The Aughts in Review: Even Wolverines Get The Blues
by RossWB on Jan 29, 2010 7:30 AM CST
in Football
50 comments
Continuing our look back at the decade that was in Iowa football, celebrating the highs and the lows -- and, hopefully, distracting us from the ongoing disaster that is Iowa basketball. This series looks back at Iowa's results across the entire decade against every Big Ten foe, as well as Iowa State. According to the alphabet, next up is the deposed king of Big Ten football, Michigan.
HEY YO, CHICO! SAY HELLO TO LOSING, MICHIGAN.
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
Iowa vs. Michigan in the 00s: 3-4
WINS
2002: Iowa 34, Michigan 9
2003: Iowa 30, Michigan 27
2009: Iowa 30, Michigan 28
LOSSES
2001: Michigan 32, Iowa 26
2004: Michigan 30, Iowa 17
2005: Michigan 23, Iowa 20 (OT)
2006: Michigan 20, Iowa 6
Proof that bitchmaking Michigan quarterbacks is not a new phenomenon for Iowa defenses.
BEST WIN: Iowa 34, Michigan 9 (2002)
There were other games that were more exciting or more dramatic (such as the '01 and '03 games), but no other Iowa-Michigan tussle in the Aughts wound up being as significant as this encounter. After the early season stumble against Iowa State, Iowa picked up some steam after beating Penn State in Happy Valley and surviving the wild game with Purdue, but entered the Michigan game off a meh-worthy performance in the win over Indiana. But after blowing the doors off Michigan in the second half and handing them their worst loss in the Big House in decades, there was no disputing it: Iowa had arrived. The game itself was close for a half (10-6 at the break) and it was 10-9 after Michigan kicked a field goal with 12:31 left in the quarter. That's when Jermelle Lewis and CJ Jones took over and BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE. Michigan was left tackling air, Iowa was racking up points in bunches, and the Big House was getting really quiet (or rather, given its less-than-sterling reputation for noise, even quieter). 34-9, hello, Iowa, welcome to the national consciousness (and a top-ten ranking)-- and Iowa fans everywhere knew that this season was going to be something special.
Remarkably, this was the most lopsided scoreline of the series between these teams in the 00s. While Iowa's series with Ohio State has tended to be either ugly (2006) or really ugly (2000, 2005), the norm of late for Iowa's series with Michigan has been close, competitive games -- even when the teams are ostensibly mismatched in terms of ability (e.g., 2009, when a very good Iowa team let a middling Michigan team hang around for four quarters, or 2006, when an eventual 11-0 Michigan team couldn't put away a self-destructing Iowa team with an injured Drew Tate until late in the fourth quarter). The atmosphere for Michigan games in the Aughts was always something special (I still maintain that the '03 game was the loudest game I've ever been at and that Kinnick was literally shaking at points; I also remember the student section booing Kyle McCann so vociferously in '01 that you could even hear it on the ABC broadcast -- sorry, Kyle) and the games usually delivered, too.
WORST LOSS: Michigan 23, Iowa 20 (OT) (2005)
Even now, over four years later, this game remains sickening. Every loss in '05 was infuriating for some reason, either because they were embarrassing blowouts (ISU, OSU), disgusting chokejobs (this game, jNWU), or referee-influenced nightmares (the Outback Bowl, also this game). This game holds a special place of pride in my Museum of Hate, though, because it ended Iowa's 22-game home winning streak. Iowa hadn't lost in Kinnick since the horrific collapse to ISU in '02; they'd beaten every single BXI opponent at least once since then and turned Kinnick into one of the most fearsome home fields in college football. Of course, there were bad omens already that year; aside from the catastrophic meltdowns against ISU and OSU, even Kinnick wasn't quite the sanctuary it had been in years past -- Iowa dicked around with UNI and needed a couple late scores to make the Indiana game look like a blowout. And, most disturbingly, the Kinnick renovations had been completed, giving us a bigger, better Jumbotron, a gorgeous new facade, nicer concourses -- and a new, shittier student section. Moving the bulk of the students from the northwest sideline to the south endzone may have made fiscal sense, but the atmosphere at Kinnick has never been quite the same. It's still good and occasionally even still great (see: '06 OSU or '08 PSU), but some magic was lost in that transition. Did that lost magic cost Iowa the game against Michigan? No -- but why fuck with a good thing? /rassum frassum damn kids on my lawn
The game itself was inordinately frustrating (though it did feature a rare star turn by Herb Grigsby, giving us all false hope for his efforts in the '06 campaign), as Iowa seemed set to dominate the Wolverines, only for penalties (many of the OH THAT'S FUCKING BULLSHIT variety; the most egregious was an offense pass interference call on Clinton Solomon -- when he had been dragged down by his facemask), bad drops (it was not a good day for Clinton Solomon; this game probably soured his legacy in the minds of Iowa fans more than any other), and infuriatingly conservative playcalling. The latter was displayed most prominently at the end of the game when the offense, having driven virtually the length of the field, ran the ball three straight times from the Michigan 21 with over a minute to play. Shockingly, that approach wasn't successful and they had to kick a FG to send the game into OT. Drew Tate was visibly disgusted by the playcalling, and his outrage was shared by the 70,000 fans in attendance. Iowa went on to lose the game - and the 22-game winning streak - in OT. The Kinnick mystique has never fully recovered since.
