Game Notes: Iowa vs. Nebraska

1st and 10

1: Iowa has won its last three games, outscoring its opponents 125-35 and averaging 41.6 points per game during the winning streak. The Hawkeyes points per game is the highest three-game stretch since 2002, when they scored 127 points (42.3 ppg) in consecutive wins against Wisconsin (20-3), Northwestern (62-10) and Minnesota (45-21).

2: Iowa and Nebraska are playing “The Heroes Game” Friday, with the winner claiming the Heroes Trophy. The trophy game between the Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers was established in 2011. Since its inception, Iowa leads the series, 6-3.

3: The Hawkeyes are 17-4 in their last 21 rivalry trophy games (Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin). Iowa has won five straight against Nebraska and six of the last seven meetings. The Hawkeyes have outscored the Huskers 154-76 in the last four meetings.

4: RB Tyler Goodson leads the Hawkeyes and ranks second in the Big Ten with 453 rushing yards. Goodson has started the last nine games at running back and has 10 rushing touchdowns during that stretch. He leads Iowa in rushing attempts (83), rushing yards (453) and is tied with RB Mekhi Sargent with six rushing touchdowns. Iowa ranks second in the Big Ten with 15 rushing touchdowns.

5: The Hawkeyes rank third in the Big Ten with 10 interceptions (Indiana 13; Northwestern 11). Iowa has 63 interceptions since 2017, the most by any team in the country. The Hawkeyes have at least one interception in 12 straight games. They have 18 total interceptions during that stretch.

6: WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette is the top kickoff returner in Big Ten history. Smith-Marsette averages 29.3 yards on 50 career kickoff returns. He returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to give Iowa a 24-10 lead at the half at Nebraska in 2019.

7: DT Daviyon Nixon leads an Iowa defensive front that includes three players ranked in the top five in tackles for loss. Nixon ranks second in the Big Ten with 8.5 tackles for loss.  DE Zach VanValkenburg is tied for third in the conference with 6.5 tackles for loss, and DE Chauncey Golston ranks fifth with 6.0 tackles for loss.  Iowa ranks No. 3 in the conference in scoring defense (16.0), pass defense (217.2) and total defense (319.8).

8: Tory Taylor ranks second the Big Ten and 13th in the country averaging 45.5 yards per punt. The freshman has downed 14 of his 25 punts inside the 20. He has eight punts of 50-plus yards, with a career-high 61 yard punt Week 3 vs. Michigan State. Iowa ranks seventh nationally in net punting (44.5).

9: Keith Duncan is Iowa’s all-time career leader in field goal percentage (81.5). He has made 44-of-54 career field goal attempts. He is 19-of-19 in his career inside 30 yards, and has made 55 consecutive PATs. He connected on a 48-yard field goal to give Iowa a 27-24 lead with one second left at Nebraska in 2019.

10: LB Nick Niemann leads the Hawkeyes and ranks second in the Big Ten with 49 tackles. He recorded a career-best 17 tackles Week 5 at Penn State, the most by a Hawkeye since LB Anthony Hitchens made 19 stops against Iowa State in 2012. Niemann has 18 career starts, the same total as Iowa’s five other linebackers combined (Belton 9, Benson, 4, Wade 3, Campbell 1, Jacobs 1).

WARMING UP THE ARM
Iowa has won its last three games, outscoring its opponents 125-35 and averaging 41.6 points per game during the winning streak. The Hawkeyes points per game during their three-game winning streak is the most over a three-game stretch since 2002, when they scored 127 points (42.3 ppg) in wins against Wisconsin (20-3), Northwestern 62-10) and Minnesota (45-21).

QB Spencer Petras is 42-73 (57.5) with 464 passing yards (154.7 ypg) during the three-game winning streak. He has thrown two touchdowns and one interception over the last three games. Petras has 162 pass attempts through five weeks, the third most by any Big Ten quarterback. He entered the season with 11 career pass attempts.
The Hawkeyes are averaging 33.0 points per game this season, their highest total since 2002 (36.5).

