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The Iowa Hawkeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers met on Friday in their annual rivalry game.
Shortly before kickoff, Iowa’s team captains and Nebraska’s team captains met at the 50-yard line for the coin toss. It’s customary for players from opposing teams to greet one another and shake hands before referees explain which side of the coin represents heads and which side will serve as tails.
But Nebraska’s players decided not to engage in the handshaking ritual with their opponents. At least one of the four Cornhuskers’ captains appeared to shake and look towards the ground as the Hawkeyes players approached.
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Long snapper Luke Elkin, #39, and punter Ty Nissen, #99 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, carry the Heroes Trophy off the field after the win against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Kinnick Stadium on November 29, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
Tensions were already heightened before the coin toss moment after Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule walked through Iowa’s warmup area. Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins explained how his team took exception to Rhule’s pregame actions.
“Our guys are warming up, doing our pregame and their head coach walked through the warmup,” Higgins told reporters after the game. “So we immediately knew what type of game this was.”
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But emotions remained high even after the game kicked off. Higgins was seen getting close to Rhule when the Hawkeyes were on defense in the first quarter.
Higgins said he had told Rhule during the interaction that “it probably wasn’t a good idea to not shake our hands.” The Iowa defender offered a three-word response saying, “Who are you?”
Nebraska did manage to take an early 10-0, but the Hawkeyes scored 13 unanswered points. Iowa kicker Drew Stevens made a 53-yard field goal in the final seconds to secure the victory in the rivalry game.
Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive back Ceyair Wright (15) defends a field goal attempt by Iowa Hawkeyes place kicker Drew Stevens (18) Friday, Nov. 29, 2024 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Higgins did make a concerted effort to shake hands with Rhule moments after the game clock expired.
“After the game, because they didn’t want to shake our hands before the game, I went up to their head coach and shook his hand,” Higgins confirmed. “And told him, ‘Good game.’”
Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz watches warmups before the football game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
At one point during his postgame media session, Higgins asked his teammate, Nick Jackson, to point out the differences that exist within Iowa’s program in comparison to Nebraska.
“Kirk Ferentz — would he ever do something like that?” Higgins asked, to which Jackson quickly replied “no.”
“Be a Hawk,” Jackson said. “You see the difference.”
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Ferentz, who has coached at Iowa for more than a quarter-century, declined to offer a strong opinion on what transpired before the game.
“I heard some stuff in the locker room, but I wasn’t out there,” Ferentz said. “So I didn’t see it and really can’t comment on it. There are certain pregame etiquette most people follow, but again, I didn’t see it.”
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