Mabin takes the bad and then gets the good

IOWA CITY - Right off the first snap of the second half last week, Illinois made its plans apparent.

Quarterback Wes Lunt threw at the right side of Iowa's secondary 15 consecutive times. It wasn't 15 plays in a row, but 15 passes went toward junior cornerback Greg Mabin and just over the head of free safety Jordan Lomax. Linebacker Cole Fisher also was targeted by running backs in the flat.

It was clear. The Fighting Illini didn't want to test the left side, with cornerback Desmond King leading the Big Ten in interceptions. They wanted to get at Mabin.

Mabin knew. He didn't blink when he heard 15 consecutive passes. He knew.

'I just have to get my call from the safeties and go out there and play my proper techniques,” Mabin said. 'You're not going to win them all, but you have to try to make more plays than you give up.”

It might go like this the rest of the way for the No. 17 Hawkeyes (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten). It might go like this at No. 21 Northwestern (5-1, 1-1) this weekend. King has five interceptions. The Big Ten knows this, so quarterbacks are going to look the other way.

That's where Mabin is.

Illinois found success. It drove for a pair of field goals in the first 12 minutes of the third. During this run of 15 passes, Mabin was called for a pass interference and a facemask penalty.

'I honestly didn't know they were going to do that, but it happened,” King said about Illinois and its strategy with Mabin and the right side of the secondary. 'They were just matching him up. They were putting receivers out there who could go get the ball for them. It worked for them. That was their scheme.”

Running back Jordan Canzeri's 75-yard TD run threw the momentum back to Iowa and gave it a 23-13 lead. Then, Illinois went back to work, with two passes in the right flat, targeting Fisher.It finally broke the streak and tested King with two passes his way. One went for a 4-yard gain. The other sailed out of bounds.

The matchup King spoke about was Illinois receiver Geronimo Allison, the B1G's leader in receptions (40) and receiving yards (601) against Mabin. During this stretch, Allison caught four passes for 43 yards and drew the pass interference.

Of course, Mabin was frustrated.

'You've got to knock off the bad plays,” Mabin said. 'You've just got to wash them down and focus on the play that's about to be snapped.”

After the Canzeri run, Lunt and the Illini went right back to work. After an 11-yard completion to wide receiver Malik Turner down the middle of the field, Illinois faced a third-and-1 at Iowa's 40.

The playcall was a double reverse. Allison ended up with the ball and guess where he looked to pass? Mabin didn't bite on the reverse action and was in the perfect spot for his first interception of the season.

He knocked off the bad plays. He washed them down. In the 16th look to the right side of the secondary in the second half, Mabin scored perhaps the ultimate atonement.

'I was just happy to get my first interception of the year, that's pretty much what was going through my head,” Mabin said. 'That was a crucial point in the game. We needed a big stop and a big turnover. I was able to go out and make a play.”

No one kept an official count on how many consecutive passes were thrown his way, but the Iowa sideline kind of knew and it was totally happy for Mabin.

'I wouldn't say it was revenge,” Mabin said. And he pretty much left it at that. He knows he needs to put the good plays in perspective, too.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com