Hlas: Hawkeyes a little lucky, a lot good

I got this email Sunday morning from someone who isn't from the extended Iowa Hawkeye football family:

'Bet the farm on the Hawks to win the national championship. If necessary, the opponent in the title game will get kidnapped by a band of gypsies.'

No can do. I don't own a farm, and I truly doubt any band of gypsies is capable of kidnapping a college football team. Unless that team is Kansas.

However, you have to admit certain things have broken the Hawkeyes' way.

Pittsburgh running back James Conner, the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, suffered a season-ending injury before the Panthers got to Iowa City. You can't say he wouldn't have given Pitt a better chance to prevail.

Marshall Koehn made a 57-yard field goal to win that game. It's the longest field goal by an FBS player this season. Now Koehn has a right leg-and-a-half, but how many times out of 10 would he connect from 57 in that pressurized spot?

It doesn't matter. Koehn made the kick when it mattered.

Saturday, Wisconsin held Iowa to 221 yards. How often do teams win games with just 221 yards?

The Badgers were in Iowa territory on eight different drives. How many times do teams get in enemy territory eight times and come away with just two field goals?

It doesn't matter. Iowa's defense made play after play when it mattered.

Total yards

For a more detailed breakdown of this game, click here.

The one time Wisconsin had the ball at the Iowa 1, Iowa's defense shoved the Badgers' offensive line into quarterback Joel Stave, who tripped and fumbled.

The one time Iowa got to the Badgers 1, Iowa's blockers protected C.J. Beathard and he tossed a pass to George Kittle for a touchdown.

It can be a thin line between giddy and gloomy in football.

If I'd told you Iowa would score just 10 points and Wisconsin would have six second-half drives that reached Hawkeye territory, what percentage would you have hung on Iowa's chances for victory? That wasn't a formula for success the Hawkeyes will duplicate again this season, or this century.

But on one day in Madison, it worked just fine. That 10-6 score will stand in the ledger from now until the space ships arrive to take all college football players to the planet Flarvis.

Before that happens, let's look at the immediate future. No. 23 Iowa (yes, the Hawkeyes are in the rankings) hosts Illinois Saturday.

Some might think it would have been much better for the Hawkeyes had the Fighting Illini been flattened by Nebraska Saturday and come to Kinnick with its daubers down. Umm, maybe.

Or maybe it will take Illinois all week to come down from the emotional high it enjoyed after scoring with 10 seconds left to beat the Huskers. It isn't like that Illini team is used to handling big conference successes.

Then again, Iowa's players have never experienced a win as meaningful as Saturday's at Wisconsin, so they have their own emotional bounce-back to worry about.

Interesting season so far, eh?

Comments: (319) 368-8840; mike.hlas@thegazette.com