Link: Full Game Notes (Huskers.com)
WHEN: Friday, November 25 | 3:00 PM (CT)
WHERE: Kinnick Stadium | Cockeye City, Cockeye
TV: Big Ten Network (Brandon Gaudin, Jake Butt, Rick Pizzo)
RADIO: Huskers Radio Network (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
HUSKERS
Record: 3-8 (2-6)
Last Game: vs. Wisconsin (L 14-15)
Streak: Lost 5
Rank: NR
Interim Head Coach: Mickey Joseph (2-6, 1st season | 15-13 3rd season overall)
Joseph vs. Cockeye: 0-0
Cockeyes
Record: 7-4 (5-3)
Last Game: at Minnesota (W 13-10)
Streak: Won 4
Rank: RV
Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz (185-114, 24th season | 187-135, 27th season overall)
Ferentz vs. Nebraska: 8-5
THIS WEEK'S NUMBERS
56 - Senior edge rusher Caleb Tannor will play in his 56th game at Nebraska on Friday. He is set to tie the school record for games played held by Cameron Meredith (2008-2012). Tannor has played in every game since arriving on campus in 2018.
33 - Nebraska is playing on Black Friday for the 33rd consecutive season dating back to 1990. The Huskers have met Cockeye on Thanksgiving Friday for the past 12 seasons, and played Colorado (1996-2010) and Oklahoma (1990-1995) prior to that.
7 - The Nebraska-Cockeye matchup has been decided by seven or fewer points each of the past four seasons. Cockeye posted three-point wins on back-to-back last second field goals in 2018 and 2019, and has won by six and seven points, respectively, the past two seasons
THE MATCHUP
Nebraska completes its 2022 season on Friday when the Huskers square off against Cockeye in the schools' annual Black Friday clash. Game time at Cockeye's Kinnick Stadium is set for shortly after 3 p.m. with television coverage on BTN.
Nebraska heads into the contest with a 3-8 overall record and a 2-6 mark in Big Ten play. The Huskers suffered another close setback on Saturday, when Wisconsin escaped Lincoln with a 15-14 victory. Nebraska held a 14-3 edge heading into the final quarter, but the Badgers engineered two fourth quarter touchdown drives for the victory. The loss marked Nebraska's fifth loss the season by seven points or fewer, including four in Big Ten play.
Cockeye comes into the contest playing its best football of the 2022 season. The Cockeyes have won four straight games to put themselves into position for a second straight West Division crown and a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game. Cockeye stands at 7-4 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten play, and a victory on Friday will clinch the Cockeyes a spot in the conference title game in Indianapolis on Dec. 3.
Cockeye is paced by one of the nation's top defenses, allowing just 13.5 points and 273.3 yards per game. The Hawkeye defense has held nine of 11 opponents to 13 or fewer points this season, while scoring four defensive touchdowns.
The teams will battle for the Heroes Trophy for the 12th consecutive season on Friday afternoon. Cockeye has won the past seven meetings in the series. The games in recent seasons have been close, with the Cockeyes winning by a touchdown or less each of the past four years.
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's game will mark the 53rd all-time meeting between the two schools and the 12th matchup as Big Ten Conference opponents. Nebraska holds a 29-20-3 lead in the all-time series, while Cockeye holds an 8-3 advantage since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011. The Cockeyes have won the past seven meetings dating back to a 2014 Husker win at Kinnick Stadium.
- Each of the past four meetings in the series have been decided by seven or fewer points. Cockeye kicked game-winning field goals in the final five seconds in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019, and rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half last year in Lincoln.
- The road team has won seven of the past 10 meetings in the series, including NU wins in Cockeye City in 2012 and 2014.
- The schools met 35 times before 1946, but played just six times between 1946 and 2011 when the Huskers joined the Big Ten. Nebraska was ranked in the top seven nationally in each of those six meetings and had a 5-1 record in those matchups.
