I know people occasionally accuse me of being an Iowa homer on this board, which I most assuredly am not, but the only reason I get those accusations is because people aren't fair or rational in their assessments of Iowa's programs.
Since 2001...
Number of 11+ win seasons:
Iowa - 3
Nebraska - 0
Number of top 10 finishes:
Iowa - 4
Nebraska - 0
Number of conference championships (yes, we are all aware that these were obtained differently than the Big XII):
Iowa - 2
Nebraska - 0
Number of major bowl appearances:
Iowa - 3
Nebraska - 0
Their program operates quite differently than ours in the sense of having common 4-7 win seasons, but also has seasons sprinkled in that are better than anything we've accomplished in 15 years.
And we still have a better overall record than them during that same time span. But congratulations to Iowa: in their best ever era and our mediocrity since the dynasty years, they've managed to "almost" win as often as us. Quite an accomplishment for a program whose "tradition" is primarily based on moral victories and never winning anything at all of significance.
We can talk about the past, and Nebraska would win that discussion handily. We can talk about the present, and even if they manage to beat our 2nd or 3rd string quarterback tomorrow or our gimpy starter, they'll still have an awe inspiring (for them) 8 wins...which is only 1 win less than Nebraska (with a loss at home to an FCS team to boot). Past or present, Iowa football is inferior.
Little brother Iowa: always trying to compare themselves to the big boys, and always coming up just short. I'd talk about how their stirring Orange Bowl victory over Georgia Tech 7 years ago (the only major bowl win they've had in about 50 years) was the stuff of legends, but I wouldn't want to live in the past like their fans clearly do.