Game Week: vs. Iowa

NEBRASKA vs. IOWA
Nov. 28, 2025 | MEMORIAL STADIUM
LINCOLN, NEB. | 11 AM CT

HUSKERS
Record: 7-4, 4-4 B1G
Last Game: at Penn State (L, 37-10)
Rankings: NR
Head Coach: Matt Rhule
Career/NEB Record: 66-60 (10th Year)/19-17 (3rd Year)
Record vs. Iowa: 0-2

HAWKEYES
Record: 7-4, 5-3 B1G
Last Game: vs. Michigan State (W, 20-17)
Rankings: AP-RV/Coaches-RV
Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz
Career/Iowa Record: 223-149 (30th Year)/211-128 (27th Year)
Record vs. Nebraska: 10-6

SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: Nebraska leads, 30-22-3
In Lincoln: Nebraska leads, 15-8-1
As Big Ten Foes: Iowa leads, 10-4
Current Win Streak: Iowa, 2 games
Last Meeting: Iowa, 13-10, in 2024

BROADCAST INFO
TV – CBS (Rich Waltz, Ross Tucker, Tiffany Blackmon)
RADIO NETWORK – Kyle Crooks, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody
INTERNET AUDIO – Huskers.com
APP AUDIO – Official Huskers App

The Matchup
Nebraska completes its regular season against Iowa at Memorial Stadium with its traditional Black Friday rivalry matchup. The Pioneer Heroes Game will kick off shortly after 11 a.m. Central, with the game televised by CBS. The game can also be heard on the Huskers Radio Network, the official Huskers App and Huskers.com. 

Nebraska stands at 7-4 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten following a 37-10 loss at Penn State on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions dominated the first half, holding a 20-point halftime advantage and Nebraska was not able to get any closer after intermission. Running back Emmett Johnson continued to impress despite the setback, accounting for more than 150 yards from scrimmage for the third straight game. 

The Huskers head into the regular-season finale looking to increase their regular-season win total by two games after picking up six regular-season wins in 2024. A victory would give Nebraska its first eight-win regular season since 2016, and it would also be the Huskers' first victory over Iowa in Lincoln since 2011. 

Iowa comes to Lincoln with a 7-4 overall mark and a 5-3 Big Ten record following a last-second 20-17 victory over Michigan State on Saturday in Iowa City. Iowa once again boasts one of the nation's top defenses and an elite special teams unit. The Hawkeye defense allows 267.9 yards and 14.5 points per game to rank eighth in the nation in both categories. Iowa ranks first nationally in punt returns, averaging nearly 30 yards per return, and is 12th in the nation in kickoff returns. Iowa's offense is led by senior quarterback Mark Gronowksi who has accounted for 20 touchdowns this season, including seven passing scores and 13 rushing touchdowns. The Hawkeyes average nearly 175 rushing yards per contest.

Huskers-Hawkeyes History
Nebraska and Iowa are meeting for the 15th straight season as Big Ten opponents and for the 56th time overall. Nebraska owns a 30-22-3 edge in the all-time series between the schools, while the Hawkeyes own a 10-4 edge since Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference. 

• Iowa is the only opponent Nebraska has met in all 15 seasons as a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Hawkeyes are the only opponent the Huskers face on an annual basis in the 18-team conference. 

• The road team in the series has won nine of the last 13 meetings. 

• The past seven meetings have been decided by a total of 32 points. Iowa has a 6-1 record in those games, including last second-field goals in 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024. The Hawkeyes have kicked a game-winning field goal on the final play the last two seasons to win by identical 13-10 scores. 

• Nebraska rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to win in overtime at Iowa City in 2014, tying for the second-largest comeback in school history. It also marked Nebraska's last overtime win. 

• Prior to joining the Big Ten, Nebraska last met Iowa in 1999 and 2000, winning each of the contests. 

• Nebraska and Iowa met six times in non-conference play between 1979 and 2000, with the Huskers winning five of the six games. The Huskers were ranked in the top 10 in each of those six games.

Nebraska, Iowa to Battle for Heroes Trophy
Nebraska and Iowa will battle for the Heroes Trophy when they hit 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 aim to win the trophy on the field, Nebraska and Iowa wished to make their annual meeting about more than just a football game. The schools partnered to not only create a trophy, but to use their stage to honor a citizen hero from each state. In addition to the trophy claimed by the winner of the game, both an Iowa and Nebraska native will be honored for extraordinary acts. 

• Citizen heroes from both states were announced on Monday morning. Ashley De La Cruz-Martin of Columbus was chosen as Nebraska’s Hero and Jayce Koob selected as Iowa’s Hero. Both will be recognized on Friday at Memorial Stadium. A full release on the Heroes winners is posted on Huskers.com.

Big Red on Black Friday
Nebraska continues its long tradition of playing on the day after Thanksgiving. This Friday’s game with Iowa will mark the 36th consecutive season the Huskers have played on Black Friday. 

