The Hlist: Northwestern guts Indiana for Hawkeyes (?), Nebraska’s loss to Iowa State burns in Lincoln

Posted on Oct 26, 2009 by Mike Hlas.

OPENING KICKOFF

“You come into a hostile environment and play the No. 1 team in the country, as I said before by far the No. 1 team in the country and the best-coached team around. You come in here and outgain them by (nearly) 100 yards and miss three field goals. I don’t believe in moral victories, we should have won that game.”

— Tennessee Coach Lane Kiffin, after his team’s 12-10 loss at Alabama. It’s interesting that he gave such tribute to the Crimson Tide since the Vols played Florida earlier this season.

FIRST DOWNS

1. Swinging Cats: Northwestern enjoyed the biggest comeback in its football history, going from a 28-3 hole to a 29-28 win over Indiana.

“It wasn’t a Picasso, but it was a win, so I’ll take it,” said Wildcats Coach Pat Fitzgerald.

It might have been a Picasso for Iowa. Indiana (4-4) had been entertaining hopes of reaching a bowl. But as it prepares to play at Iowa Saturday, it may be emotionally gutted by the loss at Evanston.

“Be honest,” wrote Pete DiPrimio of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. “Do you think Indiana will make a bowl game? Do you figure the Hoosiers will even win another game this year?

“Tradition says no. Once a Cream ‘n’ Crimson football slide starts, no power on earth stops it.”

2. Cyclone Fan in Auburn: The former head coach at Iowa State says he’s thrilled for what the current Cyclones are doing, being fresh off a win at Nebraska and all.

“They had a huge win yesterday and that’s great,” Gene Chizik said Sunday about ISU’s 9-7 triumph in Lincoln. “Those are great kids and they deserve some good things to happen to them, for sure.”

The Hlist thinks they got a good thing when Chizik left to be Auburn’s coach, and last year’s defensive coordinator at Auburn was hired at ISU to replace Chizik.

Auburn has dropped three straight games to fall to 5-3, the same record the Cyclones own under Paul Rhoads.

Iowa State's Deriec Schmidgall (24) and friends douse Cyclones Coach Paul Rhoads Saturday in Lincoln. (AP photo)

FUMBLES

1. Growing Pains: Michigan took a step backward in the Rich Rodriguez renovation project with its 35-10 home-field loss to Penn State. It was the Nittany Lions’ first win in the Big House since 1996.

“There were a couple plays where they had trouble lining up because they didn’t know what was coming,” Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark said.

That’s not good.

Michigan spent three weeks in the AP Top 25 this season, so that was a nice start for what will probably be some big success in the future under Rodriguez. But at 1-3 in the Big Ten and a defense that is leaky at best, the Wolverines remain a work-in-progress.

The good news for Michigan: It plays at Illinois Saturday.

2. Nebraska Nightmare: The Hlist isn’t much for research that involves more than a quick Google search, but is confident Nebraska had never before logged more turnovers (8) than points (7) in a home game against Iowa State.

“It was just like a force field to get across the goal line,” said Cornhuskers wide receiver Brandon Kinnie.

“We killed ourselves, bottom line,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “There’s not a whole lot left to the story. We shot ourselves.”

“Calling it a fluke is letting Big Red off the hook too easily,” wrote Steven M. Sipple of the Lincoln Journal Star. “Plus, give Iowa State credit. The Cyclones went hard after the ball. They tipped passes. They made plays. Bottom line: Much of the time, ISU’s defense was the aggressor, and NU was soft — very un-(Bo) Pelini-like.”

Nebraska has scored touchdowns in just three of its 16 quarters against non-Sun Belt opponents.

POSTGAME

“We’ve been having fun all year. That wasn’t very much fun. That defense is the best defense that I’ve faced.” — BYU quarterback Max Hall.

Hall was sacked five times in TCU’s 38-7 rout at BYU. He faced Oklahoma’s defense in September. Folks, TCU is good.