MICHIGAN IN THE AUGHTS
Why so much shock? Shouldn't they be a little more accustomed to losing by now?
The 00s started with Michigan winning a share of the BXI title and going to a Florida bowl game (the Citrus Bowl); they ended with Michigan going 1-7 in conference and missing out on a bowl game for the second consecutive year. But until the last two years it was a fairly typical Michigan decade: shares of three BXI titles, appearances in three Rose Bowls (all losses, but hey), scores of overrated NFL draft picks. Two things give the decade a sour note for Michigan fans, though: the last two years and Ohio fucking State. Under the guidance of El Sweatervesto, the Buckeyes have made their rivalry laughably one-sided -- they've won six in a row over the Wolverines, six BXI titles in the 00s (including at least a share of the last five in a row), and a national title in '02. Anyway you want to slice it, it was a Buckeye decade in the BXI in the Aughts.
Well, no wonder Michigan lost -- they were playing against Black Superman!
Michigan also gained the ignominious distinction of becoming the first ranked team to lose to a I-AA team when Appalachian State knocked them off in the season opener in '07. Which they followed up by getting smoked by Oregon (also in the Big House). Not the greatest start to a season that began with national title dreams after they had started the previous year 11-0 (though they did end the year handing the Tebowchild his one and only defeat in a bowl game, so it wasn't a total waste). But losing was really the defining characteristic of Michigan in the Aughts. As the glow from the '97 National Championship faded, the refrain that popped up was that Lloyd Carr couldn't "win the big one." As Ohio State took over ownership of their rivalry (and the Big Ten), "can't beat Ohio State" was added to the list of complaints. And when the Appy State and Oregon losses happened, it became clear that he couldn't even be relied on to win the games he "should" win.
Now why would we ever think he was a smug sack of shit, again?
So out with the boring old loser, in with the sexy new winner, right? Err... not so much. After an embarrassing coaching search (in which Les Miles called a press conference to turn them down on national TV) and divorcing Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia in the ugliest way possible, things managed to get even worse when the football season actually started. The first year of the new Rodriguez Era landed with a thud, as the awkward transition from Carr's staid pro-style offense to Rodridguez's sexy spread option led to a 3-9 disaster, Michigan's first losing season in over 40 years. But, the supporters crowed, Rodriguez-coached teams always improve dramatically in year two! Err... maybe not. In year two, they went 5-7, finished 1-7 in the BXI (even worse than their record in '08) and lost their last seven games against FBS competition (their lone win in that span was over I-AA bodybag Delaware State). Two straight losing seasons -- the first time Michigan's accomplished that little feat since 1962-1963. So, yes, Rich Rodriguez is making history at Michigan... as the biggest loser there in almost half a century. But it's not all without merit: as the former king of the BXI burns and its arrogant fanbase finds out how the peasants have been living all along, fans of the rest of the BXI can enjoy the greatest example of conference schadenfreude in ages.
PLAYER OF THE RIVALRY: Jermelle Lewis (Iowa RB, 2001-2004) and C.J. Jones (Iowa WR, 2001-2002)
Jermelle and CJ: they be good.
