On Iowa by Marc Morehouse
Week 10 — Crutches and a boot (with video)
Posted on Nov 07, 2009 by Marc Morehouse.
Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi is escorted off the field after being injured during the second quarter of Iowa's game against Northwestern Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)
IOWA CITY — Ricky Stanzi’s X-rays came back negative. The Hawkeyes’ undefeated season is broken.
The No. 8 Hawkeyes’ undefeated season went to the lockerroom for X-rays on a naked bootleg from their 6-yard line with 11:46 left in the second quarter.
Stanzi faked a handoff and spun, as he has so many times. He took two steps and found Northwestern defensive end Corey Wootton under his facemask. Wootton caused a fumble that defensive tackle Marshall Thomas recovered for an NU touchdown.
That’s not even the bad part.
Stanzi stayed on the turf, crumpled in a semi-fetal position.
The Wildcats (6-4, 3-3 Big Ten) played brilliant defense, completely shutting down the Hawkeyes when redshirt freshman James Vandenberg replaced Stanzi, and took the Hawkeyes (9-1, 5-1) out of the national championship discussion, 17-10, before 70,585 fans Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.
His status for next week’s game at Ohio State is doubtful, coach Kirk Ferentz said. The X-rays were negative, but Stanzi did suffer a severe sprain, likely a high-ankle from the looks of the replay.
“My guess is he’ll be out of action here the next couple weeks,” Ferentz said, comparing the injury to the high-ankle sprains running back Adam Robinson and tight end Tony Moeaki suffered earlier this season.
The next couple weeks, that’s the season, folks.
Stanzi walked slowly to Iowa’s lockerroom and wasn’t seen again until he showed up on the sideline in the middle of the third quarter, balancing on crutches and wearing a white plastic boot that reached all the way up from his right ankle to knee.
Iowa’s undefeated season was right there with him. Crutched, booted and broken.
“We’ve faced a lot of adversity this year. We’ve faced everything you can face,” Iowa wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos said. “I think this one right here tops them all.”
Northwestern managed its own quarterback crisis, with Mike Kafka yielding to Dan Persa only to have the ball return to Kafka for a second half that resonated across the college football landscape.
Iowa’s 13-game winning streak was crutched, booted and broken. Iowa’s Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl hopes are still very much alive.
Alive, but also crutched and booted.
“Everything is out there,” Ferentz said. “We’re not going to go undefeated. That’s the only thing that’s obvious at this point.”
Iowa can still win a share of the Big Ten title, but it will have to do it with a redshirt freshman quarterback making his first career start at Ohio State, on the ABC 2:30 p.m. showcase, in a stadium where Iowa hasn’t won since 1991.
“Pray for James,” Johnson-Koulianos said.
Going into Iowa’s last-gasp — first down from its 17, trailing by a TD with 2:04 left, Vandenberg was 8 of 20 for 75 yards. He looked every bit like a redshirt freshman who simply wasn’t ready to take over for a starter with a 17-3 record.
Vandenberg finished 9 of 27. His final pass, throwing into eight men in coverage with just three rushers, was well behind Marvin McNutt. His first pass was intercepted. In between, it was all pretty unsteady, as you would expect.
“Overall, it was only OK,” said Vandenberg, a baby-faced kid from Keokuk. “It was good to get my feet wet. There’s no more time to waste now, it’s time to go. I felt like I was ready. I felt comfortable, they did a good job mixing it up.”
Iowa scored 10 points in the first 5:10 and then was shut out by an outstanding NU defense, which clinched the Cats’ third straight victory over the Hawkeyes and snapped Iowa’s eight-game winning streak at Kinnick. Iowa’s 281 yards total offense was the second-worst of the season and its 65 rushing yards tied the season’s worst.
“I think James will be a better player next week,” Ferentz said. “I’m not going to say he’ll be comfortable, that’s a very tough environment we’re going to walk into.”
After Stanzi’s ankle, Iowa had 132 yards offense on eight possessions, including Vandenberg’s interception that led to a 10-play drive capped by Persa’s 4-yard TD pass to Drake Dunsmore for a 14-10 lead with 5:20 left in the second quarter.
