Iowa–Nebraska football rivalry

Non-conference series

Iowa and Nebraska first met on November 26, 1891, in Omaha, Iowa's first-ever game outside its home state. Nebraska credits Iowa assistant Theron Lyman, who was sent to Lincoln days early to prepare an inexperienced NU team to face the more experienced Hawkeyes, as its head coach for the game, though he likely did not attend Iowa's 22–0 win.^[5] The following year, the schools became founding members of the short-lived Western Interstate University Football Association, one of college football's first conferences.^[6]

The proximity of the two teams played an important role in the early days of the game, with exclusive trains running between Iowa City and Lincoln to allow fans to travel.^[7] The series was paused for decades until being renewed from 1979 to 1982.^[8] In 1979, No. 7 Nebraska overcame a two-touchdown second-half deficit to beat unranked Iowa, resulting in a standing ovation from fans of both teams.^[9] Two years later, Iowa upset No. 7 Nebraska at Kinnick Stadium in what head coach Hayden Fry called "the biggest win since I've been here."^[10]

Conference series

Nebraska has played a rivalry game on the day after Thanksgiving since 1990, first against Oklahoma and later against Colorado.^[11] Iowa became NU's traditional Black Friday opponent when the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011. Established as the "Heroes Game," it is used to recognize individuals from both states for acts of heroism in their communities.^[12]

In 2017, the Big Ten announced that the Iowa–Nebraska game would not take place on Black Friday in 2020 or 2021.^[13] After significant pushback from fans and public opposition from NU athletic director Bill Moos, the change was reverted.^[14][15]

Iowa has won ten of the eleven meetings since 2014, the year Nebraska fired Bo Pelini one day after a regular season-finale win over the Hawkeyes.^[16] The series is played annually as one of twelve Big Ten protected rivalries; even-year games are played in Iowa City and odd-year games in Lincoln.^[17]