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They brought the entire state of Ohio and a big red stadium to their knees. In the end, it was too much. It was just too much for the No. 15 Hawkeyes. It was too audacious for the football Gods to allow. It was so close and yet it was so far. The Hawkeyes pushed the big red Horsehoe to the brink with a freshman quarterback who barely shaves, their first kick return for a TD in 242 returns and a running ...

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Ricky Stanzi's X-rays came back negative. The Hawkeyes' undefeated season is broken. The No. 8 Hawkeyes' undefeated season went to the locker room 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 face mask. Wootton caused a fumble that defensive tackle Marshall Thomas recovered for a touchdown. That's not even ...

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Ricky Stanzi is nuts. He has to be. In the third quarter, he was the king of Interception City. He threw four interceptions and the No. 7 Hawkeyes seemed to be headed to their first loss of the season. The Iowa quarterback actually passed Interception City and looked for the exit to Goat Town. The dream seemed resigned to die, at Kinnick, against Indiana. A painful death, to be sure. It's a good thing Ricky Stanzi is nuts. "Nah, man, Ricky's a great guy," ...

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Whatever happens from here on out, this team walks where no Iowa team has. The Iowa Hawkeyes are 8-0. This is a first in school history. This is fabulous to the very last drop. Ricky Stanzi, 7 yards, Marvin McNutt, two seconds. Iowa wins. Stanzi to McNutt to ... who knows where. After falling behind with 1:37 left, the Hawkeyes drove 71 yards on 11 plays and stunned just about everyone who cares about college football. Stanzi. McNutt. Seven yards. Two seconds. Eight and ohhh wow. "We ...

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Kirk Ferentz is a stoic's stoic. He's seen all the whining about the flu around the Big Ten this season. He's not about to let his team fly that up the excuse flagpole. The only thing that gave him away Saturday was cornerback Amari Spievey. Every time he coughed, reporters moved a few steps back. Flu, schmu. "It's reflective of our team," Ferentz said. "We keep pushing forward." Eventually, they did. After falling behind 10-0, the No. 11 Hawkeyes (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) blanked Wisconsin ...

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You'll have to excuse Ricky Stanzi for the occasional sway and stumble. That happens when you have the weight of an entire team on your back. Stanzi is pretty much Iowa's offense. He'll "aw shucks" it and, certainly at times, you might not want to admit it, but it was never more true than in last night's 30-28 victory over Michigan. The junior completed 20 of 38 for 284 yards, an interception returned for a TD and two TD passes, and led ...

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Maybe it was complacency. Maybe it was the specter of Michigan. Or maybe, just maybe, it really was Arkansas State. Probably all of the above. The No. 13 Iowa Hawkeyes couldn't shake complacency or that big Michigan thingie next week, but in the end, they did shake Arkansas State, 24-21, before 67,989 fans Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi threw three TD passes, including 43- and 41-yarders to wide receiver Marvin McNutt, and the Hawkeyes moved to 5-0 for the first ...

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This was a game that only a defensive coordinator could love. Iowa's Norm Parker, crusty 67-year-old fireplug of a defensive coordinator, loved it a little more Saturday night. You had your sacks, interceptions and generally offensive stats coming out of both offenses. In the end, Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn provided the offense for the Hawkeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) in their 21-10 victory at Penn State, Iowa's fourth victory at Beaver Stadium under Coach Kirk Ferentz. The 6-3, 282-pound junior ripped past ...

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In the end, it was OK to laugh. Iowa linebacker A.J. Edds had an onside kick ricochet off his chest and into fullback Brett Morse's arms to wrap up the Hawkeyes' 27-17 victory Saturday over Arizona. "I need to get on the Jugs Machine," the senior laughed on the bench. It was OK to laugh. Quarterback Ricky Stanzi gives up a pick six, laugh it off. The offense rushes for 40 yards in the second half, LOL. And watch for linebacker Pat Angerer at ...

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It was a little "Starsky and Hutch." Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood slid over the hood of their red sports car in their leather jackets and busted everything in the air Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium. It was a little '70s detective show. It was a little of the 2004 movie with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. It was a buddy movie with each star taking a turn in front of the camera. "I'm probably the Ben Stiller. He's more of the Owen ...

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This was passing an Appalachian State-sized kidney stone. That's really the only point of reference you need. Of course, you remember Appalachian State going up to the Big House and upsetting Michigan to open the 2007 season. The FCS school upsetting the Big Ten BCS bully. A national noisemaker on week 1. "It was a little Appalachian State-ish," Iowa linebacker A.J. Edds said. It was an FCS-sized kidney stone for the Hawkeyes. They passed it, painfully and ever so closely, 17-16, before 70,585 shocked ...

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Three weeks ago after a lifeless shellacking at Purdue, Iowa's Mike Klinkenborg told anyone who'd listen that the season wasn't over. And it wasn't, technically. Technically. Klinkenborg, eyes ablaze with red contacts to keep the sun out, boldly proclaimed, "We've got four weeks left. We can still be a bowl-eligible team. We can still make this a miraculous season." The Hawkeyes are one win away from miraculous, depending on how you define the word. "I think `miraculous' might be a little strong," Iowa Coach Kirk ...

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In one whiplash moment of emotion, Nate Kaeding zipped from strong, happy football player to choking back deep sobs. The minute he set his eyes on his parents, Terry and Larry, the strong, happy kicker turned into a mess. "Parents, grandma, grandpa, distant relatives, just seeing how caught up they get and how much pride they take in the way the team plays," Kaeding said. "I don't want to say it means more to them than it does to me, but when ...