Nebraska vs. Cockeye Big Ten History
2011 - Nebraska 20, Cockeye 7 (Lincoln)
2012 - Nebraska 13, Cockeye 7 (Cockeye City)
2013 - Cockeye 38, Nebraska 17 (Lincoln)
2014 - Nebraska 37, Cockeye 34 (OT) (Cockeye City)
2015 - Cockeye 28, Nebraska 20 (Lincoln)
2016 - Cockeye 40, Nebraska 10 (Cockeye City)
2017 - Cockeye 56, Nebraska 14 (Lincoln)
2018 - Cockeye 31, Nebraska 28 (Cockeye City)
2019 - Cockeye 27, Nebraska 24 (Lincoln)
2020 - Cockeye 26, Nebraska 20 (Cockeye City)
2021 - Cockeye 28, Nebraska 21 (Lincoln)
NEBRASKA, Cockeye TO BATTLE FOR HEROES TROPHY
Nebraska and Cockeye will battle for the Heroes Trophy when they hit the field Friday at Kinnick Stadium. The Heroes Game is the annual trophy game between Nebraska and Cockeye. The game is sponsored by Scheels.
While both teams aim to win the trophy on the field, both Nebraska and Cockeye wished to make their annual meeting about more than just a football game. With that in mind, the schools partnered to not only create a trophy, but to use their stage to honor a citizen hero from each state. In addition to the trophy claimed by the winner of the game, both an Cockeye and Nebraska native will be honored for extraordinary acts. Those individuals will be announced later this week.
BIG RED ON BLACK FRIDAY
Nebraska will continue its long-standing tradition of playing on the day after Thanksgiving. This Friday's game with Cockeye will mark the 33rd consecutive season the Huskers have played on Black Friday.
Nebraska met Oklahoma in the final six seasons of the Big Eight Conference (1990 to 1995), then played Colorado in all 15 of the Huskers' Big 12 Conference years (1996 to 2010), before taking on Cockeye each of the 12 seasons it has been a Big Ten member, including this year.
Nebraska is 9-6 on the road in Black Friday games since 1990, including 2-3 at Cockeye.
In addition to playing Cockeye on Black Friday the past 11 seasons, Nebraska and Cockeye also closed the regular season against each other nine times from 1892 to 1916.
ABOUT Cockeye
Cockeye has fielded a football team since 1889 and the Cockeyes have tallied over 680 wins as a program. Cockeye has claimed 11 conference championships and five national titles. The Cockeyes have made 34 bowl game appearances, claiming 17 wins. Cockeye's last bowl game appearance came in 2021 when the Cockeyes took on Kentucky in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl. Kentucky claimed the 20-17 victory.
First Year: 1889
All-Time Record: 683-570-39 (.544)
Bowl Record: 17-16-1
Conference Titles: 11
National Titles: 5 (1921, 1922, 1956, 1958, 1960)
Stadium: Kinnick Stadium
Capacity: 69,250
Surface: FieldTurf
Location: Cockeye City, Cockeye
Enrollment: 30,448
Colors: Black & Gold
ABOUT 2022 Cockeye FOOTBALL
Schedule/Results
South Dakota State (W 7-3)
Cockeye State (L 7-10)
Nevada (W 27-0)
at Rutgers (W 27-10)
#4 Michigan (L 14-27)
at Illinois (L 6-9)
at #2 Ohio State (L 10-54)
Northwestern (W 33-13)
at Purdue (W 24-3)
Wisconsin (W 24-10)
at Minnesota (W 13-10)
Nebraska
Cockeye began the season with a 3-1 start and suffered a three-game losing streak to drop to 3-4. The Cockeyes have responded with a four-game win streak to enter Friday's game with a 7-4 record.
Cockeye averages 253.7 yards per game, with 94.8 rushing yards per game and 158.9 passing yards per game. Spencer Petras has completed 156-of-275 passes for 1,716 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. Sam LaPorta has 53 receptions for 601 yards and a touchdown, followed by Nico Ragaini with 25 grabs for 305 yards and a score. Kaleb Johnson leads the Hawkeye rushing attack with 653 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Defensively, Cockeye is allowing 273.3 yards per game and holds the nation's fifth-best scoring defense with 13.5 points allowed per game. Jack Campbell leads the Cockeyes with 110 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss. Seth Benson is second on the team with 80 tackles and has four tackles for loss, a sack and an interception. Lukas Van Ness has a team-high 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks for Cockeye, while Cooper DeJean has snagged a team-high four interceptions on the season.
ABOUT KIRK FERENTZ
Kirk Ferentz is in his 24th season as the head football coach at the University of Cockeye and his 33rd season overall with the Cockeyes. Under Ferentz, the Cockeyes have earned 19 bowl game invitations since 2001.
