Iowa Football: In-Stadium Perspective Of The Beatdown On The Buckeyes

This writer attended the Iowa Hawkeyes game this past Saturday at Kinnick Stadium and witnessed history. There weren’t that many people who gave Iowa any chance of winning. But Iowa did win and in dominating fashion. What was the atmosphere like and how did the big plays impact the game?

IOWA CITY, IOWA- NOVEMBER 04: Running back Akrum Wadley

Admittedly, this game was one that some people didn’t consider attending. With Iowa a 16 to 21-point underdog heading into it some fans didn’t give Iowa a chance. But you can never count the Iowa Hawkeyes out of any game. We saw that last year against Michigan and this year against Penn State. Iowa can win any and every game no matter what especially at Kinnick.

This game started off with a bang as Heisman hopeful J.T. Barrett rifled a pass right into the waiting arms of defensive back Amani Hooker who took it 30 yards into the end zone. At that point, the crowd went wild as Iowa went up 7 to 0 against the Buckeyes. Ohio State would quiet the crowd, however, on their next possession after a 20-yard pass to Terry McLauren.

The action was subdued a little bit as the team traded field goals to make it 13 all heading below the five-minute mark of the first quarter. Iowa would take a 17-10 lead after Nate Stanley hit T.J. Hockenson on a ten-yard pass. Once again, the crowd was electrified, and hopes of a victory were back again.

Iowa would lose the lead, albeit temporarily, for the last time in the game after Barrett threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Johnnie Dixon to tie it up. But that would be the last Ohio State score for a long time.

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At that point, it was 17 all in the second quarter and Iowa would step on the gas.

Iowa would take a 24-17 lead after Stanley hit tight end Noah Fant on a 25-yard touchdown pass giving the Hawks a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Things would get worse for the Buckeyes from that point forward.

On the next set of downs, the player of the game, cornerback Joshua Jackson, would intercept a Barrett pass and return it 19 yards. The crowd was electric at that moment realizing that Iowa had stolen another possession from Ohio State. The Ohio State fans around me weren’t saying much of anything. You could see the look on their faces. They had experienced this before just a week earlier against Penn State.

Would there be another come back in the works for the Buckeyes?

Following the interception, Iowa went up 31-17 as Fant caught his second touchdown of the game, this one on a three-yard pass to give Iowa a big lead just before halftime.

During halftime, the biggest feature was the band’s tribute to the armed services and the soldiers who have served in them. The tribute was captivating and great to watch.

The buzz in the stands was mixed during the break. Some Iowa fans this writer talked to in the crowd were skeptical and thought that Iowa might give up the lead. After all, it was Ohio State, right?

But there would be no lead relinquished by Iowa on this day.

When the game resumed, Iowa went up 38-17 following a two-yard pass to Hockenson from Stanley. The Hawks would get another touchdown to go up 45-17 as Drake Kulick snagged a two-yard pass from Stanley.

IOWA CITY, IOWA- NOVEMBER 04: Fullback Drake Kulick

Fans in the stands started to realize that Iowa was going to win this game. Apparently, the Ohio State fans took that thought to heart too because a long stream of scarlet and gray started to file past me and head out of the stadium.

It appeared as if OSU’s fan base had conceded. Would their team concede as well?

Jackson would get his second interception on Ohio State’s next series as he snagged another Barrett pass returning it three yards to the OSU 22-yard line. That would set Iowa’s Miguel Recinos up for a 30-yard field goal to make it 48-17.

On the next series of downs for the Buckeyes, OSU got close to scoring and it appeared as if they still might make things interesting. But the drive was thwarted when Jackson “climbed the ladder” and came down with a one-handed interception right at the Iowa one-yard line. The play had to have been the highlight of the game and the fans went nuts. We couldn’t believe what we had seen and had to watch the replay to make sure our minds weren’t playing tricks on us.

It was representative of the Hawk’s amazing effort to beat one of the top-ranked teams in the nation.

Iowa would give the ball back to OSU on downs and in their next series, the Buckeyes would score their final points of the game. These points came on a 22-yard pass from Barrett to Dixon. That made it 48-24.

Iowa was not quite done with their scoring just yet as they would add another touchdown on a six-yard run by Toren Young to make it 55-24.

As the fourth quarter went on, you could see a large amount of yellow-jacketed security people start lining below in the student section. They would be deployed in a futile effort to keep the students from storming the field. But after such a performance, there was no way that the students weren’t going to take over the football field that Saturday. There were even students behind me who were predicting that the field would be rushed.

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And it was in a fashion seldom seen at Kinnick.

The two huge student sections, plus people from other parts of the stadium rushed onto the field as soon as the clock hit zero. Within ten minutes, there was one gigantic mass of people on the field.

This writer has never been to a game where the field has been rushed like it was on Saturday night. The entire field, sideline to sideline and end zone to end zone was one large mass of people. It looked like you could hardly fit another person on that field when the stands were cleared.

What a big win for our beloved Iowa Hawkeyes and to get to experience it in person. That was amazing. The choice to go to this game was the right choice to make.

It’s easy to see that Stanley and Jackson were the players of the game but a lot of credit must go to every player that stepped on the field for Iowa that day. Whatever strength and determination they had, they pulled it up from the depths and it used it on Saturday. They had slain the monster that was Ohio State with all their effort.

This is going to go down in history as one of the greatest victories in Iowa football.

And seeing it first hand it was an experience that none of those who were there that day will ever forget.