University of Nebraska Head Football Coach Mike Riley announced on Thursday the hiring of four assistant football coaches that will help lead the Husker football program into the future.  All four assistant coaches worked for Riley at Oregon State, and all have proven track records as great coaches, teachers, mentors and outstanding recruiters.

The full-time coaches announced on Thursday include defensive assistants Mark Banker and Trent Bray, offensive assistant Mike Cavanaugh, and one of the nation’s most respected special teams experts in Bruce Read.  No coordinator designations, other than special teams, have been made to this point.

The staff members Coach Riley added on Thursday have a combined 97 years of coaching experience and a combined 45 years working with Riley, including time at Oregon State and the San Diego Chargers.

“I am excited to have the first pieces in place regarding our staffing,” Riley said. “I’m very excited about the coaches that are on board right now. I’ve worked with them and trust them and know the kind of work they do. They are excited to represent the University of Nebraska and our football program, and we are fortunate to have them on staff.”

Mark Banker has worked with Riley for 18 seasons, including 14 seasons together at Oregon State, where Banker served as defensive coordinator. Banker worked strictly as defensive coordinator since 2012, but also spent time coaching the Beaver linebackers and safeties during his time on Riley’s staff.

Under Banker’s direction, the Beaver defense was regularly among the top units in the Pac-12 Conference. More than 70 of Banker’s defenders have earned all-conference honors during his tenure in Corvallis.

The Oregon State defense has ranked near the top of the Pac-12 in total defense several times under Banker, most recently ranking third in 2012. Banker’s 2007 Beaver defense led the nation in rushing defense and ranked eighth nationally in total defense.

Trent Bray has spent the past three seasons tutoring linebackers at Oregon State. In his first season on the Beaver staff in 2012, Oregon State ranked second in the Pac-12 in scoring defense and third in total defense, rushing defense and pass defense. Bray also coached linebackers at Arizona State from 2009 to 2011.

Bray was a standout linebacker for the Beavers from 2002 to 2005. In his career he totaled 337 tackles to rank among the top 10 tacklers in Oregon State history. He earned Pac-10 all-conference honors as both a junior and senior.

Mike Cavanaugh has spent the past 10 seasons on Riley’s staff, coaching the Beaver offensive line. Cavanaugh also spent time in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, and has several collegiate coaching stops, including six years as the offensive line coach at Hawaii.

The play of Cavanaugh’s offensive lines has helped the Beavers to record-setting offensive numbers. Quarterback Sean Mannion set single-season and career Pac-12 records for passing yards, while also paving the way for several all-conference runners. Beaver running backs Yvenson Bernard and Jacquizz Rodgers each produced three 1,000-yard rushing seasons behind Cavanaugh-coached lines. Cavanaugh’s offensive lines were also regularly among the league’s best at protecting the passer, and 23 of his players earned all-conference honors in the past decade.

Bruce Read has focused on special teams throughout his 29 years in coaching. Most recently, Read has been on Riley’s Oregon State staff since 2009, Read’s third stint at Oregon State. He also coached the Beaver special teams in 1997 and 1998, and from 2004 to 2006. The OSU special teams have achieved numerous school records under Read’s direction, including James Rodgers becoming the school’s career all-purpose yardage leader in 2011, partially fueled by 2,385 career return yards.

Read was also on Riley’s San Diego Chargers staff and was an NFL special teams assistant with the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.

Quoting Nebraska’s New Assistant Coaches

Mark Banker

“I’m very excited to join the University of Nebraska family, and be a part of a football program with such an extensive tradition of excellence on the football field and in the classroom. Specifically as a defensive coach, it is an honor to be a part of the Blackshirts and I look forward to helping continue that tradition.”

Trent Bray

“It is an honor to be here at Nebraska in a program with such great history and legacy. I am very excited to get started. I have great faith in and loyalty to Coach Riley and the opportunity to continue to work with him at a place like Nebraska is an unbelievable opportunity.”

Mike Cavanaugh

“I am more than excited to be with Coach Riley at the University of Nebraska. The tradition of excellence here is amazing. I am really honored to be able to work with the offensive line at a program with such a history of success in that area.”

Bruce Read

“This is a great opportunity to be a part of a program with such outstanding tradition and success like the University of Nebraska. I am really excited to be here and it is an honor to be able to continue to work with Coach Riley. I have been with him a lot of years and he provides a great environment for coaches and student-athletes. It is fun to go to work for him every day of the year.”

