Where Iowa football stands in the final week of the regular season

IOWA CITY — One more trophy game left to close out the regular season.

Welcome to rivalry week! The Hawkeyes have secured their 21st seven-win season under head coach Kirk Ferentz, following a walk-off win over Michigan State on Saturday. Now, with one last game to play this season, Iowa heads to Lincoln to face Nebraska for its annual battle for the Heroes trophy.

Taking a look at this week’s matchup for Iowa and beyond, here’s what the Big Ten looks like ahead of Week 15.

Where Iowa stands in the final week

Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Big Ten has 11 programs with at least bowl game secured.

The only question mark remains with Penn State and Rutgers, which programs face off to determine who gets the spot for the even dozen. Across the country, there’s 20 teams at 5-6, with 72 of the 82 bowl game spots already secured.

The Big Ten also had five teams ranked in this week’s AP Top 25, with Iowa receiving 10 votes as de facto No. 32. The next College Football Playoff rankings are revealed Tuesday night at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Iowa and Washington are in a tie for sixth in the Big Ten, with Nebraska sitting in a four-way tie for eighth. The Hawkeyes are still the highest unranked program in the Big Ten this season.

Notes on Iowa

The Hawkeyes’ returner Kaden Wetjen was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, making it his third time receiving a weekly honor this season. Wetjen was also named a Jet Award Finalist Monday morning.

Iowa’s depth chart ahead of Nebraska revealed a lineup without cornerback TJ Hall or tight end Hayden Large. Both players were injured against USC on Nov. 15 and missed Iowa’s home finale against Michigan State.

In their places, Zach Lutmer moved into Hall’s spot while DJ Vonnahme was made the starter at tight end. Head coach Kirk Ferentz will address Hall and Large’s injuries during his weekly press conference, but did say Hall’s status leading into Saturday’s game against Michigan State as “not overly optimistic.”

Notes on Nebraska

The Cornhuskers have been without starting quarterback Dylan Raiola since Nov. 1 after the freshman suffered a season-ending leg injury against USC. Since then, TJ Lateef has taken over responsibilities in the pocket and will make his third career start against the Hawkeyes.

Nebraska returns home for its Senior Day after a 37-10 loss at Penn State last week, where the Cornhuskers scored just one touchdown against the Nittany Lions.

Nebraska leads the all-time series against Iowa, 30-22-3, but have lost the last six games at Memorial Stadium against the Hawkeyes.

Game of the week

Iowa and Nebraska have both secured themselves a bowl game, but all eyes will be in Ann Arbor this weekend for The Game.

No. 1 Ohio State and No. 18 Michigan are facing each other, and a Buckeyes loss could shake up who plays in the Big Ten title game as well as impact the College Football Playoff standings. A Wolverines loss would effectively make the Big Ten a three-bid league in the playoffs this year, even if Michigan is watching from the outside now. The game is highlighted by both Big Noon Kickoff and ESPN’s College GameDay, kicking off at 11 a.m. on Fox.

Outside of that annual rivalry, Penn State and Rutgers face off to determine which of those two teams will secure a bowl game to end its season. That game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. on BTN.

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