Week 8 -- 8 and ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Whatever happens from here on out, this team walks where no Iowa team has.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are 8-0. This is a first in school history. This is fabulous to the very last drop.

Ricky Stanzi, 7 yards, Marvin McNutt, two seconds.

Iowa wins. Iowa wins, 15-13.

Stanzi to McNutt to . . . who knows where.

After falling behind with 1:37 left, the Hawkeyes drove 71 yards on 11 plays and stunned just about everyone who cares about college football.

Stanzi. McNutt. Seven yards. Two seconds. Eight and ohhh wow.

“We really just had to take it play-by-play,” said Stanzi, who completed 4 of 9 for 60 yards on the final drive. “We couldn't worry too far down the road. Get the first play and keep the chains moving.”

The Spartans (4-4, 3-2 Big Ten) had a three-game winning streak snapped. And their hearts shattered and emotions tattered.

A pass interference MSU corner Chris L. Rucker gave Iowa first-and-goal at the 7 with 15 seconds left.

"I think I'll leave up to all you people," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. "I think all you people can document it, you can research it, you can look at it in slow motion and you can question that yourself."

This was bitter beerface times 10.

Did you get a reason?

"I got an explanation," Dantonio said.

Care to share?

"Not really."

Stanzi drove the Hawkeyes 70 yards on 10 plays. He hit McNutt, the first read, who got a perfect release on the inside of Rucker and pulled it in.

“Everything went perfectly on that play,” said McNutt, who played just two plays last week because of a jammed thumb. “He was on my inside shoulder, I got a release and I just thanked God I caught that ball.”

Even Dantonio agreed, and he wasn't very agreeable after the game.

"The slant was perfectly thrown and perfectly run," he said. "We were right on him. You've got to get one hand in there."

For the first time in school history, Iowa is 8-0. The best before tonight was the 7-0 start in 1985 and a couple 7-0 seasons when seasons were seven games. Back when gas was a dime and before there was color TV.

Everything is in blazing color for the No. 7 Hawkeyes (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten). There's no black and white. Win and chase down the unbelievable.

Iowa's win streak is now 12 games, that's the second-longest in school history, behind an insane 20-game run.

“All we were worried about was getting to 8-0,” Stanzi said. “It was tough and we knew it would be tough. We have a good group of guys who want to win, want to play hard and want to win for coach Ferentz.”

While every syndicated national sports radio or print kumquat scoffs, this team just does its job. At Penn State, no problem. At Wisconsin, no sweat. At Spartan Stadium, in front of 74,414 green clads, on the road, during primetime, the Hawkeyes found a way for the first time since 1995, ending a streak of 0-for-Kirk Ferentz in East Lansing.

Next, Indiana. But really, next is fireworks. Iowa is in the national championship conversation, loudly and clearly. It's fireworks every week from here until Nov. 14 at Ohio State, the last place Ferentz hasn't won in his 11 seasons as Iowa's coach.

It's fireworks until Columbus. Saturday night, it was nuclear.

Stanzi. McNutt. Two seconds. 15-13. Eight and ohhhh, what's next?

“For Rick to take the team like he did on that last series, it was absolutely amazing,” Ferentz said. “Outstanding, great effort, team effort, but Rick orchestrated things.”

The faceoff of field goals continued into the fourth quarter.

This time, it was the Spartans' turn for a goal-line stand.

After back-to-back runs from Brandon Wegher (12) and Adam Robinson (11), the Hawkeyes had first-and-goal from the 1. On first down, Robinson was strung to the left and dropped for no gain. On second, Stanzi tried a boot pass to fullback Brett Morse, but it was doomed by a big MSU rush.

On third down, Robinson tried stringing the play to the left, again, but met a gaggle of Spartans defenders and lost a yard.

Daniel Murray booted a 20-yard field goal for a 6-6 tie with 11:43 left in the game. Murray, who's now made eight of his last nine field goals, also tied it 3-3 in the first half with a 37-yard linedrive.

The brutality of this game reared its ugly head time and time again Saturday night.

The Hawkeyes lost free safety Brett Greenwood to an upper-body injury. Guard Dace Richardson suffered either a broken foot or ankle. Robinson left the game late and showed up for interviews with his left ankle in a boot. Wegher left the game for awhile after taking a shot to the shoulder.

With 7:19 left, wide receiver Colin Sandeman was knocked unconscious.

Sandeman took a head shot from cornerback Jeremy Ware, who was called for a personal foul after the play, giving Iowa first down at MSU's 45 with 7:19 left. Sandeman walked off the field in a woozy state.

The faceoff of field goals continued into the fourth quarter.

This time, it was the Spartans' turn for a goal-line stand.

After back-to-back runs from Wegher (12) and Robinson (11), the Hawkeyes had first-and-goal from the 1. On first down, Robinson was strung to the left and dropped for no gain. On second, Stanzi tried a boot pass to fullback Brett Morse, but it was doomed by a big MSU rush.

On third down, Robinson tried stringing the play to the left, again, but met a gaggle of Spartans defenders and lost a yard.

Murray booted a 20-yard field goal for a 6-6 tie with 11:43 left in the game. Murray, who's now made eight of his last nine field goals, also tied it 3-3 in the first half with a 37-yard linedrive.

To say Iowa made the most of that call is a monumental understatement.

On third-and-5 from MSU's 40, Stanzi made his first and third down play of the night, threading a 32-yard pass to wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, who made a fabulous diving grab with Rucker draped all over him.

Iowa couldn't punch through on first-and-goal from the 8 and settled for Murray's 20-yard field goal with 2:56 left. It was Murray's third field goal of the night, his career high.

After Keshawn Martin's 32-yard kick return gave MSU a first down at its 40, the Hawkeyes put together back-to-back sacks (Christian Ballard and Broderick Binns) to set up a third-and-18 with 2:18 left.

Then, Michigan State executed a hook-and-lateral that goes into the dictionary as “hook-and-lateral.”

Cousins hit B.J. Cunningham for 12 yards and Cunningham tossed to White, who caught it in full stride and took the ball to Iowa's 30.

On second-and-10, Cousins slipped out of the pocket and avoide two rushers before finding a wide-open White for a 30-yard TD with 1:37 left, putting up the Spartans, 13-9. White caught the ball in front of Joe Conklin, who replaced Greenwood.

"Oh crap," linebacker Pat Angerer said when he saw the hook-and-lateral.

Any national championship talk went up in flames on a hook-and-lateral.

Oh no, wait.

Stanzi. McNutt. Seven yards. Two seconds. Eight and ohhhh my. Oh, oh my.