Petras threw for 481 yards in Weeks 1-2, the most by an Iowa quarterback since Jake Rudock passed for 572 yards in the first two games of 2014. His 265 passing yards Week 1 were the most by a Hawkeye quarterback making his first career start since Jon Beutjer in 2000 (380 yards). Petras was the fifth Hawkeye quarterback under Ferentz to make his first career start on opening day. He led the Iowa offense to 460 total yards, its highest total in a Big Ten game since 2018 against Indiana (479).

Petras threw 50 times Week 2 in his Kinnick Stadium debut. The last Iowa quarterback to throw the ball 50 or more times in a game was Jack Rudock, who attempted 56 passes against Maryland in 2014.
Petras has three career passing touchdowns. He connected with WR Brandon Smith for his first career touchdown (7 yards) Week 2 against Northwestern, and hit Smith again for a 14-yard scoring strike Week 3 vs. Michigan. Ihmir Smith-Marsette caught the third touchdown, an eight-yard score at Minnesota.

GOODSON LEADS GROUND GAME
RB Tyler Goodson leads the Hawkeyes and ranks second in the Big Ten with 453 rushing yards. Goodson has started the last nine games at running back and has 10 rushing touchdowns during that stretch. He has two multi-touchdown games this season. He had two rushing touchdowns (3, 9) Week 3 vs. Michigan State, and two more Week 4 at Minnesota (7, 1). He also has two 100-yard rushing performances. Goodson rushed for 113 yards against the Spartans and a career-high 142 yards against the Gophers. Goodson leads Iowa in rushing attempts (83), rushing yards (453) and is tied with RB Mekhi Sargent with six rushing touchdowns (15, 3, 9, 7, 1, 10).

Iowa ranks second in the Big Ten with 15 rushing touchdowns. Goodson and Sargent (1, 2, 6, 14, 1, 1) each have six rushing scores, tied for second in the Big Ten. QB Spencer Petras (1, 3) has two rushing touchdowns and and WR Nico Ragaini (1) has one.

Goodson started the final four games of 2020 and became the first true freshman in program history to lead the team in single-season rushing yards (638). The last redshirt freshman to lead Iowa in single-season rushing yards was Ladell Betts in 1998 (679 yards). Goodson led the team with five rushing touchdowns (1, 10, 2, 55, 1), and had 24 receptions for 166 yards. His 158 combined touches led the team.
In Iowa’s 23-19 win against No. 7 Minnesota in 2019, Goodson became the first true freshman to start at running back under Ferentz since 2012 (Greg Garmon).

SARGENT HITS PAY DIRT
RB Mekhi Sargent is tied for second in the Big Ten with six rushing touchdowns (15, 3, 9, 7, 1, 10). He rushed for two 1-yard scores Nov. 21 at Penn State, raising his career touchdown total to 20 (19 rush, 1 receiving). He is the 17th player in program history to score 20 or more career touchdowns. With one more rushing touchdown, he will become the 11th player in school history to have 20 rushing touchdowns.
Sargent rushed 15 times for 101 yards against Penn State, his first 100-yard rushing game of the season and the third of his career. He has 1,617 career rushing yards, 24th all-time in program history.

LAPORTA LEADS ALL PASS CATCHERS
TE Sam LaPorta leads Iowa in receptions (17) and is tied for the team lead in receiving yards (165). Only two times since 1992 has a tight end led Iowa in season receiving yards. Alan Cross in 1992 (55-640) and T.J. Hockenson in 2018 (49-760).

Iowa wide receivers account for 51 of the team’s 91 receptions. WR Nico Ragaini, WR Brandon Smith, WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette and WR Tyrone Tracy combine for 51 receptions and 557 receiving yards. The receivers have all three of Iowa’s touchdowns receptions (Smith 7, 14; Smith-Marsette 8).