Yes, I'm cheating again. Tate put up solid numbers in his three starts against Michigan (72/107, 755 yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 interceptions), but his 0-3 career record against them is hard to overlook. Ramon Ochoa deserves much love for his '03 performance, when injuries to Mo Brown and Ed Hinkel had made Razor Ramon and Calvin Davis our top two receivers. Ochoa caught only two balls for 36 yards -- but one of them went for the game-winning touchdown and he also chipped in with 85 kick return yards and 48 punt return yards, which set up the Iowa offense for other scores. But the nod ultimately goes to CJ Jones and Jermelle Lewis, who powered the way in Iowa's breakthrough win in the Big House in 2002. With Fred Russell stymied (just 28 yards on 20 carries), Lewis blew up for 109 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries (plus two catches for 32 yards), shredding the Michigan defense with ease in the second half. Jones was Brad Banks' favorite target that day, catching eight passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns, including perhaps the prettiest example of the jailbreak screen you'll ever see.
RANDOM REMINISCES
- Ed Hinkel made a specialty out of diving catches during his time at Iowa (see: '02 Penn State, '04 Iowa State), but his sprawled out fingertip catch against Michigan on '04 was one of his finest. Speaking of that game, the most memorable moment of that game is not Hinkel's incredible catch, but the image of Tate, his helmet ripped off by a Michigan player, standing tall in the pocket and scanning downfield for an open receiver, helmet be damned. Sadly, the interwebs utterly fails me when it comes to finding a pic of that moment.
- And while he played for the wrong team, no discussion of great catches in the Iowa-Michigan series would be complete without a nod to Marquise Walker's preposterous one-handed grab in Kinnick Stadium in 2001. It was one of the finest catches I've ever seen and it left an entire stadium stunned -- and in awe. A hat-tip also to Braylon Edwards literally catching a ball off of Jovon Johnson's head in 2004, too; Michigan's gigantic physical freak receivers gave our tiny corners no end of trouble in those days.
- I really can't emphasize strongly enough how amazing the 2003 Iowa-Michigan game was. Incredible atmosphere, back-and-forth action, big plays in all phases of the game, unlikely heroes, and high drama -- there wasn't much this game didn't have. If I could only take a DVD of one game from the Aughts with me to a desert island, I would give very strong consideration to this game. Simply amazing. (And of course it's never been part of BTN's Greatest Games series. Stupid fucking BTN.)
- And let us not forget to give brief thanks for the most recent win over Michigan, even if it did come against the weakest Michigan team to play Iowa in over a half-century/ After all, the bitchmaking of Tate Forcier was a beautiful thing, was it not?
- Whatcha got?
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2003
Drove there without a ticket and prices on the street were going for over three figures. As we were walking around the west stadium parking lot a half hour before game time, some drunk offered my friend and me two tickets for $20 each. He said he needed to go run and get more beer. The tickets were located in the North endzone, but we decided to go party for three hours in the student section.
To this day, we still talk about how loud Kinnick was during Michigan’s final drive of the game, which forced Navarre to take at least one timeout due to the noise.
"I know you're from Middle America, and sometimes you feel like you're representing more than just a school or a conference, maybe an entire group of American citizens out there."
by Twin Cities Hawk on Jan 29, 2010 7:39 AM CST reply actions
2003 was my senior year at Iowa. The Michigan game that year was INSANE and probably the best game I went to as a student, or at least top 3. My boyfriend and I were in the student section with a friend of his from his hometown in northern Wisconsin who happened to be an engineering grad student at Michigan. He had come with his other Michigan friends, but they were in the visitors section. My boyfriend is 6’7 and 300 pounds, so nobody was messing with the Michigan fan. About mid-way through the game my boyfriend and I got kicked out for having a flask of Jim Beam. It was totally my fault since I was so drunk I had kind of stopped paying attention if Per Mar would notice me pouring a flask into the giant Iowa Coke cup (and I never drink whiskey, so I was really drunk). Per Mar took the flask to go drink it for themselves, and we started on our merry way back to my boyfriends house down Mormon Trek to watch the rest of the game, leaving the Michigan fan in the stands to fend for himself. I heard it wasn’t good. Also, they had no idea where they were in Iowa City, and everyone had left their cell phone at my boyfriend’s house. They somehow made their way back about 4 hours after the game had ended.
(Side note: when we were tailgating the Michigan grad students had brought along their custom-made Michigan grill they had made themselves. It was painted in Michigan colors, had holes for tailgating flags to stand, had a rotisserie, a bun warmer,etc. This thing was awesome. Oh and they put it up on Melrose Ct. The owner of the house was not pleased at first, running out of the house with shaving cream on half his face when they started putting the grill up, but his roommate, who we were friends with, calmed him down. Everyone agreed this thing was pretty effing cool.)
