What a wild 24 hours it was for veteran Aaron Graves on Friday morning.
Graves was in the hospital with his wife, Aubrey, on Thursday as she gave birth to their first child, Grayson.
He arrived in Lincoln late Thursday night to be ready for a pivotal rivalry matchup against the Cornhuskers on Thursday morning.
After the game, Graves was extremely emotional when he was talking about his newborn son during media availability following Iowa's dominating 40-16 win.
Yesterday, Aaron Graves' wife, Aubrey, gave birth to their baby boy, Grayson.
— KCRG Sports (@KCRG_Sports) November 28, 2025
Graves got emotional when asked if he was thinking about his newborn son today.
Added, "I told Aubrey when I left, 'I'm not leaving you here in the hospital to lose" pic.twitter.com/rQvIV6nJkZ
Graves started by holding back tears as he spoke about his newborn son. He stated that he loves him so much and apologized to reporters for not being able to talk.
He followed that up by telling reporters that he told his wife before leaving the hospital, "I'm not leaving you here in the hospital to lose."
Graves and the Iowa defense responded after being destroyed by Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson in the first quarter.
Even though Johnson finished the game with 217 rushing yards and a touchdown, the Hawkeyes' defense forced Nebraska to be one-dimensional by pressuring quarterback TJ Lateef all game.
Lateef was noticeably limping throughout the game, forcing the Cornhuskers' offense to rely heavily on Johnson and the running game.
The defense allowed no points in the second half and guided the Hawkeyes to their eighth win of the season.
Graves finished the game with two tackles and a pass defense as the Hawkeyes finished the regular season strong with two wins.
Iowa now awaits its bowl game selection following the conclusion of the season.