THAT’S NOT A PUNT, THIS IS A PUNT
Melbourne, Australia, native Tory Taylor ranks second the Big Ten and 13th in the country averaging 45.5 yards per punt. The freshman has downed 14 of his 25 punts inside the 20. He has eight punts of 50-plus yards, with a career-high 61 yard punt Week 3 vs. Michigan State. Only four of Taylor’s 25 punts have been returned (24 yards). Iowa is seventh nationally in net punting (44.5).

THE SERIES
Nebraska holds a 29-18-3 advantage in the series that began with a 22-0 Iowa victory in 1891. Iowa has won five straight and six of the last seven meetings. The Hawkeyes have outscored the Huskers 154-76 in the last four meetings. The 56 points scored by the Hawkeyes in 2017 were the most in the series’ 48-game history.
The Hawkeyes have won the last two meetings in Iowa City. Nebraska’s last win at Kinnick Stadium was a 37-34 overtime victory in 2014. The Huskers are 10-8 against the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
The 1999 Iowa-Nebraska game in Kinnick Stadium marked Coach Kirk Ferentz’s first game as Iowa’s head coach.
The first 10 games in the series were played in either Omaha (eight games) or Council Bluffs (two games). The series was even at 4-4-2 in those 10 meetings.

THE LAST MEETING – HEAD COACH KIRK FERENTZ
Iowa’s 27-24 win over Nebraska on Nov. 29, 2019, was Kirk Ferentz’s 97th Big Ten Conference victory, passing Hayden Fry (96) for fourth all-time in conference history.

THE LAST MEETING – K KEITH DUNCAN
K Keith Duncan connected on a 48-yard field goal with one second remaining to break a 24-24 tie and give Iowa a 27-24 win over Nebraska on Nov. 29, 2019. It was Duncan’s second of two field goals made on the day (49, 48). His 49-yard field goal was and is a career-long. Duncan’s game-winning field goal was the third fourth-quarter winning field goal of his career. He kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to defeat Michigan in 2016, and made a 39-yard field goal with 4:51 left in the fourth quarter to defeat Iowa State, 18-17, in 2019.

THE LAST MEETING – WR IHMIR SMITH-MARSETTE
WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette rushed for a 45-yard first-quarter touchdown to give Iowa a 7-0 lead over the Huskers on Nov. 29, 2019. The rush was a career long. Smith-Marsette later returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to give Iowa a 24-10 lead at the half. It was the first kickoff returned for a touchdown by the Hawkeyes since Jordan Cotton returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown against Penn State in 2012.

THE LAST MEETING – RB TYLER GOODSON
RB Tyler Goodson rushed 13 times for a career-high 116 yards and a touchdown against the Huskers on Nov. 29, 2019. It was Goodson’s first career 100-yard game. His 55-yard touchdown rush in the first quarter was the longest of his career and the longest rushing touchdown by Iowa in 2019.

BATTLE FOR HEROES TROPHY
Iowa and Nebraska are playing “The Heroes Game” Friday, with the winner claiming the Heroes Trophy. The trophy game between the Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers was established in 2011. Since its inception, Iowa leads the series, 6-3. Iowa gained possession of the trophy for the first time with a 38-17 win at Nebraska in 2013. The Hawkeyes reclaimed it in 2015 with a 28-20 win in Lincoln, their first of five straight wins in the series.

BLACK FRIDAY
Iowa and Nebraska meet on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, for the 10th consecutive season. The schools have played on Black Friday every year since Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011. That streak was originally scheduled to end 2020. The Big Ten Conference announced in 2017 that the teams will move off of their Black Friday date in 2020 and 2021. The 2020 schedule was twice altered due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Iowa is scheduled to close the 2021 season against Wisconsin, while Nebraska will close the regular season against Minnesota.

RETURN TO SENDER
Iowa has two of the country’s top returners. Junior Charlie Jones leads the Big Ten and ranks 11th in the country averaging 11.9 yards per punt return. He has one punt return for a touchdown (54 yards vs. Michigan State). Senior WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette averages 24.6 yards per kickoff return in 2020, No. 2 in the Big Ten and 23rd in the country.
Smith-Marsette is the top kickoff returner in Big Ten history. Smith-Marsette averages 29.3 yards on 50 career kickoff returns. Smith-Marsette has 1,467 kickoff return yards, fourth all-time in program history (Douthitt 1,762; Johnson-Koulianos 1,575; Hill 1,509).

