| Wide: | yes |
| Iowa–Nebraska football rivalry | |
| Team1logo: | Iowa Hawkeyes wordmark.svg |
| Team2logo: | Nebraska Cornhuskers logo.svg |
| Firstmeeting: | November 26, 1891 Iowa, 20–0 |
| Mostrecent: | November 24, 2023 Iowa, 13–10 |
| Nextmeeting: | November 29, 2024 |
| Total: | 54 |
| Series: | Nebraska leads, 30–21–3 |
| Largestvictory: | Nebraska, 57–0 (1980) |
| Longeststreak: | Nebraska, 8 (1931–1941) |
| Currentstreak: | Iowa, 1 (2023–present) |
| Trophy: | Heroes Trophy |
| Trophy Series: | Iowa leads, 9–4 |
The Iowa–Nebraska football rivalry[1] [2] [3] is an American college football rivalry between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers. The rivalry is usually held on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
The proximity of the two teams played an important role in the early days of the game, with exclusive trains running between Iowa City and Lincoln to allow fans to travel.[4] The first meeting of the series, which occurred on Thanksgiving Day in Omaha, Nebraska, was the first game Iowa had ever played outside of its home state. Other notable games during the 20th century occurred during the four-year renewal of the rivalry from 1979 to 1982.[5] In the 1979 meeting, #7 Nebraska prevailed over unranked Iowa after overcoming a two-touchdown deficit late in the third quarter, which resulted in a standing ovation from fans of both teams.[6] In the 1981 meeting, unranked Iowa upset #7 Nebraska at Kinnick Stadium in what legendary Iowa coach Hayden Fry called "the biggest win since I’ve been here."[7]
After Nebraska moved to the Big Ten Conference, the teams have played annually on the Friday following Thanksgiving. Starting in 2011, the game was referred to as the "Heroes Game" and the Heroes Trophy was awarded to the winner of the game. The Heroes game, which is sponsored by Hy-Vee, is used to recognize individuals from each state for acts of heroism in their communities.[8] In 2017 it was announced by the Big Ten Conference that in 2020 and 2021, the game would not take place on the Friday following Thanksgiving.[9] After significant opposition from fans, Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos made it a priority to restore the game to the Friday after Thanksgiving; accordingly, the Big Ten has scheduled the Iowa-Nebraska game for the Friday after Thanksgiving for all future post-2021 games through 2025.[10] [11] In the end, due to schedule changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 games were ultimately rescheduled to Black Friday as well.[12] Since 1903, the rivalry has never been contested anyplace besides Lincoln, Nebraska or Iowa City, Iowa; and now alternates between the two respective campuses. Odd-year games are played in Lincoln, while even-year games are played in Iowa City.