Iowa trolls Nebraska after some Cornhuskers players refuse pregame handshake

The Iowa Hawkeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers met on Friday in their annual rivalry game.

Shortly before kickoff, the Iowa team captains and the Nebraska team captains met at the 50-yard line for the coin toss. It is customary for players from opposing teams to greet each other and shake hands before the referees declare which side of the coin is heads and which side is tails.

But Nebraska’s players chose not to engage in the handshaking ritual with their opponents. At least one of the Cornhuskers’ four captains appeared to be shaking and looking at 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 escalated even before the coin toss after Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule walked through Iowa’s warmup zone. Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins explained how his team took exception to Rhule’s actions before the game.

“Our guys are warming up, doing our pregame and their head coach went through the warmup,” Higgins told reporters after the game. “So we knew straight away what kind of game it was.”

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But even after the game kicked off, emotions remained high. Higgins was seen approaching Rhule as the Hawkeyes were on defense in the first quarter.

Higgins said he told Rhule during the interaction that “not shaking our hands probably wouldn’t be a good idea.” The Iowa defender responded with three words: “Who are you?”

Nebraska managed to make it 10-0 early, but the Hawkeyes scored 13 unanswered points. Iowa kicker Drew Stevens hit a 53-yard field goal in the final seconds to secure the victory in the rivalry game.

Nebraska Cornhuskers defenseman Ceyair Wright (15) defends a field goal attempt by Iowa Hawkeyes placekicker Drew Stevens (18) on Friday, November 29, 2024 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Higgins made a concerted attempt to shake Rhule’s hand shortly after the game clock expired.

“After the game I went to their head coach and shook his hand because they didn’t want to shake our hands before the game,” 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, November 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 teammate Nick Jackson to point out the differences that exist within Iowa’s program compared 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 clear opinion on the events leading up to the game.

“I heard something in the locker room, but I wasn’t out there,” Ferentz said. “So I haven’t seen it and I really can’t say anything about it. There are certain pre-game rules of conduct that most people follow, but again I didn’t see it.”

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