“It was great to watch the way our defense went out, battled and made some big plays down the stretch,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
Iowa appeared to surge back into the lead on the next drive, when running back Brandon Wegher broke a 64-yarder for a TD. But, no, bad karma wasn’t yet done with the Hawkeyes. Center Rafael Eubanks was called for a holding penalty.
“If it was called a holding penalty, it was a penalty,” Eubanks said.
The bootleg on the goal line sprained Stanzi’s ankle and shattered Iowa’s undefeated season. Sure, there was a lot of football between that play and the final gun, but that stands as the play of the season.
It’s James Vanderberg, all 6-foot-3, 205-pounds of peach fuzz and puberty.
“I think James will be a better player next week,” Ferentz said. “I’m not going to say he’ll be comfortable, that’s a very tough environment we’re going to walk into.
“I forgot about that.”
Oh yeah, Iowa travels to Ohio State next week with Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl hopes.
On crutches and in a boot.
A naked-bootleg from inside your own ten-yard line…another of KOK's genious calls over his tenure. ZERO points in over 40 minutes of football? Back-up, freshman, blind-man….doesnt matter. Thats unacceptable, IMO. Need to bounce back, and FAST!
Don't be insane…KOK has overseen an offense with more injuries and moving parts than is possible for a 9-1 team. That is why the whole world can't believe this. No Stanzi may be ned of Rose Bowl but this kid Vandenberg has an arm and he never gets that many reps with the 1st team. TIming is huge at the QB position. We need some more unlikely luck to get to the Rose Bowl now.
I agree with you regarding Vandenberg; it looks like he has a bright future. And yes, the injuries hurt, and hurt bad. BUT, the OC's job is to be creative and work around those types of issues. Even when completely healthy, when, in the past 5 or so years, has Iowa's offense been real impressive? You can't give KOK last year, that was Shonn Greene. You can't give him '05, that was Drew Tate. You can't give him '02, that was Brad Banks. I just continue to be so frustrated with KOK's playcalling (win or lose). And looking around, apparently, I'm not the only one. I know Iowa is not a gun-slinging 40+ points a game team, but gosh, they've got to get something going on O!
Nope you’re not alone. In fact on pretty much any team site you’ll see every one of them complaining out play calling. You can’t find one where there aren’t people complaining about play calling. So either every OC in the country is bad, or that’s just how it is.
Chad
Chad, maybe you're right. But when the broadcaster's even say "hmm, you have to questions the play calling there"…? That is sort of the point I was trying to make. It all appears to be so obvious to everyone watching the game, except KOK and the coaching staff. Poor Norm has had his boys playing outstanding this year, and he's getting no help whatsoever from Ken's O. Am I fretting over this more than I should be, yeah, probably. But man, the frustration is getting old. Let's hope that ol' Kenny can prove me wrong in the next couple of weeks! Go Hawks!
Give me 3 examples of poor play calling yesterday? I saw plenty of open receivers, just missed the throws.
Understandable but lets keep in mind they are just an extension of what the fans think and say. I’d give them more due if that wasn’t the MO for every unsuccessful play/game etc. I’ve seen the best of the best questioned numerous times so no I can’t agree.
Chad
Do you see Drew or Brad playing the NFL? No. KOK is fine. They lost their only player they couldn't afford to lose today. Plain and simple.
What does either of them not playing in the NFL have to do with anything? They were still responsible for the success Iowa had in those years, not KOK. Do a quick search on "Fire KOK"; you might be surprised at how many articles are written: "KOK on the hot seat", "KOK criticized", etc, etc. And these are not flaming blogs by upset Iowa fans, these are press articles on ESPN, etc. KOK is not fine,; just look at the points average per game the past few years! Pretty sad. Anyway…I don't wanna sit and argue with a fellow Hawk fan. You have your opinion, I have mine. We both want the Hawks to succeed, so I'll leave it at that! Go Hawks!
I like Vandenberg's arm.
But that wasn't sudden change. That was sudden guillotine. DJK said it best. They'd beaten back so much adversity, that was the one they couldn't whip.
