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Iowa escapes Indiana with win thanks to dropped pass

Nov 6, 2010 - 9:55 PM Bloomington, IN (Sports Network) - Ricky Stanzi threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Marvin McNutt late in the fourth quarter to put Iowa ahead and the 15th- ranked Hawkeyes survived a dropped pass in the end zone in the final minute to escape with an 18-13 win over Indiana at Memorial Stadium.

Iowa pulled within one with just over 8 1/2 minutes left in the contest when Mike Meyer drilled a 42-yard field goal, and Indiana took nearly five minutes off the clock before punting it back to the Hawkeyes.

Stanzi took over at his own 12 with 3:42 remaining and threw two passes to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos to move the ball to the 48-yard line. He then found a wide open McNutt along the right hash mark and hit him in stride to complete a 52-yard touchdown play. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Hawkeyes ahead 18-13 with 2:50 to play.

The Hoosiers took over at their own 41 following the kickoff, and Ben Chappell completed five passes to set up a first down at the Iowa 18 with just under a minute remaining. After three straight incomplete passes. Chappell threw to a wide open Damarlo Belcher in the end zone for what appeared to be the winning score. Belcher, though, juggled the ball as he was falling to the ground and never had possession.

"I'm sure that he is pretty beat up, but he needs to forget about it. He had so many other great plays in the game," Indiana safety Mitchell Evans said of Belcher. "He is a heck of a ball player and he had a great game. You can't just narrow it down to one play."

Indiana (4-5, 0-5 Big Ten), playing at home for the final time this season, was bidding for its first win against a ranked team since beating Iowa on October 14, 2006.

Chappell completed 27-of-46 passes for 222 yards with an interception in defeat, the 10th straight in conference play for the Hoosiers. Indiana hasn't won a Big Ten game since October 17, 2009 against Illinois.

Stanzi threw for 290 yards on 22-of-33 passing with an interception for the Hawkeyes (7-2, 4-1), who were coming off a 37-6 rout of Michigan State last Saturday and won for the fifth time in their last six games. McNutt had six catches for 126 yards and freshman running back Marcus Coker ran for 129 yards on 22 carries in the victory.

Iowa took the opening kickoff and drove to the Indiana six-yard line before settling for a 23-yard field goal from Meyer. The Hoosiers answered with a 37- yard kick from Mitch Ewald on their first offensive series.

Stanzi was then picked off by Greg Heban near midfield, but Chappell soon after returned the favor when Brett Greenwood intercepted a pass to thwart an Indiana threat at the Iowa 18. Greenwood's 15-yard return, with a personal foul penalty tacked on, gave the Hawkeyes possession at the Iowa 48 and Stanzi got the offense to the Indiana 10 before Meyer came on for a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

Indiana followed with a drive inside the Iowa 10, but Chappell was sacked on 3rd-and-goal from the four and Ewald tied it at 6-6 with a 28-yard field goal.

The Hawkeyes took their next series inside the Indiana five, but Stanzi threw incomplete on 3rd-and-goal and Meyer missed from 22 yards away with 2:19 left in the half and the teams went to the intermission tied.

After a series of punts to start the second half, Meyer connected from 27 yards away to give Iowa a 9-6 edge with just over 5 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.

Indiana then drove 69 yards in 12 plays for the game's first touchdown. Chappell completed his first five passes of the series and later threw over the middle to Duwyce Wilson for 18 yards to set up a first down at the one. Chappell scored on the next play to give the Hoosiers a 13-9 lead with just 42 seconds remaining in the third.

"I thought the story line today was their ability to shut us down inside the 20. They rendered us inside pretty much ineffective and that was really the story of the game up until that last series," Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. "We are just thrilled to get the victory."

Game Notes

Johnson-Koulianos finished with six receptions for 72 yards and became Iowa's all-time leader with 163 catches, surpassing the previous mark of 157 set by Kevin Kasper from 1997-2000...Belcher finished with seven catches for 50 yards...The Hawkeyes outgained the Hoosiers, 445-313...Iowa has won three straight meetings and improved to 41-27-4 all-time against Indiana...The Hoosiers have one home game remaining on November 20 against Penn State, but it will be played at FedEx Field in Maryland.