— NU Sports Information —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Kyle Hittle hit a contested baseline jumper after Nebraska’s Terran Petteway threw away an inbound pass, and Incarnate Word upset Nebraska 74-73 on Wednesday night for the biggest victory in the Cardinals’ one-plus seasons making the transition from Division II to Division I.

The Cornhuskers looked like they might survive after Shawn Johnson made 2 of 3 free throws to leave Incarnate Word (6-1) down a point with 6.7 seconds left.

But Petteway threw to no one on the inbound play, and the ball rolled out of bounds near the half court line. Mitchell Badillo inbounded to Hittle, who took two steps and made his 10-footer along the baseline.

Petteway’s desperation shot at the buzzer was short.

Jontrell Walker scored 19 points to lead five Incarnate Word players in double figures. Shavon Shields had 19 to lead the Huskers (5-3).

— Associated Press —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — So much for Nebraska ending three years of frustration against in-state rival Creighton.

The Cornhuskers, with almost everybody back from their NCAA tournament team and a rocking full house at Pinnacle Bank Arena, figured this was their time to beat a Creighton team that’s still breaking in four new starters.

Well, there’s always next year.

Austin Chatman scored 16 points, Isiah Zierden hit three big 3-pointers in the second half and Creighton defeated the Huskers 65-55 Sunday night.

The fans wearing red started heading for the exits a minute before the Bluejays (7-2) finished their fourth straight double-digit win over the Huskers (5-2) and became the second team to win on Nebraska’s home court in 21 games.

“We emptied our own gym. That’s the first time that’s happened. That’s a low point for any coach,” third-year Huskers coach Tim Miles said.

Zierden had all 13 of his points in the second half, and Chatman added seven rebounds and six assists.

“It’s always significant when you beat Nebraska because they are our rival,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “I think it is the one game that all fans mark on their calendar. So that makes it fun.

“We hadn’t found a way to get a win against a quality opponent on the road, and we needed to check that off our list. I think there is something in the belief that you can actually do it. And had we lost a close game after how we played defensively, that would have been a tough pill to swallow.”

Terran Petteway had 21 points to lead Nebraska, which shot 37.7 percent.

Creighton, down by 10 points late in the first half, was within 28-27 at half and then hit 3 of 4 3-pointers in the middle of the second half to go ahead.

Zierden’s 3 from in front of his bench broke a 39-39 tie, and the Bluejays were up five when Will Artino, after having a shot blocked by Tarin Smith, got the ball right back and flipped it in with his left hand.

Petteway’s fast-break dunk off Benny Parker’s pass got the Huskers within 51-49, but another Zierden 3 and Artino’s scoop shot gave the Bluejays a seven-point lead with under 3 minutes left.

Chatman said winning in front of a large and noisy crowd made the accomplishment all the better.

“It felt like my freshman year when we played at San Diego State,” he said. “Everybody was jumping around, the floor was shaking a little bit, it was loud. We couldn’t really hear Mac trying to call plays as much. It was a pretty tough environment.”

TIP INS

Creighton: Creighton has played the Huskers every year since 1977, making it by far the Bluejays’ longest-running non-conference series. … The Bluejays, who shot 47.1 percent, came in shooting just 42.3 percent in their previous three games.

Nebraska: Shavon Shields, averaging 20 points a game, was held scoreless until his layups on two straight possessions early in the second half. He finished with seven points.

SENIORS MOMENT

Creighton’s three seniors finished 4-0 against the Huskers. “I am really proud of them given what we lost last year,” McDermott said. “This is their team now, and our preparation this week was really, really good.”

Likewise, the three seniors who have been at Nebraska for their entire careers never beat the team from Omaha.

“It’s bad,” David Rivers said. “We didn’t execute well offensively or defensively. They made all the right plays. It’s unfortunate. We have to learn from this and get better.”

UP NEXT

Creighton hosts South Dakota on Tuesday.

Nebraska hosts Incarnate Word on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska has been selected to take on USC in the National University Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Saturday, Dec. 27. The matchup will take place at Qualcomm Stadium, the home of the San Diego Chargers. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. CT with ESPN providing television coverage of the matchup.

The Huskers will head to the West Coast with a 9-3 overall record, including a 5-3 mark in Big Ten Conference play. Nebraska capped the regular season with a 37-34 overtime victory at Iowa on the day after Thanksgiving. Nebraska is ranked 22nd in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the Associated Press Poll heading to San Diego.

