NOVEMBER 14TH, 1987 - IOWA 29 (at) Ohio State 27. I went back–and–forth a hundred times trying to figure out where to put this game. I settled here knowing how big this win was but also facing certain realities about both teams. Let’s not underestimate the team we beat in Columbus that afternoon. They earned an early–season tie against an LSU team that was, at the time, #4 and ended the season #4. They did beat Michigan that year. And two weeks earlier, they lost a last–second heart–breaker to eventual conference champ Michigan State.
Unfortunately, they had been upset the next week (the week before the Iowa game) at Wisconsin, again losing in the final minute, this time to a field goal. So Iowa came into Columbus with the Bucks riding a 2–game losing streak, and neither team rated in the Top 20. And right when it looked like the Buckeyes were going to hold on and beat Iowa late, comes one of THE most memorable plays in Iowa history. We could be in a situation like that 100 times, not only against Ohio State, but many other teams, and not be able to convert 98 of them. But a brilliant decision by Churck Hartlieb not to throw the 4th-down pass into the end zone, and let Marv Cook go one-on-one leads Iowa to one of the more shocking wins they've ever had.
Of course, the next day, tOSU Earle Bruce was fired, cementing my belief that THE one inexcusable act as a football coach is to lose to Iowa. I placed this game here because the bottom line was that the team we had just beaten ended their season at 6–4–1.
The highlights are here:
Unfortunately, they had been upset the next week (the week before the Iowa game) at Wisconsin, again losing in the final minute, this time to a field goal. So Iowa came into Columbus with the Bucks riding a 2–game losing streak, and neither team rated in the Top 20. And right when it looked like the Buckeyes were going to hold on and beat Iowa late, comes one of THE most memorable plays in Iowa history. We could be in a situation like that 100 times, not only against Ohio State, but many other teams, and not be able to convert 98 of them. But a brilliant decision by Churck Hartlieb not to throw the 4th-down pass into the end zone, and let Marv Cook go one-on-one leads Iowa to one of the more shocking wins they've ever had.
Of course, the next day, tOSU Earle Bruce was fired, cementing my belief that THE one inexcusable act as a football coach is to lose to Iowa. I placed this game here because the bottom line was that the team we had just beaten ended their season at 6–4–1.
The highlights are here:
