Cooper DeJean adds to his growing legend in dramatic win over Michigan State
His 70-yard punt return for touchdown lifts Iowa to 26-16 victory
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The legend of Cooper DeJean grew on Saturday night at the expense of Michigan State.
Iowa’s do-everything defensive back and punt returner made yet another spectacular play that proved to be the difference in a 26-16 victory at Kinnick Stadium.
The score was even at 16 when DeJean, a third-year junior, caught a punt at the Iowa 30-yard line with less than 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter. There wasn’t a defender anywhere near DeJean when he started making his return.
He then made several defenders miss before breaking loose down the Iowa sideline and racing 70 yards for a touchdown with 3 minutes, 45 seconds left to play.
“When I caught it where I was, I knew I had a chance with all that green in front of me and the guys just scrapping to lay their blocks up there,” DeJean said.
Iowa then recovered a Spartan fumble on the next series and sophomore kicker Drew Stevens would go on to expand the lead to 10 points by making his fourth field goal of the game, this one from 34 yards with 59 seconds remaining.
Iowa cornerback Jermari Harris erased any doubt by intercepting a pass with 10 seconds left to play.
So, on a night when the Iowa offense was held to just 222 yards, and also lost starting quarterback Cade McNamara to an apparent left knee injury, specials teams and defense rose to the occasion as they so often have in recent seasons.
The Hawkeyes still have serious flaws on offense, along with a starting quarterback who is now injured, and yet, they still found a way to win a game in which they trailed for long stretches despite being heavily favored and playing at home.
Iowa takes tremendous pride in its special teams and defense and Saturday’s victory showed why.
The situation looked bleak as the offense continued to sputter after McNamara was helped off the field in the first quarter.
Backup quarterback Deacon Hill was put in a tough situation, and it showed as the Wisconsin transfer only completed 11-of-27 passes for 115 yards.
But Hill also threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Erick All in the second quarter and those six points would prove to be critical.
Iowa improved to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten and will face Purdue next Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, but almost certainly without McNamara behind center.
“It was surreal,” Hill said of playing a key role in the victory. “It was a life-time experience that I’ll never forget.”
Asked how he felt he played, Hill said:
“I thought I played all right. Obviously, there are some things that I’ve got to clean up, and I’ll take a look at that tomorrow.”
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz praised Hill for how he handled a difficult situation, which also included several dropped passes by his teammates.
“I’m impressed with how Deacon stepped into a tough circumstance,” Kirk Ferentz said. “It’s disappointing mostly for Cade to go down early with an injury like that.
“We really won’t know his status until early next week. But it’s very disappointing.”
It was a roller coaster of emotions for the Iowa fans as they chanted “Fire Brian” in reference to offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz after he called a running play on third down late in the third quarter rather than throw from deep in Iowa territory.
For much of Saturday’s game, the fans watched the Iowa offense struggle, and by late in the third quarter, emotions were starting to boil over.

But football is often referred to as the ultimate team sport and it took a total team effort, and a spectacular individual play by DeJean, for Iowa to prevail.
Iowa outscored the Spartans 13-0 in the fourth quarter and won despite only rushing for 61 yards and converting on just 2-of-13 third-down plays.
DeJean is considered one of the top cornerbacks in college football, but his ability to return punts makes him even more special as he showed Saturday.
He also had a interception in the first half and now has six for his career, including three pick-sixes from last season.
Michigan State entered Saturday’s game with controversy surrounding the program as Mel Tucker was fired as head coach with cause this past Wednesday.
Tucker is the focus of a university investigation for sexual misconduct after a complaint was brought forth by Brenda Tracy, a sexual assault awareness speaker.
But even with all the distractions, the Spartans had a chance to leave Kinnick Stadium with a win until DeJean seized the moment in spectacular fashion.
“He’s just a really good football player,” Kirk Ferentz said of DeJean.”Everything he does just seems instinctual and natural for him.”
Michigan State was driving on the opening series of the third quarter when Iowa safety Sebastian Castro intercepted an Aaron Kim pass at the Iowa 39.
The Iowa offense failed to take advantage of the turnover, however, as Leshon Williams lost a fumble on the first play from scrimmage.
Michigan State linebacker Cal Haladay picked up the fumble and raced 42 yards for a touchdown with 13:08 left in the third quarter.
Jonathan Kim made the point-after kick to give the Spartans a 16-10 lead.
The Iowa defense rose to the occasion when Michigan State failed to convert on a quarterback sneak on 4th-and-1 at its own 31 with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
The Iowa offense ran three plays without getting a first down, and then Kirk Ferentz chose to have Drew Stevens attempt a 53-yard field goal.
The decision paid dividends as Stevens split the uprights, cutting the deficit to 16-13 with 7:38 left in the third quarter.

The Iowa offense looked sharp out of the gate as Iowa made three first downs on its first four plays from scrimmage.
McNamara completed a 23-yard pass to Diante Vines on the first play from scrimmage, a 14-yard pas to receiver Nico Ragaini on the second play and a nine-yard pass to tight end Steve Stilianos on the third play.
Iowa marched to the Michigan State 22, but the drive ultimately stalled, forcing Kirk Ferentz to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Drew Stevens.
But then on Iowa’s second possession of the game, which started at its own three-yard line, McNamara was trying to escape from the pocket when his left knee appeared to buckle as he planted.
Kinnick Stadium fell silent as McNamara was examined on the field. He was then helped off the field and examined in the tent on the Iowa sideline before being carted to the lockerroom.
Michigan State kicker Jonathan Kim made the first of his three first-half field goals from 31 yard to even the score at 3-3 with 3:22 left in the first quarter.
His second field goal from 32 yards came with 11:04 left in the second quarter and gave the Spartans a 6-3 lead.
The Spartans were threatening to score a touchdown when quarterback Noah Kim threw a pass deep into the Iowa end zone that Cooper DeJean intercepted before stepping out of bounds.
DeJean’s interception ignited the crowd and apparently the Iowa offense as Deacon Hill led a five-play scoring drive on Iowa’s next possession that covered 80 yards in slightly more than two minutes.
Erick All capped the drive by scoring on a 13-yard pass from Hill with 3:48 left in the second quarter. All also had a 32-yard reception on the drive.
Jonathan Kim then ended the first half by setting a Kinnick Stadium record with a 58-yard field goal as time expired, cutting Iowa’s lead to 10-9 at the break.
Michigan State 3 6 7 0 – 16
Iowa 3 7 3 13 – 26
I – Drew Stevens 40 FG
MS – Jonathan Kim 31 FG
MS – Kim 32 FG
I – Erick All 13 pass from Deacon Hill (Stevens kick)
MS – Kim 58 FG
MS – Cal Haladay 42 fumble return (Kim pick)
I – Stevens 53 FG
I – Stevens 36 FG
I – Cooper DeJean 73 punt return (Stevens kick)
I – Stevens 34 FG