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The Iowa Hawkeyes are one win away from a return trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game. Despite starting the season 3-4 and putting the fanbase on edge, the Hawkeyes are now just a matchup against the Nebraska Cornhuskers away from a second straight Big Ten West division title.
It’s been a wild ride for the 2022 season and it’s remarkable the regular season is already set to come to a close. But before it does, the Hawkeyes have one challenge remaining.
That challenge, while overcome for seven straight years, has been a difficult one in the last few meetings. Despite Iowa scoring 26 or more points in every matchup with the Cornhuskers over the last decade, the last four meetings have been decided by less than a touchdown.
The Hawkeyes have managed 26 points just three times this season while averaging a miserable 17.5 points per game on the year. But the defense has remained tremendous and the Cornhusker defense might be just what the doctor ordered.
Despite Iowa’s struggles with the ball in their possession, the Hawkeyes are averaging a more palatable 24 points per game against defenses that rank outside the top-10 nationally. The Huskers rank 108th. More importantly, they’re giving up almost 200 yards per game on the ground. For Iowa, which is expected to be without leading target, tight end Sam LaPorta, getting the ground game going will be paramount today.
However, the Cornhuskers have looked improved defensively over the last few weeks and gave up only 15 points to the Wisconsin Badgers a week ago. Despite losing five in a row, interim head coach Mickey Joseph will certainly have his team fired up looking to close out the season with a big time win in a rivalry game.
Here’s another look at the details for today’s matchup:
Date: Friday, November 25th
Time: 3:00 pm CT
Matchup: Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-8, 2-6) at Iowa Hawkeyes (7-4, 5-3)
Location: Kinnick Stadium - Iowa City, IA
TV: BTN
Preliminary Weather Forecast: mostly sunny with temps in the low-50s, 5% chance of precipitation with 5mph winds out of the W
DraftKings Sportsbook Line: Iowa -10.5, O/U 38.5
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
Game Prep
If you’re looking for a refresher on the details of today’s game, be sure to check out our coverage from throughout the week, starting with the Game Center.
Opponent Insight: The Butcher’s Word
Game Preview: Iowa vs Nebraska Preview
Staff Predictions: The Pants Predicts Iowa vs Nebraska
If you’re on the go and would rather listen to Hawkeye talk, be sure to check out the BHGP podcast feed. There are three new episodes up this week already with more to come today. You can find those wherever you get your podcasts, or by clicking below.
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
Stitcher
RSS Feed
**NEW this year: we’ll also be hosting Twitter Spaces before and after the game. Be sure to tune in to @BHGP to get live, up to date news and analysis on things like injuries, warmup reports and more starting at 8am CT. We’ll hop back on live after the final gun to do the victory polka or wallow in our sorrows with you all.**
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