Week 10 -- Dumpster dive

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The postgame interview really wasn't any different than the game.

Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi ended up with his back to some rancid dumpsters in the bowels of Ryan Field. The wind whipped, the odor wafted and the answers weren't anymore clear than they were 10 minutes earlier out on the field.

Northwestern did it again.

Quarterback Dan Persa engineered an 11-play, 91-yard drive that finished with his 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Demetrius Fields for the winning points with 1:22 left in the Wildcats' 21-17 upset of No. 13 Iowa before 47,130 fans Saturday.

The Wildcats now have beaten Iowa three straight and five of the last six. Northwestern drove 85 and 91 yards on its final two drives to erase a 17-7 lead Iowa that took on a 70-yard Stanzi TD pass to wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos with 6:01 left in the third quarter.

Persa suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon on the game-winner and is out for the season. Iowa suffered a ruptured season.

After Northwestern (7-3, 3-3 Big Ten) hero monster drive to glory, the Hawkeyes (7-3, 4-2) took over at their 20 with 1:22 left. They needed 14 plays to set up the last gasper, a Hail Mary attempt to wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos that was batted over the outstretched arm of wide receiver Keenan Davis.

"The Big Ten race, we're obviously out of that," said Stanzi, who was picked off by NU's Brian Peters to set up the Cats' 85-yard TD drive. "We've just got to go on to the next game."

That's Ohio State (9-1, 5-1) will be playing for a chance at a share of the Big Ten title next weekend in Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes won't be.

Obviously, they are out of the Big Ten race. They are in the Outback Bowl elimination round.

"It was a hard-fought battle, but we found a way to win," Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "That's what good teams do."

Going purely off that definition, that's basically why Iowa is in Outback elimination.

Last week at Indiana, red zone offense stalled but Iowa lived to tell. This week, Iowa couldn't convert on third down, finishing 2 of 14, its worst effort on third down since 1 of 13 in a 12-0 win over Minnesota last season. You get away with that against Minnesota. You don't get away with against Persa, who completed 32 of 43 for 318 yards and two TDs.

"Usually, that gets you," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "Third-down production and red-zone production, we struggled there last week. Those two things, they're tough to overcome."

This can be summed up in a tale of two drives.

Northwestern found the no-huddle pace on its game-winner. Iowa was limited in its personnel groups and defensive linemen were gassed and trotting in and out much of the Cats' final two drives, which covered a total of 176 yards in 24 plays and erased Iowa's 17-7 fourth-quarter lead.

Fitzgerald put the ball in the hands of Persa and just let him do his thing. Persa accounted for every one of the 91 yards, including a 22-yard scramble on a third-and-4 from NU's 15.

"If I  were picking a team, I'd want him on my team," Iowa safety Tyler Sash said. "I'm not saying he's better than Rick, I just love his competitiveness. I wish him the best."

So, Persa hit Fields just before corner Micah Hyde got a hand on it and the Cats took a 21-17 lead with 1:22 left.

Iowa started at its 20 and drove into an 18 mph wind with two timeouts left. The Hawkeyes never really went anywhere.

Ferentz put the ball into the hands of Stanzi, his senior quarterback, and Iowa went nowhere. Stanzi completed just 5 of 12 for 46 yards. His only completion of consequence was a 23-yarder to wide receiver Marvin McNutt on a fourth-and-15.

Northwestern rushed four and threw seven in coverage with two-deep safeties. Iowa had five O-linemen blocking four D-linemen, but NU defensive end Vince Browne still managed to beat right tackle Markus Zusevics for a 6-yard sack after Iowa reached NU's 39.

In the end, it took Iowa 15 plays to move the ball 35 yards. The last pass might've well as ended up in the dumpster that stunk up the postgame.

"Score, that was probably our main goal because we needed the points," Stanzi said, who finished 23 of 41 for 270 yards, two TDs and an interception that had him beating himself up in the postgame. "They were playing prevent, so it's tough to hit certain things. If I would've waited a little longer on some of those routes, they might've been open. I rushed it and didn't make the right reads at times."

Running back Adam Robinson, who rushed for 108 yards a week after sitting out with a concussion, saw the drive differently.

"We took a lot of plays to get across the 50," Robinson said. "I wasn't in for the last few plays, but it was tough to watch."

The postgame interviews took place right next to dumpsters. Put anything you want into that metaphor.