Smith-Marsette has 1,399 career receiving yards, 25th all-time in program history. He has 3,104 all-purpose yards, 15th all-time. He had his first receiving touchdown of the season (8 yards) at Minnesota).
In 2019, Smith-Marsette became the first player in school history to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in the same season. He did it in consecutive games to end the season. He had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Nebraska, tying for the 10th longest in school history, and a 98-yard return against USC at the Holiday Bowl, the seventh longest in school history, an Iowa bowl record, and tying a Holiday Bowl record.

Smith-Marsette had a team-high 10 touchdowns in 2019; five receiving, three rushing, and two kickoff returns.
Smith-Marsette scored three touchdowns at the 2019 Holiday Bowl (all in the first half), tying Shonn Greene’s Iowa bowl record. He is the second Hawkeye in program history to score a touchdown via rush, reception, and kickoff return, in a single game (George Rice, vs. Purdue in 1951). He is the first college player since 1998 (Deuce McAllister, Independence Bowl) to score a touchdown via rush, reception, kickoff return in a bowl game.

DUNCAN GETTING HIS KICKS
Senior K Keith Duncan is Iowa’s all-time career leader in field goal percentage (81.5). He has made 44-of-54 career field goal attempts. He is 19-of-19 in his career inside 30 yards, and has made 55 consecutive PATs.
Duncan has 221 career points, sixth most in program history. Duncan led the country with a Big Ten single-season record 29 field goals made in 2019, and was a consensus first-team All-American, the 26th in program history. Duncan was named the Bakken-Anderson Kicker of the Year in the Big Ten Conference in 2019, and was one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award.

Duncan has two game-winning field goals in his career. He kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to defeat No. 2 Michigan, 14-13, at home in 2016. He connected on a 48-yard attempt to give Iowa a 27-24 lead with one second left at Nebraska in 2019.

D-LINE EMERGES AMONG BIG TEN’S BEST
Junior DT Daviyon Nixon leads an Iowa defensive front that includes three players ranked in the top five in tackles for loss. Nixon ranks second in the Big Ten with 8.5 tackles for loss. DE Zach VanValkenburg is tied for third in the conference with 6.5 tackles for loss, and DE Chauncey Golston ranks fifth with 6.0 tackles for loss.

Iowa ranks No. 3 in the conference in scoring defense (16.0), pass defense (217.2) and total defense (319.8). The Hawkeyes are also ranked fourth in rush defense (102.6).
Nixon’s 6.0 sacks tie for No. 2 in the Big Ten. He set career highs in tackles in Week 1 and Week 2. He registered seven stops in the season opener at Purdue, and bested that with 11 tackles in the home opener against Northwestern. He recorded his first career interception Week 5 at Penn State, returning in 71 yards for a touchdown. It was his first touchdown scored at any level in his playing career. The 71-yard return ties for the 14th longest interception return in program history.

VanValkenburg had a career-high three sacks Week 4 at Minnesota, the most by a Hawkeye since A.J. Epenesa had 4.5 against Nebraska in 2019. He has three fumble recoveries this season, tied for second in the country. His 3.5 sacks tie for fifth in the Big Ten. Golston has 3.0 sacks, tied for seventh in the Big Ten. He is the lone returning frontline starter on a defense that ranked in the top 20 in scoring, rushing, passing, and total defense in 2019. He intercepted a pass at Penn State, his third career interception. Nixon had one career start and 13 games played entering 2020. His career totals included 39 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, and three sacks. He is one of three new starters on Iowa’s defensive line.

