Iowa Players Call Out Nebraska, Matt Rhule for Pregame Disrespect After Win

Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins just wanted someone to shake his hand.

Nebraska players deny Iowa's handshakes before their game. / Screengrab via @CurtisFeder_ and @HawkeyeFootball on X/Twitter

Iowa linebackers Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson had a lot to say about Matt Rhule and his team after the Hawkeyes beat the Cornhuskers on a last-second field goal.

The beef started before the game when Rhule walked through Iowa's pregame warmups, according to Higgins.

"Our guys are warming up, doing our pregame and their head coach walked through the warmup," Higgins explained to reporters after Iowa's 13-10 win Friday. "So we immediately knew what type of game this was."

Higgins was right, as the Nebraska-sparked tension boiled over into the pregame coin toss. As Iowa's captains extended their arms for a traditional pregame handshake, the Huskers' captains refused to return the favor, collectively looking down or blankly ahead.

Ope 😂

pic.twitter.com/jTJlQnJOUH

— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) November 30, 2024

Spicy.

Then, on Iowa's first defensive series, Higgins said he got close to Rhule on Nebraska's sideline and brought up the Huskers' captains refusing his handshake.

"It probably wasn't a good idea to not shake our hands," Higgins said he told Rhule during the game.

To which, as Higgins says, Rhule replied: "Who are you?"

The early drama initially played into Nebraska's favor, as they took a 10-0 lead into halftime. Iowa then scored 13 unanswered points in the second half, including a game-winning 53-yard field goal as time expired from kicker Drew Stevens.

Higgins made sure someone shook his hand after the game, seeking out Rhule and running up with his arm extended.

Jay Higgins made sure he got his handshakes after the game. https://t.co/f5zRIqoiy0 pic.twitter.com/Mgqf2TtUXR

— Mitch Fick (@MCFick) November 30, 2024

"After the game, because they didn't want to shake our hands before the game, I went up to their head coach and shook his hand," Higgins told the media after the game. "And told him good game."

As they digested the disrespect they received from Nebraska, Harris and Jackson exchanged on whether their head coach, Kirk Ferentz, would do something similar.

"No, no, no, never," the two repeated before they ended their thoughts with a pitch for their program. "Come to Iowa and be a Hawk, see the difference."

Friday was Higgins' last game against the Huskers, but there's plenty of bad blood to boil leading up to the next time Iowa and Nebraska meet.

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