Iowa Football 2023 Schedule Breakdown: Nebraska Cornhuskers
Finally, here it is, the Nebraska game.
It’s been a long road on the 2023 schedule breakdowns. We started this all the way back in the beginning of June before the summer season even began. Now with fall football right around the corner, there is no better way to end it than with the Cornhuskers. The Iowa-Nebraska rivalry game has traditionally been the final regular season game for both teams, set for the day after Thanksgiving.
A rivalry many saw as manufactured, starting once Nebraska made the leap to the Big Ten, Iowa-Nebraska has become one of the more meaningful games of the season for both squads. It can play a massive role in who goes to the Big Ten Championship, something we all saw last year. Needing just a win against a Nebraska program still in disarray, the Cornhuskers took the fight to the Hawkeyes and came home with the victory. The Hawkeyes would be watching the Big Ten Championship from home.
It will be a new-look Nebraska squad looking to keep the Heroes Trophy in Lioncoln this year. Here is a look at the new Cornhuskers squad.
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Breaking the habit
The Iowa-Nebraska rivalry is one that the Hawkeyes have dominated in recent years. Despite the Cornhuskers leading the all-time series, aided by their dominance in the very early years, The Hawkeyes had a seven-game win streak heading into last year.
Of course, the Cornhuskers would break that streak of losses with a 24-17 victory, in Iowa City no less. Iowa leads the trophy series—basically the real start of the modern rivalry—8-4. Matt Rhule will look to put an end to that era of Hawkeye dominance.
A new man at the helm
Speaking of Matt Rhule, he’s the new coach! The bright lights of the Big Ten were way too bright for Scott Frost. After a successful stint as offensive coordinator at Oregon, coaching Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, Frost had a great stint in Central Florida. He led UCF to an undefeated season in 2017, claiming an unofficial “national championship.”
He never experienced nearly the same level of success with the Cornhuskers, failing to produce a single winning season. They gave him chances. Oh so many chances, giving Frost four full seasons before giving him the axe midway through last year. That 45-42 loss to Georgia Southern was deemed just too much.
Now Matt Rhule is the man in charge, fresh off a disastrous stint in the NFL. While he only won 11 games with the Carolina Panthers, Rhule is back where he belongs at the collegiate level. This is the man who turned Temple from a two-win team to a squad that won 10 games twice. He then would turn around a Baylor program, going from a one-win squad his debut season to 11 wins in 2019.
Bringing in yet another quarterback
Quarterback has been a steady revolving door for Nebraska over the past few years. After Adrian Martinez was at the school for seemingly forever, he left to try and play at Kansas State. The Cornhuskers brought in Texas transfer Casey Thompson to start. The results were very mixed. Thompson packed his bags after the season and now looks to start for Florida Atlantic, where he will probably kill it.
The Cornhuskers will see their third different day-one starter in as many years, bringing in former Georgia Tech passer Jeff Sims.
Nebraska trying to go bowling again
Remember how I said Scott Frost did not have a successful tenure at Nebraska, this stat really shows it. The Cornhuskers will look to go bowling in 2023 for the first time since 2016. They will look for their first winning season since that year under now-New Jersey Generals head coach Mike Riley.
Utilizing the Transfer Portal
Rhule doesn’t seem keen on starting his tenure with another one- or two-win season, bringing in multiple players who can play essential rules now.
Of course there is new starting quarterback Jeff Sims, but he is just the tip of the iceberg. Ben Scott started 28 games over three seasons at Arizona State. He has experience at right tackle and center, where he played last year and figures to fill in at for the Cornhuskers.
MJ Sherman comes to the Cornhusker state after winning two national championships with Georgia. A consensus four-star recruit, Sherman was ranked in the top 75 in the 2020 class by all major recruiting sites. The 6-foot-2, 250-pound outside linebacker wasn’t really able to crack a stacked Georgia defense, but he figures to start at outside linebacker for the Huskers.
Of course, we can’t talk about Sherman without mentioning his fellow Georgia transfer Arik Gilbert. Gilbert was one of the highest-rated tight end recruits in recent memory, viewed as a consensus top-10 player in the 2020 class. He wasn’t able to play much for the Bulldogs after transferring there in 2021, stuck behind Darnell Washington and Mackey Award winner Brock Bowers.
Gilbert has the potential to be a superstar, but he hasn’t shown it on the field yet. We still don’t know whether or not the NCAA will grant him a transfer waiver either, because that’s apparently something the NCAA still cares about.
Youth up front, experience in the back
There is a vast difference between the defensive front and the secondary on the Nebraska defense. The Cornhuskers did not get to the quarterback much last year, but their most productive pass rushers are all off to the next level. Linebacker Garrett Nelson, who led the team with 5.5 sacks, and Ochaun Mathis all graduated to the NFL.
Now Nebraska will look to two freshmen to make an impact on the defensive line. True freshmen Princewill Umanmielen and Cameron Lenhardt are listed as starters at defensive end and tackle respectively. Umanmielen was a prized four-star recruit.
As a stark contrast, Nebraska returns a ton of experience in the secondary. Quinton Newsome, Malcolm Hartzog, and Marques Burford Jr. all return after starting last season.
Key Player: Jeff Sims, Quarterback
Jeff Sims is a player draft scouts have been waiting on to break out for years now. He’s such an obviously talented player, from his mobility to his natural arm strength. Unfortunately, he was not able to put it all together at Georgia Tech. It was always going to be a tall task for Sims as the first non-triple option quarterback in years for the Yellow Jackets.
Now, Sims will look to revitalize his career in Lincoln under Matt Rhule. He’s one of the true wild cards of the Big Ten. He may not hit on his great potential, but if he does, he can take Nebraska’s offense to new heights.
Key Player: Anthony Grant / Gabe Ervin, Running Back
At times, Anthony Grant looked like a dominant force for the Cornhuskers. Given his first chance to start after transferring from Florida State, Grant racked up over 100 yards in five games. He finished with 915 yards and six touchdowns with 4.2 yards per carry, not bad at all.
There were some downright awful games for the senior back though. He was held under three yards a carry in five games, failing to reach 50 yards in six. Not all of this was his fault, of course. Nebraska’s offense was a general mess and the offensive line was not great.
Despite running with Grant last year, he doesn’t appear to be the starting back for the Cornhuskers heading into the season though. While impressive as a runner in camp, he’s struggled with fumbles. Rhule has reportedly called Gabe Ervin “clearly the number one guy.”
Key Player: Billy Kemp, Wide receiver
Billy Kemp IV is the one big transfer that I did not mention, and that was for a reason. I wanted to give him his own spot because he could be one of the most important players to this Cornhuskers offense.
A pure weapon, Kemp is the type of player who can line up anywhere on the field and yield results. Virginia used him in a variety of ways, and in turn, he was one of their most successful receivers in school history. He totaled 192 receptions for the Cavaliers before transferring to Nebraska for his final year of eligibility. Expect to hear his name called on Saturdays a lot!
Key Player: Luke Reimer, Linebacker
Finally, we have the centerpiece of the Nebraska defense Luke Reimer. The senior linebacker is a two-time Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media. He has led the Cornhuskers defense in total tackles two years in a row now. If he did not miss a pair of games due to injury last year, he more than likely would have turned in another 100-tackle season. Look for Reimer to try and break into an All-Big Ten team in his final season.
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