The Solomon facemask no-call
was infuriating. In terms of how angry it made me, It was only topped by the horseshit offsides call during the onside kick in the waning minutes against Florida that same season. I think it was Chris Speilman calling the game who, after a string of unreal calls and no-calls against Iowa, literally screamed something to the effect of “just let the kids play the game!” A frustrating season, indeed.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
My buddy and I almost got arrested in the Student Section of the 2005 game
We were right over the tunnel, and when the refs came running under us, there were water bottles, cups, and empty beer cans thrown at them by everyone in my row. Perhaps my screaming “I’ll fucking kill you, you pieces of shit” may have marked me, but a Cedar Rapids police officer informed me that “I was on thin ice.” He was a pretty cool guy though, since I got to watch the rest of the game from the stands, and not on the television in their jail cell thing under the West Stands.
They took the bar, the whole fucking bar!
by recoveringfratguy on Jan 29, 2010 8:41 AM CST up reply actions
The really hilarious part...
is that there’s a highlight clip on Youtube of the ‘05 game and the Michigan fan that made it whines about the calls they didn’t get in that game. The hypocrisy is strong in that one.
(Incidentally, I do have to big props to Michigan fans for their efforts in making highlight clips of past games [albeit just the wins, usually] on Youtube… that’s great for posterity’s sake and projects like this.)
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
I'll skip that one in order to keep my sanity
They took the bar, the whole fucking bar!
by recoveringfratguy on Jan 29, 2010 9:08 AM CST up reply actions
There were a number of horrible calls both ways in that game, most prominently two ridiculous fumble calls. On one Hart fumbled but was ruled down and there was no replay. On the other, Antonio Bass lost the ball because his elbow hit the ground and was correctly ruled down on the field only for the replay official to reverse a correct call in the booth.
The other issues were a correct kick catch interference call — the rulebook specifically states that you do not have to make contact for KCI and that when in doubt, it’s a call — and two truly terrible calls against Iowa for PI, one of which was a 7 yard pass that got marked off 15 yards, and one iffy one.
So, yeah, a little boned but Michigan (and Michigan opponents) have suffered worse.
http://mgoblog.com/content/upon-further-review-iowa-offense
by Brian @ MGoBlog on Jan 29, 2010 1:34 PM CST up reply actions
Um, NO
The KCI call was absolutely, positively, the worst call in a game that had many contenders for the throne. First of all, it was bullshit as there was no Iowa player within 5 feet of Breaston (I think) during the punt. Second, it came at a pivotal moment of the game, Iowa was dominating the game, and had recovered a seeming fumble at the 11 yard-line; instead, first down Michigan (with penalty yardage) where they went on to score and tie the game. It was a horrendous game at the time, and remains so. I was watching the game at my house at law school with a Michigan grad, and even he looked at me and said “Dude, you just got jobbed there.” That was the point in the game where it went from Iowa domination, to a a hard-fought battle.
Iowa didn’t win that game, but neither did Michigan. To pretend this was anything otherwise than a horrible, horrible ref job is to deny the sun raises in the east. You’re better than that, Brian.
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
Let Them Play
I remember him saying that. It was right after Roth got called for, I believe, unneccesarry roughness. That was a pure BS call.
If that game were called properly, Ferentz could be 6-2 in bowl games.
On the subject though
I remember the 02 Michigan game the best. It’s a long story involving a crazy ass girlfriend and a string of bad choices, but that was the first game in YEARS that I was able to sit down and watch, all the way through, without getting interupted. Just me, a crappy little 19" TV and Iowa beating Michigan.And it’s one of my favorite game watching experiences.
In 100 years, we'll all be dead.
Hmm
I remember him saying that. It was right after Roth got called for, I believe, unneccesarry roughness. That was a pure BS call.
It wouldn’t have been Roth in either the 05 Michigan game or the 06 Outback Bowl — he had graduated at that point.
If that game were called properly, Ferentz could be 6-2 in bowl games.
I never go that far, because we still had to drive for a TD to tie the game after recovering the onside. And then either go for two and the win or win in OT. Lots of “ifs” there. But we should have at least had the opportunity, obviously.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
You know what else was frustrating about that game?
Iowa giving up a punt return for a touchdown, and Tate throwing a pick 6. The officiating in that game was horrible – hell, it’s reason Sun Belt, MAC, etc.. officials don’t do BCS team games anymore – but it’s hardly the reason Iowa lost.
Same with the Michigan game that same year.
