Nebraska football vs. Iowa: Odds, prediction, and how to watch

Fresh off a sixth win, clinching bowl eligibility, Nebraska football will hit the road on Friday for the annual rivalry game against Iowa.

The Hawkeyes won in Matt Rhule’s first foray into the rivalry after a late interception, and a last-second field goal led to another heartbreaking loss.

Nebraska football did win its last game at Kinnick Stadium though. Interim head coach Mickey Joseph led the Huskers to a win that day — the same day Rhule’s hire was announced.

Now, after clinching a postseason berth, Nebraska football comes into this game with confidence and a feeling like it’s playing with house money.

Reaching six wins is a huge deal for Nebraska football. It was like there was a lid on the program’s success and the win over Wisconsin finally blew it off. That’s my hope at least. We’ll see against an Iowa team that can run the ball, play defense, and has questionable quarterback play.

Here’s a look at the odds, how to watch, and a prediction for Nebraska football vs. Iowa on Black Friday.

Nebraska vs. Iowa odds

Iowa is a 5.5-point favorite against Nebraska on Friday according to DraftKings. The over/under is 39.5 points and the moneyline is +164 for Nebraska and -198 for Iowa.

Nebraska vs. Iowa how to watch

Kickoff: 6:30 CST

Where: Kinnick Stadium

TV: NBC

Radio: Huskers.com

Streaming: Peacock/FUBO TV

Nebraska football vs. Iowa prediction

Even before the Hawkeyes were down to their third-string quarterack, they were only averaging 133 passing yards per game. Jackson Stratton (former walk-on) started the last game and completed 13-of-20 passes for 104 yards. As a team, Iowa averages 6.5 yards per pass attempt.

Brendan Sullivan was averaging 9.8. But still had two touchdowns and two interceptions. The point is, that Iowa’s passing game stinks. The Hawkeyes have two receivers with more than 200 yards. That’s it.

This entire game will come to two things: The play of Kaleb Johnson and Dylan Raiola.

If Johnson is held under 100 yards, Iowa is 0-3 in Big Ten games. They are 5-0 when Johnson runs for over 100 yards. Iowa is a big outside zone team, but I’m reasonably confident in the Huskers’ run defense (110 yards per game, 3.6 yards per attempt).

If Raiola is the dude we saw last week — confident, making quick decisions, and accurate — Nebraska football will win this game. The freshman needs to avoid turnovers, but he looked like a different player last week and really the past two weeks with Dana Holgerson calling plays.

The defense will do just enough to hem in Johnson, while Raiola throws for over 200, has one touchdown, and zero interceptions in another huge win for the Huskers.

Prediction: Nebraska 24, Iowa 17 

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