BIG NIEMANN ON CAMPUS
Senior LB Nick Niemann leads the Hawkeyes and ranks second in the Big Ten with 49 tackles. He entered the season with 80 career tackles, including a season-high 43 as a sophomore in 2018. He recorded a career-best 17 tackles Week 5 at Penn State, the most by a Hawkeye since LB Anthony Hitchens made 19 stops against Iowa State in 2012. Niemann is the third Hawkeye this season to register 13 or more tackles in a single game (FS Jack Koerner 13 vs. Purdue; LB Seth Benson 13 vs. Northwestern). Niemann has 18 career starts, the same total as Iowa’s five other linebackers combined (Belton 9, Benson, 4, Wade 3, Campbell 1, Jacobs 1).

BENSON STARTS AND FINISHES
Sophomore LB Seth Benson made his first four career starts Weeks 2-5. He was Iowa’s leading tackler in weeks 2-3 and tied for the team lead in Week 4. He recorded a career-high 13 tackles in his first career start Week 2 against Northwestern. It was Benson’s first appearance of the season after missing the opener with an injury. He had a team-high eight tackles Week 3 vs. Michigan State, and tied for the team lead with seven stops at Minnesota. His 36 tackles rank second on the team. Benson appeared in all 13 games as a redshirt freshman in 2019, and saw limited action in three games as a true freshman in 2018. He entered his first career start with 11 career tackles.

GOING THE OTHER WAY
The Hawkeyes rank third in the Big Ten with 10 interceptions (Indiana 13; Northwestern 11). Iowa has 63 interceptions since 2017, the most by any team in the country.
The Hawkeyes have at least one interception in 12 straight games. They have 18 total interceptions during that stretch. Iowa intercepted two passes in the season opener, one in Week 2, three in Week 3, two in Week 4, and two in Week 5. The last time Iowa had a stretch of at least 12 games with an interception was 2008, when the Hawkeyes intercepted a pass in each of the 13 games.
FS Jack Koerner is tied for second in the Big Ten lead with three interceptions. LB Barrington Wade and DB Riley Moss each have two interceptions. DE Chauncey Golston, DB Matt Hankins and DL Daviyon Nixon each have one. Moss returned his interception 54 yards Week 3 against Michigan State to extend the Hawkeyes’ streak of consecutive seasons with a pick-six to 13. Iowa has had at least one interception returned for a touchdown in 18 of the last 20 seasons. Nixon returned his interception 71 yards for a pick six Week 5, the 14th longest interception return in program history.

FERENTZ AMONG BIG TEN’S BEST
Head coach Kirk Ferentz has 100 Big Ten wins as Iowa’s head coach, the fourth most of any coach in Big Ten Conference history. The Hawkeyes defeated Penn State, 41-21, on Nov. 21, 2020, to earn Ferentz’s 100th conference win. Ferentz’s 165 wins in all games coached as a member of the Big Ten Conference rank fourth all-time in league history. He is one of five coaches in Big Ten Conference history to win at least 150 games as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The top five includes Woody Hayes (202), Amos Alonzo Stagg (199), Bo Schembechler (194), Ferentz (165) and Joe Paterno (162).

Ferentz (165-103) became Iowa’s all-time winningest coach on Sept. 1, 2018. The Hawkeyes defeated Northern Illinois, 33-7. It was Ferentz’s 144th win as Iowa’s head coach, one more than his predecessor, Hayden Fry (143-89-6). Fry coached Iowa for 20 years (1979-98). Ferentz is in his 22nd season in 2020. Both Ferentz (165,100) and Fry (143, 96) rank in the top five in overall wins and Big Ten wins. Only Iowa and Michigan have two coaches ranked in the top 10 of both win categories (Bo Schembechler 194, 143; and Lloyd Carr 122, 81).Iowa is the only school in the country to have just two head football coaches since 1979.

HAWK TALK WITH KIRK FERENTZ
Head Coach Kirk Ferentz is featured on “Hawk Talk with Kirk Ferentz” each week during the regular season. This year’s show will be held virtually and streamed live from 6:30-8 p.m. (CT) on the Hawkeye Radio Network, KCRG 9.2 and the Hawkeye Radio Network YouTube channel.