LandOf10: Iowa-Nebraska series sizzling toward rivalry status

[Saunders]

Iowa-Nebraska boiling over
When Nebraska accepted an invitation to join the Big Ten beginning with the 2011 sports season, there’s was hope from the league office the Cornhuskers could develop an all-sports rivalry with Iowa.

The teams were placed in the same football division and Big Ten officials scheduled their game for the regular-season finale, which then was moved to Black Friday. The first installment in Lincoln went over like flat champagne. But it recent years the series has simmered to a boil.

Neither side is ready to call it a rivalry, but the friction from not doing so has chafed both sides raw. Nebraska fans are loathe to consider it a rivalry because many don’t consider Iowa worthy of that status. Historically, Nebraska ranks among college football’s elite programs with five national titles. Iowa has a share of one — back in 1958.

But unlike many of Nebraska’s old Big Eight foes, Iowa fans won’t accept the arrogance with a smile. The Hawkeyes have long-standing rivalries with Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa State. So if Nebraska thinks it’s too good to be Iowa’s rival, then Iowa has no interest in kissing the ring to make it so.

In effect, this series is about to boil over.

More Iowa-Nebraska

When trying to contrast the programs, among the most difficult issues is where to position the figurative goal posts. If you include Nebraska’s three national titles in the 1990s (which was a great decade for those of us who experienced it), then just forget any kind of comparison. But is Nebraska’s 1990s success relevant to a 2017 comparison with Iowa?

Likewise, if Iowa cherry-picks the data from 2002 onward, it’s mostly in the Hawkeyes’ favor. So the best way to compare the schools is to begin in 2011, especially now with six years of data. To do so is to agree Nebraska has a rich tradition, and the 2000s were kind to Iowa.

Since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, the Cornhuskers are 52-27 overall and 31-18 in Big Ten play. Iowa is 46-32 overall and 29-20 in the league. Both have won one divisional title and suffered one losing season. Nebraska finished its first two Big Ten seasons ranked in the top 25 (24th, 25th). Iowa finished the 2015 season ranked ninth.



The teams have split their six meetings, but Iowa has outscored Nebraska 154-117. That disparity came from the Hawkeyes’ 40-10 thrashing last November.

If we go back to 2000, Nebraska has eight top-25 finishes and Iowa has six. The Cornhuskers have two top-10 finishes (but none since 2001) and the Hawkeyes have five (but none before 2002). Iowa participated in 14 bowls (it had a 6-6 season in 2007 but didn’t compete in the postseason), while Nebraska has played in 15 (counting its 5-7 season in 2015). The Huskers own a 146-75 record since 2000, while the Hawks are 134-82.

So where does it go from here? We’ll find out this fall when they battle for the Heroes Trophy on Nov. 24 in Lincoln.

https://www.landof10.com/iowa/iowa-nebraska-series-sizzling-toward-rivalry-status-midfield-logo-addition-necessary

 

[Hilltop]

I think the biggest reason this rivalry has trouble gaining steam is the timing of the game. The game just hasn't had much meaning on many occasions because the division has been decided before this point by Wisconsin. If the west title was on the line, a lot more emotion would be involved.

 

[knapplc]

I'd be happy never playing Iowa again, if it meant the end of that god-awful corporate monstrosity of a trophy and any talk of a "rivalry" that has been crammed down our throats.

Those of us who don't live near Iowa don't give a rat's a$$ about Iowa, their fans, any "rivalry," none of it.

This is fueled by the few people who live near each other, the Big Ten who wants to incorporate Nebraska into their tradition of rivalries, and the media who love to have something to talk about in the middle of a long offseason.

Screw Iowa, screw rivalries, and screw corporate-sponsored artificiality. Let the game grow and become something. Don't force it.

 

[Saunders]

Honestly, I don't think the fans care about the trophy, at all. But, you can be sure that the fans care about beating Iowa. And I don't think you can discount it when Eichorst made it a measuring stick.

 

[StPaulHusker]

I'd be happy never playing Iowa again, if it meant the end of that god-awful corporate monstrosity of a trophy and any talk of a "rivalry" that has been crammed down our throats.

Those of us who don't live near Iowa don't give a rat's a$$ about Iowa, their fans, any "rivalry," none of it.

This is fueled by the few people who live near each other, the Big Ten who wants to incorporate Nebraska into their tradition of rivalries, and the media who love to have something to talk about in the middle of a long offseason.

Screw Iowa, screw rivalries, and screw corporate-sponsored artificiality. Let the game grow and become something. Don't force it.

This is exactly what I would expect someone to say about a team that has been kicking our a$$ in just about everything the last couple of years.

 

[knapplc]

I said it before we played our first game in the Big Ten, and I've said it every year since. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[junior4949]

As more and more time goes by, I see this game with Iowa becoming very similar to when we played CU. CU was never really a rivalry. They had our number in the late 80's to early 90's, but in all reality that was about it. Our record against CU over the past five decades was 40-8-1. I really don't consider this much of a rivalry. Unless we continue upon our mediocre ways, I don't see our record against Iowa differing much than it was against CU.