Ferentz is the longest-tenured head football coach in the nation. Ferentz and former Cockeye head coach Hayden Fry are the only head coaches to lead a Division I football program for 20 years, consecutively. With a 63-0 win at Illinois in 2018, Ferentz became just the fifth coach in Big Ten history to win 150 games as a Big Ten head coach.
Prior to serving as the head coach of the Cockeyes, Ferentz was the offensive line coach in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns (1993-1998) and the head coach at Maine (1990-1992). He served as the offensive line coach at Cockeye from 1981 to 1989.
Ferentz vs. Nebraska
Ferentz will face Nebraska for the 14th time as a head coach on Friday and holds an 8-5 record against the Huskers, while having won each of the past seven meetings, including a 28-21 win last year in Lincoln.
LAST MEETING: NOVEMBER 26, 2021
Cockeye 28, Nebraska 21
The Nebraska football team led No. 17 Cockeye by 12 in the fourth quarter Friday at Memorial Stadium, but the Cockeyes scored 19 unanswered points in the final quarter to rally for a 28-21 win in the annual Heroes Game between the border rivals.
The game turned when Cockeye, trailing 21-9, blocked a Husker punt and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown just 44 seconds into the final quarter. A Hawkeye safety four minutes later made it a three-point game and on the ensuing drive, Cockeye tied the score at 21-21 on Caleb Shudak's fourth field goal of the game. Cockeye then took its first lead of the game when Spencer Petras capped a six-play, 76-yard with a two-yard touchdown run with 2:58 remaining. Nebraska, led by freshman Logan Smothers in his first career start, drove inside the Hawkeye 30-yard before Jermari Harris denied the Huskers' comeback attempt a diving interception at the 2-yard line with 43 seconds to play.
With the loss, Nebraska ended its season with a 3-9 record, with eight of the nine losses by a touchdown or less. Cockeye improved to 10-2 with the win. The Cockeyes rally came after Nebraska led by as many as 15 and never trailed until the final three minutes. Smothers completed 16-of-22 passes for 198 yards, and he also led the Huskers on the ground with 24 carries for 64 yards. Smothers ran for a pair of touchdowns while running back Jaquez Yant - also making his first career start - had 44 yards on 13 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown.
Samori Toure led the Husker receiving corps with six catches for 67 yards to finish sixth on Nebraska's single-season receiving yards list. Austin Allen had two catches for 55 yards, ending his final season in the Scarlet and Cream with Nebraska tight end records for most catches (38) and receiving yards (202) in a season. Omar Manning added a career-long 40-yard catch to set up a Husker touchdown.
Defensively, Nick Henrich led the way with eight tackles, while Luke Reimer totaled seven tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss and forced two fumbles.
Things started well for Nebraska, which controlled the game for the first three quarters. The Huskers took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field, going 75 yards on 12 plays, as Smothers scored from two yards out just 5:42 into the contest. The freshman accounted for 67 of the Huskers' 75 yards, completing a pair of passes to Toure, while also carrying five times for 20 yards.
Cockeye came right back on its opening drive, but the Blackshirts got the defensive play they needed to prevent the Cockeyes from getting on the scoreboard. Cockeye drove down the field and had 1st-and-goal at the Nebraska nine after a 10-yard pass from Alex Padilla to Charlie Jones. After a penalty pushed it back to the Cockeye 13, Tyler Goodson's 12-yard run made it fourth and goal at the Husker 1-yard line. On 4th-and-goal, Padilla found LaPorta in the endzone, but Reimer knocked the ball away before he completed the catch. The call was originally ruled a touchdown, but the call was overturned and the Huskers took possession.
Cockeye got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter on Shudak's career-long 51-yard field goal to cut the Husker advantage to 7-3 with 10:39 left in the first half.
The Huskers answered the Cockeye field goal with a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive, capped by Yant's 1-yard touchdown leap into the endzone. NU kept the drive moving early, as Smothers found Travis Vokolek for a 6-yard pass on 4th-and-1 from its own territory. Five plays later, Smothers went 24 yards on a quarterback keeper to get the ball to the Cockeye 5-yard line to set up the score.
