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Play of the Game: The Winning TD
- TIME: Overtime
- SCORE: Tie game, 10-10
- DOWN AND DISTANCE: Iowa faced third-and-7 from Northwestern's 8-yard line
- FORMATION AND PERSONNEL: Iowa – Three wide receivers, one tight end, one running back with quarterback in the shotgun. Northwestern – Six defenders across the line of scrimmage, three standing up, man coverage with a free safety.
- WHAT HAPPENED: Iowa QB Jake Rudock read the blitz up the middle. He stood in the pocket, absorbed a hit from safety Ibraheim Campbell and delivered a pass to tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz in the end zone for a touchdown.
- WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT: Iowa took the lead in overtime.
- THE QUOTE 1: "We practiced that exact play with that exact coverage the whole week," Fiedorowicz said. "We knew as a wide receiver unit we needed to make a play. ... It was man-to-man coverage, and my job is to win."
- THE QUOTE 2: "“It was one of those pre-snap reads where we saw, 'Hey it looks like man coverage,'" Rudock said. "Then when the ball was snapped, you knew it was happening. It was one of those where it was, 'Hey it's a man beater.' It just kind of worked out that way."
- THE QUOTE 3: "(Our blitzers) came free and they made a nice pitch and catch," Northwestern Coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
- THE ANALYSIS: Iowa lined up three receivers, including Fiedorowicz, to the left against man coverage. The two outside receivers, Damond Powell and Kevonte Martin-Manley, both ran inside routes short of the goal line. Northwestern sent all six defenders on the line of scrimmage toward Rudock as well as Campbell, who was the free safety. Iowa running back Damon Bullock picked up the outside blitzer but missed Campbell and linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo, who forced Rudock to throw early and off his back foot. Fiedorowicz beat safety Traveon Henry to the inside on a corner route and was open for the catch.
Iowa tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz (86) scores a touchdown as Northwestern safety Traveon Henry (10) moves in for a tackle in overtime of Iowa's 17-10 win at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013, in Iowa City. (Liz Martin/The Gazette-KCRG)
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