The Outback Bowl wasn't the only bowl game with terrible officiating that year
Does anyone know if they’ve changed their rules for selecting bowl officials since the 2005 season. It seems that the officiating has been better (or at least less noticeably bad) since then.
Indeed
I believe after the 2006 bowl games, which featured several other games with questionable calls, it was decided that non-BCS officiating crews would no longer work games involving BCS teams. The Conference USA crew that screwed up the 2006 Outback bowl may have been the final straw.
by Norfcoast Hawk on Jan 29, 2010 7:09 PM CST up reply actions
That was a good change
It doesn’t seem like it would even require much though to figure out that you could have Pac 10 officials do a bowl game with Big Ten and SEC tie-ins.
By the way, Ross
that gives me an idea. Instead of detailing encounters against all of Iowa’s opponents (as someone had suggested in an earlier article; Iowa’s players don’t even remember playing FIU), how about an entire conference i.e. Iowa vs. the SEC in the aughts. Just a thought.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
Interesting approach.
Although the only three conferences that we played a significant number of games against outside of the BXI were the B12, SEC, and MAC. And most of the B12 games were ISU, obviously. I’ll figure out something, though.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Really it's just
a self-serving way to specifically get Iowa’s excellent showings against the too-fast, too-talented SEC out there for all to see. Even in losing, Iowa was never outclassed against the “best” conference.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Jan 29, 2010 9:06 AM CST up reply actions
that scothawk video made me weep
I miss you 2002 – greatest year of my fucking life!
Keeping wildlife, an amphibious rodent, for uh, domestic, you know, within the city - that aint legal either, Dude.
by AcrimoniousAngerererer on Jan 29, 2010 8:33 AM CST reply actions
The moment I realized the program was back...
occurred during the 2002 game. I was out watching the game with a group of friends, one of whom is an insufferable Michigan fan. Throughout the first half, all I heard was how Michigan was getting jobbed, they were clearly the better team and it was simply a matter of time. Never once did he acknowledge that Iowa had any place on the field.
Quietly, I just sat there, nodding along. In part, I still wasn’t ready to believe that this team had come so far so fast. But after Iowa scored for what seemed like the fifth time in the second half, and bolstered with the intestinal fortitude of several pitchers, I had all the evidence I needed. My time had come, my school was back, kicking ass and a rebuke was in order. So I stood on my chair and politely yelled, “What’s my school, biotch! Say it! Say it! I am not going to sit ’till you say, biotch!” When he meekly responded, “Iowa”, I was only left a simple “That’s right. Now shut the fuck up, because nobody wants to hear about fucking Michigan anymore.”
Was I a tad harsh, probably. Was it one of the most cathartic experiences of my life, a singular purge of the dark years from my soul, absolutely.
Ankles! We don't need no stinking ankles!
by three and out the kok story on Jan 29, 2010 8:41 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
The 2002 win over Michigan
was excellent, but I’ve never had the same level of hatred for the Wolverines as tOSU, given Iowa’s significant wins over UofM in the Fry years. The (SPOILER ALERT) 33-7 pasting of the Buckeyes in ’04 remains the most satisfying (for me) win over either of those programs in recent memory.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Jan 29, 2010 9:13 AM CST up reply actions
A thing of beauty
is, by definition, not too harsh. And that sir, was a thing of beauty.
In 100 years, we'll all be dead.
2002 Game
Was amazing, for any number of reasons. First, I was in NYC visiting friends. Watching the game at my friends loft in SoHo (had just bought for an obscene amount of money, oh those halycon days of the early aughts when working for an Ibank was a guaranteed method to retiring by 30). Watching Iowa on ESPN absolutely DESTROY Michigan in the 2nd half. Then we ended up ordering half a dozen “dancers” to come entertain the 10 of us at the loft, just because apparently. Nothing like getting a lap dance in your friend’s apartment, with the window wide open, on Broadway.
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
I was in the student section for this game
and I sat there for about 10 minutes after the game in stunned silence. To this day I can’t figure out what KOK was doing with the play calling. I then proceeded to drink all the beer at Brother’s.
"I shoot, I score. He shoots, I score." - Dan Gable
First and 10 from the Michigan 15
with over a minute left and two timeouts, and Iowa proceeded to do….nothing. To say that the whole sequence was puzzling would be an enormous understatement.
You're sort of right Ross...