No one's fault. Wrong guy got hurt.
If you don't have a running game, you don't have any choice.
Jake somehow found a way to get the last laugh. Tough way to lose a dream season. I just hope Rick can make is back next week.
P.S. maybe we should make "j"NW a premium game next season…
The coaches have a done a brilliant job this year IMO. And Vandy will be better. It sounds funny, but I think you’ll find out Iowa will get more respect now in a loss. Obviously Stanzi is better than he got credit for and Lou Holtz already said kind things on TV. We held them to 239 yards and lost. We also gave up 4 more TO’s. It is hard to win that way. Indiana proved tough again today and I’m still ecstatic we don’t Play PU or Illinois.
Plus I can’t wait until NW falls of our schedule. Though we’d have lost to anyone today and we’d have won if Stanzi plays. Not blaming injuries because that is what it is. Just stating a fact. And I don’t like NW, really never have.
Chad
No offense but I never cared what Lou Holtz (especially) or most of the national media thought. I understand overcoming adversity but come on… Seriously, for a team so "lucky" we sure have had our fair share of bleeping injuries. Tough, tough pill to swallow.
I’m not bothered but Lou gets a bad rap. I do understand your sentiment, as I too avoid most all media outlets anymore. Plus I never watch the ESPN studio shows. I just wanted to see what they’d say in a loss. Very compassionate IMO.
I’ve never been one to blame injury as IMO Iowa is one of the 15 most talented teams in the country and they should be able to handle the injuries. It’s a part of the game. Up until now they did. Unfortunately they weren’t going to be able to handle this, one, as 115 teams out of 119 can’t. Even those that can still struggle i/e: USC/OU. Vandy will be better with a week of practice. If we cut down TO’s we can still win.
Chad
What is the "j" in the jNW?
Its a BHGP reference to "just" Northwestern rather than "The" Ohio State.
Btw, I'm not a big believer in jinxes at all but I'm pretty sure SI just lost 95% of their Hawkeye subscribers.
LOL! Maybe, they did. Maybe they did.
It will take a Herculean effort to win next week. It was going to be very tough anyway, but now……………
I don’t think they’ll score much, but can we score at all? Now I truly feel Vandy will be coached up & play much better next week. But will it be enough? I’d like to still be able to put 11 wins on the ticket and honestly Minne is far from a gimme in these circumstances.
Chad
Well Marc I’m going to show restraint and let my comments mill about in purgatory rather than reposting them 5 times. Tough day, but it is still just a game eh?!?!
Chad
It just seems the play calling could be more aggressive, not so predictable and with more passing. Iowa can go down the field and score in two minutes, so why isn't the approach to get so far ahead at first, so that the other team can't possibly catch up?
I saw them take several shots down field the last few weeks. I'm not sure how much more aggressive you can be. Tough to get to aggressive with someone who'd thrown exactly 3 passes before yesterday. Just my opinion.
Why is the play calling so predictable and not enough passing? Iowa can score in 2 minutes, so why not get as far ahead as possible so the other team can't possibly catch up?
I’m not that upset really. I guess it comes and goes. Probably what bothers me the most is that “some” people will think they were right about the Hawks. But they weren’t. It took 2 more TO’s & a mid game injury to our QB to beat us. I guess losing to NW bothers me a tick, but I always knew it would be a team like that (so did most of you I‘ll wager) and we would have still won, if it wasn’t for the injury. We wouldn’t have lost to a team gaining 239 yards.
I honestly think Vandy will be better. I also think our D is better than PSU’s. Similar Lbers, but way better 2ndary play and a better D-line. If we can stay in it early we can win. I’m mostly curious how they’ll bounce back after this tough loss. If their character holds we might all be shocked what hit’s the field in Columbus. All the pressure is gone now.
Chad
A clarifier I am not in any way using injuries as an excuse. We are Iowa. We’re tough, resilient and way deeper and more talented than most assume. Even our own fans. I heard a call on the radio show questioning our incoming class and it’s speed. Which baffled me. This Iowa team has comparable speed on D to the fastest of the fast and the Lbers and athletes coming in will be more of the same. If anything we seem to be getting more and more athletes, yet with that extra Iowa heartbeat that makes us go. I hope someday everyone else would figure that out, but if we keep churning kids into the NFL they‘ll get it eventually. Unfortunately quart back & wide receiver play has been our down fall. WR is better than ever but QB still looks a little questionable at least depth wise.
