It's Blackshirt Friday as Huskers Pummel Iowa

If Nickelback fans liked
football, they'd look
like this.

Going into today's "Black Friday" matchup between Nebraska and Iowa, I felt the battle came down to which team wanted it more...and in my approach to the stadium, I got a bad feeling observing the number of Iowa fans in Lincoln. Certainly Iowa fans made their presence known today, buying any and all tickets available.  Frankly, the pre-game vibe was almost like Nickelback was in town; a passionate group of fans with some questionable taste. Iowa fans owned the pregame atmosphere.

Fortunately, the Huskers didn't share that same vibe.  Right from the start, the Blackshirts defended Iowa the same way they defended Michigan State.  Shut down the running back, and blanket the leading wide receiver.  Marcus Coker got a few yards, but never was able to consistently get the Hawkeyes into situations where quarterback James Vandenberg could capitalize with play-action passing. Add in Alfonzo Dennard locking down on Marvin McNutt...and the Hawkeye offense was essentially neutered today.

Of course, Iowa's offense was also hampered by really questionable play calling.  Example in point: After an eight yard reception by tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz, the Hawkeyes faced a second and two late in the third quarter.  Needing something to happen on offense, I figured Iowa would try to throw the ball downfield in that situation.  The playbook should be wide open at this point, and if the pass is incomplete, the Hawkeyes still had a chance to convert a third-and-short.

I was wrong.  Offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe puts the ball in the hands of Marcus Coker, who runs right into Andrew Green on a blitz for a half-yard loss.  The third down pass goes incomplete...and the Hawkeyes have to punt.

Of course, the Blackshirts came to play today.  Lavonte David had another stellar game with a highlight reel play.  Fiedorowicz pushed David to the ground to convert a third and 11.  But David got the best of Fiedorowicz, regaining his feet to strip Fiedorowicz of the ball downfield.  Fiedorowicz got the double fail on that play:  offensive pass interference (declined of course) and the fumble.

Offensively, the Husker offense set the tone early by overpowering Iowa's defense.  Early on, only ill-advised penalties stopped the Huskers on the ground.  After the game, Bo Pelini said that Taylor Martinez sprained an ankle, so the offense became totally focused on Rex Burkhead...and the heart of the Husker offense ground out another sausage game:  159 yards on a school record 38 carries.  No long runs today; he just made his cuts and gutted it out despite barely being able to walk at times.

Add in a few nice catches by Kenny Bell and Quincy Enunwa, and you had enough offense to win the game today. Nebraska is banged up, and probably wouldn't have been in a good position to compete next weekend in Indianapolis if they had qualified.  But it was enough against Iowa.

It wasn't a thing of beauty today in Lincoln today. But it was a solid win that doesn't so much as earn Nebraska "bragging rights", but rather denies Iowa fans any "bragging rights" for the next twelve months.

So now Husker fans can sit back for the next week and eye a New Years Day bowl game against the SEC.  Will it be the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, or the Outback Bowl in Tampa?  My preference is the Outback...if only because the Outback is televised on ABC.  (Hey, I'm not traveling, so destination doesn't matter to me at this point...just the television broadcast!)  We don't know the opponent at this point, but having five and a half weeks to heal up is a good thing for the Big Red at this point.