In 2002, roughly 95% of the “Little Shack” was as quiety as Carver-Hawkeye this season. However, the 5,000 or so of us Iowa fans who were on hand made plenty of noise, outcheering the rest of the stadium by ourselves. During the later stages of the game, you could in fact hear all the Iowa fans cheering on the TV broadcast.
And yes, that Jailbreak Screen was a masterpiece. Oh for us to be able to run that effectively next season.
Yee-Haw! I ride again!
by Cornshoe Hammaker on Jan 29, 2010 9:03 AM CST reply actions
Every time I see "Aught"
I think about Grandpa Simpson. It’s not as good as diggity though, I can’t wait for that decade
It never gets to be easy
Stupid Kaiser.
Oh well. At least I still have this walkingbird sandwich to eat for lunch…
MORE ZAZZ! I DEMAND MORE ZAZZ!
by Bucketochicken on Jan 29, 2010 9:11 AM CST up reply actions
And we tied on onion on our belt
Which was the style at the time….
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
2002
By far my favorite/most memorable. I watched it at Muddy Waters in CR (is that place still there? I really liked that bar…) with my then-gf, and after we won and I was done maniaclly running around the bar high-fiving/hugging strangers in overjoyed shock, I remember trying to impress upon her just how huge this victory was. Which I ultimately failed to do because there simply no words to describe it. God that was awesome.
MORE ZAZZ! I DEMAND MORE ZAZZ!
It's now called Dublin City.
I know both the owner and the manager. It had gotten flooded out, they revamped it, and now it’s pretty awesome.
"You don't become a Hawkeye fan, You're born with Black and Gold in your veins." - Me
by BStylin Hawkye on Jan 29, 2010 11:10 AM CST up reply actions
01 v. 05
I can’t decide which one was more frustrating.
Iowa was in total control of the 01 game until Matt Stockdale got hurt. Then evil, unholy, unspeakable things happened to Chic Ejaisi.
I was left to drive home after and stew and curse the family of that devil child Marquise Walker.
Others have covered the travesty that was the 05 game. Biggest ref screw job I’ve seen in Kinnick in the 12 years I’ve been going to games.
by Internet Legend on Jan 29, 2010 9:35 AM CST reply actions
I'm partly to blame for the 05 loss
I loved the student section being on the sidelines my freshman year (2004) and was pissed when they moved us to the corner my sophmore year. I was always one of those people who left the tailgate to get to the stadium half an hour before the gates opened, so I could get a good seat and save a bunch for my friends that were still drinking.
However, for the Michigan game, we decided to get to the stadium around 5 am, and there were already a lot of students waiting to get in. For some reason, we decided to go for the end zone seats to get closer (3rd row). That remains to be the only game I sat in the end zone in my career at Iowa, as I vowed never to sit there again after that disgraceful performance.
by HeroPatriotStanzi on Jan 29, 2010 9:53 AM CST reply actions
02, 03, 05
In 2002 I got a ticket at the last minute and a plane ride to the game…greatest game weekend experience ever. In 2003, I had work tickets in the fourth row right by Michigan’s punter who we taunted the entire game. In 2005, I was sitting with my dad and scared the hell out of him when I yelled “Is Carr giving you a reach around, Ref?” I like to think he was impressed with the creativity.
Frustrating vs. Emotionally Draining?
2005 would be the most frustrating.
I would say this year for sure was the most emotionally draining.
Definitely something special about Michigan games
As Ross and others have detailed, the 2002 game was perhaps the highlight of that magical season, and a huge turning point for that program. And even this year’s game, which in hindsight wasn’t that big a deal (and is actually a little embarrassing given how close we were to losing it and the way Michigan collapsed immediately after), was probably my favorite game of the season. With it being the night game (and thus following an entire day of insane tailgating), the blackout (which actually looked good this time!), knowing it was on national TV, and against a team we so rarely beat, it was definitely something memorable. Kinnick was great all year, but it was never as electric as it was that night.
Oh, and thanks for the mention of the Drew Tate helmetless play. That was one of the first moments where I really started to think of him as something special (okay, yeah, it wound up being an incompletion, but it was so badass that who really cares?). Lots of people eventually turned on him, but he’ll always be one of my all time favorite players because of his gutsy, frantic style of play, which was typified by that play.
