Iowa Hawkeyes have one more opportunity to cap off their season as the final week of the 2025 college football regular season approaches. Iowa, which is currently 7-4 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten play, has a chance to win an eighth game and enter the bowl season feeling much better about how the campaign went. Naturally, it takes place against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, a well-known Black Friday rival.
In the most recent Heroes Game, which is always intense, physically demanding, and nearly always close, Iowa will travel to Lincoln to play Nebraska. The Hawkeyes have changed the course of the last ten years, but the Cornhuskers still have a 30-22-3 series advantage. In the last ten meetings, Iowa has prevailed nine times, with eight of those wins coming by a single point. This rivalry’s defining feature is that the game always gets tighter, regardless of how each team is playing.
Fans on both teams are attempting to decide where to watch and how to follow Friday’s match as kickoff approaches. As usual, the matchup itself is full of intrigue. As part of CBS’s Week 14 college football schedule, Iowa vs. Nebraska will be televised nationally. Ross Tucker will provide analysis, and Rich Waltz will do play-by-play from the Memorial Stadium booth. From the sidelines, Tiffany Blackmon will provide fans with updates, injury reports, and all the little details that make rivalry games seem more significant than your average November game. The game will begin at 11 a.m. CT on Friday, November 28, which is the well-known early start time that has come to be associated with Iowa vs. Nebraska on Black Friday.
But there’s more to analyze before this game than just the broadcast specifics. This rivalry has a very real psychological component. Nebraska’s inability to win close games has contributed to Iowa’s dominance over the last ten years. This game has frequently gone Iowa’s way due to turnovers, late-game errors, dubious choices, or just plain bad luck. Iowa has frequently been the one celebrating the victory at the end, even when Nebraska has been the superior statistical team.
Penn State’s run game, which amassed 231 yards at six yards per carry, crushed the Huskers going into this game. Sadly, Nebraska’s greatest vulnerability is directly impacted by that. This season, the Huskers are giving up 168 rushing yards per game at almost five yards per carry, which perfectly fits Iowa’s preferred style. With an average of 175 rushing yards per game, the Hawkeyes enjoy running the ball and do it well. Nebraska may find itself behind Iowa from the first quarter if Iowa takes control of the trenches early.
However, Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker and Nebraska quarterback TJ Lateef may have the most significant chess match. Parker has a well-deserved reputation for making young quarterbacks’ lives miserable, and now he gets to unleash an Iowa defense that has been playing at a top level. Although he went 13-of-15 for 205 yards and three touchdowns against UCLA, Lateef’s performance suffered against more formidable opponents. He went 21-of-37 for 187 yards against Penn State last week, demonstrating how quickly things can tighten when the windows get smaller and the defenses get faster.
Iowa’s goal is to stop the run early, put Lateef in clear passing situations, and give Parker’s defense the opportunity to conceal coverages, apply more pressure, and force errors. In the meantime, Nebraska must sustain the run game long enough to prevent Lateef from being overburdened. Their backs are getting 4.0 yards per carry on average, which is good but not the kind of output that usually breaks Iowa’s front.
All signs point to another one-possession, hard-hitting, low-scoring game—exactly what this rivalry has produced for so many years. And as usual, the forecast favors Iowa once more. Another close Iowa victory is suggested by the Hawkeyes’ dependability on defense, their advantage in the run game, and Nebraska’s lack of consistency late in games. Here is the call: Nebraska 13, Iowa 20.