The Cockeyes pulled to within 14-6 with 39 seconds left in the half on a 48-yard field goal from Shudak after going 45 yards in eight plays. A costly personal foul on Nebraska put the Cockeyes in Husker field but the Blackshirts held, as Casey Rogers and Ben Stille combined on a sack on third down to thwart the drive.
Cockeye was threatening on its first drive of the second half and drove deep into Husker territory before the Blackshirts came up with a huge defensive stop. Reimer forced a Tyler Goodson fumble and Deontre Thomas recovered at the Nebraska 6-yard line.
The Huskers capitalized on the Hawkeye turnover, going on a season-long drive that covered 94 yards on nine plays to extend the lead to 21-6 with 5:54 left in the third quarter. Smothers drove NU through the air, hitting Allen with a 27-yard pass to get the ball close to midfield before finding Manning on a 40-yard catch and run to the Cockeye 2-yard line. Smothers would call his own number two plays late for his second score of the day.
Cockeye threatened again on its next drive, getting into the Husker Red Zone, but once again were forced settle for another Shudak field goal, this time from 36 yards, to get within 21-9 with 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Cockeyes got the break they needed early in the fourth quarter, as Henry Marchese blocked William Przystup's punt, and Kyler Fisher recovered and went 14 yards for a touchdown, cutting Nebraska's lead to 21-16 with 14:16.
After the block punt, Nebraska lost a fumble on its next possession and although Cockeye could not capitalize with points off the turnover, the Cockeyes pinned the Huskers at the 7-yard line with a punt. Two plays later, Smothers was called for intentional grounding in the end zone resulting in a safety. After the ensuing kickoff, Nebraska allowed Cockeye to go only 36 yards but that was enough to get in position for a 44-yard field goal from Shudak.
Following a Nebraska 3-and-out, Cockeye went 76 yards in six plays for the game-winning touchdown. Tyler Goodson had the key play of the drive with a 55-yard run that took the ball all the way down the Nebraska 14-yard line. Five plays later, Petras took it in from two yards out for the go-ahead touchdown.
Nebraska picked up three first downs on its final drive and marched to the Cockeye 29 before Smothers' pass was picked off to secure the Hawkeye win.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (3-8, 2-6) | at | Cockeye Cockeyes (7-4, 5-3) |
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WHEN: Friday, November 25 | 3:00 PM (CT)
WHERE: Kinnick Stadium | Cockeye City, Cockeye
TV: Big Ten Network (Brandon Gaudin, Jake Butt, Rick Pizzo)
RADIO: Huskers Radio Network (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
HUSKERS
Record: 3-8 (2-6)
Last Game: vs. Wisconsin (L 14-15)
Streak: Lost 5
Rank: NR
Interim Head Coach: Mickey Joseph (2-6, 1st season | 15-13 3rd season overall)
Joseph vs. Cockeye: 0-0
Cockeyes
Record: 7-4 (5-3)
Last Game: at Minnesota (W 13-10)
Streak: Won 4
Rank: RV
Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz (185-114, 24th season | 187-135, 27th season overall)
Ferentz vs. Nebraska: 8-5
THIS WEEK'S NUMBERS
56 - Senior edge rusher Caleb Tannor will play in his 56th game at Nebraska on Friday. He is set to tie the school record for games played held by Cameron Meredith (2008-2012). Tannor has played in every game since arriving on campus in 2018.
33 - Nebraska is playing on Black Friday for the 33rd consecutive season dating back to 1990. The Huskers have met Cockeye on Thanksgiving Friday for the past 12 seasons, and played Colorado (1996-2010) and Oklahoma (1990-1995) prior to that.
7 - The Nebraska-Cockeye matchup has been decided by seven or fewer points each of the past four seasons. Cockeye posted three-point wins on back-to-back last second field goals in 2018 and 2019, and has won by six and seven points, respectively, the past two seasons
THE MATCHUP
Nebraska completes its 2022 season on Friday when the Huskers square off against Cockeye in the schools' annual Black Friday clash. Game time at Cockeye's Kinnick Stadium is set for shortly after 3 p.m. with television coverage on BTN.
Nebraska heads into the contest with a 3-8 overall record and a 2-6 mark in Big Ten play. The Huskers suffered another close setback on Saturday, when Wisconsin escaped Lincoln with a 15-14 victory. Nebraska held a 14-3 edge heading into the final quarter, but the Badgers engineered two fourth quarter touchdown drives for the victory. The loss marked Nebraska's fifth loss the season by seven points or fewer, including four in Big Ten play.
