 | |
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | November 26, 1891 Iowa, 20–0 |
| Latest meeting | November 29, 2024 Iowa, 13–10 |
| Next meeting | November 28, 2025 Lincoln, NE |
| Trophy | Heroes Trophy |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 55 |
| All-time series | Nebraska leads, 30–22–3 (.573)[1] |
| Trophy series | Iowa leads, 10–4 |
| Largest victory | Nebraska, 57–0 (1980) |
| Longest win streak | Nebraska, 8 (1931–1941) |
| Current win streak | Iowa, 2 (2023–present) |
TheIowa–Nebraska football rivalry is an Americancollege footballrivalry between theIowa Hawkeyes andNebraska Cornhuskers.[2][3][4] The game is held annually onBlack Friday.
Iowa and Nebraska first met on November 26, 1891, inOmaha, Iowa's first-ever game outside its home state. Nebraska credits Iowa assistantTheron Lyman, who was sent to Lincoln days early to prepare an inexperienced NU team to face the more experienced Hawkeyes, as its head coach for the game, though he likely did not attend Iowa's 22–0 win.[5] The following year, the schools became founding members of the short-livedWestern Interstate University Football Association, one of college football's first conferences.[6] The WIUFA dissolved in 1897, but Iowa and Nebraska continued to play regularly until afterWorld War II.
The proximity of the two teams played an important role in the early days of the game, with exclusive trains running betweenIowa City andLincoln to allow fans to travel.[7] The series was paused for decades until being renewed from 1979 to 1982.[8] In 1979, No. 7 Nebraska overcame a two-touchdown second-half deficit to beat unranked Iowa, resulting in a standing ovation from fans of both teams.[9] Two years later, Iowa upset No. 7 Nebraska atKinnick Stadium in what head coachHayden Fry called "the biggest win since I've been here."[10]
The teams met just two other times, dominant Nebraska victories in 1999 and 2000, before NU joined theBig Ten Conference in 2011.
Nebraska has played a rivalry game on the day afterThanksgiving since 1990, first againstOklahoma and later againstColorado.[11] Iowa became NU's traditionalBlack Friday opponent when the Cornhuskers joined theBig Ten Conference in 2011. Established as the "Heroes Game," it is used to recognize individuals from both states for acts of heroism in their communities.[12] Nebraska won the Heroes Trophy in each of its first two seasons before Iowa took control of the series.
In 2017, the Big Ten announced that the Iowa–Nebraska game would not take place onBlack Friday in 2020 or 2021.[13] After significant pushback from fans and public opposition from NU athletic directorBill Moos, the change was reverted.[14][15]
Iowa has won nine of the ten meetings since 2014, the year Nebraska firedBo Pelini one day after a regular season-finale win over the Hawkeyes.[16] The series is played annually as one of twelve Big Ten protected rivalries; even-year games are played inIowa City and odd-year games inLincoln.[17]
| Iowa victories | Nebraska victories |
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