The helmetless play
doesn’t actually have the positive connotations for me that it does for most Hawk fans. I remember being irritated that Iowa was about to go down in defeat to a Big Ten rival but had to listen to Brent Musburger go on ad nauseum about how tough Drew Tate was. “Tough” came to mean taking stupid hits instead of running out of bounds and yelling at teammates on the field.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Jan 29, 2010 10:32 AM CST up reply actions
See, the helmetless play for me is tied up with all of my other '04 memories..
which are straight-up AWESOME. (Well, aside from the nightmare in the desert. That sucked.)
In hindsight, I guess plays like that did preface shit like him getting KO’d on the tackle in the ‘05 ISU game or hurting himself on the helicopter TD in the ’05 jNWU game, but those connections don’t immediately spring to mind.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
The nightmare in the desert
is a truly weird game for me. I remember it was delayed by like an hour and a half because of a lightening storm, so it didn’t even start until around 10 PM CST. At that point I was only able to watch Iowa games that were national but in Chicago it was nowhere to be found, so I had to listen to Gary Dolphin via Yahoo sports streaming webcasts. The whole thing was kind of a blur anyway, though, because my then-girlfriend (now loving wife) and I had found out we were very unexpectedly pregnant just hours before. Needless to say, I was walking around kind of like Tate Forcier after this years’ game. Never has an Iowa loss mattered less to me.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Jan 29, 2010 1:35 PM CST up reply actions
2002
I’ve been lurking hereabouts for a while now, and the 2002 game has a story I can’t not tell (telling long winded stories that don’t really ever get to the point runs in my family, so apologies in advance):
A group of about 8 friends of mine drove up to Ann Arbor from Iowa City the Friday before the 2002 game. The idea was that we would celebrate the 20th birthday of our friend who had decided to go to UM for school. The was the usual college house party games (flip cup, beer pong) going on, UI v. UM-style. My favorite part of these games is to talk as much shit to my opponents as possible – results be damned. Anyway, during the process of getting blacked out, I started making bets with the UM folks that, if the Hawks lost, I would eat their asshole. If the Hawks won, they owed me an asshole-eating. Needless to say, I was pretty confident. This went on for what seems like hours. Obviously, no one would take my bet, but I decided that a bet was a bet, and eventually passed out.
We all know how the game went, so to make a long story less long, I went around at the party that we were at that night and demanded asshole eatings fomr anyone that would listen, and a lot of people that didn’t want to listen. As you can fairly imagine, I went to bed with a dry asshole again.
When I woke up the following morning, my car keys were no where to be found. I wasn’t terribly concerned at this point because a friend of mine who was with us had recently drunkenly bumbled his way to our apartment a couple weeks prior and, for reasons he was never able to explain, broke into my car, took a pocket knife out, started it, and drove my car home. (It’s worth pointing out at this time that literally nothing worked in this car. An example: turning on the blinker would turn the cruise control off, so right when you signalled to pass someone on the interstate, BOOM, you’re going 62mph. The gas guage didn’t work. The dash lights didn’t light up. There’s a reason I called it a Mercury Mistake.) I just figured he would be able to do it again, so I gave a pretty half-assed attempt at finding my keys and went back to sleep until it was time to leave. Of course the pocket knife in the ignition didn’t work and my keys were still nowhere to be found. Evidently locksmiths in Ann Arbor don’t work Sundays, either, and since someone had something important to do back in IC the following day, we had to get back. We all loaded into another friend’s minivan and drove seven deep for eight hours back. Right around the QC (represent!), one of us got a phone call from our UM friend telling us that he was sorry, but it turned out that a roommate had decided that my asshole eating jokes were growing tired, and, to teach me a lesson, had decided to take my keys from where I’d set them.
Said friend had to drive my piece of shit car from Ann Arbor for Thanksgiving break a full month after the game, and was beyond flustered by all the problems, but I still hate Michigan more than any other school as a result. On the bright side, though, I got to sing In Heaven There Is No Beer and the Fight Song in the end zone bleachers underneath the scoreboard reading 34-9 with the team and the few thousand Hawk fans that had moseyed over when they saw the team congregating. I say it was worth it.
Longest first post ever?
For a first post
you sure went for the gusto. Not so much because of the length, but because of the prominent use of asshole eating.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Jan 29, 2010 10:24 AM CST up reply actions
I'm pretty sure he'll fit right in with talk like that.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Are you just excited
at the prospect of winning some rimming?
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Jan 29, 2010 1:36 PM CST up reply actions
OPS could have warned you that I would do this.
