Hawkeyes Win Heroes Game | Soccer

Drew Stevens planned the celebration as early as the second quarter, which may seem absurd given the way Iowa was playing at the time.

The Hawkeyes hadn’t scored and were heading for a 20-yard, 0-point first half in Friday’s game against Nebraska at Kinnick Stadium, and yet here was Iowa’s kicker planning what to do if/when he kicked. the game-winning field goal.

“I was like, ‘Dude, we’ve got to lead the team down to the (Heroes) trophy,'” Stevens said in almost a whisper as he recounted the story.

It turned out to be a good plan. Stevens’ 53-yard field goal, which had cut through the frosty Kinnick Stadium air, was barely through the goal post before Stevens, as he had planned, ran toward the north end zone, dodging teammates and waving as celebrations swirled around him.

The Hawkeyes’ 13-10 victory was another one of those how-did-they-do-it, another of the crushing blows dealt to the Huskers by a pesky Iowa kicker since 2018.

Keith Duncan did it. So did Miguel Recinos. Marshall Meeder did it last year in place of Stevens, who had struggled earlier in that game.

Now it was Steven’s turn.

“I was looking forward to this game,” Stevens said. “I know I can say this now, but I was looking forward to this match.”

Stevens was bothered last season when he had two field goals blocked in the first half against the Huskers, and then, with the game on the line, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz went with Meeder.

“I mean, it’s a shame when somebody else is out there doing your job,” Stevens said. “Especially when you train all year round. So yeah, this one felt really good. I was confident going out there.”

But this is another Stevens, a player who admits he has improved on and off the pitch because of his struggles at the end of last year.

Stevens is 19-of-22 this season and was coming off a five-field goal day in last Saturday’s win over Maryland.

“Basically, he got benched last year,” Ferentz said. “What a contrast to this year. We had every confidence in him.”

Stevens knew length wouldn’t bother him — he kicked a 64-yarder toward the south goal post during warmups coming out of halftime. He got away with his first attempt at the kick, but not before Nebraska called a timeout.

“I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I get this, the wind isn’t doing shit with my ball,'” Stevens said.

The next kick was just as solid, just as accurate.

“Drew’s a badass,” said defensive end Max Llewellyn, who set up the kick with a sack of Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola, who recovered the fumble at the Huskers’ 36-yard line.

This was a game in which the Hawkeyes (8-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten) were bound to lose after a first half of zero points and 20 yards of offense. The 10-0 halftime deficit seemed like a gulf to cross.

A muffed punt in the third quarter gave the Hawkeyes the ball at the Nebraska 4-yard line, but all they could get out of it was a Stevens field goal.

Then came the fourth quarter and how it ended was because of how the quarter started.

Iowa quarterback Jackson Stratton threw a simple swing pass to running back Kaleb Johnson, who turned what appeared to be a short gain into a 72-yard touchdown. Johnson eluded five would-be tacklers on a weaving trip.

“He missed (defensive backs) as usual,” Stratton said. “He’s a great running back and he did what he does every game. He’s a lot faster than me. I tried to go down there and block him, but he’s a lot faster than me.”

That tied the game and then the teams traded empty possessions before Llewellyn stripped Raiola and suddenly Stevens had a chance to execute his plan.

The Hawkeyes were outgained 334-164, had five first downs to Nebraska’s 20, and went 0-of-10 on third downs.

And won for the ninth time in the last 10 games against the Huskers.

The Hawkeyes are 21-3 in November since 2019. The latest win was a mystery as to how it happened.

Even so, the celebration was planned long before the result.