Hawkeyes Win Heroes Game | football

Drew Stevens planned the celebration as early as the second quarter, which may seem absurd given the way Iowa played at the time.

The Hawkeyes had yet to score in Friday’s game against Nebraska at Kinnick Stadium and were on their way to a 20-yard, 0-point first-half score, and yet Iowa’s kicker was planning what he would do when he kicked the game-winning field goal.

“I thought, ‘Dude, we should lead the team to the (Heroes) Trophy,'” Stevens said almost in a whisper as he told the story.

It turned out to be a good plan. Stevens’ 53-yard field goal, which cut through the chilly air at Kinnick Stadium, had barely cleared the goal post when Stevens, as planned, ran toward the north end zone, dodging his teammates and waving as cheers ensued spun him around.

The Hawkeyes’ 13-10 win was another one of those “how did they do that” blows that a pesky Iowa kicker has dealt the Huskers since 2018.

Keith Duncan did it. So does Miguel Recinos. Marshall Meeder made it last year in place of Stevens, who struggled earlier in this game.

Now it was Stevens’ turn.

“I was looking forward to this game,” Stevens said. “I know I can say this now, but I was looking forward to this game.”

Stevens was bothered by last season when he blocked two field goals in the first half against the Huskers and then, with the game on the line, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz chose Meeder.

“I mean, it sucks when there’s someone else out there doing your job,” Stevens said. “Especially if you train all year round. So yeah, that felt really good. I was confident going out there.”

But this is a different Stevens, a player who admits he’s gotten better on and off the field because of his struggles late last year.

Stevens is 19 of 22 this season and made five field goals in last Saturday’s win over Maryland.

“He was basically benched last year,” Ferentz said. “What a contrast to this year. We had complete confidence in him.”

Stevens knew the length wouldn’t bother him – he kicked a 64-yarder toward the south goal post during warmups after halftime. He made his first shot attempt, but not before Nebraska called a timeout.

“I thought, ‘Oh yeah, I get that, the wind won’t affect my ball,'” Stevens said.

The next kick was just as solid, just as precise.

“Drew is a damn beast,” said defensive end Max Llewellyn, who set up the kick with a strip sack of Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola, recovering the fumble at the Huskers’ 36-yard line.

This was a game the Hawkeyes (8-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten) were bound to lose after a first half of zero points and 20 yards of offense. The 10-0 deficit at halftime seemed like a chasm that needed to be overcome.

A botched punt in the third quarter gave the Hawkeyes the ball at the Nebraska 4-yard line, but all they could get was a field goal from Stevens.

Then came the fourth quarter, and how it ended depended on how the quarter began.

Iowa quarterback Jackson Stratton threw a simple swing pass to running back Kaleb Johnson, who turned what appeared to be a short gain into a 72-yard touchdown. Johnson eluded five would-be tacklers on a Weber excursion.

“He made (the defensive backs) miss, like usual,” Stratton said. “He’s a great running back and did what he could in every game. He’s much faster than me. I tried to go down and block him, but he’s a lot faster than me.”

That tied the game, and then the teams traded empty possessions before Llewellyn picked off Raiola, and suddenly Stevens had a chance to execute his plan.

The Hawkeyes were outrebounded 334-164, had five first downs to Nebraska’s 20 and went 0 of 10 on third downs.

And won for the ninth time in the last 10 games against the Huskers.

The Hawkeyes are 21-3 in November since 2019. The last victory was a mystery as to how it came about.

Even if the celebration was planned long before the result.