Mike Riley was named Nebraska’s head coach on Dec. 4, but will not coach the Huskers in the bowl game, with Interim Coach Barney Cotton leading the Huskers in San Diego.

“We look forward to the opportunity to take on USC in the Holiday Bowl, and the opportunity to finish our season with a trip to San Diego,” Cotton said. “Our goal as a coaching staff is to provide a great bowl experience and put this team in position for success in the Holiday Bowl. This team has outstanding character and leadership, and we would like nothing more than to send our seniors out with a second straight bowl victory and a 10-win season.”

Nebraska’s appearance in the Holiday Bowl will mark its fourth trip to the San Diego game, including three in the past six years. Nebraska is 1-2 in the Holiday Bowl, defeating Arizona in the 2009 game, while losing to Arizona in the 1998 Holiday Bowl and to Washington in 2010.

The trip to the Holiday Bowl is Nebraska’s 51st all-time bowl appearance, the third-most bowl appearances of any school in the country. The 2014 season marks the seventh straight season with a bowl trip for Nebraska.

“We are excited to celebrate our 51st bowl appearance with a trip to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl,” University of Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst said. “The Holiday Bowl is a wonderful new partner for the Big Ten Conference, and our student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans are excited to travel to the West Coast. I know they will have a wonderful experience in San Diego. The University of Southern California is an outstanding institution, has an excellent football program and will be a great matchup for our team.”

The matchup with USC marks the fifth all-time meeting between two of college football’s most storied programs, and the first ever in a bowl game. USC holds a 3-0-1 all-time edge in the series, most recently defeating Nebraska in 2006 and 2007 in a home-and-home series. USC also defeated Nebraska in 1969, and the schools played to a tie in the 1970 season.

USC will enter the Holiday Bowl with an 8-4 overall record, including a 6-3 mark in Pac-12 Conference play. The Trojans are ranked 24th in the Associated Press Poll and the College Football Playoff rankings, and are just outside of the top 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Three of USC’s four losses were by six or fewer points, and the Trojans are coming off a 49-14 win over Notre Dame in their regular-season finale.

Coach Steve Sarkisian is in his first season at the helm of the USC program, after running the Washington program prior to moving to Los Angeles. The 2014 Trojans feature an explosive passing offense, averaging nearly 300 yards per game to rank 15th in the nation. USC also ranks in the top 30 in total offense and scoring offense. Defensively, the Trojans are tough against the run, and also rank among the nation’s leaders in turnover margin.

— NU Sports Information —

The University of Nebraska has hired Mike Riley as its new Head Football Coach, Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst announced Thursdayy.  Riley will be formally introduced at a news conference on Friday, December 5th at 9:00 a.m. in the West Memorial Stadium – 3rd Floor Club.

Riley comes to Nebraska after 14 seasons as the head coach at Oregon State University, spanning two different tenures in Corvallis.  Riley has led OSU to 93 wins and a 6-2 record in postseason bowl games.  In addition to his time at Oregon State, Riley has served as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, with whom he won two Grey Cup Championships, and the San Antonio Riders in the World Football League.  He has served as an assistant coach at California, USC, Linfield College, Whitworth and Northern Colorado as well as with the New Orleans Saints and in the Canadian Football League.

Riley is a native of Idaho and a graduate of the University of Alabama, where he played for Paul “Bear” Bryant and won three SEC titles and one National Championship.

Mike and his wife, Dee, have two children, Matthew and Kate, and one grandchild, Eli.

Mike will assume his duties immediately but will not coach the Huskers in the upcoming bowl game as Interim Head Coach Barney Cotton will coach the team through the bowl.

Statement from Chancellor Harvey Perlman

“We have high expectations of the men and women who teach and coach our students and Mike Riley is an outstanding addition to our family.  I want to welcome Mike and his family to Nebraska and thank Shawn Eichorst for his great efforts in bringing Mike to Lincoln.”

Statement from Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst:

“There was one coach who fit all the characteristics that I was seeking to lead our tradition rich football program.  Mike Riley has a proven record of success, a sound approach to football and teaching, an understanding of the educational mission of our university and the integrity and values that we cherish at Nebraska.  I have no doubt that Mike will assemble a tremendous staff and lead our student-athletes to win Big Ten titles and compete for national championships in the years ahead.”