• Nebraska met Oklahoma in the final six seasons of the Big Eight Conference (1990 to 1995), then played Colorado in all 15 of the Huskers’ Big 12 Conference years (1996 to 2010), before taking on Iowa each of the 15 seasons it has been a Big Ten member, including this year. 

• Nebraska is 10-8 at Memorial Stadium in Black Friday games since 1990. 

• In addition to playing Iowa on Black Friday the past 14 seasons, Nebraska and Iowa also closed the regular season against each other nine times from 1892 to 1916.

Johnson Among National Leaders and Husker Greats
Junior running back Emmett Johnson has emerged as a contender for major national awards including the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award. The 5-11, 200-pounder is also in position to be Nebraska's first first-team All-America selection since 2011 and is a frontrunner for Big Ten Running Back of the Year. Johnson is one of 13 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award and one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award. 

The Minneapolis native continues to put together a season that puts him among the nation's best running backs and compares favorably with Husker greats. 

• Johnson is second in the nation with 1,582 yards from scrimmage, with 1,234 rushing yards and 348 receiving yards. He is one of only three backs among Power Four schools with at least 1,400 yards from scrimmage. His average of 143.8 yards per game from scrimmage is second nationally. 

• Johnson ranks first in the Big Ten and fourth nationally with 112.2 rushing yards per game. 

• Johnson is one of only four running backs in the country to eclipse the 1,200-yard rushing mark. His rushing yardage total is the most at Nebraska since Doak Walker Award finalist Ameer Abdullah rushed for 1,611 yards in 2014. It is the first time a Nebraska player has topped 1,000 yards in a season since Devine Ozigbo had 1,082 yards in 2018. 

• Johnson leads the nation by accounting for 37.9 percent of his team’s total yards in 2025. He is one of only two players in the country higher than 35 percent in that category. Among Power Conference players, Johnson is first with Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love second at 31.7 percent. 

• Johnson is the only player in the FBS with 1,200 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards. 

• Johnson's 44 receptions are the most in the nation by a running back and the second-most by a running back in Husker history. 

• Johnson is the first Big Ten player since 2017 to have 1,200 rushing yards and 40 receptions in the same season. Penn State’s Saquon Barkley and Northwestern's Justin Jackson both reached those milestones in 2017. 

• Johnson is tied for seventh nationally with 32 rushes of 10 yards or more. He has seven such runs as part of a career-high 175 yards at Maryland. 

• Johnson has seven 100-yard rushing games in 2025 (Cincinnati, Akron, Maryland, Northwestern, USC, UCLA, Penn State), including each of the past four games. His seven 100-yard rushing games are the most by a Husker since Abdullah also had seven in 2014. His four straight 100-yard rushing games is a first at Nebraska since Abdullah in 2013. 

• Johnson ranks ninth nationally with 14 total touchdowns (11 rushing, 3 receiving). He is one of only three players in FBS with at least 10 rushing TDs and three receiving scores. His touchdown total is the highest at Nebraska since Abdullah had 22 touchdowns in 2014. 

• Johnson surpassed the 2,000-yard career rushing mark against USC on Nov. 1. He has 2,243 career rushing yards to rank 24th in Nebraska history. 

• Johnson has three games with three touchdowns this season, including Akron, Michigan State and UCLA. He added a pair of two-TD games against Houston Christian and Northwestern.

• Johnson had a career-high 176 rushing yards in a 34-31 win at Maryland, including a career-long 50-yard run on a critical fourth-quarter scoring drive. His 196 yards from scrimmage against the Terps are his second-highest total of the season. 

• Johnson opened the year with back-to-back 100-yard games against Cincinnati (108) and Akron (140). In the Akron game, Johnson had 134 yards before half, including runs of 47 and 36 yards. 

• Johnson has the best two of the top five receptions seasons by Husker running backs in school history with 39 catches last year and 44 catches in 2025. His 44 catches and 348 receiving yards are the most by a Nebraska running back since Marlon Lucky in 2007. 

• Johnson has 90 career receptions for second place in NU history among running backs, trailing only Lucky's 135 career catches. Johnson has 680 career receiving yards, and is the seventh running back in school history with 500 career receiving yards.

This Week’s Numbers
1 – Running back Emmett Johnson is the first Big Ten player to have 1,200 rushing yards and 40 receptions in a season since 2017. Penn State's Saquon Barkley and Northwestern's Justin Jackson both reached those milestones in 2017.

19 – Before kickoff on Friday, Nebraska will honor 19 seniors playing their final game in Memorial Stadium. The group includes a seventh-year senior, three sixth-year seniors and 11 fifth-year seniors. Eight of the players spent their entire career at Nebraska.

36 - Friday's game marks the 36th consecutive season Nebraska has played on Black Friday, including 15 consecutive matchups with Iowa on the Day after Thanksgiving. The Huskers own a 20-15 record on Black Friday since 1990.