Iowa–Nebraska football rivalry

The Iowa–Nebraska football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers. The rivalry is usually held on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Iowa–Nebraska football rivalry

Iowa Hawkeyes Nebraska Cornhuskers
First meeting	November 26, 1891 Iowa, 20–0
Latest meeting	November 29, 2024 Iowa, 13–10
Next meeting	November 28, 2025 Lincoln, NE
Trophy	Heroes Trophy
Statistics
Meetings total	55
All-time series	Nebraska leads, 30–22–3 (.573)
Trophy series	Iowa leads, 10–4
Largest victory	Nebraska, 57–0 (1980)
Longest win streak	Nebraska, 8 (1931–1941)
Current win streak	Iowa, 2 (2023–present)

200km
125miles

Nebraska

Iowa

  

Locations of Nebraska and Iowa

History

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. The first meeting of the series, which occurred on Thanksgiving Day in Omaha, Nebraska, was the first game Iowa had ever played outside of its home state. Other notable games during the 20th century occurred during the four-year renewal of the rivalry from 1979 to 1982. In the 1979 meeting, #7 Nebraska prevailed over unranked Iowa after overcoming a two-touchdown deficit late in the third quarter, which resulted in a standing ovation from fans of both teams. In the 1981 meeting, unranked Iowa upset #7 Nebraska at Kinnick Stadium in what legendary Iowa coach Hayden Fry called "the biggest win since I’ve been here."

When Nebraska moved to the Big Ten Conference in 2011, the teams resumed the rivalry on an annual basis and played on the Friday following Thanksgiving. Starting that year, the game was referred to as the "Heroes Game" and the Heroes Trophy was awarded to the winner. Sponsored by Hy-Vee, the game recognizes individuals from both states for acts of heroism in their communities.

In 2017, it was announced by the Big Ten Conference that in 2020 and 2021, the game would not take place on the Friday following Thanksgiving. After significant opposition from fans, Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos made it a priority to restore the game to the Friday after Thanksgiving; accordingly, the Big Ten has scheduled the Iowa-Nebraska game for the Friday after Thanksgiving for all future post-2021 games through 2025. In the end, due to schedule changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 games were ultimately rescheduled to Black Friday as well.

Since 1903, the rivalry has never been contested anyplace besides Lincoln, Nebraska or Iowa City, Iowa; and now alternates between the two respective campuses. Odd-year games are played in Lincoln, while even-year games are played in Iowa City.

Game results

Iowa victories

Nebraska victories

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	November 26, 1891	Omaha, NE	Iowa	22–0
2	November 24, 1892	Omaha, NE	Tie	10–10
3	November 30, 1893	Omaha, NE	Nebraska	20–18
4	November 29, 1894	Omaha, NE	Nebraska	36–0
5	November 28, 1895	Omaha, NE	Nebraska	6–0
6	November 26, 1896	Omaha, NE	Tie	0–0
7	November 28, 1896	Omaha, NE	Iowa	6–0
8	November 25, 1897	Council Bluffs, IA	Nebraska	6–0
9	November 24, 1898	Council Bluffs, IA	Iowa	6–5
10	November 4, 1899	Omaha, NE	Iowa	30–0
11	October 31, 1903	Iowa City, IA	Nebraska	17–6
12	November 5, 1904	Lincoln, NE	Nebraska	17–12
13	October 31, 1908	Iowa City, IA	Nebraska	11–8
14	October 23, 1909	Lincoln, NE	Tie	6–6
15	November 22, 1913	Lincoln, NE	Nebraska	12–0
16	November 21, 1914	Iowa City, IA	Nebraska	16–7
17	November 20, 1915	Lincoln, NE	Nebraska	52–7
18	November 25, 1916	Iowa City, IA	Nebraska	34–17
19	October 13, 1917	Lincoln, NE	Nebraska	47–0
20	October 5, 1918	Lincoln, NE	Iowa	12–0
21	October 4, 1919	Iowa City, IA	Iowa	18–0
22	November 22, 1930	Iowa City, IA	Iowa	12–7
23	November 7, 1931	Lincoln, NE	Nebraska	7–0
24	November 5, 1932	Iowa City, IA	Nebraska	14–13
25	November 25, 1933	Lincoln, NE	Nebraska	7–6
26	October 13, 1934	Lincoln, NE	Nebraska	14–13
27	November 20, 1937	Lincoln, NE	Nebraska	28–0
28	November 19, 1938	Iowa City, IA	Nebraska	14–0

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
29	November 9, 1940	Lincoln, NE	Nebraska	14–6
30	November 22, 1941	Lincoln, NE	Nebraska	14–13
31	September 26, 1942	Iowa City, IA	Iowa	27–0
32	November 20, 1943	Lincoln, NE	Iowa	33–13
33	November 4, 1944	Iowa City, IA	Iowa	27–6
34	November 24, 1945	Lincoln, NE	Nebraska	13–6
35	October 12, 1946	Iowa City, IA	Iowa	21–7
36	September 22, 1979	Iowa City, IA	#7 Nebraska	24–21
37	September 20, 1980	Lincoln, NE	#6 Nebraska	57–0
38	September 12, 1981	Iowa City, IA	Iowa	10–7
39	September 11, 1982	Lincoln, NE	#3 Nebraska	42–7
40	September 4, 1999	Iowa City, IA	#5 Nebraska	42–7
41	September 23, 2000	Lincoln, NE	#1 Nebraska	42–13
42	November 25, 2011	Lincoln, NE	#22 Nebraska	20–7
43	November 23, 2012	Iowa City, IA	#17 Nebraska	13–7
44	November 29, 2013	Lincoln, NE	Iowa	38–17
45	November 28, 2014	Iowa City, IA	Nebraska	37–34OT
46	November 27, 2015	Lincoln, NE	#3 Iowa	28–20
47	November 25, 2016	Iowa City, IA	Iowa	40–10
48	November 24, 2017	Lincoln, NE	Iowa	56–14
49	November 23, 2018	Iowa City, IA	Iowa	31–28
50	November 29, 2019	Lincoln, NE	#17 Iowa	27–24
51	November 27, 2020	Iowa City, IA	#24 Iowa	26–20
52	November 26, 2021	Lincoln, NE	#16 Iowa	28–21
53	November 25, 2022	Iowa City, IA	Nebraska	24–17
54	November 24, 2023	Lincoln, NE	#17 Iowa	13–10
55	November 29, 2024	Iowa City, IA	Iowa	13–10
Series: Nebraska leads 30–22–3

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

External links

• Iowa–Nebraska series history Archived December 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine