IOWA CITY — Jay Higgins witnessed something during the pregame coin toss that he had never seen before “in my entire football career,” with the possible exception of peewee football.

“They didn’t put their hands out,” said Higgins, one of Iowa’s four captains. “So it was kind of weird.”

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

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

Higgins, after those moments, “knew right away what kind of game this was.” It didn’t stop before the match either.

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

Higgins, while explaining 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 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.”

When asked about the situation in his postgame press conference, Ferentz said he’s “not too worried about it.”

“I heard some things 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’s certain foreplay etiquette that 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,” Ferentz said.

For much of Friday night, it didn’t look like the Huskers’ mental tactics were going to bite them. They had a 10-0 lead at halftime, which felt even bigger considering the Hawkeyes had just 20 yards in the first half.

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

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

“So after the game, because they wouldn’t 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.”

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

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