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Marcus Paschal flopped facedown in the plastic grass and kitty litter that is the Metrodome field. He had no idea and was afraid to even look. Paschal took a dive at Rhys Lloyd's 51-yard field goal attempt. Facedown, he had no idea and was afraid to even look. "I looked over at (linebacker) Abdul Hodge," Paschal said. "When I saw him pounding his fist on the turf, I still didn't know for sure. That could've meant he made it, too. But then I ...

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No, it wasn't nice and tidy. It was a quarterback who looked a little shaky in his second start. It was 10 penalties for 173 yards. It was eight dropped passes. It was a kicker who couldn't kick straight. It was one shanked punt. It was an offensive lineman running around in circles on the field goal unit. The Hawkeyes (1-0) left a lot on the table Saturday at Soldier Field. But it was a 16-3 victory over Northern Illinois (0-1) before 61,500 ...

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There was nothing left to prove here. Shonn Greene punched in for one blazing, brilliant season and so now he's turning pro. Thursday's Outback Bowl fell into nothing-to-prove mode after about the first 10 minutes. The Hawkeyes (9-4) punched in for maybe one and a half blazing, brilliant quarters and beat the Gamecock decals of the helmets of a disinterested, undisciplined and just plain awful South Carolina (7-6) outfit. (Originally published 1/2/2009) Greene was named the game's MVP after rushing for 121 yards and ...

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The Capital One guy smiled and entertained several questions from Iowa media members. The Outback guy, too. It was only halftime and the Hawkeyes were more than halfway to Florida. Iowa did its part to deliver Florida sunshine. The Hawkeyes (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten) battered Minnesota (7-5, 3-5), 55-0, before a mostly Iowa crowd in the Golden Gophers' Metrodome finale. Running back Shonn Greene rushed 22 times for 144 yards, breaking Iowa's season rushing record. The junior now has 1,729 yards, running ...

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Here lies Frank Duong. He was a good kid. Lived a good life. All he wanted to do for the Purdue Boilermakers was play a little football. He leaves a jersey, a helmet and some snot bubbles. Who was Frank Duong? He was the Purdue safety Shonn Greene turned into an NFL audition tape. (Originally published 11/16/2008) Greene picked up the Hawkeyes and carried them into the end zone twice, and that was just enough in Iowa's gritty, gutty, grubby 22-17 victory over Purdue before ...

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It's good. It's all good. Daniel Murray's 31-yard field goal with one second left was good. The Hawkeyes' thrilling 24-23 victory over No. 3 Penn State on Saturday was really good. The feeling of 70,585 fans jumping down on top of you to celebrate the program's biggest victory in years, yeah, even that felt good. "That was the biggest workout I had all day," said senior defensive tackle Mitch King. (Originally published 11/9/2008) Kinnick fans rushed the field with one second left on the ...

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Minus-1, incomplete, incomplete. Field goal. Or missed field goal, in this particular case. Minus-1. Field goal. Sack, incomplete, 9-yard pass on third-and-19. Field goal. That was Iowa's day. That was pretty much the game. That wasn't the season, but that was the championship portion of the season. No one said the road to the something- something bowl was going to be easy. (Originally published 11/3/2008) Illinois wanted and needed this more than Iowa and played like it, turning two Iowa turnovers into 10 points during ...

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Iowa was big brother. Wisconsin was little brother. Big brother had his palm firmly planted on the forehead of little bro. Little bro kept wailing away, but big bro lowered the boom. When you have Shonn Greene, you are the big brother and you have the boom. (Originally published 10/19/2008) The junior running back rushed for 217 yards and four touchdowns in Iowa's 38-16 bludgeoning before 70,585 fans Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. The yards were the most for an Iowa back since Albert Young ...

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Somewhere in the second half, it was goat herding. It was probably this series, the one when true freshman running back Jewel Hampton ran nine times for 63 yards and scored on a 10yard run in the third quarter. If you want to pinpoint the exact moment Saturday’s game turned into goat herding, that might be it. But make no mistake, it was goat herding, with Iowa in the role of herder and Indiana obediently playing the goat. (Originally published 10/12/2008) Shonn Greene gutted ...

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It sure was a run play to the left. Kirk Ferentz confirmed that with just a hint of frustration. Maybe a bit more than a hint. "Looked like a run play to our left, Shonn Greene carrying," Ferentz snorted. This wasn't Ferentz's trademark happy snort. This was a snort of frustration. Verbal and sharp, not the kind of snort that stifles a chuckle. Basically, it was the kind of snort you'd expect after Iowa's galling 16-13 loss to Michigan State before 77,526 fans ...

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This week, the pain in your gut isn't gas. It's that big purple burrito of a loss you were forced to swallow in one gulp Saturday afternoon. Northwestern defensive tackle John Gill knocked down Ricky Stanzi's fourth-and-8 pass with 1:08 left and that froze the entirety of Kinnick Stadium in standing and stunned silence. Seriously, 70,585 were planted in stone cold and blinking disbelief. OK, not all 70,585. The purple clump in the southeast corner cheered and celebrated the Wildcats' 22-17 grand ...

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Kirk Ferentz said Iowa quarterback is a gut thing. After Saturday, you have to wonder if it's not gas. That's not to say Iowa quarterback is the reason why the Hawkeyes trudged out of Heinz Field with an empty feeling Saturday after falling, 21-20, to Pittsburgh before 50,321 fans. Iowa quarterback was part of the reason, certainly, but the Hawkeyes (3-1) dropped a bunch of gut bombs around Heinz. (Originally Published 9/21/2008) The defense didn't help with a porous first half, allowing two ...

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