Iowa football: Three takeaways from last-second win over Nebraska

The Iowa football program held on to beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers on a last-second field goal Friday afternoon. Here are our three takeaways from the win.

The Hawkeyes had an opportunity to close out a relatively disappointing season with a victory over rival Nebraska, and for a few minutes in the second half, it appeared they were willing to throw that away. The Iowa football team, however, pulled it together and persevered to beat a recently surging Cornhusker team 31-28 on a last-second Miguel Recinos field goal kick.

There were plenty of things to like and a few things that still left Iowa football fans everywhere wondering what the heck was going on, but all that matters is that Iowa finished with a victory and a 8-4 record  giving them an opportunity to close the season with nine wins to tie for the sixth best win total in the Kirk Ferentz era.

For a team that was in the running for the College Football Playoff as late as week seven and a Big Ten West title as late as week eight, this isn’t the regular season finish the Hawks wanted, but it’s the regular season finish the Hawks needed after three straight heartbreaking losses. It provided an opportunity for the Iowa football team to finish on a strong note and build towards next season, when Iowa returns a large number of their current starters.

In the midst of the victory, the Hawkeyes closed the door on a few story lines that Iowa football fans have been watching closely throughout the season.

Here are the three main takeaways from Iowa’s win over Nebraska.