Recalling the dark scene surrounding last win at Ohio State

This story was published in 2006 on the 15th anniversary of Iowa's last win at Ohio State:

On Nov. 1, 1991, Gang Lu, a 28-year-old disgruntled doctoral student, went on a murderous rampage in Iowa City, killing six people, including himself. That day, Iowa's football team flew to Columbus, Ohio, to face Ohio State.

Players were transfixed on hotel televisions after their arrival. At their home school, their home campus, their home city, they saw a scene that failed to resonate. Not the quiet Midwest college town of Iowa City, they thought. Not there.

"I think the first thing I remember is we're in the hotel and we were watching that CNN was reporting live in Iowa City," said Matt Whitaker, a former Iowa tight end and now U.S. Attorney for Iowa's Southern District. "Somehow, we all found out at the same time.

"The first thing we wanted to know is who was injured or killed. We were hoping itwasn't someone on the team that wasn't on the travel squad or your girlfriend. I remember it was pretty sketchy initially of what happened and the like."

Gang Lu killed physics professors Dwight Nicholson, 44; Christoph Goertz, 47; and Robert A. Smith, 45; and physics doctoral graduate Linhua Shan, 26, in Van Allen Hall. Linhua Shan earned a dissertation award that Gang Lu coveted. Gang Lu then went to Jessup Hall and shot T. Anne Cleary, 56, the university's associate vice president for academic affairs, and Miya Sioson, a 23-year-old clerk in the academic affairs office. He then turned the gun on himself, ending his life. Cleary later died, and Sioson's injuries left her paralyzed.

The football team spent that night trying to focus on the game but thinking about Iowa City. The next day, Iowa players went to their locker rooms and noticed decals had been stripped from helmets.

"When we got back to the stadium, everything was black," Whitaker said. "It was clear why they had done that.

"My recollection was there were a lot of unstated things. I don't think Coach (Hayden) Fry said we weren't wearing black helmets to show our support or to acknowledge the purpose. Everybody understood what it meant."

Greg Morris, then the football team's assistant equipment manager, said he wasn't involved in making the decision but spent hours preparing the helmets.

"I remember Hayden was pretty emotional about it," Morris said. "I do remember that we played good over there. Some things you don't forget."

Morris, now the equipment manager, said stripping some of the decals left a residue, which forced him to scrub the helmets to give them a shiny tone. The game, a footnote to some and a comfort to many, brought renewed focus to the players.

With backup Jim Hartlieb replacing two-time all-Big Ten quarterback Matt Rodgers, Iowa upset Ohio State 16-9.

"I don't know how much the events before had an impact on that game," Whitaker said. "It's not a thing I appreciated at the time. I think each person had his own motivation."

Iowa trainer John Streif said the experience was emotional.

"I think it was something that was on the minds of the staff and the players at the time, but they had a job to do and were dedicated to doing that and representing the institution the best they could, even under the circumstances, and they did that," Streif said. "I was really proud of the way they handled it."

Iowa finished 10-1-1 that year, its only one-loss season since 1960. In a normal year, the fallout from a victory like that could swell Iowa City into a frenzy. It didn't this time, Whitaker said.

"Everybody was excited about the victory but not to the level of excitement that was expected," he said. "It was more subdued by what happened in Iowa City. I know we were happy that we could bring some small amount of joy, if you will, to the shell-shocked and suffering people of Iowa City. You can bring very little as a winning football team, but we believed we were a bright spot in a very dismal, sad weekend."