On friday night, the iowa hawkeyes and nebraska cornhuskers faced off in the final game of the regular season for both teams. Both teams were already bowl eligible, but they still wanted the bragging rights heading into next year. In a dramatic finish, the hawkeyes won 13-10, thanks to a 53-yard field goal from drew stevens as time expired.
While the last-second field goal was the highlight, the bigger story came before the game even started. As the players met at midfield for the coin toss, iowa’s players extended their hands for a handshake, but nebraska’s players refused.
After the game, many fans criticized the nebraska program for what they called “Classless” behavior. One fan, who identified as a lifelong nebraska supporter, wrote, “this is what 6-6 and mediocre teams do with no pride and no respect for tradition. This is not championship football, this is not nebraska football. A reason iowa is better.” another fan simply called it “Classless.” a third added, “people always show their true colors when the road gets tough. Seems like the same can be said for a program!”
Iowa linebacker jay higgins spoke to the media after the game, sharing his thoughts on the handshake incident. “we went out there, the captains went out there, we usually shake hands, wish everybody good luck. They didn’t reach out their hands. So that was a little weird,” he said. He added that the moment nebraska didn’t shake their hands, he knew iowa had the win in the bag. “the moment he didn’t shake our hands, I knew we won,” higgins said.
Higgins also noted another incident that raised eyebrows. “Our guys are warming up, doing our pregame, and their head coach (matt rhule) walked through the warmup,” higgins said. “so we immediately knew what type of game this was.”
In the end, iowa walked away with the victory, improving their season record to 8-4, while nebraska finished 6-6.