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Almost every game involving Iowa is close. Nepotism infects Iowa's offense, while its defense remains robust.

Nebraska still has a pulse. Nebraska will be playing for a bowl game, and it will be senior day.

No matter what happens, Iowa will appear in the Holiday Bowl.

The Nebraska turnover bugaboo continues. They had two turnovers against Maryland, but then Maryland turned it over four times, so Nebraska actually won a battle of turnovers in Week 13.

Iowa takes better care of the ball than Maryland. The football will feel like a greased pig in Nebraska's hands, again. Iowa manages to get into the end zone twice; Iowa will come up short three more times scoring field goals.  Nebraska has an offense so it does manage two scores.

Iowa 23 - Nebraska 10 

Nate Stanley in Trophy games or big games

Rule #1

Nate Stanley does not lose to Iowa State (3-0), Minnesota (3-0),  Nebraska (2-0) or in bowl games (2-0)

Rule #2

Nate Stanley never beats Wiscy (0-3) or PSU (0-3)

Nebraska will enter its season finale with Iowa as a slight underdog, according to early point spreads released in Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon. 

The Circa Casino Sports Book opened the game with Iowa as a three-point favorite. That line quickly went up to four points before settling back at 3.5 points as of 2 p.m. CT.

The Matchup
Nebraska completes its 2019 regular season on Friday afternoon with its traditional Thanksgiving Friday matchup with Big Ten West rival Iowa. Game time from Memorial Stadiium is set for 1:30 p.m. CT with television coverage provided by BTN. The game can be heard on the Husker Sports Network from Learfield-IMG.

Nebraska will enter the game witih a 5-6 record, following a 54-7 victory over Maryland on Saturday in College Park. The 47-point margin of victory was Nebraska's largest against a Big Ten opponent in its nine seasons in the conference. The Husker offense continued to find a late-season stride, rolling up more than 500 yards, including more than 200 yards both rushing and passing for the third time in four games.

Nebraska needs a victory in the Heroes Game matchup in order to become bowl eligible for the first time since the 2016 season. The Huskers will also be looking for their first win over Iowa since a victory in Iowa City in 2014.

Iowa will come to Lincoln with an 8-3 overall record and a 5-3 record in Big Ten Conference play. The Hawkeyes are ranked 19th in the Associated Press Poll and No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Iowa has won its past two games heading into the regular-season finale, including a 19-10 victory over Illinois on Saturday in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes boast one of the nation's top defenses, allowing just 306.1 yards and 12.2 points per game. Iowa has not allowed an opponent to score more than 24 points and has limited five teams to 10 points or fewer.

Series History
Nebraska and Iowa will meet for the ninth straight year in the regular-season finale on Friday at Memorial Stadium.

Before Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011, the teams met 41 times as non-conference opponents, including 14 games between 1930 and 1946. Nebraska and Iowa also met four straight years from 1979 to 1982, and the final matchups as non-conference opponents were in 1999 and 2000.

This year's meeting will mark the ninth straight year that Nebraska and Iowa will meet on the day after Thanksgiving. After a two-year break from the Black Friday matchup between the schools in 2020 and 2021, Nebraska and Iowa are scheduled to resume their post-Thanksgiving matchup in 2022.

Nebraska had an eight-game win streak in the series and a pair of five-game win streaks. Iowa's current four-game win streak is its longest in the series.

Nebraska Continues Thanksgiving Friday Tradition
Nebraska will continue its long-standing tradition of playing on the day after Thanksgiving. This Friday's game with Iowa will mark the 30th consecutive season the Huskers have played on Thanksgiving Friday.

NU met Oklahoma in the final six seasons of the Big Eight Conference (1990 to 1995), then played Colorado in all 15 of the Huskers' Big 12 Conference years (1996 to 2010), before taking on Iowa each of the past nine seasons.

Nebraska will close the 2020 and 2021 seasons against Minnesota on Black Friday, before Iowa returns as the opponet for the regular season finale beginning in 2022.

•    Nebraska owns a 19-10 record since 1990 in games on the day after Thanksgiving, including a 5-1 record against Oklahoma, an 11-4 mark against Colorado and a 3-5 mark against Iowa.

•    Nebraska is 10-5 at home in Black Friday games since 1990, including 1-3 against the Hawkeyes.

•    In addition to the past eight years, Nebraska and Iowa also closed the regular season against each other nine times from 1892 to 1916. ??????

I don't really care but if you're going to do It might as well do It with an opponent that wants to do It.  I suppose it seems less disruptive to play a team that is relatively close.   

Of course I say relative,  because 'close' in the western portions of the Midwest isn't all that close to those of us in eastern time zone.

I and it appears most Husker fans prefer to play the Hawkeyes on Black Friday

but, I live within sight of the Missouri river - on the border on the wrong side, the Iowa side

playing Wisconsin in November is also a good idea.  No sense in scheduling Maryland late in the season for the Huskers as a West Division team.