The best game I've ever been to: Iowa 27, Northwestern 17

by Adam Jacobi on Nov 1, 2007 8:07 PM CDT in Iowa Hawkeyes News

I've been lucky to have seen some great football over the years. There was the MSU-Iowa comeback game in 2000, the Purdue-Iowa slugfest in 2002, and even the 1991 OSU game right after the Van Allen shootings. But the game that will always, always stay in my mind as the best Iowa game I've ever seen was Northwestern-Iowa in 2000.

It was a cold, gray, depressing day. The clouds that were supposed to burn off never did, so a morning temperature of 30 never turned into the 50 we were promised for the 2:30 gametime. The announced attendance was somewhere around 54,000; at Iowa, that's unfathomably low. Nonetheless, it ended up being the loudest crowd I've ever heard at Kinnick.

Iowa was set to face a #12 Northwestern team that had been running their ninja football offense to perfection, scoring 95 points in their last two games alone. The Wildcats were coming off a certifiably insane 54-51 victory over Michigan that probably belongs in the pantheon of the 10 best Big Ten games ever (Ever!!!), and they just needed wins over Iowa and Illinois (both pretty lousy teams) to clinch a Rose Bowl bid. Iowa, on the other hand, was 2-8, but coming off a 26-23 overtime win at Penn State. The Vegas line on the game favored Northwestern by roughly 600,000 points, and most Iowa fans would have called the line fair.

But it was Senior Day at Iowa, and when Anthony Herron's folks are in the house, you are doomed. And whether it was the parents in attendance, the emotional boost of playing in Kinnick for the last time, the crowd cheering their asses off to keep from freezing them off, or just Bob being Bob, Iowa would not be denied that afternoon.

The first half was largely a blur. I hadn't exactly slept the night before, and the only thing keeping me standing was an Iowa lead and the Competitive Advantage: Halls Cough Drops with "Advanced Vapor Action." I think I handed out about 3/4 of the bag to nearby fans and consumed the rest to keep my throat from ripping to shreds. When Broadway Kyle hit Kahlil Hill for a touchdown with 13 seconds left before halftime, the place exploded. The Northwestern offensive machine was sputtering, and we hadn't even seen Iowa lead a Big Ten opponent by double digits since September. In 1998.

Fa real.

The second half was an orgiastic celebration of Norm Parker defense at its finest. Iowa bent, but would not break. Zak Kustok was the primary target of Iowa's pressure; he was sacked six times (six!) and registered just 19 yards on 18 carries. Damien Anderson had the quietest 132-yard day in college football history, and it took a late Wildcat touchdown to get the score back to a respectable 27-17 margin. It was such a domination on Iowa's part that it didn't even resemble an upset; the only "break" that really went Iowa's way was a snap over Kustok's head that effectively ended a 4th quarter Northwestern drive with the score at 20-10.

As the final gun sounded [they stopped using guns in like the 1950's. First you don't post anything all day and then this stuff. Get your shit together. --ed], you bet your ass we rushed the field. What we'd seen was the first sign in years that the Hawkeyes would be back, and soon. Giant press boxes, Supermegajumbotrons, whatever. The only thing that's going to keep packing Legendary Kinnick Stadium is inspired football. It was there on that concrete gray day in 2000, it was there after halftime last week, and--Lord willing--it'll be here on a much more regular basis for years to come.

Tweet Comment 6 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Read More: kyle mccann, iowa, northwestern

Comments

great, great game.

Meyer was a beast that day, hitting everything that dared come to his side of the field.

Hero of the day, though, was Jason Baker. Those early punts inside the 5 (what, like 3 in a row?) were the critical edge we needed to keep NU close to the vest while we got rolling.

And Kinnick frickin rocked that day.

Yeah, that was a kick ass day. I sense a late night video session before Saturday's game. Relieve some great memories.

by indyhawk on Nov 1, 2007 8:13 PM CDT reply actions

That game was indeed wicked awesome.

I attended that game with a close NU alum friend, who, before the game, was pretty confident in the purple offensive juggernaut, as was I. It was also the first time I brought my wife (then girlfriend) to Kinnick. I think we got our 40 yard-line seats for like $10 outside the stadium. As we talked at the tailgate I tried to convince him (and myself) that Iowa might give them a game, but I'm not even sure if I really believed it.

But, from almost the opening kickoff you could sense something was afoot. The Iowa defense just seemed like they had no doubt they could shut down NU's spread. They hit so hard. They played so inspired. I was high up and you could still just hear the hits cut through the wind in a way that isn't always there.

The thing that struck me as the fans rushed the field, as was touched upon, is it wasn't an "upset" in the way that word is generally used. The far better team that day won.

And despite better efforts the two weeks prior against Wisconsin in a loss, and PSU in an OT win, it was that game, that moment, that I had no doubt Iowa football would return to prominence.

Seeing my then girlfriend (who didn't go to a D-1 school and didn't really "get" college football until well into our relationship) look at me like I was crazy as I screamed "we're back!! we're back!!" as the game ended, I'm kinda surprised she ended up my wife.

And man did we hit I.C. hard that night.

by DonnyDonovan on Nov 1, 2007 11:26 PM CDT reply actions

Not as wicked awesome as the 2005 game

Walking down the Ryan Field steps after the 2005 game, I am pretty sure I heard someone in gold and black whipser "it's over, it's over."

And that was the game my wife finally "got" college football.

by Buffalo Joe on Nov 2, 2007 2:40 PM CDT up reply actions

That was the 'turnaround' game...

...that led to 2001 and 2002. We simply looked like a different team out there that day: confident, composed, competent. MSU the year before was the first hint of greatness; this was more like a neon sign flashing in the dark.

And it was especially satisfying to rip NW's Rose Bowl dream to shreds like that. I'll just say it: I hate NW. Back then, it pissed me off no end that THEY had somehow gotten good and we had somehow gotten bad! And their attitude--yeah, they had a BIG time 'tude about the Hawks. And had beaten us quite a bit more than we'd beaten them in recent years.

A great, great game. I think I stood and cheered after the game for about half an hour. You just didn't want to leave.

If it's not too much trouble, search your soul--and then ask yourself if maybe I might have a point.

by The Director on Nov 2, 2007 11:48 AM CDT reply actions

Take it easy on Buffalo Joe

Yes he's an NU fan, but I know for a fact he's good people.

And LTP has been very up front about their attendance problem. The fact is, since 1995, they've beaten us more than we've beaten them. Tomorrow it's time to start reversing that trend.

by DonnyDonovan on Nov 2, 2007 8:51 PM CDT reply actions