Iowa quarterback Hank Brown found receiver Reece Vander Zee for a 16-yard touchdown pass as time expired, giving No. 17 Iowa a 20-19 upset win over No. 18 Michigan on Saturday.
“To be able to silence a stadium like that, there’s no greater feeling,” Brown said.
The Hawkeyes drove 91 yards for the winning score, helped along by an unnecessary roughness penalty called against Michigan on third down near midfield. Brown’s 29-yard completion to Addison Ostrenga moved Iowa into position for the game-winning touchdown with two seconds left on the clock.
“We prep for situations like these throughout the week in practice all the time,” Brown said. “Why do you prepare for it? For a moment like that.”
Asked whether the win offered some measure of payback for Western Michigan, which was on the wrong end of a controversial clock-management call against Michigan earlier this season at the same stadium, Brown declined to weigh in.
“I’m not going to speak on that,” Brown said, laughing off the question.
Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to JJ Buchanan early in the fourth quarter, the pair’s second scoring connection of the game. But the Wolverines, now 3-1 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten play, couldn’t come up with enough plays on either side of the ball to close out the win.
“We would’ve liked to run the clock out,” the Michigan coach said. “That was disappointing.”
How the finish unfolded
Iowa grabbed its first lead of the fourth quarter on Brown’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Vander Zee. Michigan answered when Underwood rolled right and launched a long touchdown pass to Buchanan, putting the Wolverines ahead 19-14. A two-point conversion attempt afterward fell incomplete.
Late in the game, Iowa lined up to go for it on fourth down at the Michigan 28-yard line, but left guard Leighton Jones was flagged for a false start. Facing fourth-and-6, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz sent out kicker Caden Buhr for a 51-yard field goal attempt, which sailed wide right with 2:33 remaining and gave the Hawkeyes one more shot at the win.
Iowa continues Big Ten play next week on the road against Ohio State in Columbus, while Michigan travels to face Minnesota as it looks to regroup from the loss.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login