Hawkeyes survive Hurricane: Slutzker snares 2-point, Iowa 26-25

(Published 09/05/1993)

IOWA CITY -

Operation Bounce Back nearly took a bad hop for the Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday, but Operation Rescue saved the day.

Iowa waited until the final minute before pulling out a 26-25 victory over Tulsa, and Coach Hayden Fry's mystery Hawkeyes were lucky to escape with their lives.

A couple of inches either way and Iowa would be 0-1 instead of 1-0 after the first week of the 1993 college football season.

It was that close.

It came down to this: 53 seconds left in the game, Tulsa leading, 25-18, and the Hawkeyes faced with fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line.

It was the last chance to win ... or lose.

Ryan Terry took a handoff from Paul Burmeister, swept left, hesitated and then raced into the southeast corner of the end zone for the touchdown that had to be.

But that made it 25-24 Tulsa. The Hawks still needed a two-point conversion for victory.

With 66,431 fans at Kinnick Stadium in suspense, Burmeister lofted a two-point pass toward Scott Slutzker in a deep corner of the end zone. Slutzker, in heavy traffic, leaped, tipped the ball to himself and held on while falling to his knees.

That set off a wild celebration, with players and fans mobbing the tight end in the end zone.

"I was so tired from the drive, I was just ready to collapse," he said, sweat still dripping off his chin nearly an hour after the game. "The whole crowd was just kind of holding me up."

That play will make the highlight shows all year for Iowa, and well it should.

It looked bleak for the Hawkeyes when a 43-yard punt pinned them at their own 4-yard line with 6:39 left and Tulsa holding a 25-18 lead.

Iowa had sputtered all day, and a long drive to victory did not seem likely.

"I knew it was the last chance for us to win the game, team-wise," said Burmeister. "And individually for me, I knew it was a chance for me to redeem myself, because I didn't play as well as I wanted to the whole game."

Burmeister moved the Hawks smartly on the final drive, with a pair of passes to Slutzker and a magnificent diving catch by Harold Jasper getting Iowa to Tulsa's 21.

Then came a bit of controversy. An official called Tulsa's Dennis Hickey for pass interference on a ball intended for Anthony Dean in the end zone, and Golden Hurricane Coach Dave Rader complained.

Rader claimed the pass was uncatchable, which he said should have negated interference by his man.

"It was obvious," said Rader. "The ball was overthrown. It's obvious to you guys, it's obvious to everybody else. I don't understand it."

It was not obvious to Iowa Coach Hayden Fry, however.

"It may have appeared that way to Dave, but it was real obvious to us," said Fry. "Our receiver got clobbered."

The 15-yard penalty gave Iowa first-and-goal at the 6, but it was a struggle from there.

Finally, on fourth down, Terry took a handoff from Burmeister and swept to the left, looking for running room in a do-or-die situation with defenders in pursuit.

Terry appeared to pull up for a halfback pass, but insisted it was a run all the way.

"I had the option of either cutting inside or bouncing it

outside," he said. "Their ends had been pinching the whole game, so I opted to bounce outside and head for the sideline.

"I froze the defense and took off."

Again, Tulsa Coach Rader complained.

"It was a bang-bang play," said Rader, "but it looked like his left foot hit out of bounds and then his right foot hit the pylon."

No way, said Terry.

"I was at least two yards inside of it," he said.

Rader gave Iowa credit for its winning drive.

"I obviously didn't think they could drive it that far, and they did," he said. "That's a great drive."

Iowa had accumulated only 223 yards all day at that point, and Burmeister was only 9 of 19 for 143 yards when the march began.

But what a drive it was, with Burmeister going 4 for 5 for 53 yards as the Hawks pulled it out.

"I really am extremely proud of my football team because they showed so much character by hanging in there and doing what they had to do in order to win against a very fine Tulsa team," said Fry. "They were better than we thought they would be."

Tulsa had a final chance at victory, but a penalty and two straight pass deflections by Hawk defensive lineman Maurea Crain gave Fry victory number 195.

For Tulsa, it was another near-miss on top of a tough 30-22 defeat here in 1989.

Iowa has dubbed the 1993 season "Operation Bounce Back" after a 5-7 campaign in '92, and Fry said there's still lots of work to do.

The Hawks made numerous mistakes, including a pair of roughing-the-punter penalties that led to 10 of Tulsa's 25 points.

Shoddy tackling also took its toll. Two of Tulsa's touchdowns came as a result of poor tackling, with Gus Frerotte hitting Chris Penn for a 41-yard score and finding Solomon White for a 38-yarder, both on plays that should have been stopped.

That TD pass to White gave Tulsa a 23-18 lead, and when Frerotte hit Penn for a two-point conversion it was 25-18 with 8:16 to play.

Penn finished with seven catches for 129 yards and two TDs.

Iowa's Todd Romano tied a school record by booting four field goals, including a 53-yarder in the first quarter that stands as the third-best in school history.

Freshmen Nick Gallery and Brion Hurley split the punting chores, with Gallery booming a 69-yarder from his own end zone to get Iowa out of trouble at the end of the third quarter.

The Hawks punted four times for a robust 50.3-yard average, their best in years.

Frerotte passed for 325 yards and three TDs but suffered four interceptions, with Scott Plate, Chris Jackson, Jason Olejniczak and John Hartlieb making big pickoffs for the Hawks.

Hartlieb, a starting defensive end last year, collected a team-high 11 tackles as a reserve linebacker yesterday.

Other highlights for Iowa included a 75-yard kickoff return by Sedrick Shaw, the longest return by a Hawkeye since 1981, and two sacks by Chris Webb, a new junior college lineman.

On the other hand, the Hawks had to settle for field goals after reaching the 1-, 7- and 15-yard lines in the first three quarters.

"The fact we actually won the game, that's the most important thing," said Fry.

Iowa visits Iowa State next Saturday at noon.