Kirk Ferentz had to sweat it out, but Iowa recaptured the Heroes Trophy on Friday in Lincoln with a 13-10 win over Nebraska.

The win gave Iowa its 10th victory of the season — the third time in five years the Hawkeyes have cleared double-digits. It also sealed a seventh consecutive losing season for the rival Cornhuskers. Given everything the Hawkeyes have gone through this season, Ferentz was overcome with emotion when the game went final.

“Just really excited for our guys,” Ferentz said before pausing for a moment to keep himself from breaking down. “They’ve been really resilient. To find this win… (Ethan) Hurkett gets a pick, a defensive lineman gets a pick, and then an unsung guy comes out and kicks a field goal. It’s kind of representative of this team.

“Somehow, some way we’ve won 10 games. It’s pretty good.”

Nebraska pulled a 44-yard field goal with 5:07 to play in the game. Iowa got its first first down of the second half on the ensuing drive, but did nothing after that and punted the ball back to the Huskers. A five-play, 24-yard drive from Nebraska gave the ball right back to Iowa with 55 seconds to play.

Three plays in, Deacon Hill was picked off and Nebraska set up shop 5 yards shy of midfield with 31 seconds on the clock. NU quarterback Chubba Purdy ran for 3 on first down, then was picked off over the middle by defensive lineman Ethan Hurkett on second.

With 15 seconds to play, Iowa took over. It was Hurkett’s first career interception.

Leshon Williams picked up 22 yards on the first play of the drive to push Iowa down to the Nebraska 15. Hill placed the ball in the middle of the field on the following play, and then Marshall Meeder came on for his first field goal as a Hawkeye.

From 38 yards out, he split the uprights.

“It’s hard to win,” Ferentz said. “It speaks to the kind of kids we have. These guys are really… They’re fun to work with, they believe in themselves, believe in each other, and they care about each other. So, it’s really special.”