 

[StPaulHusker]

I said it before we played our first game in the Big Ten, and I've said it every year since. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And you were wrong then and are wrong now.

Except for the manufactured trophy part

 

[corncraze]

I miss Oklahoma...

 

[knapplc]

I said it before we played our first game in the Big Ten, and I've said it every year since. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And you were wrong then and are wrong now.

Except for the manufactured trophy part

So it isn't that it's a bad take because Iowa's been kicking our a$$ lately, now the story changes to "you're just wrong."

Solid logic.

 

[StPaulHusker]

I said it before we played our first game in the Big Ten, and I've said it every year since. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And you were wrong then and are wrong now.

Except for the manufactured trophy part

So it isn't that it's a bad take because Iowa's been kicking our a$$ lately, now the story changes to "you're just wrong."

Solid logic.

You're wrong in thinking that they aren't a rival because it hasn't taken on some sort of "organic" growth over time. The fact is you and several other husker fans can't come to terms with the idea that Nebraska isn't better than Iowa at anything right now. And so you come up with these "corporate" excuses that are lame.

Face it. Nebraska and Iowa a rivals. They are geographically, they are competitively, they are philosohically(sports-wise).

 

[knapplc]

I said it before we played our first game in the Big Ten, and I've said it every year since. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And you were wrong then and are wrong now.

Except for the manufactured trophy part

So it isn't that it's a bad take because Iowa's been kicking our a$$ lately, now the story changes to "you're just wrong."

Solid logic.

You're wrong in thinking that they aren't a rival because it hasn't taken on some sort of "organic" growth over time. The fact is you and several other husker fans can't come to terms with the idea that Nebraska isn't better than Iowa at anything right now. And so you come up with these "corporate" excuses that are lame.

Face it. Nebraska and Iowa a rivals. They are geographically, they are competitively, they are philosohically(sports-wise).

You're describing every other team in the Big Ten West, not just Iowa. The only difference is geography, and that only affects residents of Nebraska who live near Iowa, not any expats or anyone living more than 30 miles from the border.

In fact, aside from the arbitrary description of geography, the team that best fits that description is Wisconsin.

So first it was because they're kicking our a$$ (recently).

Next it was because "you're just wrong."

Now it's because people "can't come to terms with the idea that Nebraska isn't better than Iowa at anything right now."

If you have to move the goalposts that many times in 20 minutes, your argument isn't too sound.

 

[StPaulHusker]

I said it before we played our first game in the Big Ten, and I've said it every year since. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And you were wrong then and are wrong now.

Except for the manufactured trophy part

So it isn't that it's a bad take because Iowa's been kicking our a$$ lately, now the story changes to "you're just wrong."

Solid logic.

You're wrong in thinking that they aren't a rival because it hasn't taken on some sort of "organic" growth over time. The fact is you and several other husker fans can't come to terms with the idea that Nebraska isn't better than Iowa at anything right now. And so you come up with these "corporate" excuses that are lame.

Face it. Nebraska and Iowa a rivals. They are geographically, they are competitively, they are philosohically(sports-wise).

You're describing every other team in the Big Ten West, not just Iowa. The only difference is geography, and that only affects residents of Nebraska who live near Iowa, not any expats or anyone living more than 30 miles from the border.

In fact, aside from the arbitrary description of geography, the team that best fits that description is Wisconsin.

So first it was because they're kicking our a$$ (recently).

Next it was because "you're just wrong."

Now it's because people "can't come to terms with the idea that Nebraska isn't better than Iowa at anything right now."

If you have to move the goalposts that many times in 20 minutes, your argument isn't too sound.

The geography isn't arbitrary and it affects almost the entire state considering over 80% of Nebraska's population lives within 60 miles of Iowa.

And it also affects expats too, considering I am one.

And there is no reason Wisconsin shouldn't be looked at as a rival as well. There is no law against having more than one.

You are literally bitching about a team 300 yards away from our border that is on the same competitive level as NU not being a rival because of what? A Hyvee trophy? You are just wrong. There are no goalposts getting moved.

 

[Caliborn72]

It definitely feels like a rivalry at this point. There is a lot of animosity on both sides and I think everyone here agrees that something needs to click on our side because they shouldn't be able to run us over.

That said, they can't even come close to competing recruiting wise. At some point, I'd like to think this will no longer be a "rivalry." No matter how good of a season Iowa is having, Nebraska should win close to 75% of the time where they occasionally hit us with the right balance of upper-classmen + a good QB.

We are on the right path, but still a couple years away from being the class of the division. Once that happens, I hope that the Ohio States and Michigans hate us enough to have a rivalry. It seems like Ohio State coaches and fans had us on the radar last year with some of the recruiting battles. That's where it starts.

 

[Hilltop]

By the true definition of the word we are rivals... but the rivalries that most of Nebraska fans embrace are the ones that took years of meaningful games to build. Maybe 20 years from now we will think differently but for most old school fans Iowa just isn't there yet.