Stars of the Game: Iowa Hawkeyes 40, Nebraska Cornhuskers 10

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Iowa’s three stars from their win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Friday

Iowa football ended the regular season on a high note. They defeated the ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in a fashion no one saw coming.

Sure, the Hawkeyes came into the game on a two-game winning streak and as three-point favorites, but Nebraska is ranked 16th in the country and had a potential spot in the Big Ten Championship Game on the line.

Iowa proved a lot by their dominating win. They showed that they won’t be a pushover against whoever they play in bowl season. The Hawkeyes finished the season 8-4 and 6-3 in conference play, which is just one game behind the Wisconsin Badgers.

Iowa handed Nebraska their third loss of the season and by the second most points. Only a 62-3 loss to Ohio State is a bigger defeat for the Cornhuskers this season.

That being said, Iowa deserved to win by an astounding 30 points. They played as well as they had all season, when taking into account offense, defense and special teams, and played tough from the get-go, while not letting up at the end.

On senior day, Iowa’s seniors stepped up and went out on a high note.

Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

RB, LeShun Daniels Jr

29 Carries, 158 Yards, 2 Touchdowns

Nebraska simply did not have an answer for LeShun Daniels Jr. Akrum Wadley had a 75-yard touchdown run, but Kirk Ferentz made sure the senior running back was Iowa’s workhorse back for the night.

Late in the second quarter, Daniels broke a 56-yard run, which he capped off with a four-yard touchdown run a couple of plays later. After that, Iowa continuously fed him the ball in the second half and let him eclipse 1,000 rushing yards on the season for the first time in his career, as well as score his career-high 10th touchdown of the year late in the fourth quarter.

Usually Ferentz plays very conservative and doesn’t like to go for it on fourth down. Although, with this being the senior’s last game at Kinnick Stadium, Iowa went for it on fourth down twice when up 33-10. They handed it to Daniels both times, who plowed through the Nebraska defense for a first down.

Late in the fourth quarter, Daniels scored his second touchdown of the game, which is his second straight game with multiple touchdowns. Also, Iowa called a Daniels’ run 10 times on their 13-play touchdown run.

The Hawkeyes wanted him to have huge game, especially when the Hawkeyes jumped out to a big lead, and Daniels delivered. It’s his second straight game with 150-plus rushing yards, third on the year, and he came one yard shy of his career-high.

Every senior dreams of having a career game on senior day, but it became a reality for Daniels. Iowa fed him the ball all game and the Cornhuskers never found an answer for him.

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

QB, C.J. Beathard

10/15, 144 Yards, 3 Touchdowns

C.J. Beathard now just needs one passing touchdown in Iowa’s bowl game to pass his 17 passing touchdowns from a season ago. Beathard recorded his third three touchdown game of the year, and his first since week three against North Dakota State.

After a blowout loss to Penn State and two straight weeks of fewer than 100 passing yards, Beathard entered the game with a lot of questions surrounding him. Receivers had recorded multiple drops over recent weeks and his accuracy looked shaken compared to earlier in the season.

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Beathard put all his critics to rest by his play on Friday. While Iowa ran the ball 40 times between LeShun Daniels Jr and Akrum Wadley, they also made their pass game a point of emphasis early.

In fact, Beathard connected with Riley McCarron for a 77-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. Nebraska bit on the play action and left McCarron in one-on-one coverage. Beathard delivered a beautiful pass and McCarron was off to the races for an easy score.

It was that type of night for Beathard. He only attempted 15 passes, however he made smart and accurate throws, scrambled well, threw it away when under pressure and Iowa only allowed two sacks.

Beathard didn’t put up huge numbers, but that’s also not his game. He acted as Iowa’s coach on the field and delivered big passes when needed. Plus, his 9.6 yards per pass attempt is one of the best marks of his 2016 season.

Beathard will end his career top-five in total wins at quarterback in Iowa history and with the best winning percentage of any Hawkeye quarterback with at least 20 career starts. He ended his regular season career with his best game of the season, too.

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

LB, Josey Jewell

9 Tackles, 3 Pass Breakups

Nope, Josey Jewell isn’t a senior. However, all of Iowa City hopes to see Jewell playing with the Hawkeyes at this time next year. The junior linebacker ended the regular season as Iowa’s leading tackler for the second straight season, and he made a ton of big plays against Nebraska.

Other than a personal foul early in the game, Jewell played near flawless. He tied for the team lead in tackles with Bo Bower (9) and accounted for three of Iowa’s eight pass breakups.

Jewell played a major part in holding Nebraska’s run game to 2.9 yards per carry, but he also showed his coverage skills. He read Tommy Armstrong Jr very well and almost came up with a pair of interceptions.

Armstrong threw right at Jewell a couple of times. Both hit him the hands and could have been interceptions. Jewell didn’t see them quick enough and simply reacted, which resulted in him knocking the pass away.

It’s arguably Jewell’s best game against the pass. He’s become a household name in stopping the run, but he also had five pass breakups entering the game. This marks just the second time in his career that Jewell’s recorded multiple pass breakups — three is his new career-high.

Even though Jewell didn’t record another double-digit tackle game, he had at least nine tackles for the eighth time this year. On the season, Jewell is 12 tackles away from reaching his 2015 mark. In 2016, he has 114 tackles and currently leads the conference in that category.

In a game that was all about the seniors, Jewell made it about him. The Dick Butkus Award Winner finalist continued to add to his stellar junior season.