By Pat Harty

The goal when playing on the road against a formidable opponent is always to be within at least striking distance heading to the fourth quarter.

The 17th-ranked Iowa football team accomplished that goal and then would go on to defeat No. 18 Michigan 20-19 as wide receiver Reece Vander Zee caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hank Brown as time expired at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Iowa drove 91 yards in 11 plays on the game-winning drive.

Brown connected with Vander Zee in the far corner of the end zone on what was Vander Zee’s second touchdown catch of the game. There were only two seconds left on the clock when Brown took the snap.

“You just got to go make a play,” Vander Zee said on the CBS post-game interview. “I know Hank trusts me. He made a great throw. We battled. Two seconds it came down to; you’ve got to go make a play.”

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz was emotional as he was interviewed on the field after the game. This marks just thee eighth time in program history that Iowa has won in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the third time under Ferentz, who is in his 28th season as the Iowa head coach.

“It wasn’t looking good there in the fourth quarter, certainly, ” Ferentz said. “But one thing about these guys, though, they don’t quit. They fight. It wasn’t perfect, but they don’t give up.”

Iowa improved to 4-0 with the win and will now face Ohio State next Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, while Michigan fell to 3-1 under first-year head coach Kyle Whittingham.

“It’s one we’ll all remember,” Kirk Ferentz said. “And we’ll enjoy the heck out it tonight and it’s back to work tomorrow.”

Iowa had a number of players that stepped up with the game on the line, including freshman punter Boston Everitt, who pinned Michigan at its own one-yard line with 8:02 remaining. It was the Australia native’s third punt of the game that was downed inside the 12-yard line.

The Wolverines failed to mount any semblance of a drive, though, and had to punt.

Iowa then took over on offense at midfield with slightly more than five minutes to play and trailing 19-14, meaning it would take a touchdown to take the lead.

Iowa was facing 4th-and-1 at the Michigan 28 when offensive guard Leighton Jones was called for a false start, pushing the ball back to the Wolverine 33.

Iowa kicker Caden Buhr then missed a 51-yard field goal wide right with 2:33 remaining.

The Iowa defense then forced Michigan to punt again, giving Vander Zee and the Iowa offense one more chance to record a historic win, which they would go on to do in dramatic fashion.

Hank Brown completed 21-of-35 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns his first Big Ten start, and in his first start on the road in college.

Iowa only rushed for 58 yards and was outgained by Michigan 429-285.

But the Hawkeyes led where it mattered the most when the game ended, which is on the scoreboard.

Iowa receiver Tony Diaz, who had been held mostly in check, finally broke loose for 32-yard catch late in the third quarter, giving Iowa a first down at the Michigan 38.

The fourth quarter started with Iowa facing 3rd-and-9 at the Michigan 38.

Brown rolled to his right and threw a pass to Diaz that was deflected into the arms of Iowa tight end DJ Vonnhame for a first down at the Michigan 16.

The play was reviewed and it was determined that Vonnhame had been pushed out of bounds, erasing a flag that had been thrown because he had stepped out bounds before making the catch.

Brown then fired a 16-yard scoring strike to Vander Zee on the next play.

Buhr made the point-after kick to give Iowa its first lead of the game at 14-13 with 14:02 left to play.

Iowa certainly was lucky on the scoring drive with how the ball deflected right into Vonnhame’s arms.

But the offense also made some huge plays on the drive.

Michigan then answered right back, though, as quarterback Bryce Underwood threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to tight end JJ Buchanan with 11:59 left to play.

The Wolverines tried a two-point conversion pass, but it fell incomplete, keeping their lead at 19-14.

Buchanan was defended by safety Tyler Brown on the touchdown play. Buchanan blew past Brown who appeared to be limping slightly from the previous play.

Brown missed the first two games this season due to a soft tissue injury.

Michigan drove 89 yards on nine plays for the game’s first touchdown, which came on an 18-yard pass from Underwood to Buchanan with 1:58 left in the first quarter. Underwood completed 5 of 6 passes on the drive.

The lead didn’t last long, however, as Iowa running back Braeden Jackson returned the ensuing kick 99 yards for a touchdown.

Caden Buhr converted the point-after kick to even the score at 7.

Jackson was the beneficiary of some fine blocking as he blasted through a huge opening and raced untouched to the end zone.

Michigan was leading 10-7 and had driven to the Iowa 18 when Underwood, on fourth-and-1, tried to leap over center and reach for a first down, but was met by a wall of Iowa defenders with 3:17 left in the second quarter.

The officials ruled that Underdog was short of gaining the first down, and the call was upheld after being reviewed.

Iowa took over on downs, but was forced to punt after gaining just one first down.

Michigan then punted after sputtering on offense and Iowa took over on offense at its own 39 with 30 seconds left in the first half.

Brown threw two incomplete passes and Jackson ran for five yards on third down as the clock expired.

Michigan outgained Iowa 232-77 in total yards in the first half, but as Kyle Whittingham said on the field at halftime, Iowa’s kick return for a touchdown helped to offset the difference in yards while also shifting momentum.

Underwood completed 11-of-16 passes for 162 yards, in the first half while Hank Brown completed just 6-of-12 passes for 47 yards in the first half.

Diaz only had one catch for one yard in the first half, while neither team committed turnover in the first half.

It sort of felt like Iowa was hanging on the first half as the offense continued to struggle, including rushing for just 30 yards.

However, there was another half to play and the deficit was just three points.

So the situation could have been a lot worse for Iowa.

Michigan took the opening kick of the second half and marched into Iowa territory, but the drive ended when Iowa cornerback Deshaun Lee intercepted Underwood’s pass near the Iowa end zone.

Lee and Underwood were high schools teammates for one year in the Detroit area.

Iowa had avoided fallen behind possibly by double digits and then took over on offense at its own two-yard line.

After failing to gain a first down, Boston Everitt punted from his own end zone.

Underwood and his offensive cohorts then took at the Iowa 47 with 7:13 left in the third quarter.

The Iowa defense now a faced a critical situation with Michigan threatening to build on its lead.

Michigan marched down to the Iowa 4, but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Trey Butkowski, making the score 13-7 with 1:31 left in the third quarter.

Iowa still was hanging around with slightly more than a quarter left to play.

That would prove to be enough time to pull off a miracle win in the Big Ten opener.

 

Iowa 7 0 0 13 – 20

Michigan 7 3 3 6 – 19

M – JJ Buchanan 18 pass from Bryce Underwood (Trey Butkowski kick)

I – Braeden Jackson 99 kick return (Caden Buhr kick)

M – Butkowski 41 FG

M – Butkowski 22 FG

I – Reece Vander Zee 16 pass from Hank Brown (Buhr kick)

M – Buchanan 49 pass from Underwood (pass failed)

I – Vander Zee 16 pass from Brown