There is nothing funnier than Iowa fans--with a program that has exactly 1 (ONE!) major bowl win in the past 55 years--constantly coming over to our board to crow about how great their team is.
Deep down, Iowa fans know that Hawkeye football is now--and has always been--mediocre to the nth degree. That's why they have to use such selective dates and arguments to make their pitiful claim for relevancy. Total wins, bowl wins, national championships, all-time series record head-to-head: Nebraska dominates Iowa, and it's not even close. Even during their alleged "glory era" of the past 15 years, Nebraska STILL has more total wins than Iowa and a better winning percentage. So to argue with Iowa fan, you have to understand the following perspectives:
--Iowa football began play in 2002. The previous century was either irrelevant or did not exist.
--A program's success is measured by "appearing" in a major bowl game. The fact that every single one of their 4 Rose Bowl appearances since 1960 ended in an embarrassing blowout loss is irrelevant--PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE FINAL SCORE! Their team bus arrived at each of those Rose Bowls completely unscathed, and that is all that matters.
--Living in the past is not ok when you're a Husker fan...but it's just great when you're a Hawk! That way, you can proudly pound your chest about your ONE major bowl win in the last half century--8 years ago versus Georgia Tech--without feeling at all hypocritical.
--Iowa has just completely dominated Nebraska since we entered the Big Ten, because again, certain years cease to exist in the feeble minds of Hawkeye land. It's not that the head to head series is tied at 3-3 since the Huskers joined the conference--no, no, no--it is Iowa winning 3 of the last 4, using their own highly selective start date as a frame of reference! Whenever you're tempted to laugh at Iowa fans actually bragging about having a .500 record against another team, just remember: the conference series began in 2013! Those 2011 and 2012 games you speak of--forget 'em. They never happened.
--Iowa is far, FAR more relevant than Nebraska since we joined the conference, because...uhm...they have more bowl wins? No. Because they have more conference titles? No. Because they have more total wins or a better winning percentage during that time ? Nope. Because they have a winning record against us head-to-head? No again. No, they're more relevant because...12--0 in 2015! Commemorative rings for all!
Now, you might be tempted to ask: why does the College Football Data Warehouse not show a bowl win for the Hawks that season? Or a National Championship? Or even a conference title? You'd kinda think you'd need at least one of those to pass out commemorative rings, right?
Well...erm....uh...never mind that. The Hawkeyes were undefeated in 2015, their season inexplicably ended the moment they reached 12-0, and that's all you need to know. What may or may not have happened in the conference title game or Rose Bowl that year remains an unsolvable mystery lost to the ages, like what happened to the settlers at Roanoke Island or Amelia Earhart.
--Finally, a program's relevancy is not determined by total wins or winning percentage, either within the past 15 years or historically. It is determined by conference titles (Iowa's last one was in 2004, and their last title that wasn't SHARED was in 1985) and Top 10 appearances (most of Iowa's occurred in the previous decade). But don't you dare live in the past, Husker fan--that is IOWA's domain! (Well, that and moral victories in hard fought losses where they come up "just short" of winning anything remotely significant). And don't forget: Iowa football began in 2002; otherwise, the whole "number of conference titles" and "Top 10 appearances" argument against Nebraska kind of falls apart.
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I actually used to kind of like Iowa before we joined the conference; I respected them as a solid middle-tier program that has historically got more out of their program than other comparable teams with equal or greater resources (Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, etc). Even though I always thought they were content to set the bar too low with rewarding Ferentz's annual 5 loss seasons, I thought they were a respectable foe. But their fans are completely delusional and by far the most obnoxious of any Big Ten fan base--they make Wisconsin fans collectively look like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by comparison. NEVER has a fan base that has accomplished so little crowed about so much.
