Nebraska, Iowa to resume Black Friday tradition in 2022

ROSEMONT, ILL.» Nebraska and Iowa will resume their day-afterThanksgiving game in 2022 after a two-year hiatus.

Nebraska and Iowa play on the day after Thanksgiving this year and in 2019. But, in a change made last year, the Big Ten Conference scheduled Nebraska to play its final regular-season games on Saturdays against Wisconsin in 2020 and Minnesota in 2021. Iowa will play those two teams at the end of the season in opposite years.

Nebraska has played on Black Friday every year since 1990, including games against Iowa since joining the Big Ten in 2011. The end of the tradition prompted a fan outcry. Athletic director Bill Moos, hired after the change was announced, said he would work to get the traditional day for the game against Iowa restored.

Big Ten Conference football schedules for 2022-25 released Wednesday have the 2020 game played at Iowa on Nov. 14 and the 2021 game at Nebraska on Nov. 6.

Among other schedule highlights:

• At least one conference matchup will be played on the opening weekend of the season: Northwestern at Indiana in 2022; Nebraska at Minnesota, Northwestern at Rutgers and Ohio State at Indiana in 2023; Purdue at Illinois in 2024; and Nebraska at Illinois in 2025.

• Michigan and Nebraska will meet each season from 2022-25 in a matchup of two of the top four teams on college football's all-time wins list.

• Ohio State plays cross-division games against Wisconsin all four years.

• Indiana State, Penn State and Rutgers each play Wisconsin once over the four years.

• Illinois plays Penn State all four years, plus two games each against Michigan and Michigan State.