“If you watch our team and you like football and you like camaraderie and teammate, that’s what I like watching”, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Football’s not gymnastics. There are style points in gymnastics”.
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One year after blowing a 17-point, second-half lead to the Huskers in Iowa City and falling 37-34 in overtime, Iowa simply looked more polished and disciplined than its western neighbors.
Everyone who had Iowa penciled in at 12-0 before kickoff of the 2015 college football season, raise your hands. Then it was off to the corner to salute their fans before heading to the locker room. He’ll have to make plays in an amped-up Memorial Stadium against a motivated defense for Iowa to win.
If Iowa wins next week in Indianapolis to secure its first outright Big Ten title since 1985, the Hawkeyes would receive a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinal round on New Year’s Eve. Most stats in the game favored the Huskers, doubled Iowa’s 11 first downs with 22 and holding the Hawkeyes without a conversion on third down in the entire game. We wanted to be a Big Ten championship caliber team.
The biggest touchdown of Hesse’s collegiate career came Friday when he picked off a Tommy Armstrong screen pass and rumbled four yards for a touchdown.
The Hawkeyes (12-0, 8-0, No. 4 CFP) were far from dominant but good enough against the sloppy Cornhuskers (5-7, 3-5) on a raw afternoon. “When I was a freshman, they were 9-0 for the first time and it was nuts”. These teams have arguably just as good of defenses as the Hawkeyes, but also have some better weapons on the outside for QBs Connor Cook (MSU) and DeShone Kizer (ND) to work with.
The Huskers finished with 433 total yards, but Armstrong’s four interceptions were killers.
Iowa running back Jordan Canzeri (33) is tackled by Nebraska linebacker Dedrick Young (5) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. The ball went right over the top of me.
(At) Central Michigan 35, Eastern Michigan 28: Romello Ross scored four touchdowns for Central (7-5, 6-2). Nebraska came right back to tie the game a few minutes later when Imani Cross scored on a 4-yard touchdown run. Belief and confidence suddenly aren’t problems for the Huskers, who will be playing before the most amped-up crowd you’ve ever seen for a 5-6 team. The junior quarterback has thrown for 2,257 yards with 13 touchdowns to three interceptions. The two squads will play for the Hy-vee Heroes Trophy for the fifth consecutive year and Nebraska holds a 3-1 edge in those games. The Cornhuskers still might make a bowl game because there probably won’t be enough teams with six or more wins to fill the 80 bowl slots available this season. Only the bowl matchups affected by Navy would have been delayed, and it would have had a trickle-down effect to other teams and even smaller bowls that would have to wait to set their pairings.
South Alabama has two games left on its schedule, taking on Georgia Southern on November 28 and Appalachian State (8-2) on December 5.
The game turned when Toledo’s Alonzo Russell fumbled a punt to set up Davis’ second touchdown, a 30-yard catch from Zach Terrell with 1:07 to play in the first half that gave the Broncos a 25-21 lead.
Cougars quarterback Luke Falk missed the game with a concussion and was replaced by Peyton Bender. Alonzo Moore (Rec, 44 yards) and Jordan Westerkamp (3 rec, 32 yards) were the recipients of Armstrong Jr.’s other two touchdown passes.
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Canzeri finished with 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17 carries, while Beathard completed just nine passes for 97 yards and a touchdown. Northern beat both Toledo and Western and will face Bowling Green on December 4.
