Iowa Defense Stands Tall in Defeat

Iowa’s defense put on one of its most impressive shows of the season, and the Hawkeyes lost to Michigan 26-0 in Saturday’s Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis.

If that doesn’t make any sense, nothing else has in this odd season.

The Hawkeyes won 10 regular-season games and a Big Ten West Division championship behind one of the best defenses in the nation, and although the score of this game looks lopsided, it wasn’t because of the defense.

Iowa surrendered just 213 yards to the Wolverines, who took advantage of the Hawkeyes’ inability to move the ball, one long punt return, and an overturned call that will be debated forever among the fan base.

Michigan had 66 yards on 34 rushing attempts. Running back Blake Corum had 52 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw for just 147 yards and was sacked three times. The Wolverines opened the game with a 52-yard drive that led to a field goal, and then never had a drive of more than 28 yards after that. Michigan was just 3-of-15 on third downs.

Linebacker Jay Higgins, playing in his hometown, finished with 14 tackles. Safety Sebastian Castro had nine.

In the checklist of things that needed to happen for the Hawkeyes to win this game, a defensive show like this was at the top of the list.

Nothing else fell into place.

The rest of the takeaways from the night, going off the checklist of what the Hawkeyes were going to need:

THE OFFENSE NEEDED TO CAPITALIZE: Iowa’s offense wasn’t going to move the ball on Michigan, because it hasn’t moved the ball on anyone all season.

The Hawkeyes were going to need a short field, and the one time they had that chance was squandered.

Down 10-0 in the second quarter, Iowa got the ball at the Michigan 38-yard line after a poor punt. The Hawkeyes got to the 30-yard line, but on third-and-2 running back Jaziun Patterson caught a 1-yard pass and fumbled after being hit by Michigan’s Mike Sainristil. The Wolverines recovered, and any chance to get points from that possession was lost.

Iowa only got into Michigan territory twice in the second half, but was stopped on fourth down both times.

HILL NEEDED TO BE STEADY: Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill needed to manage this game to give the Hawkeyes a chance. Instead, he was shaky and mistake-prone.

Hill was 18-of-32 passing for 120 yards, but was sacked four times and fumbled twice. Often he had open receivers, but the passes were either off-target or the usual fastballs that required a better touch.

SPECIAL TEAMS NEEDED BIG PLAYS: Punter Tory Taylor was good — seven punts for a 50.4-yard average. He had a long punt of 67 yards.

But there were several costly mistakes that had to be avoided to give Iowa the best chance in the game.

Semaj Morgan’s 87-yard punt return in the first quarter set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Corum that gave Michigan a 10-0 lead. Morgan looked to be headed to the end zone before Iowa’s Koen Entringer raced nearly the length of the field to knock Morgan out of bounds.

Kaden Wetjen had two impressive punt returns, but both were called back because of penalties.

THEY JUST NEEDED A BREAK: Iowa fans will debate the crucial fumble call that led to a touchdown and a 17-0 Michigan lead.

Hill was hit by Sainstrisil as he attempted a pass near Iowa’s goal line. The ball made it back to the line of scrimmage before hitting the ground, and was originally ruled an incomplete pass. But on the replay review, Hill was ruled to have fumbled before his hand came forward, and since Michigan’s Josh Wallace picked up the ball at the Hawkeyes’ 12-yard line, it was ruled the Wolverines had possession of the ball.

Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty protesting the call, giving the Wolverines the ball at the 6. Corum scored on the next play, and the lead at that point looked, and was, insurmountable.