Statement from Mike Riley:

“It is truly an honor to join the University of Nebraska family.  Though we love Corvallis and Oregon State, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to coach at one of the nation’s most storied football programs and I can’t wait to get started.  My sincere thanks to Chancellor Perlman and Shawn Eichorst for their confidence in me and I look forward to becoming a part of the Nebraska family and building upon the great history and tradition.”

— NU Sports Information —

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Tim Miles said he wants to put Nebraska on the basketball map. A 5-1 mark to open 2014-15 and a road win over Florida State is a good start down that path.

Terran Petteway tied a season-high with 25 points and Shavon Shields had 21 and eight rebounds as Nebraska held off a furious rally to defeat Florida State 70-65 on Monday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

“They’re as good as you can coach because they’re very competitive,” Miles said. “They want to put Nebraska on the national map basketball-wise and they’ve got all kinds of talent.”

Nebraska led 37-21 at the half, but Florida State shot 15 of 29 (51.7 percent) in the second half to chip away at the Cornhuskers’ lead.

The Seminoles closed within one, 62-61, with 2:18 left after a pair of Aaron Thomas free throws. But a David Rivers layup and a Tarin Smith 3-pointer helped Nebraska (5-1) put Florida State away.

“We got off to a hot start,” Miles said. “Guys were sharp. And we built that big lead — just enough to survive the comeback.”

Petteway said he was pleased with how Nebraska passed a difficult road test. The Cornhuskers had lost its only other road game, on Nov. 22 in overtime to Rhode Island.

This win builds confidence for a December schedule that includes three games in Hawaii.

“I guess it just shows that we grew a little bit from last year,” Petteway said. “If we were in this position, I don’t think we would have overcome that. That’s a big step for us. Now we just have to keep building on it.”

Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 17 points, but made just 2-of-11 3-pointers for Florida State (3-4). Boris Bojanovsky had 10 points and added a season-high 10 rebounds.

FSU couldn’t overcome its first-half struggles, shooting just 28 percent (7-of-25) overall and going 0 for 10 from 3-point range in the first half.

“We dug ourselves a hole in the first half that was so deep that it was very difficult to dig out of,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We fought in the second half and did a much better job of sticking to our game plan.”

The Seminoles finished the game 22 of 54 (40.7 percent), but they made just 19 of 32 free throws.

Nebraska won its third straight game despite losing Petteway and Tai Webster, who fouled out in the game’s final 2:25. The Cornhuskers led 62-59 at that point.

Shields had 15 points in the first half, while Petteway had 14 points — scoring 29 of Nebraska’s 37 first-half points.

Florida State was shooting just 22.1 percent from 3-point range coming into the game. On Monday, the Seminoles made just 2 of 18 (11.1 percent) from beyond the arc.

DEFENSIVE STOPPER

Nebraska junior guard Benny Parker had four steals, tying his total from the last three games combined. Parker also had seven points

WELCOME BACK

Aaron Thomas returned to Florida State after missing two games with an undisclosed medical condition. Thomas shot 0 for 3 from the floor in the first half but made 7 of 10 free-throw attempts and finished with 11 points. He was part of a strong night by FSU’s bench, which scored 25 points.

TIP-INS

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers have won their last three B1G/ACC challenge games. Nebraska defeated Miami 60-49 in 2013 and won 79-63 at Wake in 2012.

Florida State: Florida State went 0 for 10 from beyond the 3-point arc before Rathan-Mayes made the Seminoles’ first shot from long range. The Seminoles won the only prior meeting between the schools, 74-60 in the 2005 Orange Bowl Classic.

UP NEXT

Nebraska plays host to Creighton on Sunday.

Florida State plays host to Central Florida on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

A pair of Nebraska standouts were honored by the Big Ten Conference on Monday for their performance in the Huskers’ win over Iowa.

Sophomore safety Nate Gerry was honored as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week, while freshman punt returner De’Mornay Pierson-El was the co-Special Teams Player of the Week.

Gerry led Nebraska with a career-high 15 tackles, including 10 solo stops and 2.5 tackles for loss. Gerry also had a first-quarter interception for his fifth pick in Big Ten Conference games. Gerry’s play led a Nebraska defense that held Iowa to punts on five consecutive second-half possessions to fuel NU’s comeback.

Pierson-El was a game-changer in the punt return department. Pierson-El had three punt returns for 134 yards, all in the second half. His 42-yard punt return set up a Nebraska touchdown to cut the deficit to 24-21. Pierson-El followed with an 80-yard punt return for a score to give Nebraska a 28-24 advantage early in the fourth quarter. Pierson-El has a nation-leading 589 punt return yards this season, the most by any player in the FBS ranks since 2008.

