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Iowa football 2025 early opponent preview: Nebraska
Dylan Raiola will be key for Huskers as they look to improve win total for fourth consecutive year
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Editor’s note: Twelfth in a 12-part series previewing each of Iowa football’s 2025 regular-season opponents.
IOWA CITY — Iowa football’s Big Ten neighbor to the west has been steadily improving.
Nebraska went from three wins in 2021 — Scott Frost’s last full season as head coach — to four (mostly under interim head coach Mickey Joseph). Then the Huskers won five games in Matt Rhule’s first season in 2023 and seven games in 2024.
Rhule led the Huskers in 2024 to their first bowl berth in eight years and their first bowl win in nine years. (They defeated Boston College, 20-15, in the Pinstripe Bowl.)
When it comes to Iowa-Nebraska games, though, the ascendant Huskers still have a tendency to come up just short. The Hawkeyes have won nine of the last 10 games against Nebraska. Every game in the series since 2018, including Nebraska’s 2022 win, has been decided by one possession.
Dylain Raiola will enter his second year as Nebraska’s starting quarterback after throwing for 2,819 yards and completing 67.1 percent of his passes — freshman records at Nebraska. He had 13 touchdowns versus 11 interceptions.
His targets include Kentucky transfer Dane Key, who joined the Huskers after racking up 126 career catches for 1,870 yards and 14 touchdowns in three seasons. He finished the Kentucky chapter of his college football career ranking fifth in the program’s all-time receptions leaderboard.
Marques Watson-Tent transferred from Georgia Southern after five seasons there and could be an instant difference-maker at linebacker for the Huskers. He had 16 games with double-digit tackle numbers in his five years with the Eagles.
Players returning from last year’s defense include Malcolm Hartzog, who led the team with four interceptions in 2024. But Nebraska must replace 2025 NFL fourth-rounder Ty Robinson’s production, and edge rusher Jimari Butler, who transferred to LSU.
Iowa vs. Nebraska: 3 things to watch
- Dylan Raiola vs. Iowa’s defense. Nebraska was 5-1 last year when Raiola completed at least 70 percent of his passes. When he fell short of that mark, the Huskers were 2-5.
- How much of an advantage do the Hawkeyes establish on special teams? Iowa’s 13-10 win over Nebraska last year may have had a different outcome, had it not been for the Huskers’ muffed punt that Iowa recovered on the 4-yard line.
- How well can the Hawkeyes establish the run? Nebraska held Iowa to a mere 49 rushing yards in last year’s game, but the Huskers also do not have the same level of experience on the defensive line in 2025.
2025 prognosis
Iowa has clearly held the upper hand in this rivalry, but Rhule, Raiola and Co. have the potential to close the gap.
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