The pants predict: Iowa vs. Nebraska

It’s a freezing day in Iowa City for Senior Day, but here at The Pants we’re keeping warm with some reheated leftovers.

On Friday night, it might feel like the Hawkeyes were left too, after we stuffed ourselves with a day of football and then headed out into the cold to cheer on Iowa. Luckily, the good people in the desert seem to think this should be a win for the Hawkeyes. Our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook had Iowa up by as much as 5.5 points all week. On Friday morning, however, the limit dropped to Iowa -3 in a game with an over/under set of 39.5 total points. That’s an implied final of Iowa 21.25, Nebraska 18.25.

Here at The Pants, we’re a little more optimistic. Things haven’t been going well most of the year, but we’re in the holiday spirit (well, all but one of us). On average, we expect a final score of 26 for Iowa and 20 for Nebraska. That would have been the points before the line shift, and the total points are still quite a bit higher.

Here’s a look at our individual predictions for tonight’s match.

JPinIC

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!

Man, what do we think of this team? I have the same concerns about Nebraska as I did about Maryland, but we had a really solid performance on the road here. Black Friday, night game, senior day — that’s all that usually makes me think Iowa has it all figured out. But every time I thought something like that about this group, they completely screwed me over.

Pooh.

Either way, I’m ready to get hurt again. The Hawks haven’t scored fewer than 38 points since the Week 2 debacle in Kinnick. Jackson Stratton isn’t perfect, but he’s good enough. Another week of training and I think Tim Lester can continue to get the best out of him. KJ2 runs to 150 and 2 points and the defense gets away with a few turnovers despite giving up a big play. Let us all be grateful that we were not born Huskers.

Prediction: Iowa 35, Nebraska 20

matt cable

I hate losing to Iowa State and I hate losing to Nebraska. For the love of God, please win.

Prediction: Iowa 20, Nebraska 17

Bart Pierce

Just when I’m starting to think I know a little about Iowa football, the Hawks throw a wrench into my predictions (if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball). The Hawks should beat an improved Nebraska team. Run the damn football a thousand times. Then Shaggy can throw a flea-flickering home run ball to send Nebby home. College football is a changing beast, but I still love it. Thank you to J-Higg (and Kaleb) and all the other guys who played their last game at Kinnick. Come on, hawks!

Prediction: Iowa 27, Nebraska 26

SirNicholas33

Who knows? Nebraska needed to win one of its final two games to secure bowl eligibility. They did this while keeping Wisconsin off the field heading into the final week of the season. So was last week a major energy expenditure for the Huskers, or is there still gas left in the tank?

Plus, they still stink in close games – losing to Illinois by 7 in overtime, beating Rutgers by 7, then a string of close losses at Ohio State (4), UCLA (7) and at USC (8). 1-4 in those games. They’re just not that good at it, and besides, it’s in Iowa City, where Iowa has been mostly fantastic all season.

Plus the weather is going to stink. It’s Dylan Raiola’s first real cold weather game. Can the talented newcomer handle it? I think it’s a year too early for him. Bad weather for Raiola and the game is in Iowa City – that should equate to an Iowa win.

Prediction: Iowa 31, Nebraska 17

MattReisener

If the last six years or so of this rivalry have taught us anything, it’s that a game between Iowa and Nebraska is almost always going to be close, regardless of how big the gap is between the two teams. Given that very good Iowa teams have often struggled to beat bad Nebraska teams, and that this is the first Cornhusker team to make a bowl game in several years, it’s easy to call this a game, where Nebraska comes out on top. But the Huskers’ performance in close games remains atrocious, and the Hawkeye defense showed real signs of recovery against Maryland last week. If Kaleb Johnson and the running game can get something going against a strong Nebraska defensive line, the Hawkeyes should be able to pull out a win.

Prediction: Iowa 20, Nebraska 17

GlendaleHawk

I’ll be honest, I don’t really know how this will play out. We’re starting our fourth quarterback against an above-average defense that knows exactly where our bread and butter lies. We may have the best rushing offense in the conference, but Nebraska is one of the better rush defenses and they won’t make it easy for KJ. Tim Lester may need to give Stratton a little more of a leash this week, at least enough for him to hang himself on. So maybe we’ll see him take off, or maybe we’ll get a performance like Brendan Sullivan did against UCLA. Luckily, Nebraska has proven time and time again that they are very good at finding ways to lose very winnable games, and I think Kinnick Magic sends them back to Lincoln at 6-6.

Prediction: Iowa 28, Nebraska 17

GingerHawk

Something is giving me a bad mood about this game, even before the season has started. I pray I’m wrong, but in this case I’m sticking with my preseason pick.

Prediction: Nebraska 24, Iowa 23

So here’s how things will play out tonight. Let us know your predictions in the comments below.