Pierson-El’s honor was his second of the season. He was also named Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance at Fresno State, which included an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown.

— NU Sports Information —

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The number of wins and losses didn’t get Bo Pelini fired. It was the way some of those losses happened.

Pelini was dismissed as Nebraska’s coach Sunday after a seven-year stint marked by an inability to restore the football team to national prominence and too many embarrassing defeats.

Pelini extended his streak of winning at least nine games every season with a 37-34 overtime win at Iowa on Friday, but he never won a conference championship and his teams lost four games in every season he completed. Pelini was 66-27 and led the Cornhuskers to three league championship games in the Big 12 and Big Ten.

“I didn’t see enough improvement in areas that were important for us to move forward to play championship-caliber football,” athletic director Shawn Eichorst said at a news conference.

“We just, for whatever reason, weren’t good enough in the games that mattered against championship-caliber opponents. And I didn’t see that changing. It wasn’t a lack of effort by him or his staff or our wonderful players, but I think new leadership was in order.”

Associate head coach Barney Cotton, a Nebraska alum, will be the interim head coach for the Cornhuskers’ bowl game.

Pelini was under contract through February 2019. Eichorst said the university will owe him a settlement of about $7.9 million, which can be reduced once he lands another job.

Asked for comment on Sunday’s developments, Pelini wrote in a text to The Associated Press: “I’m good. Thanks for asking!”

Eichorst said he alone would conduct the search for a new coach. He gave no timetable for naming a replacement.

Nebraska joins Florida as a high-profile program with a coaching vacancy, and others could arise soon. Eichorst said he wasn’t worried about competing with other schools.

“Resources are not the question here at Nebraska,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we’re not going to be responsible and good stewards of our resources. I’ve seen people spend a lot of money and not do very much winning, so we’re going to get it right.”

Eichorst said his decision to fire Pelini “crystalized” Saturday night. Eichorst said he met in his office for 20 minutes with Pelini on Sunday morning and their conversation was “cordial and professional.”

“After I told him that we were going a different direction,” Eichorst said, “I think there was agreement that that probably was a good idea.”

A number of players expressed disappointment in the decision, with quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. tweeting, “Biggest mistake you ever made…. Bo was the best coach I’ve ever had and I’ll always appreciate the things you taught me.”

Pelini brought the Huskers out of the depths of the failed four-year Bill Callahan experiment that ended in 2007. But his four-losses-a-year habit and frequent losses on the national stage wore on a fan base that has filled Memorial Stadium for every home game since 1962.

Nebraska ranks fourth in career victories and has won five national championships, including three in the four years before Tom Osborne retired as coach after the 1997 season. The dominant run in the mid-1990s has been an albatross for the coaches who followed — first Frank Solich and then Callahan and Pelini.

Bad losses started to haunt Pelini after Nebraska moved to the Big Ten. The 70-31 pummeling by unranked Wisconsin in the 2012 conference championship game was the worst, followed closely by this year’s 59-24 throttling by the Badgers in a game in which Melvin Gordon ran for a then-FBS record 408 yards.

Nebraska, as a ranked team, lost seven games by 17 or more points since 2011. No other ranked team has lost so many games so lopsidedly over that span, according to STATS.

“There are standards and expectations at Nebraska that are high both on and off the field and although we did win a bunch of games, we didn’t win the games that mattered the most, and I think we gave Coach ample time, ample resources and ample support to get that done,” Eichorst said.

Eichorst indicated he wasn’t worried about the message he was sending by firing a coach who won 71 percent of his games. The dismissal was reminiscent of the one in 2003, when then-athletic director Steve Pederson fired Solich after a 9-3 regular season and after Solich had won 75 percent of his games over six years.

Pelini drew detractors almost as much for his volatile temper as for his team’s performances in big games. He was reprimanded by chancellor Harvey Perlman for sideline meltdowns during a loss at Texas A&M in 2010. Last year, Pelini found himself in a storm after the website Deadspin released audio of Pelini’s profanity-laced tirade against what he called fair-weather fans and two newspaper writers.

Pelini had initially endeared himself to Nebraska fans as defensive coordinator in 2003. After Solich was fired, Pelini was interim coach for the Huskers’ Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan State. As he walked off the field in San Antonio, Husker fans chanted, “We want Bo!”

