the Citrus (which will have a fresh team after having Iowa two of the past three years) and Iowa in Tampa against an SEC opponent to be determined.

Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served 30 years with The Des Moines Register and the USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text message group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.