IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — For most of the country, the Nebraska-Iowa game Friday will be little more than a holiday diversion.It’s a meaningless matchup that means everything to the Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers.Nebraska coach Bo Pelini’s status is yet again a hot topic ahead of the Iowa game. Pelini kept his job despite a 38-17 home thrashing against the Hawkeyes last November, and he rewarded new athletic director Shawn Eichorst with a bowl win over Georgia and an 8-1 start in 2014.But a two-game slide has left the Huskers (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten) in danger of their sixth straight four-loss campaign.A bad showing in Iowa City could spell the end for Pelini.”I think the last two weeks we didn’t play very well. I said this earlier in the year: Some of the things were happening and weren’t hurting us. And that’s reality. In the last two weeks it’s hurt us,” Pelini said. View gallery Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. (4) hands off the ball to running back Ameer Abdullah (8) i … Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz isn’t going anywhere, not after signing a huge contract extension in 2010.But a second straight win over Nebraska – and the 8-4 mark that would go with it – would go a long way toward satisfying a fan base that thought the Hawkeyes (7-4, 4-3) could have won the Big Ten West.Both teams enter Friday’s game unranked and out of league title game contention. But the circumstances surrounding this year’s matchup should help turn this series into the rivalry the Big Ten always hoped it would become.”We want to win really bad. They want to win really bad,” Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock said. ”Does that make it a rivalry? It probably does.”Here are a few key things to consider with Nebraska and Iowa set to meet in Iowa City:ABDULLAH’S DAY? The Big Ten’s best backs have done big things against the Hawkeyes in Kinnick Stadium. Indiana’s Tevin Coleman had 219 yards rushing on just 15 carries and Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon had 200 in last week’s 26-24 win. …
Continue Reading: Nebraska, Iowa set for regular-season finale
