Hawkeyes ride 5 pass thefts to Fry's 200th

(Published 11/21/1993)

IOWA CITY -

Hayden Fry got his victory ride, and so did Floyd of Rosedale.

Now if one of the bowls comes through, Saturday will have been a perfect afternoon for the University of Iowa football team.

The Hawkeyes picked off Minnesota, 21-3, before 66,840 fans at Kinnick Stadium to give Fry his 200th career victory and complete a rags-to-riches campaign.

The Hawkeyes arose from the ashes of a five-game losing streak earlier this year to finish 6-5 and go out as winners.

Some players hoisted Fry to their shoulders while others rushed to the Minnesota bench to claim Floyd, the statue of a bronze pig that annually goes to the winner of this border war.

Derrick Fox, executive director of the Alamo Bowl, enjoyed the scene but was in no position to offer Iowa an invitation. Not yet, anyway.

The Independence Bowl also paid attention from afar, and the Hawkeyes have their fingers crossed about playing somewhere in December.

"If we don't go to a bowl game, that's fine," said Fry, who told his players it could go either way.

"There's a chance some thing nice could happen."

The bowl scenario could be clarified today, but Saturday's game was not about bowl games. It was about Fry's 200th win, reclaiming Floyd and leaving as winners.

"I'm happy for Hayden, and I mean that," said Minnesota Coach Jim Wacker. "Two-hundred wins, that's a milestone not many people have achieved.

"He's earned every one of them. This is a tough profession."

The Hawkeyes presented Fry with an iron-man trophy with the inscription "Coach Hayden Fry. Congratulations on your 200th victory. November 20, 1993."

He also got a cake with the same inscription, and the Hawks did their hokey-pokey in the locker room for the first time this year.

"This is a great moment," said Fry, 200-152-9 in 32 years as a head coach. "You don't know how many assistant coaches and players contributed to making this happen.

"This trophy represents Bill Brashier as much as it does me," he said.

Brashier, Iowa's defensive coordinator, has been at Fry's side the last 21 years, and Saturday his defense was primarily responsible for the victory.

The Hawkeyes forced Minnesota into six turnovers - including five interceptions - while holding the Gophers to their lowest point total in this series since a 33-0 Iowa victory in 1959.

"That's one of the most masterful defensive performances I've ever seen," said Fry.

Conversely, the Hawkeyes did not lose the ball all day.

Fry, 64, became only the 13th coach to reach 200 victories at the Division 1-A level.

The Gophers had beaten the Hawkeyes three times in the last four years, denying them a winning season in 1989, an outright Big Ten title in 1990 and a Copper Bowl berth in '92.

"We finally beat those SOBs," Iowa cornerback Scott Plate declared happily.

The final statistics made it look as if Minnesota won, showing how illusory statistics can be.

The Gophers had nearly twice as many first downs (27 to 14) and nearly twice as many yards (391 to 220), but the Hawkeyes had seven times as many points.

"Too many big mistakes," moaned Wacker. "We must have turned the ball over, geez, five times in the third quarter or something. That's ridiculous."

Actually it was only three times in the third quarter and six for the ballgame.

Linebacker Matt Hilliard had two interceptions, with Jason Henlon, Mike Wells and Damien Robinson getting one each.

The interceptions by Henlon and Wells set up second-half touchdowns as the Hawkeyes pulled away.

Iowa led, 7-3, when Tim Schade's pass for Rishon Early bounced off Early's shoulder and into the waiting arms of Henlon, who returned the interception 15 yards to the Minnesota 32.

On first down, fullback Cliff King broke through the line of scrimmage and raced 31 yards to the Gopher 1-yard line. King scored on the next play and Brion Hurley's PAT made it 14-3 with 4:55 left in the third quarter.

Wells, an all-Big Ten defensive tackle, had his big moment early in the fourth period.

Schade aimed a pass toward Chuck Rios in the left flat, but Wells was standing right between Schade and Rios and got his big mitts on the ball at the Gopher 29-yard line.

The 280-pound senior had an open field to the end zone, but Schade tackled him just inches short of paydirt.

King scored on the next play and Hurley picked the PAT for the 21-3 advantage.

Wells, one of Iowa's three captains, was equally excited about his interception and the victory.

"It feels so good," he said. "Those five losses were so tough on us."

At one point this season the Hawkeyes were 0-5 in the Big Ten and 2-5 overall. They finished with a four-game winning streak to tie Minnesota (4-7, 3-5) for eighth place in the conference, the worst finish for Fry during his 15 years here.

Considering where Iowa was a month ago, a 6-5 final mark and possible bowl game had Fry waving to the crowd and smiling from ear to ear as he left the field.

"That has to be one of the most happy moments of my life, to see the clock finally run out with the Hawks on top," he said.

Iowa opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 16-yard wingback reverse by Ryan Terry, who broke tackles at the 5-yard line to score.

The game stayed close until the fourth quarter, partly because Todd Romano missed field goals from 41, 49 and 22 yards.

The punting game was excellent, however, as freshman Nick Gallery averaged 45.5 yards on eight boots, with kicks of 57, 54 and 49 yards to his credit.

Quarterback Paul Burmeister completed 13 of 30 passes for 120 yards while getting sacked four times. He finished the regular season with 2,082 yards, the ninth best total in school history.

Burmeister's yardage trails season efforts by just three other Hawkeye quartrbacks - Chuck Hartlieb, Chuck Long and Matt Rodgers.

Burmeister, a senior captain from Iowa City, presented Fry with the trophy from the team celebrating the 200 wins. Burmeister, booed at times this year at Kinnick, received cheers when he left the game.

"It felt really good to know there are still some fans out there who still like me," he said.

"I'm glad I have one more game," he said, hoping a bowl game comes his way.

Schade and Scott Eckers shared the quarterback chores for Minnesota, and both had their problems. Eckers had two passes intercepted and Schade, Wacker's nephew, had three picked off.

The Gophers got their only points on a 38-yard field goal by Mike Chalberg in the second quarter.

Minnesota had other chances, but the six turnovers and a penalty for offensive pass interference in the Hawkeye end zone kept them off the board.