Defense-led Wildcats hand Hawkeyes first loss
Defense-led Wildcats hand Hawkeyes first loss, KO their starting QB
IOWA CITY -- Corn-shucking cynics have insisted all season that the passwords at Kinnick Stadium have been ''lucky'' and ''charmed.''
But no one knew those words would pass from No. 8 Iowa to Northwestern in the blink of a Hawkeye on Saturday.
(AP)
With fire-poling Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi lost to an ankle injury on a massively game-changing play early in the second quarter, the Wildcats notched one of their biggest upsets in years with a 17-10 victory, handing the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season.
With Stanzi, Iowa (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) had coasted to a 10-0 lead. Without Stanzi, who was blasted and stripped by NU defensive end Corey Wootton on a slow-developing bootleg in the Hawkeyes' end zone, the Wildcats (6-4, 3-3) stitched together just enough offense to complement a defense that forced three other turnovers.
''We fully expected if we could put together 60 minutes of Wildcat football in all three phases, we'd have an opportunity to compete,'' said NU coach Pat Fitzgerald, whose team became bowl-eligible for the third consecutive season. ''To the credit of our young men, we did.''
Actually, NU put together about 42 minutes of Wildcat football -- all after Wootton's big play -- but it was enough for a shocker heard 'round college football.
Iowa was No. 4 in the BCS standings entering the weekend, but it never will see that lofty perch again this season. The Hawkeyes now must win at Ohio State on Saturday to retain the pole position for the Big Ten championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl.
''I think the course of the game was pretty obvious to all,'' Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. ''The bottom line is that we weren't good enough to overcome the problems that we caused ourselves in the first half and the problems that [NU] forced.''
The biggest problem was caused by Wootton, who courageously has labored through an uphill season after suffering a serious knee injury Dec. 29 in the Alamo Bowl.
With the Wildcats desperately in need of a spark after their languid start, Wootton got quick penetration on second-and-10 from the Hawkeyes' 6-yard line and found himself claw to wing with Stanzi. Wootton swooped, down went Stanzi and NU's Marshall Thomas covered the football for a touchdown.
Stanzi limped off the field -- already with 134 passing yards and a touchdown -- never to return. Iowa generated only 121 yards in total offense after he departed.
''The X-ray was negative,'' Ferentz said. ''That's the good news. The bad news is that it's a severe sprain.''
Replacement James Vandenberg, a redshirt freshman who had thrown only three passes all season, completed 9 of 27 passes for 82 yards as the Wildcats' defense held the Hawkeyes scoreless the rest of the way.
That defense also helped stake NU to a 14-10 halftime lead after linebacker Quentin Davie intercepted Vandenberg and ran it back to the Iowa 46-yard line. Ten plays later, backup quarterback Dan Persa connected with Drake Dunsmore on a four-yard touchdown pass with 5:20 left in the half.
Persa had a skeltering afternoon, entering in place of injured Mike Kafka before going to the sideline himself with a hand injury suffered late in the third quarter. Kafka, who was limited by a lingering hamstring injury suffered in a loss Oct. 31 against Penn State, returned and kept moving the chains just enough to prevent the Hawkeyes from making one of their trademark fourth-quarter rallies.
''It was a great team effort,'' said Kafka, who finished 10-for-18 for 72 yards. ''It wasn't one guy standing out; everyone did it. If Dan and I had to do a little tag-team action to get the win, then that's what we did.''
Persa was only 5-for-9 for 37 yards, but he repeatedly kept Iowa's defense scrambling with 67 rushing yards on 17 carries. Scott Concannon buttressed the Wildcats' ground game with 59 yards on 15 carries.
''We're starting to play our best football of the year,'' Fitzgerald said. ''It has nothing to do with Iowa; it has everything to do with us. I really believe we're starting to hit our stride.''
In Iowa City, the once ''lucky'' and ''charmed'' now understand.
NORTHWESTERN 17, IOWA 10