Nebraska Preview: Cornhuskers Host Iowa
The atmosphere surrounding Friday's (November 24) Hy-Vee Heroes Game in Lincoln will be one of uncertainty as Nebraska hosts Iowa to end the 2017 regular season.
It will likely be Cornhusker head coach Mike Riley's final game leading the program. He's expected to be relieved of his duties shortly after the conclusion of what has been a very disappointing season.
But the biggest question marks will come on the field Friday.
Both Nebraska and Iowa are having uncharacteristic seasons. They are two of the three worst running teams in the Big Ten with two of the three worst red zone offenses in the conference.
While the Huskers struggles have been an ongoing theme throughout 2017, the Hawkeyes journey has been puzzling at best.
Three weeks ago, Iowa not only knocked off then-number-three Ohio State, but they hung 55 points on the Buckeyes.
Since then, the Iowa offense has been virtually non-existent, putting up a combined 29 points in losses to Wisconsin and Purdue. In fact, the Hawkeyes have managed 17 or fewer points in five of their last seven games.
Quarterback Nate Stanley is having a nice season with 23 touchdowns to go against just six interceptions, while running back Akrum Wadley (78 yards per game) and wide receiver Nick Easley (46 catches) are both seventh in the Big Ten at their positions.
Defensively, Linebacker Josey Jewell leads the league in tackles, while Josh Jackson has seven interceptions for a secondary that leads the conference with 16 picks.
Kickoff is 3:00 PM, Friday in Lincoln. You can listen live on ESPN 99.1.
The road team has won four of the last six meetings in this series.
At Penn State last Saturday (November 18), the Huskers grabbed an early 10-7 lead, but gave up five straight Nittany Lion touchdown drives to trail 42-10 at halftime.
Nebraska did make it respectable with five second half touchdowns, but allowed 50-plus points for the second straight week in the 56-44 loss.
In all, Penn State amassed 609 yards of total offense.
I talked with the 'Voice of the Huskers', Greg Sharpe, about the Penn State loss and the match-up with the Hawkeyes: