ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN — Ninety-one yards from the end zone with less than two minutes remaining, Iowa Hawkeye football was staring at its first loss. Hank Brown and Reece Vander Zee had other plans.
Brown delivered a 16-yard touchdown pass to Vander Zee as time expired Saturday, September 26, lifting No. 17 Iowa over No. 18 Michigan, 20-19, and turning a desperate final possession into a victory Hawkeye fans will remember for years.
Iowa escaped Michigan Stadium with a 4-0 record and a 1-0 start in Big Ten play. Michigan fell to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference before a crowd of 111,126.
Now the stakes climb again as Ohio State visits Kinnick Stadium next Saturday, and ESPN’s College GameDay is coming to Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes have already shown they can win comfortably, as they did in last week’s 55-0 demolition of Northern Iowa. Saturday required something considerably more nerve-racking.
Iowa needed a defensive stop, a penalty that kept its last drive alive, a huge third-down completion and one final throw.
It got all four.
Brown delivers when Iowa runs out of room for error
The Hawkeyes trailed 19-14 when Caden Buhr missed a 51-yard field goal with 2:33 remaining.
Michigan had possession and an opportunity to finish the game. Iowa’s defense refused to let that happen, forcing a three-and-out and giving Brown another chance.
The opportunity came with a steep price: Iowa took over at its own 9-yard line with 1:46 left.
Brown moved the chains with a 13-yard completion to Tony Diaz on third-and-seven. He then connected with DJ Vonnahme and Vander Zee as the Hawkeyes pushed toward midfield.
The drive nearly unraveled after a false start left Iowa facing third-and-12 from its own 40. Brown’s next pass fell incomplete, but an unnecessary roughness penalty against Michigan handed the Hawkeyes a first down at the Wolverines’ 45.
Two more incompletions followed.
Then Brown found Addison Ostrenga over the middle for 29 yards on third-and-10, putting Iowa at the Michigan 16.
With two seconds remaining, there was time for one play.
Brown went to Vander Zee, who secured the touchdown as the clock reached zero. Replay review upheld the catch, completing an 11-play, 91-yard escape act.
For the second time in three weeks, Iowa had snatched a tight game at the finish. The Hawkeyes previously beat Iowa State 16-13 on Buhr’s late field goal.
This time, the winning points came through the air.
Jackson’s 99-yard answer keeps Iowa standing
Long before the final drive, Braeden Jackson gave Iowa a jolt it badly needed.
Michigan struck first when Bryce Underwood found JJ Buchanan for an 18-yard touchdown with 1:58 remaining in the opening quarter.
Jackson immediately answered, returning the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. Fourteen seconds after Michigan scored, the game was tied 7-7.
That return supplied all of Iowa’s first-half points.
Michigan moved ahead on Trey Butkowski’s 41-yard field goal early in the second quarter and carried a 10-7 lead into halftime. Another Butkowski field goal, this one from 22 yards, stretched the margin to 13-7 late in the third.
Iowa finally broke through offensively on a 75-yard touchdown drive that crossed into the fourth quarter.
A 32-yard completion to Diaz helped move the Hawkeyes into scoring territory. Brown finished the possession with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Vander Zee, and Buhr’s extra point put Iowa ahead 14-13 with 14:02 remaining.
Michigan answered quickly.
Underwood connected with Buchanan for a 49-yard touchdown, restoring the Wolverines’ lead at 19-14 with 11:59 left. Michigan failed on its two-point conversion attempt.
That left the door open for Iowa to win with a touchdown.
Nearly 12 minutes later, Vander Zee walked through it.
Outgained, but never out of it
Michigan held substantial advantages in total offense, 429-285, and rushing yards, 153-58. The Wolverines also produced 21 first downs to Iowa’s 16.
But Iowa protected the football, intercepted Underwood once and made Michigan settle for field goals on two scoring drives.
Deshaun Lee supplied a critical third-quarter interception at Iowa’s 2-yard line, ending another Michigan scoring threat.
Zach Lutmer led the Hawkeyes with 12 tackles.