NU-Iowa Highlights
by Abe Schwadron
September 27th, 2008
First Half
Northwestern kicked off and Iowa promptly drove down the field deep into NU territory, but luckily the Cats caught a big break on defense.
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The Cats looked to strike first, driving right into Iowa territory, but the momentum swung right back to the Hawkeyes on this CJ Bacher pass.
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And Iowa certainly knew what to do once they got the ball back, and that was to hand the ball to junior running back Shonn Greene. Greene powered the Hawkeyes down the field with ease on runs like this one.
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That run set up an Iowa field goal and put the Cats in a 3-0 hole. The Cats couldn’t get much going on offense, and had to punt the ball back to the Hawkeyes, who wasted no time in handing the ball to their go-to guy, Shonn Greene, who capped off another Hawkeye drive on this run.
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With the Cats trailing 10-0, someone on defense needed to step up. And that man was Vince Brown, who tried to rejuvenate the Cats on this spectacular play.
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Brown’s play set up what looked to be a fairly routine field goal for the Wildcats.
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Northwestern would not give up, though, as Bacher found one of his big play receivers to spark the offense late in the half.
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That play set up a field goal for the Cats putting the score at 10-3. Unfortunately for Northwestern, the Hawkeyes weren’t done for the half. Ricky Stanzi had one last play up his sleeve to boost Iowa’s lead.
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The Cats were given one more late chance on a muffed punt by the Hawkeyes
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So at halftime, our score was Iowa 17, Northwestern 3, the Cats not looking so good in that first half.
Second Half
The second half definitely started off great for Northwestern, as quarterback CJ Bacher looked cool and confident on the team’s opening drive, first finding Ross Lane for a 35-yard catch and run, and then hitting his favorite target in the back of the end zone.
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Amado Villareal missed the extra point, though, leaving the Cats trailing 17-16 early in the third quarter. Iowa’s special teams continued to be just horrible, though, as NU created yet another turnover on the ensuing kickoff.
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And wouldn’t you know it, it was Vince Brown who forced that fumble. The play gave the Cats great field position, but they were only able to set up what would have been the go-ahead field goal with ten minutes to go in the 3rd quarter.
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So just as the Hawkeyes looked like they grabbed the momentum back and were driving in Northwestern territory, the Cats’ defense made a huge play and absolutely lit up Iowa’s Shonn Greene.
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The Cats wasted no time cashing in on Greene’s fumble, marching down the field on 12 plays to set up another round of the Bacher-to-Peterman connection.
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Northwestern elected to go for two and failed to convert, leaving the Cats with a 22-17 lead with 8 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. And Northwestern’s defense kept up the intensity, bringing all kinds of pressure on the quarterback, including this play by Brad Phillips.
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After the teams traded punts, it was all up to Iowa’s young quarterback Ricky Stanzi to lead his team down the field for a game-winning drive with less than four minutes to go. A crucial official’s review gave the Hawkeyes a first down inside the red zone, and it all came down to a 4th and goal on the 8 yard line for all the marbles.
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22-17 is your final score, the Cats win!!!