Callahan was hired instead, and Pelini took defensive coordinator jobs at Oklahoma and LSU, winning the 2007 national title with the Tigers.

Osborne, as athletic director, picked Pelini to replace Callahan, saying an immediate defensive fix was needed.

After the Huskers shut out Arizona 33-0 in the 2009 Holiday Bowl, Pelini famously shouted, “Nebraska’s back and we’re here to stay.”

The proclamation proved premature.

— Associated Press —

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Nebraska found itself down 17 points and staring at a devastating third straight loss.

Tommy Armstrong Jr. led the Huskers on one of the best comebacks in school history — and took some heat off of embattled coach Bo Pelini.

Kenny Bell caught a 9-yard touchdown pass in overtime and Nebraska rallied to beat Iowa 37-34 on Friday, snapping a two-game losing streak.

Tommy Armstrong Jr. had four TD passes for the Cornhuskers (9-3, 5-3 Big Ten), who trailed by as much as 24-7 before storming back in the second half.

Nebraska tied the school record for its largest road comeback.

“That is one of the gutsiest performances from a quarterback that I’ve seen in a long time,” said Pelini, whose job status was again a hot topic this week, of Armstrong. “There isn’t anybody who competes harder than he does.”

Armstrong’s impressive effort came during one of the wackier Big Ten games in recent memory.

Iowa scored a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams and still couldn’t hold off the Huskers.

Jordan Canzeri caught a 5-yard touchdown pass with 1:49 left in regulation to put Iowa ahead 31-28. But Drew Brown’s 20-yard field goal with 8 seconds left forced overtime.

Armstrong threw TD passes to Taariq Allen and Bell, and De’Mornay Pierson-El’s 80-yard punt return for a touchdown put Nebraska ahead 28-24 with 12:06 left in the fourth.

Jake Rudock had 230 yards and two TD passes for Iowa (7-5, 4-4). The Hawkeyes closed the regular season with back-to-back home losses and will head to its bowl game without a single win over an FBS team above .500.

“We had our opportunities. No question about it,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “The two things that really cost us were turnovers and then errors, misgivings in the special teams area.”

Iowa seemed poised to blow out the Huskers early in the second half, jumping ahead 24-7.

It reality, the game was just getting interesting.

Nebraska responded behind Armstrong, who brought the Huskers back within 24-21 on a 34-yard TD pass to Allen and a 32-yarder to Bell early in the fourth quarter.

Pierson-El had been stopped by Iowa punter Dillon Kidd on his previous return. But he blew past Kidd and the rest of the Hawkeyes to give Nebraska the improbable lead with three TDs in less than 5 minutes.

“Once they kicked it to me again, I was like, `Seriously?’ Thanksgiving was the other day and that is what I’m thankful for,” Pierson-El said. “I said to Coach the other day that if they give me one I’m going to be thankful for it.”

Rudock answered right back though, finding Canzeri alone in the flat for the touchdown.

Armstrong wasn’t done either, finding Brandon Reilly for a crucial 35-yard completion to set up the game-tying kick.

Marshall Koehn hit a 25-yard field goal in overtime, briefly giving Iowa a 34-31 lead.

Bell’s game-winning catch by the pylon was reviewed, but the call on the field was upheld.

Ameer Abdullah had 106 yards rushing and Bell caught two TD passes for Nebraska.

“I’ve been around a long time and coached a lot of years and I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a group of guys,” said Pelini, who has led Nebraska to at least nine wins in each of his six seasons as coach.

The Hawkeyes dominated the first half, and John Lowdermilk took an interception back 17 yards for a touchdown. But they only led 10-7, largely because of four turnovers.

But Rudock caught Nebraska in a cornerback blitz early in the third quarter and hit Tevaun Smith, who raced 37 yards to put the Hawkeyes up 17-7.

Nebraska Punter Sam Foltz then dropped a snap. He recovered in time to get the punt off, but it ricocheted off lineman Zach Hannon’s back. Drew Ott happily scooped up the loose ball, giving Iowa a 24-7 point lead with 8:45 left in the third quarter.

But the Hawkeyes couldn’t hold the lead. They wound up finishing fourth in the Big Ten West, a division many thought it could win this season.

Mark Weisman had 82 yards rushing for Iowa.

“We lost five games. Each one is a different story,” Ferentz said. “There’s no way to predict this in August.”

— Associated Press —