Inches From A Tie, A Long Way From A Win: Hawkeyes Fall To Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — Nate Stanley waited, then ran.
Chris Orr waited, then ran.
The collision between Stanley, Iowa’s quarterback, and Orr, a Wisconsin linebacker, was the biggest hit on a bruising day at Camp Randall Stadium.
It left Stanley inches short of the goal line, and the Hawkeyes a long way from a win.
The stop on Stanley’s two-point conversion run ended a frantic Iowa comeback in Saturday’s 24-22 loss to the Badgers.
Yards were at a premium all day for the Hawkeyes, whose offense was awakened by the desperation of the final minutes.
Inches were at a premium when Iowa needed them the most.
Stanley’s voice cracked when he was asked how much the loss hurt.
“A bunch,” he said.
Iowa (6-3 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) saw its West Division hopes crumble with that Orr hit, but they were fading all day, brightened for a moment when Stanley threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Tracy, and then dimmed with the Orr blast.
Wisconsin (7-2, 4-2) stayed in the division race by sapping the Hawkeyes’ energy with Jonathan Taylor runs and the right pass plays at the right time from quarterback Jack Coan.
Taylor rushed for 250 yards, while Coan threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
Iowa’s defense, statistically among the best in the nation, made some stops, but not nearly enough.
“We just didn’t play to our standards today,” defensive end A.J. Epenesa said.
The 16 points Iowa scored in the fourth quarter after falling behind 21-6 were the products of a comeback that had a fury the Hawkeyes were lacking all day.
Stanley was struggling with accuracy, and Iowa’s running game was often swallowed by Wisconsin’s defense.
“There were times there when it felt the game could get away from us,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “But the guys kept fighting, gave us a chance to win the thing in the fourth quarter.”
Iowa scored on its last three possessions. Stanley threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Nico Ragaini, then Keith Duncan kicked a 39-yard field goal.
Then, after Wisconsin had taken a 24-16 lead on Collin Larsh’s 29-yard field goal, the Hawkeyes came back with a bolt — Stanley fired a pass down the middle to Tracy, who broke free for the score.
Three minutes, 12 seconds, were left in the fourth quarter, and the only choice was to go for two.
The quarterback draw play was something the Hawkeyes had installed during the week.
“We felt good about it,” Ferentz said. “It was in our game plan.
“It just came up short.”
Inches away.
“It was a tough play,” guard Kyler Schott said. “We were close.”
“He had good momentum going,” said linebacker Djimon Colbert, watching Stanley from the sidelines. “Yeah, I thought he was in.”
Running back Mekhi Sargent raced ahead of Stanley to try to block, but he ran into umpire James Shaw.
“(Stanley) was trying to get in there,” Ferentz said. “I understand the umpire screened one of our blockers. But that’s football — everybody’s got a job to do. It’s pretty crowded down there.”
Someone asked Stanley if he had ever had received as hard of a hit as that.
“Yeah,” he said.
But this one was more painful than others for Stanley, a Wisconsin native who, in three years as a starter, never defeated the Badgers.
“He’s so invested,” Ferentz said of Stanley. “It hurts to lose. There’s nothing I can say, nothing anyone can say, to make him feel better.”
Stanley finished with 208 yards passing — he had just 41 yards two seasons ago, when Iowa lost here, 38-14.
Ferentz, with two timeouts remaining, decided for a deep kickoff inside of trying for an onside kick.
“Had two (timeouts), felt like it was the smartest thing to do,” he said.
Then Taylor had two carries for 10 yards to get a first down, then broke free for a 42-yard run for his final carry of the day.
Asked if Taylor’s big plays led to frustration, Colbert said, “It does, especially when it’s happening over and over again. Especially on that last drive.”
“It hurts. Because you think back after the game all of the plays you wish you would have done better. Yeah, it’s going to hurt reflecting back on it.”
“We lost to a really good football team who played a really good game tonight,” Ferentz said.
Iowa has West Division leader Minnesota at home next week, followed by a home game with Illinois and a game at Nebraska.
“It’s definitely tough,” said running back Toren Young, a Madison native who rushed for 44 yards in this game. “It hurts.”
Ferentz understood.
“We’ll let it marinate for a day or so,” he said. “And then we’ll turn to the next challenge.”
