After Nebraska refuses to shake Iowa players’ hands, Hawkeyes get last laugh

IOWA CITY — Jay Higgins witnessed something during the pregame coin toss that he had not seen ever before “in my entire football career,” with the possible exception of peewee football.

“They didn’t reach out their hands,” said Higgins, one of Iowa’s four captains. “So that was a little weird.”

As caught on camera, the Iowa captains went over with their hands extended for the handshakes. But Nebraska’s captains remained still.

That’s not to mention how Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule also, according to Higgins, “walked through the warm-up.”

Higgins, after those moments, “immediately knew what type of game this was.” It did not stop before the game either.

“The first series, we were on their sideline, and I got a little close to their head coach,” Higgins said. “And I said, ‘probably wasn’t a good idea to not shake our hands.’ And he goes, ‘Who are you?’”

Higgins, as he explained this to reporters, then turned to teammate and friend Nick Jackson and asked, “How many tackles do I have?”

“More than him,” Jackson said.

(For those keeping track, Higgins is up to 118 tackles this season.)

Iowa players were quick to paint a contrasting picture with what would happen in their own program under the direction of 26th-year head coach Kirk Ferentz.

“Kirk Ferentz — would he ever do something like that?” Higgins said, to which Jackson quickly said “no.”

“Be a Hawk,” Jackson said. “You see the difference.”

Ferentz, when asked about the situation in his postgame news conference, said he is “not too worried about it.”

“I heard some stuff in the locker room, but I wasn’t out there,” Ferentz said. “So I didn’t see it and really can’t comment on it. There are certain pregame etiquette most people follow, but again, I didn’t see it.”

Ferentz also noted that Higgins has “tremendous integrity.”

“So if Jay tells me something, I’m on board with it,” Ferentz said.

For much of Friday night, it did not look like the Huskers’ mental tactics were going to bite them. They had a 10-0 halftime lead, which felt even larger considering that the Hawkeyes had only 20 first-half yards.

“How good did they feel at halftime?” Higgins said. “Didn’t shake our hands, up 10, they were probably in that locker room going crazy.”

Iowa obviously did not get its pregame handshake from Nebraska, but it got something much better — a win. (It’s a win that comes with a rivalry trophy, bragging rights and an advantage when it comes to next weekend’s bowl selection.)

“So 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 said. “Told him, ‘Good game.’”

Higgins said he did not remember what Rhule said to him after the handshake because he was “just really happy we won.”

The handshake itself, though? “I’ll remember that handshake probably for the rest of my life.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

Sign up for our curated Iowa Hawkeyes athletics newsletter at thegazette.com/hawks.