It was a wild night at Kinnick Stadium, with 70,585 packed in and screaming for an upset.
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That call just added to the strangeness of this night. But a win against IN and a win against Ohio State puts MI IN the Big Ten championship game, and a win IN Indianapolis puts MI IN the College Football Playoff.
Even though MI (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) now finds itself logjammed into a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten East with Ohio State and Penn State, the math is clear.
But enough about Saturday. The Hawkeyes forced a MI punt with 1:23 to play, then got a facemask penalty on the return to move the ball to the Wolverines’ 36. The angels still sing in this state every time Houghtlin’s name is said aloud. The main narrative for the Wolverines continues to be “win out, and you’re in”. Per Nick Baumgardner of MLive.com, Harbaugh said he told the team all its goals are still alive.
“One of the points we made last week was that we probably weren’t going to be Big Ten champions this year”. This game didn’t appear to be a candidate. That it pivoted to the idea of controlling the future and achieving all the championship goals it had in mind before its headlining role in college football’s latest November weekend of calamity. “A week ago at this time none of us were having much fun; it was a long ride home from State College. We’re two captains, two seniors, two leaders on the team, and we have to get the team going”. “You surrender and mope and feel sorry for yourself, or you do something about it”. A fumble by Michigan’s Khalid Hill on the opening kickoff of the second half gave the Hawkeyes the ball at the MI 43. “No question about it, the way they prepare, the way they practice, the way they play on Saturdays”. On Thursday, senior quarterback C.J.
For a second, Josey Jewell wondered if you were coming. Instead, what we’re left with is an apathetic resignation to the result we’ve come to expect-and who could blame us? The victory was the first of three straight wins the Hawkeyes had at home against MI.
Jewell smiled sheepishly when asked about it.
“I don’t think it was really aiming the ball”, said Speight. “People believed. People knew”.
Michigan’s red-hot sophomore QB Wilton Speight should continue to lead the Wolverines’ mighty offense to an easy win over Iowa. Everything else about this win looked traditional.
Michigan’s vaunted offense, which had steamrolled most opponents, gained a season-low 201 total yards. As we head down the stretch and games get bigger and bigger, it is crucial for MI to get good line play.
The game was eerily reminiscent of the defensive struggle in 1985.
That year, Iowa’s win ended Penn State’s title run. Michigan, which had turned the ball over only six times in nine games, gave up two in the second half. The Wolverines have arguably the best defense in the country, leading the NCAAs in several key categories, and they’re taking on an Iowa team that really isn’t that explosive offensively.
The win gets Iowa bowl eligible as they pull to 6-4 on the season and 4-3 inside the Big Ten Conference.
Just hours earlier, No. 2 Clemson had lost to Pittsburgh on a last-second field goal, and just prior to Michigan’s loss, No. 20 USC had soundly beaten No. 4 Washington.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Freshman Jalen Hurts passed for career highs of 347 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 100 yards in less than three quarters in the Crimson Tide (10-0, 7-0 SEC) victory. The Hawkeyes attempted a two-point conversion, but Beathard’s pass to a wide open Adrian Falconer was dropped in the end zone by the sophomore receiver.
He admitted to being a bit surprised that coaches didn’t settle for a field goal try there, but in that situation, the chance to potentially tie the game proved to be too good to bypass in a match-up where yards did not come easily. On the defense, Iowa football yields 225.7 yards in passing and 176.6 yards in rushing against their opponents. This season, MI is giving up only 10.7 points and 246.3 yards per game, which puts them among the best defensive units in the country.
“That was one of the greatest highlights of my life”, Wadley said. “But you’re either building toward it or you’re taking away from it, and there’s responsibility with that”, Ferentz said. Maybe that’s why Harbaugh wallpapered that pink locker room .
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Forget the parking lot. Then he wondered if it was OK for them to be on the field.
