The Iowa Hawkeyes defeated Nebraska 28-20 Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln to complete an undefeated season and the team’s first ever 12-0 record.
It is the fifth time in school history the Hawkeyes have had an undefeated regular season, and the first time in the modern era. The other undefeated seasons came in 1899 at 8-0-1; 1900 at 8-0-1; 1921 at 7-0 and 1922 at 7-0.
Iowa won five road games for the fourth time in school history (1982, 1991, 2002) and they finish the Big Ten regular season at 8-0 for the second time under Kirk Ferentz, the last coming in 2002.
The Hawkeyes scored first in the game on a 10-yard pass from C.J. Beathard to George Kittle with 2:53 to play in the first quarter and never trailed in the game. Running back Jordan Canzeri scored on touchdowns runs of 28 and 68 yards on consecutive plays in the third quarter, each time answering a Nebraska score.
The last touchdown game with 6:43 to go in the 3rd quarter and gave Iowa a 28-17 lead. The defense held the Huskers to just a field goal for the rest of the game. Iowa’s defense came up big when it needed to throughout the game, picking off Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong 4 times on the day, including one Parker Hesse returned 4 yards for a touchdown.
Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard is now 13-0 in the games he has started and is the only quarterback in school history to win his first 13 career starts.
The Hawkeyes travel to Indianapolis to compete in the Big Ten Championship game on December 5th. They will play Michigan State if the Spartans win Saturday against Penn State.