Hawkeyes Win Heroes Game

By John Bohnenkamp

Drew Stevens was planning the celebration as early as the second quarter, which may seem absurd considering the way Iowa was playing at the time.

The Hawkeyes hadn’t scored and were on their way to a 20-yard, 0-point first half in Friday’s game against Nebraska at Kinnick Stadium, and yet here was Iowa’s kicker planning on what he was going to do if/when he kicked the game-winning field goal.

“I was like, ‘Dude, we should go lead the team down to the (Heroes) trophy,’” Stevens said almost in a whisper as he told the story.

It turned out to be a good plan. Stevens’ 53-yard field goal that had cut through the frosty Kinnick Stadium air was barely through the goal post before Stevens was, as he had planned, running toward the north end zone, dodging teammates and waving as the celebration swirled around him.

The Hawkeyes’ 13-10 win was another one of those how-did-they-do-its, another one of those crushing blows delivered to the Huskers by a pesky Iowa kicker since 2018.

Keith Duncan did it. So did Miguel Recinos. Marshall Meeder did it last year in place of Stevens, who had struggled earlier in that game.

Now it was Stevens’ turn.

“I was looking forward to this game,” Stevens said. “I know I can say that now, but I was looking forward to this game.”

Stevens was bothered by last season, when he had two field goals blocked in the first half against the Huskers and then, with the game on the line, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz went with Meeder.

“I mean, it sucks when somebody else is out there doing your job,” Stevens said. “Especially when you train all year round. So yeah, this one felt really good. I was confident going out there.”

But this is a different Stevens, a player who admits he has gotten better on and off the field because of his struggles at the end of last year.

Stevens is 19-of-22 this season, and was coming off a day of five field goals in last Saturday’s win over Maryland.

“Basically, he got benched last year,” Ferentz said. “What a contrast with this year. We had all the confidence in him.”

Stevens knew the length wouldn’t bother him — he kicked a 64-yarder toward the south goal post during warmups coming out of halftime. He got off his first attempt at the kick, but not before Nebraska called a timeout.

“I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I got this, the wind’s not doing crap with my ball,’” Stevens said.

The next kick was just as solid, just as accurate.

“Drew’s a fricking beast,” said defensive end Max Llewellyn, who set up the kick with a strip sack of Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola, recovering the fumble at the Huskers’ 36-yard line.

This was a game in which the Hawkeyes (8-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten) were bound to lose after a first half of zero points and 20 yards of offense. The 10-0 halftime deficit seemed like a canyon to cross.

A muffed punt in the third quarter gave the Hawkeyes the ball at the Nebraska 4-yard line, but all they could get out of it was a Stevens’ field goal.

Then came the fourth quarter, and how it ended was because of how the quarter started.

Iowa quarterback Jackson Stratton threw a simple swing pass to running back Kaleb Johnson, who turned what looked to be a short gain into a 72-yard touchdown. Johnson escaped five would-be tacklers in a weaving trip.

“He was making (defensive backs) miss, as usual,” Stratton said. “He's a great running back, and he did what he does every game. He's way faster than me. I was trying to go down there and block for him, but he's way faster than me.”

That tied the game, and then the teams traded empty possessions before Llewellyn stripped Raiola, and suddenly Stevens had a chance to execute his plan.

The Hawkeyes were outgained 334-164, had five first downs to Nebraska’s 20, and went 0-of-10 on third downs.

And won for the ninth time in the last 10 games against the Huskers.

The Hawkeyes are 21-3 in November since 2019. The latest win was a mystery on how it happened.

Even it the celebration was planned long before the outcome.