Instant Analysis - Nov. 7
Northwestern 17 ... Iowa 10
Pete
Fiutak
Relax, Hawkeye fans. Your team wasn’t going to play for the national championship anyway, and you were likely going to have to beat Ohio State in Columbus to get to Pasadena. So, basically, nothing has changed for the Hawkeyes except for the weeping and gnashing of teeth that would’ve ensued if they went 12-0.
With that said, there’s no excuse for a loss at home to Northwestern, just like there was no excuse for such a lousy performance against Indiana. It’s not like the Hawkeyes were playing the world-beaters, and it’s not like the game was over after locking Ricky Stanzi to his ankle injury. Of course not having the leader and No. 1 quarterback matters, but 1) Iowa was still winning when he got knocked out, 2) Northwestern also lost its starter, and 3) IT … WAS … NORTHWESTERN.
This is a team that sputters and coughed against Eastern Michigan, one of the five worst teams in college football, and this is a team that can’t score without it being wrapped in a nice gift-basket. If Iowa really was a national title-caliber team, it would’ve pounded away on the mediocre Wildcat D and come up with a point over the final 50 minutes. Pat Angerer and Jeremiha Hunter did their part, combining for 27 tackles, but the offensive line that did such a great job against Indiana struggle to get the running game going and James Vandenberg was miserable in place of Stanzi. And that’s it. That’s the difference between an all-timer of a season and being among the mere mortals. Again, though, Iowa is fine.
Take a step back, regroup, beat Ohio State, go to Pasadena.
Richard
Cirminiello
Does this mean that we can finally stop defending the Hawkeyes?
While I’ve said all along that I’ve enjoyed Iowa’s run and respected what it’s accomplished, it got awful tiring answering questions about the program’s legitimacy. Throughout it all, the Hawkeyes were a good program enjoying a magical ride during the first two months of the 2009 season. However, in football, like in life, if you play with fire, eventually you’ll get burned. Able to overcome injuries and close calls all season, Iowa finally reached its breaking point in Week 10, losing QB Ricky Stanzi to an ankle injury in the second quarter and a game to Northwestern in front of a dejected home crowd. No miraculous comeback. No more chapters to the Cinderella story. And quite possibly, no BCS bowl game if the wheels come off in Columbus next weekend.
The big winners, of course, are Penn State and Ohio State, who now have legitimate shots at a Big Ten title after watching Iowa deftly dodge landmines week after week. The biggest loser? Besides the obvious, how about the conference itself? Not only has it lost a voice in the national championship discussion, but it could have a hard time earning an at-large BCS bowl bid if the Buckeyes lose to the Nittany Lions this afternoon and then defeat the Hawkeyes a week from now.
Matt Zemek
1) Iowa received good fortune throughout the season, but there’s no question that the Hawkeyes were handed a bucketful of bad breaks today. First, there was the injury to Ricky Stanzi, whose presence on the field (even with a few turnovers on the stat sheet) would have meant a great deal for Kirk Ferentz and Co. in the second half of this game. Then came a highly dubious holding call that nullified an Iowa touchdown run in the second quarter. Then came Daniel Murray using just enough wicked curving action to barely miss a 46-yard field goal. Then came a steady stream of luckless occurrences on 50-50 calls that all went Northwestern’s way. Oh, and throw in at least two defensive holding penalties that weren’t called on Wildcat defensive backs who collared Hawkeye receivers before the ball was thrown. The football fates giveth, and the football fates taketh away. One at least hopes that Stanzi will be able to stand tall next week in Columbus. Win that game, and Iowa will still reach a BCS bowl.
2) Speaking of taking away… take nothing away from Northwestern, now assured of another non-losing season under the tireless Pat Fitzgerald. Yes, Fitzgerald really sweated bullets before a panicky 4th and 1 drama near midfield early in the fourth quarter, but other than that dance with disaster, the young coach had his team ready to compete, persevere, and thrive even with a lack of a healthy quarterback. With both Mike Kafka and Dan Persa banged up, it can’t be said that Iowa played at a severe disadvantage. Both teams had backup quarterbacks in this fight; Northwestern’s second-stringer was better than Iowa’s plan B, and that’s the biggest reality to take away from this game.
Michael Bradley
When you live close to the edge, eventually you will fall over into the abyss. Saturday, that happened to Iowa, which saw its narrow margin of perfection spoiled by an ankle injury to QB Ricky Stanzi against an opponent that was poised to take advantage of the situation. As much as freshman James Vandenberg tried to rally the Hawkeyes, he was unable to create a diversion for the already-crippled Iowa ground game, and Northwestern was able to squelch the Hawk attack and hold on for the win. The defeat cost Iowa everything. Its winning streak is over. Its chance for the BCS “national title” game is over. Its chance at the Big Ten title may be spoiled, too, since the Hawkeyes have to visit resurgent OSU next week, and if Stanzi’s ankle isn’t healed, Iowa has little chance to win. Give the Hawkeyes credit for getting this far with special teams and a great turnover margin, but once Stanzi went down, it was too much to take, especially after the Hawkeyes lost their top two backs. This is not to say all is lost and that the Hawkeyes will end up losing out, but after so much good fortune this season, some bad luck was bound to waylay Iowa sometime. That sometime was Saturday.