Cockeye comes into the contest playing its best football of the 2022 season. The Cockeyes have won four straight games to put themselves into position for a second straight West Division crown and a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game. Cockeye stands at 7-4 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten play, and a victory on Friday will clinch the Cockeyes a spot in the conference title game in Indianapolis on Dec. 3.
Cockeye is paced by one of the nation's top defenses, allowing just 13.5 points and 273.3 yards per game. The Hawkeye defense has held nine of 11 opponents to 13 or fewer points this season, while scoring four defensive touchdowns.
The teams will battle for the Heroes Trophy for the 12th consecutive season on Friday afternoon. Cockeye has won the past seven meetings in the series. The games in recent seasons have been close, with the Cockeyes winning by a touchdown or less each of the past four years.
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's game will mark the 53rd all-time meeting between the two schools and the 12th matchup as Big Ten Conference opponents. Nebraska holds a 29-20-3 lead in the all-time series, while Cockeye holds an 8-3 advantage since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011. The Cockeyes have won the past seven meetings dating back to a 2014 Husker win at Kinnick Stadium.
- Each of the past four meetings in the series have been decided by seven or fewer points. Cockeye kicked game-winning field goals in the final five seconds in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019, and rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half last year in Lincoln.
- The road team has won seven of the past 10 meetings in the series, including NU wins in Cockeye City in 2012 and 2014.
- The schools met 35 times before 1946, but played just six times between 1946 and 2011 when the Huskers joined the Big Ten. Nebraska was ranked in the top seven nationally in each of those six meetings and had a 5-1 record in those matchups.
Nebraska vs. Cockeye Big Ten History
2011 - Nebraska 20, Cockeye 7 (Lincoln)
2012 - Nebraska 13, Cockeye 7 (Cockeye City)
2013 - Cockeye 38, Nebraska 17 (Lincoln)
2014 - Nebraska 37, Cockeye 34 (OT) (Cockeye City)
2015 - Cockeye 28, Nebraska 20 (Lincoln)
2016 - Cockeye 40, Nebraska 10 (Cockeye City)
2017 - Cockeye 56, Nebraska 14 (Lincoln)
2018 - Cockeye 31, Nebraska 28 (Cockeye City)
2019 - Cockeye 27, Nebraska 24 (Lincoln)
2020 - Cockeye 26, Nebraska 20 (Cockeye City)
2021 - Cockeye 28, Nebraska 21 (Lincoln)
NEBRASKA, Cockeye TO BATTLE FOR HEROES TROPHY
Nebraska and Cockeye will battle for the Heroes Trophy when they hit the field Friday at Kinnick Stadium. The Heroes Game is the annual trophy game between Nebraska and Cockeye. The game is sponsored by Scheels.
While both teams aim to win the trophy on the field, both Nebraska and Cockeye wished to make their annual meeting about more than just a football game. With that in mind, the schools partnered to not only create a trophy, but to use their stage to honor a citizen hero from each state. In addition to the trophy claimed by the winner of the game, both an Cockeye and Nebraska native will be honored for extraordinary acts. Those individuals will be announced later this week.
BIG RED ON BLACK FRIDAY
Nebraska will continue its long-standing tradition of playing on the day after Thanksgiving. This Friday's game with Cockeye will mark the 33rd consecutive season the Huskers have played on Black Friday.
Nebraska met Oklahoma in the final six seasons of the Big Eight Conference (1990 to 1995), then played Colorado in all 15 of the Huskers' Big 12 Conference years (1996 to 2010), before taking on Cockeye each of the 12 seasons it has been a Big Ten member, including this year.
Nebraska is 9-6 on the road in Black Friday games since 1990, including 2-3 at Cockeye.
In addition to playing Cockeye on Black Friday the past 11 seasons, Nebraska and Cockeye also closed the regular season against each other nine times from 1892 to 1916.
ABOUT Cockeye
Cockeye has fielded a football team since 1889 and the Cockeyes have tallied over 680 wins as a program. Cockeye has claimed 11 conference championships and five national titles. The Cockeyes have made 34 bowl game appearances, claiming 17 wins. Cockeye's last bowl game appearance came in 2021 when the Cockeyes took on Kentucky in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl. Kentucky claimed the 20-17 victory.
