Final
Iowa upsets No. 13 Michigan
Nov 5, 2011 - 9:36 PMVideo
Michigan trailed by eight when it took over deep in its own territory with a little more than two minutes left. But the Wolverines marched down the field and gained a 1st-and-goal with 16 seconds to play.
Those 16 seconds provided nearly a game's worth of drama. Denard Robinson threw a pass too deep before Junior Hemingway nearly made a one-handed catch in the back of the end zone. The play was ruled incomplete and upheld after review.
Robinson tossed an incompletion after scrambling on third down, leaving two seconds to go. His final pass attempt was knocked away as Iowa celebrated the win.
"We showed a lot of heart down there," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "It's almost better that the game ended that way because that was a tough circumstance certainly."
Coker rushed for 132 yards and James Vandenberg passed for 171 yards and a score for the Hawkeyes (6-3, 3-2 Big Ten), who rebounded from a one-point loss at Minnesota last weekend.
Robinson threw two touchdowns but completed only 17-of-37 throws and was intercepted once, as Michigan (7-2, 3-2) missed out on a chance to set the pace atop the Legends Division of the conference. It is now tied with Iowa in the middle.
"There are always six to eight plays in a game that are really going to define when you're playing a good football team, when you're playing a team on the road," Michigan coach Brady Hoke said. "You can think back and there are six or eight of those plays that really determines who executed and who didn't."
Iowa held a 7-6 lead after the first quarter -- Coker ran for a four-yard TD on the Hawkeyes' first possession and Robinson found Fitzgerald Toussaint for a five-yard TD later in the frame.
Michigan missed the two-point conversion, and its chances for victory took a hit thanks to two turnovers in the second quarter.
The first came after Vandenberg connected with Brad Herman for a one-yard touchdown midway through the frame.
The Wolverines were driving near midfield when Robinson tried to escape a leg tackle in the backfield and put the ball on the ground to apparently prop himself up. He lost control and Iowa gained possession at the Michigan 31.
The Wolverines held the Hawkeyes out of the end zone, but Mike Meyer's 42-yard field goal made it a 17-6 contest with just more than two minutes left in the half.
Michigan started its ensuing drive at its own 49 and advanced deep into Iowa territory, but Robinson was picked off in the end zone to abruptly halt the Wolverines' scoring chance.
Brendan Gibbons' 32-yard field goal was the only score of the third quarter, and got Michigan within eight.
But Coker's 13-yard TD run early in the fourth ended an 11-play, 62-yard drive and expanded Iowa's lead. The Wolverines responded with a TD drive, capped by Robinson's seven-yard strike to tight end Kevin Koger.
Game Notes
Iowa has won 55 of its last 66 games in Kinnick Stadium...Iowa's Marvin McNutt Jr. led all receivers with nine catches for 101 yards...Toussaint led Michigan with 58 rushing yards. Robinson had 55 and passed for 194...Vandenberg completed 14-of-21 passes.
- MICHIGAN: 16
IOWA: 24
Final
Nov 5 3:12 PM - MICHIGAN: 16
IOWA: 24
End of Regulation
Nov 5 3:12 PM - 224
roots - 208
roots - 179
roots - 166
roots - Michigan Touchdown - Denard Robinson pass to Kevin Koger for 6 yards.
Michigan(13) 15, Iowa 24 4th - 7:53Nov 5 2:35 PM - 144
roots - 131
roots - MICHIGAN: 9
IOWA: 17
End of 3rd
Nov 5 2:14 PM - MICHIGAN: 6
IOWA: 17
Halftime
Nov 5 1:21 PM - Iowa Touchdown - James Vandenberg pass to Brad Herman for 1 yard.
Michigan(13) 6, Iowa 13 2nd - 6:58Nov 5 12:56 PM - MICHIGAN: 6
IOWA: 7
End of 1st
Nov 5 12:38 PM - Michigan Touchdown - Denard Robinson pass to Fitzgerald Toussaint for 5 yards.
Michigan(13) 6, Iowa 7 1st - 2:14Nov 5 12:28 PM - MICHIGAN: 0
IOWA: 0
1st Quarter - 15:00
Nov 5 12:03 PM
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