Arya News - The Hawkeyes scored a touchdown with 2 seconds remaining, earning the 1-point win and breaking hearts in Ann Arbor.
Sometimes, what goes around comes around. In a high-profile matchup between No. 17 Iowa and No. 18 Michigan , a slow start made way for a wild ending as the Hawkeyes pulled off a miraculous last-second touchdown.
Michigan, who pulled to a five-point lead in the fourth quarter, tried to hold off a late Iowa push. But with two seconds left on the clock, Hawkeyes quarterback Hank Brown found Reece Vander Zee in the end zone, with the receiver perfectly staying in bounds to give Iowa the one-point win.
Earlier in the drive, the Wolverines defense had appeared to put a nail in the coffin by forcing third-and-long with less than 30 seconds left. But a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty — thanks to a late shove out of bounds from Michigan cornerback Zeke Berry — gave Iowa another chance. Brown kept the drive alive with a pass to Addison Ostrenga, who tipped the ball to himself for a 29-yard catch and just enough time to dash the Wolverines" dreams.
It was an ending cruelly reminiscent — though the Wolverines were on the other side — of Michigan"s season-opening win over Western Michigan , when the officials" controversial addition of a single second gave the Wolverines the chance for a game-winning Hail Mary . The NCAA later admitted that mistakes had been made in the officiating process.
After the win, Iowa"s social media account appeared to note some of the similarities as well.
Saturday"s matchup between the two Big Ten defensive heavyweights promised to be a low-scoring game. That turned out to be about halfway true: The offense-adverse Iowa racked up just 285 yards compared to Michigan"s 429 total offensive yards. But the Hawkeyes defense showed up in several key moments to limit the Wolverines, and make way for the game-winning play.
For much of the fourth quarter, it didn"t look like Iowa would be able to pull it off. After quarterback Bryce Underwood "s 49-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to JJ Buchanan , the Hawkeyes initially stuck to the Kirk Ferentz brand of avoiding risks: With two and a half minutes left in the game, Iowa opted to kick a 51-yard field goal on fourth-and-6 despite being down five points. Caden Buhr"s attempt then went wide.
Thanks to the Michigan home crowd, the Hawkeyes also had three key start penalties in the second half, including one that put Iowa at third-and-long late before Berry"s unnecessary roughness penalty bailed them out.
Postgame, Ferentz was visibly emotional as he praised his players for not giving up.
"One thing about these guys, they don"t quit. They fight. It wasn"t perfect, but they don"t give up," Ferentz said.
For what it"s worth, Michigan"s offense, which has been an obvious weak point for the team early on, looked much more solid even in the loss: Underwood went 17-for-28 for 276 yards and two touchdowns as his connections with Buchanan and Andrew Marsh continued to sparkle.
But in the end, the Hawkeyes (and, perhaps, Western Michigan) got the last laugh.