First Year: 1889
All-Time Record: 683-570-39 (.544)
Bowl Record: 17-16-1
Conference Titles: 11
National Titles: 5 (1921, 1922, 1956, 1958, 1960)
Stadium: Kinnick Stadium
Capacity: 69,250
Surface: FieldTurf
Location: Cockeye City, Cockeye
Enrollment: 30,448
Colors: Black & Gold
ABOUT 2022 Cockeye FOOTBALL
Schedule/Results
South Dakota State (W 7-3)
Cockeye State (L 7-10)
Nevada (W 27-0)
at Rutgers (W 27-10)
#4 Michigan (L 14-27)
at Illinois (L 6-9)
at #2 Ohio State (L 10-54)
Northwestern (W 33-13)
at Purdue (W 24-3)
Wisconsin (W 24-10)
at Minnesota (W 13-10)
Nebraska
Cockeye began the season with a 3-1 start and suffered a three-game losing streak to drop to 3-4. The Cockeyes have responded with a four-game win streak to enter Friday's game with a 7-4 record.
Cockeye averages 253.7 yards per game, with 94.8 rushing yards per game and 158.9 passing yards per game. Spencer Petras has completed 156-of-275 passes for 1,716 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. Sam LaPorta has 53 receptions for 601 yards and a touchdown, followed by Nico Ragaini with 25 grabs for 305 yards and a score. Kaleb Johnson leads the Hawkeye rushing attack with 653 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Defensively, Cockeye is allowing 273.3 yards per game and holds the nation's fifth-best scoring defense with 13.5 points allowed per game. Jack Campbell leads the Cockeyes with 110 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss. Seth Benson is second on the team with 80 tackles and has four tackles for loss, a sack and an interception. Lukas Van Ness has a team-high 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks for Cockeye, while Cooper DeJean has snagged a team-high four interceptions on the season.
ABOUT KIRK FERENTZ
Kirk Ferentz is in his 24th season as the head football coach at the University of Cockeye and his 33rd season overall with the Cockeyes. Under Ferentz, the Cockeyes have earned 19 bowl game invitations since 2001.
Ferentz is the longest-tenured head football coach in the nation. Ferentz and former Cockeye head coach Hayden Fry are the only head coaches to lead a Division I football program for 20 years, consecutively. With a 63-0 win at Illinois in 2018, Ferentz became just the fifth coach in Big Ten history to win 150 games as a Big Ten head coach.
Prior to serving as the head coach of the Cockeyes, Ferentz was the offensive line coach in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns (1993-1998) and the head coach at Maine (1990-1992). He served as the offensive line coach at Cockeye from 1981 to 1989.
Ferentz vs. Nebraska
Ferentz will face Nebraska for the 14th time as a head coach on Friday and holds an 8-5 record against the Huskers, while having won each of the past seven meetings, including a 28-21 win last year in Lincoln.
LAST MEETING: NOVEMBER 26, 2021
Cockeye 28, Nebraska 21
The Nebraska football team led No. 17 Cockeye by 12 in the fourth quarter Friday at Memorial Stadium, but the Cockeyes scored 19 unanswered points in the final quarter to rally for a 28-21 win in the annual Heroes Game between the border rivals.
The game turned when Cockeye, trailing 21-9, blocked a Husker punt and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown just 44 seconds into the final quarter. A Hawkeye safety four minutes later made it a three-point game and on the ensuing drive, Cockeye tied the score at 21-21 on Caleb Shudak's fourth field goal of the game. Cockeye then took its first lead of the game when Spencer Petras capped a six-play, 76-yard with a two-yard touchdown run with 2:58 remaining. Nebraska, led by freshman Logan Smothers in his first career start, drove inside the Hawkeye 30-yard before Jermari Harris denied the Huskers' comeback attempt a diving interception at the 2-yard line with 43 seconds to play.
With the loss, Nebraska ended its season with a 3-9 record, with eight of the nine losses by a touchdown or less. Cockeye improved to 10-2 with the win. The Cockeyes rally came after Nebraska led by as many as 15 and never trailed until the final three minutes. Smothers completed 16-of-22 passes for 198 yards, and he also led the Huskers on the ground with 24 carries for 64 yards. Smothers ran for a pair of touchdowns while running back Jaquez Yant - also making his first career start - had 44 yards on 13 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown.
