Last Saturday at Kinnick Stadium Iowa had their biggest win in the last 3 years over the Michigan Wolverines. Maybe I'm placing a little more on it than it was but I believe this win is a signal that this team back on the upswing. We went through a little rebuild the last couple of years but this season really is starting to have a 2008 feel to it. If you remember Iowa had a very similar record before winning the final 3 games of the regular season and beating South Carolina in a bowl game. The Hawkeyes look to be on a very similar path right now the team has been getting better every single game. If Iowa beats Nebraska on Friday the same thing that happened in 2008 could happen again and we all remember 2009 when we started 9-0 nearly winning the Big Ten. So am I saying that the 2008 season and 20013 with look exactly the same not necessarily but there are a lot of thing similar with this season to that one. Enough about what could happen lets talk about what did happen on Saturday.
The Iowa offense was very bad in the first half I mean the first play on offense Jake Rudock threw a pick 6 after he was hit on a play action pass. Rudock didn't have a lot of options on this play but he probably could of taken the sack instead of just throwing the ball up for grabs but that is something learned through experience. I mean that first half couldn't of gone any worse for the Hawks but like they have all season they kept on fighting. Even though it was very cold and Michigan seemed to be in complete control of the game I felt if Iowa could take care of the ball they could get back in the game. Really Iowa gave Michigan their points first the interception for a touchdown than the second interception where Rudock threw into triple coverage to set up another Michigan touchdown. After Iowa got down 7 to 0 they put a nice drive together to respond but missed the field goal. The Hawks 3rd drive resulted in a touchdown pass from Rudock to Fiedorowicz capping a 7 play 45 yard drive. Again the Iowa defense continued to shut down the Michigan offense but the next drive Iowa turned it over on downs than threw another interception. Both of Michigan's scoring drives started in Iowa territory one going 7 plays for 28 yards a touchdown pass from Gardner, than the second drive right before halftime 10 plays 47 yards and another TD from Gardner. Jordan Cotton had a big kick return before the half but a bobbled snap on the field goal caused the Hawks to miss another scoring opportunity. The interesting thing about this first half is it felt a lot like the Wisconsin game we were making a lot of mistakes which would wind up costing us the game.
Iowa came out in the second half looking like a completely different team and the play that completely changed the game was Tevaun Smiths 55 yard touchdown catch. He made a one handed catch on the play gathered it in broke a tackle than out ran every one to the end zone. After this play I could really feel the momentum shift towards the Hawkeyes, the defense completely shutdown Michigan forcing 4 three and outs out of the 6 Michigan possessions. After Iowa's touchdown it seemed like we were going to tie the game but we had to punt 2 times than Rudock threw another interception when Iowa was driving for the game tying score. Instead of getting frustrated like the fans were the defense went back on the field allowing one first down but only 4 plays to force a punt. Finally Iowa put there best drive together going 60 yards in 9 plays to score the game tying touchdown. Mark Weisman had his best game since the beginning of the season bulldozing the Michigan defender into the end zone. After the Hawks tied the game the defense was just outstanding in the second half forced another 3 and out, these are the type of things you need to happen to overcome losing the turnover battle to win a football game. Iowa than put another nice drive together to get the go ahead field goal from Mike Meyer on 9 plays for 50 yards. After the field goal the defense came up big once again as Michigan was starting to drive the ball down the field when Anthony Hitchens and Tanner Miller stripped Devin Garder with Hitchens recovering it. Iowa had a key third down Michigan was likely going to get the ball back if the Hawks just ran the ball instead they called a play action naked bootleg giving Rudock the option to throw or run he found Fiedorowicz for a first down sealing the win for the Hawks. So we know how the Hawks got the win so lets take a look at some of the key stats.
Offensively Jake Rudock was okay but the way he fought back after throwing 3 interceptions was very impressive. He went 19 of 30 for 239 yards throwing 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions but he was outstanding down the stretch of the game. He really made some big time throws. I had been saying it for while that Tevaun Smith was getting close to having that breakout game well that happened last weekend. Smith had 5 catches for 97 yards including a 55 yard touchdown reception leading the Hawks in receiving. . He had the big touchdown catch but also had a 21 yard reception to start off the game winning drive followed by an 8 yard catch. He really had a big game when Iowa needed him the most. Now hopefully he can continue to build on this success becoming a more consistent threat. CJ Fiedorowicz also had a nice game hauling in 3 passes for 42 yards and a touchdown. Rudock completed passes to 10 different receivers including 2 catches from Martin Manley for 20 yards, Hillyer didn't have a lot of catches only 2 but both went for first downs. Jordan Canzeri, Mark Weisman and Damon Bullock all caught passes out of the backfield. Canzeri had 2 catches for 27 yards Bullock only had one catch but it was a great catch on a back shoulder throw setting up a field goal attempt. The running game was very good on Saturday as the Hawks rushed for 168 yards on 44 carries averaging 3.8 yards per carry. Weisman had 17 carries for 88 yards looking a lot more explosive than he had the last few weeks. Jordan Canzeri had his second nice performance rushing 12 times for 50 yards, and Damon Bullock had 4 carries for 12 yards. Michigan's defense coming into this game was very good against the run so this was a very good day for the Hawkeyes on the ground. Even though Iowa had some mistakes on offense they made up for them in the second half to pull off the come from behind victory.
The Iowa defense on Saturday was unbelievable in the second half completely shutting down the Michigan offense. They only allowed 60 yards rushing and 98 yards passing holding the offense under 200 yards a very impressive performance. There isn't really anything bad to say about the defense they won this game for the Hawks by keeping the team in the game long enough for the offense to get going. Desmond King was just outstanding he probably had a little chip on his shoulder being from Michigan, he was all over the field breaking up passes and Carl Davis another kid from Michigan just dominated the interior offensive line with 8 tackles. This front 7 is outstanding but the big thing for this team is they are starting to eliminate the big plays they were giving up early in the season not only is the front 7 playing well but the secondary is too. Coming up on Friday Iowa has a big test facing the Nebraska rushing offense but the way they have played all season I believe they will be up for the challenge. These linebackers Iowa have are right up there with the best in the country they all make so many plays. Hitchens coming up with the strip to finish the game also they are very effective when they blitz timing the blitz to get to the quarterback. All 3 of these guys have an NFL future and it's great to see all the seniors having a lot of success.
Special teams played a role in the game as Meyer missed a field goal than was unable to attempt one as the snap was bobbled. He came back though to make the big one putting the Hawks ahead by 3 which turned out to be the game winning points. Jordan Cotton had a strong day returning kicks including a 27.5 yard average with one for 60 yards. The kickoff team was decent for Iowa only allowing 21.2 yards per return to the Wolverines. Punting Connor Kornbraith was pretty good for the conditions averaging 37.5 yards per punt with 2 of his 4 punts downed inside the 20.
Now that Hawks got win number 7 they will be going bowling to a nice area of the country but I see this team finishing even stronger. This win last Saturday is one that I believe people will look back on and be like that was the game that turned the program around. We all remember last season's 4-8 team can this team reverse those totals making it 8-4 with a win over Nebraska I think they can. Iowa needs to win one of these games in Lincoln to really turn this into a rivalry but enough about that enjoy this great win over Michigan. I will have a preview for the Nebraska game in the next day so check back. As always thanks for reading.
Go Hawks.
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