The B1G is a weak conference this year, we had a lot of injuries, it happens, but it isn't because the B1G is that "much tougher to play in." It comes down to bad luck and possibly some issues on the strength and conditioning side. Iowa should know something about that when several of their players ended up in the hospital due to issues from a tough workout they did that their strength and conditioning coach should have known about so it could have been prevented. The B1G just plays different ball than the Big XII did, it's more power football, with bigger players, we had to switch up our recruiting to help with that issue, takes a few years to fix that. Doesn't mean it's harder, it's just different, no way to spin it IMO.
Examples of Iowa fans and being classy: Flipped off twice in my red truck that has a Husker sticker on it and one of those times was while one of my sick children was in the truck with me. Walked into Jethro's in Waukee with my family, kids included, was wearing a Nebraska shirt, drunk Iowa fan stands up from bar and wants to start a fight with me in front of my children cause I'm wearing a Nebraska shirt. Just laughed at him and walked away, real classy. This is just a few of the things I have to deal with and the reasons why I'm not an Iowa fan. I hate your fans, I hate your school, I hate your team...............will it become a rivalry? Maybe, but it's not going to be forced down our throats either. You can't force rivalries, they just have to happen. Just because we share a border doesn't mean we'll end up being rivals.