4 thoughts ahead of Nebraska football vs. Iowa

Fresh off a sixth win over Wisconsin, Nebraska football squares off against another Big Ten rival this week in the annual Black Friday game against Iowa.

The Hawkeyes are 7-4. Nebraska football is 6-5 and the winner of this game will be sitting in a good spot in terms of the Big Ten bowl game pecking order among non-playoff teams.

There’s a decent chance the winner of this game ends up in Tampa at the Reliaquest Bowl (formerly the Outback Bowl). That would be a quality bowl game for Nebraska, although it doesn’t really matter, but a win over Iowa would give the program even more momentum going into the offseason.

Here are four thoughts ahead of the Nebraska-Iowa game on Friday.

Shutting down Kaleb Johnson is the key

Johnson has been incredible for the Hawkeyes this season and is the main reason why they are scoring 29.4 points per game. Johnson has 1,492 yards (6.7 per carry) and 21 touchdowns.

In Big Ten play, Iowa is 5-0 when he runs over 100 yards and 0-3 when he doesn’t. UCLA held Johnson for 49 yards on 18 carries on November 8th. Michigan State held him to 98 yards on 14 carries in a 32-20 win for the Spartans.

Both of those games were on the road, so it will be a different challenge, but the Huskers should sell out to stop the run, especially with former walk-on Jackson Stratton expected to start at quarterback.

Dylan Raiola needs to be at his best

If Dylan Raiola plays the way he did against Wisconsin, I am 100 percent confident that Nebraska football will leave Iowa City with its seventh win.

Of course, it was about much more than Raiola. The offensive line stepped up. The receivers and running backs were making plays and Dana Holgorsen called a helluva game.

The good news is that Holgorsen knows the Iowa defense. The Hawkeyes have been running the same scheme for years. But you still have to execute against it.

If Raiola can be smart, pinpoint accurate, and avoid turnovers, the Huskers will win the game.

Playing without pressure

For the first time in a long time, Nebraska football can play without pressure. There is still pressure to beat your rival, finish with a winning season, and all that, but it’s not going to be the end of the world if Nebraska loses. There is another game to play.

That urgency of a must-win situation can be a good thing. But carrying eight years’ worth of failures dragged down the Huskers.

Now that that weight has been lifted, I’m excited to see how high this team can fly.

Nothing stupid on special teams

Iowa is really good on special teams. They have always found a way to block kicks or have good returners. They usually have an edge in that part of the game.

Nebraska needs to erase that on Friday. John Hohl can’t miss any kicks. Nebraska can’t allow a fake punt or have a kick blocked — nothing like that.

Those special teams plays can be the difference in a game like this and it’s built into Iowa’s DNA to make them. Nebraska can’t let it happen or it might be hard to overcome.