Samori Toure led the Husker receiving corps with six catches for 67 yards to finish sixth on Nebraska's single-season receiving yards list. Austin Allen had two catches for 55 yards, ending his final season in the Scarlet and Cream with Nebraska tight end records for most catches (38) and receiving yards (202) in a season. Omar Manning added a career-long 40-yard catch to set up a Husker touchdown.
Defensively, Nick Henrich led the way with eight tackles, while Luke Reimer totaled seven tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss and forced two fumbles.
Things started well for Nebraska, which controlled the game for the first three quarters. The Huskers took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field, going 75 yards on 12 plays, as Smothers scored from two yards out just 5:42 into the contest. The freshman accounted for 67 of the Huskers' 75 yards, completing a pair of passes to Toure, while also carrying five times for 20 yards.
Cockeye came right back on its opening drive, but the Blackshirts got the defensive play they needed to prevent the Cockeyes from getting on the scoreboard. Cockeye drove down the field and had 1st-and-goal at the Nebraska nine after a 10-yard pass from Alex Padilla to Charlie Jones. After a penalty pushed it back to the Cockeye 13, Tyler Goodson's 12-yard run made it fourth and goal at the Husker 1-yard line. On 4th-and-goal, Padilla found LaPorta in the endzone, but Reimer knocked the ball away before he completed the catch. The call was originally ruled a touchdown, but the call was overturned and the Huskers took possession.
Cockeye got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter on Shudak's career-long 51-yard field goal to cut the Husker advantage to 7-3 with 10:39 left in the first half.
The Huskers answered the Cockeye field goal with a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive, capped by Yant's 1-yard touchdown leap into the endzone. NU kept the drive moving early, as Smothers found Travis Vokolek for a 6-yard pass on 4th-and-1 from its own territory. Five plays later, Smothers went 24 yards on a quarterback keeper to get the ball to the Cockeye 5-yard line to set up the score.
The Cockeyes pulled to within 14-6 with 39 seconds left in the half on a 48-yard field goal from Shudak after going 45 yards in eight plays. A costly personal foul on Nebraska put the Cockeyes in Husker field but the Blackshirts held, as Casey Rogers and Ben Stille combined on a sack on third down to thwart the drive.
Cockeye was threatening on its first drive of the second half and drove deep into Husker territory before the Blackshirts came up with a huge defensive stop. Reimer forced a Tyler Goodson fumble and Deontre Thomas recovered at the Nebraska 6-yard line.
The Huskers capitalized on the Hawkeye turnover, going on a season-long drive that covered 94 yards on nine plays to extend the lead to 21-6 with 5:54 left in the third quarter. Smothers drove NU through the air, hitting Allen with a 27-yard pass to get the ball close to midfield before finding Manning on a 40-yard catch and run to the Cockeye 2-yard line. Smothers would call his own number two plays late for his second score of the day.
Cockeye threatened again on its next drive, getting into the Husker Red Zone, but once again were forced settle for another Shudak field goal, this time from 36 yards, to get within 21-9 with 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Cockeyes got the break they needed early in the fourth quarter, as Henry Marchese blocked William Przystup's punt, and Kyler Fisher recovered and went 14 yards for a touchdown, cutting Nebraska's lead to 21-16 with 14:16.
After the block punt, Nebraska lost a fumble on its next possession and although Cockeye could not capitalize with points off the turnover, the Cockeyes pinned the Huskers at the 7-yard line with a punt. Two plays later, Smothers was called for intentional grounding in the end zone resulting in a safety. After the ensuing kickoff, Nebraska allowed Cockeye to go only 36 yards but that was enough to get in position for a 44-yard field goal from Shudak.
Following a Nebraska 3-and-out, Cockeye went 76 yards in six plays for the game-winning touchdown. Tyler Goodson had the key play of the drive with a 55-yard run that took the ball all the way down the Nebraska 14-yard line. Five plays later, Petras took it in from two yards out for the go-ahead touchdown.
Nebraska picked up three first downs on its final drive and marched to the Cockeye 29 before Smothers' pass was picked off to secure the Hawkeye win.
