Michigan Survives Iowa in 20-6 Win; Improves to 8-0

For the Michigan Wolverines, the toughest part of the 2006 schedule would be concluded with a matchup against Iowa. After a stretch that most teams may not have survived, the Maize and Blue were only one win away from having a chance to end up 11-0 before ultimately the hardest and biggest game of the season. All it would take is a win over a team that just was upset the week before by one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, and then it would be smooth sailing for the next month or so.

Most things I read and most people I talked to really overlooked this game. I’m not saying everyone was looking ahead, but I really got a sense that not many people took Iowa seriously after they lost to Indiana. Personally, I was just really feeling nervous about this game. After Michigan got by Penn State last week, things were a bit more confident. But, there were really a few main reasons I felt a little uneasy. First, Iowa would be upset. Getting beat by Indiana had to anger the Hawkeyes, and coming into Ann Arbor, a chip would have to be on their shoulders. Second, people everywhere already were talking about how Michigan and Ohio State would be playing each other as two undefeated teams, and I just really didn’t like that. Finally, rumors that I unfortunately did buy into were going around on the days leading up to the game and really got to me. I’ll admit it, I was worried out of my mind about Mike Hart’s status, especially after hearing that he had a soft cast on prior to the game via WTKA.

Luckily, all of my worries really were for nothing. Michigan went out there and although didn’t impress that much in the first half, turned it on in the closing parts of the game to take home a 20-6 victory. With the win, Michigan advances to 8-0 for the first time since 1997, and we all know how that year turned out. Now, the Wolverines just have three cupcakes left before what is already being called by some the biggest game in the history of college football. But, before we even begin to talk about that, or even next week’s game, let’s first find out how UM won.

Before the game started, the atmosphere of the crowd just seemed un-intensified. The student section wasn’t completely filled by the kickoff, and noise-wise, the Iowa fans present almost were out-cheering the Michigan ones. That right there signified the first half of play. It was very tiring to watch as it was just back and forth of nothing big. Scoring was limited to just a 20 yard field goal by Garrett Rivas, and that gave Michigan a 3-0 lead at the break. It was a defensive struggle with neither team really able to get anything going. And anytime something promising did happen, a mistake would end all hopes of getting points on the board almost every time.

The second half of action would hope to be one that was similar to a few games earlier in the season for Michigan. Meaning that a quick start by the Wolverines would lead to Michigan just pulling away and putting the game out of reach. But, before that could happen, a crucial mistake on the opening kickoff put Michigan in a hole early on.

Brandon Minor went back to return the kick for the first time ever in his career, and proceeded to fumble the ball by just simply dropping it, and because of that, Michigan’s starting field position would be on their own 4 yard line. I was dumbfounded at why Steve Breaston, who has been one of the best returners in Michigan’s history, wasn’t back to return the kick. Lloyd Carr stated after the game that since Breaston hadn’t practiced all that much earlier in the week, that he wanted to make sure Steve would be healthy at the receiver position. But, after the mistake by the true freshman, Breaston was quickly put back as the returner, and made his presence felt in a big way.

Before I get to that however, first the result of that bad field position. Following a couple of first downs by the Wolverines, Chad Henne made one of his worst mistakes all season. On a third and long, Henne threw it into a swarm of Iowa defenders, and the pass was intercepted. With a shortened field, the defense would now have to step it up and hold the Hawks to a field goal. Thanks to a big stop on third and short, the “D” did just that. Iowa could only get a 34 yard field goal out of the drive, and that meant the score was 3-3.

Now, Steve Breaston came out on the return following the field goal and may have made the biggest play of the entire game. That spark that Michigan was missing came in the form of a 64 yard kick return by Breaston and allowed Michigan to start their drive on the Iowa 35 yard line. It was only a matter of time until UM got into the endzone after that point in the game. Mike Hart rumbled in from 9 yards out and got Michigan their first touchdown of the day, and also a 10-3 lead.

Now in control of things a little bit better, Michigan’s defense came out and seemed to struggle. It really was the only drive of the day where Iowa’s offense really had things going in a positive sense. The Hawkeyes got down the field fairly quickly and almost got into the endzone. But, the defense put on the clamps at the perfect time and was able to hold Iowa to just a field goal, this one coming from 22 yards out. It was big that Iowa wasn’t able to get into the endzone since a field goal meant that Michigan still had a lead.

The next drive took the game into the final quarter of play, and started off what would become a very exciting span of 15 minutes. Thanks to a balanced attack of big gains by Mike Hart and a couple completions by Chad Henne, Michigan got down the field enough for Garrett Rivas to kick a 37 yard field goal, and most importantly, make it a 2 possession game.

Punts became the newest trend for the next few series between the two teams. The distance kicked on each punt became increasingly important however. Zoltan Mesko booted it down the field to back Iowa up, and ultimately win the field position game for Michigan. That setup the game-clinching score by Mike Hart. But, before Mike Hart got into the endzone, a much bigger occurrence in this game happened.

It was third down and two for Michigan when Mike Hart got a carry up the middle and fumbled the ball, or so that’s what the officials ruled. From a replay, it appeared that the refs got the call wrong as Hart’s knee was on the ground before the ball came loose. Immediately, the call was reviewed, and those magic words of “indisputable video evidence” rang through the stadium loudspeakers, meaning that the call was reversed. And you know what? That wasn’t the end of it. The referees proceeded to go back over to talk to the replay official to check the spot of the ball. Why they didn’t just do that in the first place confuses me, but I’m sure glad they double-checked it. After the second review, the spot showed that Mike Hart picked up the first down, and that eventually led to the game-sealer. Mike Hart rushed for his second touchdown of the day, this time from 10 yards out, after making a great cutback to avoid an Iowa defender. That made the score 20-6, and finished the Hawkeyes off.

There just wasn’t enough time for Iowa to get anything going, and even when they put together a good looking drive to possibly start a comeback, the defense of Michigan once again stepped it up and held them on a fourth down. All that was left for the Wolverines was three consecutive kneel downs, and the clock ran out. Some may say it wasn’t as pretty as they hoped, but all that matters is Michigan got the 20-6 win.

I’ve heard “analysts” on TV say that this win was disappointing among other things, but it really was an old-fashioned Michigan win. Control the clock, play spectacular defense, and score enough to get the victory. It really doesn’t have to be a blowout or a complete demolishing, because when the game is over and done with, whether it be 1, 14, or 50 points, the result is all the same. I’ll say this much though, I really don’t think people took Iowa seriously enough, and that may have contributed to the closeness of this game.

Nonetheless, Michigan is now 8-0. We haven’t been able to say that since the national championship season, and damn, it sure feels good. I don’t want to completely degrade our next three opponents, but Michigan should easily win all of their remaining games until that trip to Columbus. Northwestern is coming off of a complete letdown after blowing a 38-3 lead against Michigan State, so you can imagine they’re at rock bottom right now. Ball State is one of the lower-tier MAC teams. Finally, Indiana may have got that upset over Iowa, but other than that they haven’t been all that impressive this season. With that being said, now thoughts of 11-0 versus 11-0 are starting to trickle through my head, and truly, I would’ve never expected this when the year started. Before we do get to that point, Northwestern comes to town first for homecoming 2006 in Ann Arbor. Join me back here next week to recap the game against the Wildcats and also to look ahead towards a game against Ball State. Until then, thanks for reading and Go Blue!