Luck as in yuck

IOWA CITY - During interviews, Ricky Stanzi kind of keeps his head down and stares straight ahead.

When he wants to make a point, he makes eye contact and speaks directly. When Tyler Sash's four-person deflection interception that he took 86 yards for a TD was brought up, Stanzi's eyes came up and he spit out the word “luck” like it was sour milk.

“I guess that's some of our ‘luck' that we've been having all season,” Stanzi said.

It's basically a stab at what the No. 7 Hawkeyes have been hearing from national media types since they broke into the top 10 three weeks ago. It's all over the place. The ESPNs, CBS Sports.coms, the Colin Cowherds, Skip Baylesses and all that ilk have dismissed the Iowa Hawkeyes, who have the nation's second-longest winning streak at 13, with a snort.

In Iowa City, it's been straight ahead. Focused, giddy and maybe a little dazed, the Hawkeyes just keep winning. And they keep taking beatings on the national airwaves.

The more they win, the more pointed the disdain, including Bayless calling Iowa a fraud on an ESPN morning show last week.

The Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten) want to make a point. They've been making eye contact all season. Saturday's fourth-quarter comeback - a 28-point run that erased a 10-point deficit - was direct speaking.

Stanzi followed up a four-interception third quarter with back-to-back touchdown passes in Iowa's thrilling 42-24 victory over Indiana. For the first time since 2000, Iowa had a 300-yard passer (Stanzi 337 yards), 100-yard rusher (Brandon Wegher 118) and two 100-yard receivers (Marvin McNutt 155 and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos 117).

The more they win, they more the national snorts flow.

“I don't want to pour water on Iowa's parade, they've had a great year,” said former coach Lou Holtz, who regularly mangles metaphors on ESPN's College Football Final on Saturday night, “but let's be realistic . . .”

Make eye contact. Speak directly.

“It doesn't get to you, but you hear it so much, you just kind of laugh about it,” Stanzi said. “Anybody can say what they want, but all we're trying to do . . . We're not trying to make people mad, we're just trying to win games.”

As they have all season, the Hawkeyes, who host Northwestern (6-3, 3-2) next weekend, once again saved their best for last. After Saturday's 28-point avalanche, Iowa has outscored its opponents 100-38 in the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes are 4-0 this season while trailing after the third quarter.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz acknowledges that every team needs some good fortune to pull off history (Iowa is 9-0 for the first time in school history), but he also believes a team has a say in its fate in what it does, how it reacts and the way it moves forward.

Make eye contact. Speak directly.

“People can think whatever they want,” Ferentz said. “We've got nine and I know we don't have to give any of them back, I know that. I can understand why people think that. I can understand that. That's OK.”

If national media keeps insisting Iowa is lucky, really, that's a prod Ferentz is more than happy to use on his team. If Iowa's players want to use that as motivation, Ferentz will just keep that going.

“We might do that,” he joked.

Ferentz was asked how he'd view his team if he were on the outside. Ferentz has never done hypotheticals.

“I'm on the inside, I'd say we're resilient and we find ways to get it done,” he said. “A lot of different ways, which is a good thing.”

During the same show Holtz reluctantly poured water on Iowa's parade, Stanzi was awarded a quarter of a helmet sticker from the Football Final crew.

People can say what they want. So far, the Hawkeyes have had the last laugh.