The Michigan post is my cue to chime in with stating that the ‘01 game is one of the best games I’ve EVER attended (any sport). I outlined my favorite Hawkeye games that I attended in the comment section of this thread: http://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2008/2/28/13620/2863#6391264
And as I mentioned then this involved my favorite play call* since I’ve been an Iowa fan (2000, when I started at Iowa). The punt return reverse to CJ Jones. Iowa was up and was going to get good field position anyways, but they sprung this beauty on us. I was in the student section and I turned to my friend next to me when I noticed that Chris Oliver was deep, not CJ or Khalil “Placing My Big Dick Calmly On Your Shoulder While You Sit There” Hill and said “Why do they have Oliver back there?”. Then I noticed Jones was the jammer on the far side of the field, which I thought was a little fishy, but … oooooh I see what you did there. Clever girl. It was a perfect play call at the perfect time and it paid off. I was sure Iowa was going to win.
Then “Marquis Walker” happened. From my seat – Student Section (NW side) even with the goal line 2nd row – looking at an angle down the entire length of the sideline, probably 110 yards away, over the entire Iowa bench, I saw one lone hand come up over the obstructions. Then, as if in slow motion, the ball hit the finger tips and was cradled to the body on the way down. A pall was cast over the crowd, and I imgine everyone else had the same reaction as I did. I looked at my friend with amazement and we almost applauded, THAT was a hell of a catch. The only shock about it was that Walker dropped a sure touchdown the play before on a slant. But people don’t talk about that, they reference that catch. Maybe he just wanted to make it more dramatic.
The Wisconsin and Northwestern games of 2000 showed me that Iowa was back and going to compete in the BXI, that 2001 game proved to me that Iowa was back, not only in the BXI, but in the national contention. Which is probably why I think so fondly of this loss.
Highlights here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3PlOSaAop0 – Reverse starts at 3:52, carnage starts a bit later, so feel free to stop after the reverse.
- - A distant second is from an ‘02 game where everyone had been bitching and moaning about all of the screens, Iowa called a fake-screen that had EVERYONE fooled. The set up the screen to Jones, pump fake, then hit a wide-open Mo Brown, I think, on a post-corner for a TD. And when I say he was wide-open, I mean there wasn’t a defender within 15 yards of him. I smiled and thought “That’ll shut ’em up.”
Almost forgot that....
Nate Kaeding punted back in 2001
I think the fake bubble screen was the Wisconsin game
…and as much as other teams tried to jump the bubble screen in later years (so much I think that we hardly ever try now) I never understood why we didn’t use that fake again. It was beautiful.
Great post and some nice memories there. Others not so much.
I’m glad you didn’t bring up Tom Nichol or Rob Houghtlin. Thanks for that because losing by FGs really bites.
Actually, since 1981 Michigan vs. Iowa has been a pretty damn good football game, mainly because Iowa seems to play great defense in these games. Norm Parker did a good job in the “aughts”.
Now I’m going to go read your other post as to why in the hell the Hawkeyes have had so much trouble with intra-state rival Iowa State.
Go Blue!
In 99 & 00
It’s because Iowa was just not a good football team.
I consider myself lucky that for those two seasons, it was basically impossible for me to really watch a game…. it saved me a lot of heartache.
In 100 years, we'll all be dead.
Fuck fucking Michigan
That 2005 game was bullshit. I don’t remember the players’ names, but there was a PI called on our corner in the first half. Our guy reads the quick out and stands a yard in front of their WR for an easy pick. The Michigan WR grabs both of his arms from behind and our corner gets called for the PI.
That was fucking bullshit.
2004 in the Michigan student section
Right on the edge in the endzone with a bunch of quiet students, standing at the end of the row about 20 up with two Iowa buddies, a friend that went to Michigan, and a big tobacco chewing guy we only knew as Bubba.
After using photocopies of the same scrawny kid’s student ID to get in, emboldened by the huge guy standing next to us, the three of us Iowa fans spent most of the run up to the game running our mouths about how damn quiet the Big House was.
Anyways, getting to see the Hinkel catch right in front of us remains probably my favorite play I’ve ever seen live. We saw him going horizontal, reaching up, then the ball just STICKING to his hand as he dipped out of sight as he fell to the turf. Was just a thing of absolute beauty and had us going nuts.
When the three of us rushed the field I think after the Wisconsin game that year, we ran into Bubba again, with Mrs. Bubba…he was pretty pumped to see us and belted out a “YOU BOYS REMEMBER ME?” …damn I miss it.
by George Washington Eagleclaw on Feb 1, 2010 4:30 PM CST reply actions
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