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Quarterback: B-
The offense only put up 10 points, and freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola was a big reason.
Raiola finished the game with 190 passing yards and a 69% completion percentage. Against a good Iowa defense, these aren’t bad stats. However, what the stats won’t show are all the missed opportunities by Raiola. He missed some key throws in the game and also fumbled the ball three times, losing one of them which lost Nebraska the game.
Still, Raiola once again looked comfortable in Holgorsen’s offense. He was slinging the ball around and making plays with a run game struggling to break off runs. However, Raiola needs to be more careful with the ball.
Running Backs: B
After a breakout game last week, sophomore Emmett Johnson was held in check by the Hawkeye defense.
Johnson was the workhorse, tallying 18 carries for 71 yards. He broke off a 19-yard carry at one point in the game, but he wasn’t able to make any big-time plays for a Husker offense that desperately needed it. Johnson was also active in the passing game, but only turned his six catches into 25 yards. He couldn’t break off any of the swing passes for big gains.
Dowdell was effective in short yardage, turning 13 carries into 50 and a touchdown. They weren’t ineffective, but the lack of big plays in the running game put a lot of pressure on Raiola and the passing game.
Receivers: B+
Iowa is a zone defense team and the wide receivers took advantage of it.
Senior Jahmal Banks was finding open space in the coverage at critical times in the game, recording 4 catches for 41 yards. Freshman Jacory Barney Jr. was held in check by Iowa, hauling in only three catches for 29 yards, although he did turn one catch into a 23-yard gain.
The stats could have been even better for the receivers if not for a couple of missed throws by Raiola. Senior Isaiah Neyor had a forgettable game, recording only two catches for seven yards while also dropping a key pass in the fourth quarter down the middle of the field.
There has been a lot of criticism of the wide receivers this year, but they were far from the issue in this tough loss for Nebraska.
Offensive Line: B-
The offensive line didn’t hold up great in pass protections on Friday night against the Hawkeyes.
The line gave up four sacks in the game, with three of them allowing a defender to get behind Raiola and force a fumble. The line was getting a decent push at the line of scrimmage in the run game, but the pass protection was surprisingly lackluster. This group played a fairly clean game penalty-wise, however, as they had only two false starts in the game.
More was expected out of this group in pass protection, leading to an average grade.
Defensive Line: A
Nebraska’s defensive line came to play knowing Iowa would try to run the ball all game.
Iowa junior running back Kaleb Johnson averaged only 2.6 yards a carry in the game, recording 17 carries for 45 yards. He did break off a swing pass for a 72-yard touchdown, but that wasn’t on the defensive line. Senior Ty Robinson once again was very active in the game, recording three tackles and a TFL, and freshman James Williams recorded the Huskers’ lone sack.
The Hawkeyes couldn’t get anything going in the traditional running game, and that all starts with the big guys up front.
Linebackers: B+
Outside of one play, this grade could have easily been an A as well for the linebackers. However, Iowa’s lone touchdown brings this grade down.
Senior John Bullock along with multiple other Husker defenders failed to bring down Johnson on his 72-yard touchdown, allowing Iowa to tie the game 10-10. This was a momentum-shifting play that put the Hawkeyes right back in the game.
Outside of that one play, however, the linebackers were very active in filling the gaps in the run game. Still, that one play will hunt the Blackshirt defense for a long time.
Secondary: A-
Iowa didn’t pass downfield much, so the secondary wasn’t tested.
This isn’t surprising, given the Hawkeyes were starting their fifth-string quarterback. 72 of sophomore quarterback Jackson Stratton’s 115 passing yards were off of one play. He was rattled by the play of Nebraska’s defensive line. Senior Issac Gifford made a key stop at the goal line in the third quarter to hold Iowa to a field goal, highlighting an impressive day for the defense.
While they weren’t tested too often, you have to give credit to the secondary for not giving Iowa a big passing play downfield.
Special Teams: D-
This is the group that fans will say lost Nebraska this game.
A muffed punt, a shanked punt and a missed field goal will do that for you. The missed field goal wasn’t on freshman kicker John Hohl, as the snap and hold were not executed well. Senior punter Brian Buschini also didn’t have a great game, averaging only 34.9 yards on seven punts.
The key play in the game, however, was the debacle on the one punt return. Senior Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda acted like he was going to fair catch the punt, but he ducked away from it at the last second. Freshman Vincent Shavers Jr., not knowing this, tried to dive on the ball, but he didn’t come up with it, and Iowa got the ball at Nebraska’s four-yard line.
Iowa’s game plan was just to wait for the Huskers to mess up, and they messed up multiple times in the game, specifically on special teams.
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