Chad
Vandy will be better. He has no choice.
That was a lot to throw at a guy.
Where were all of the complaints on KOK's playcalling the first 9 games of the year. I love it when things go bad he get all the fingers. Iowa runs the bootleg play 10 times a game (last week it went for a 94 yard TD). NW was playing very aggressive at the goal line, as most teams do, and had Wooten not read the play, it would have been a big gain for Iowa. The reality is Vandenberg went in with too much on his shoulders and he wasn't able to get comfortable. He was thinking too much instead of just playing ball. Hopefully this week he will get more comfortable with the offense, but the trip to OSU could be disastrous. All of the people that questioned Stanzi will see the rest of the season what he meant to this team. They should have seen it today already.
Dog — Excellent post. It was the same play they tried from the 8 that went for 92 last week. That was a little differnent, though. They were down 10 in the fourth quarter. Today, they were up 10 early in the second quarter.
It's so easy to second guess. I don't blame people who do. It's human nature.
It was a risk, but it's also a pillar of their offense. Two players ran past Wootton. It looked like he might've been stunting. He fired hard up field. If he read the no blocks, he made a hellish play. Either way, it was a hellish play.
Iowa runs that play 10 times a game. Can't fault it. Well, it's easy to fault it now.
Marc,
Now that we have lost I can ask this question without sounding bitter (I’m not, its just a game) or insecure (I’d have been fine going 13-0 and being left out of the NC game). Why when the SEC teams get continually favorable calls is it just business as usual, but there were people up in arms about our supposed “good calls”? Furthermore I have seen about 30 ugly games (still beautiful to me, after all its football…LOL) from all the power schools yet we were lucky?! Hard to believe really.
The big 12 blows……………….
SEC us very average, so are Oregon, USC etc, etc et al everyone.
Bama, UF & Florida are clearly the best but all 3 are very beatable. Cinny is very solid, but very spotty on D. Boise and TCU may be the 2 most complete teams and they’ll get iced out. The ranking bias, down south in particular should be policed. It would fix these problems. You can’t tell me the SEC is so much better that they should be in every NC game?!?!
Chad
A clarifier I am not in any way complaining about the injuries. We are Iowa. We’re tough, resilient and way deeper and more talented than most assume. Even our own fans. I heard a call on the radio show lamenting our incoming class and it’s speed. Which baffled me. This Iowa team has comparable speed on D to the fastest of the fast and the Lbers and athletes coming in will be more of the same. If anything we seem to be getting more and more athletes, yet with that extra Iowa heartbeat that makes us go. I guess I wish everyone else would figure that out, but if we keep churning kids into the NFL they‘ll get it eventually.
Sadly QB play & WR play has been KF’s Achilles. WR is better than ever but QB still looks a little questionable at least depth wise.
Chad
Tough position for Vandy to be in. Didn't get a chance to play in garbage time bit Iowa in the butt today. Ricky has been great but where was the block punt for a td or a pinball pick 6? The luck just didn't bounce our way today. I wouldn't put so much stock in Ricky just yet.
Vandy and the D will still give this team a chance for an outright conference championship for the first time in …? Go Hawks!!!
I hear ya, Thai.
I'm too tired to look that up, but I'll get to it.
My cold is now epic.
I have full confidence that Vandy will be fine. If you remember back 3 years ago he was THE QB in Iowa highschool football. Never saw him play, but heard all about his arm even back then. Uof I football is alot different then Keokuk football, he should have EVERYONE'S support now. GO HAWKS!!!!!
My point is they weren't in the grand scheme of things very good QBs. A lot of their success was built on the scheme. I'll be the first one to admit that play calling in the past has cost us some games (i.e. Pitt and NW last year) but this year's NW game was a case of the Hawks losing the most irreplaceable member of the team, not the play calling. Execution wasn't there.