Iowa Holds Off Iowa State, 17-10

Sept. 11, 2004

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IOWA CITY — Ed Hinkel made a diving catch into the endzone to snag a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Drew Tate, and that was all it took for Iowa to pull out a 17-10 victory over Iowa State inside a sold out Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.

The Hawkeyes (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today; No. 16 AP) retain the Cy-Hawk Trophy for another year, break a three-game losing streak against the Cyclones inside Kinnick, and also earn the first three points in the new Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series.

“That was a tremendous play and great execution on their part,” ISU coach Dan McCarney said. “It was a beautiful throw and catch.”

Tate and Hinkel connected four times for 61 yards through the game and took advantage of starting Cyclone right cornerback Ellis Hobbs’ breather in the second quarter to outrun backup corner LaMarcus Hicks for the quarterback’s only touchdown of the game.

“That kind of dawned on us,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of Hobbs’ absence. “It’s hard for a guy to come in cold off the bench. It was an extremely big play, and Drew threw a nice ball on that.”

The high pass nearly missed its target.

“I threw it up high and far because I saw him getting jammed and I wanted to give him enough time to get off the jam and have time to get under it,” said Tate, who played a complete game going 16-of-22 for 220 yards with one interception. “Their safety walked down on the weak side and Hinkel found a route and made a great catch.”

“It felt like it was up there forever and I kept running and I got to it,” Hinkel said. “It was just a takeoff route and Drew put the ball out there and I got it.”

Hinkel said that the play reminded him of the only other touchdown reception he’s made – a 22-yarder against Penn State his freshman year, a play that until Saturday had been his only claim to fame.

“Marcus Schnoor has been getting on me and saying that I only made one play here two years ago against Penn State,” he said. “When I came to the sideline he said, `Two.’

“I’m going to go out and try to make some more.”

The ISU defense wasn’t going to let Hinkel score any more touchdowns, however, and the matchup quickly turned on defense.

While Iowa finished with 305 yards of total offense, the Hawkeyes only had 42 yards rushing after the third quarter. The Cyclones finished with 236 total yards and had 46 yards on the ground after the third.

ISU got beyond Iowa’s 30-yard line five times for the game, but the Cyclones’ touchdown came on a 40-yard pass to Todd Blythe from Austin Flynn with 36 seconds left in the third quarter. The other scoring chances produced a 41-yard field goal and three missed field goals by third-string kicker Brian Jansen.

The final scoring opportunity for ISU came with just about two minutes left in the game on a four-and-three play from the 34-yard line. The Cyclones’ only other fourth-down conversion resulted in 4-yard run by starting quarterback Bret Meyer in the first quarter and a greatly extended second drive.

The Hawkeyes didn’t let that happen again. Meyer couldn’t find a receiver and ran for a single yard before getting nabbed by linebacker Abdul Hodge and lineman Tyler Luebke for ISU’s final play of the game.

“They had their opportunities and we won the game because our defense stopped them in the last half,” said junior linebacker Chad Greenway, who had 10 tackles and one for a loss of four yards. “We were ready to go out there today.”

“We just know we have to step up at that point,” lineman Jonathan Babineaux said. “We knew they were moving the ball, and we knew that we had to take the ball away from them. We have to do what we have to do out on D.”

Babineaux had six tackles, three for a loss of 12 yards and two sacks in the game. Hodge, however, led the defense with 12 total and eight solo tackles.

According to Ferentz, the Hawkeyes have to rely on their defense until their offense becomes more polished.

“I think it’s pretty clear to see that’s where our strengths are,” Ferentz said of his defense. “But all in all, I thought our guys buckled down and did a good job.”

The Hawkeyes’ offense started well enough with an easy score on the first drive, with solid rushing by Jermelle Lewis and Albert Young, who ran the one yard for the touchdown. The Cyclones, however, kept Iowa scoreless in the second except for a 39-yard field goal by Kyle Schlicher early in the third.

“I just had to take what the defense gave me,” Lewis said. “They threw a lot at us and some of that we didn’t handle so well, but that’s the game of football.”

It was the same for the opposite side. McCarney said that it was “real hard” to run against the Hawks.

“Iowa’s got an outstanding football team and a tremendous defense,” he said. “They get great pressure with their front four, and they know what they’re doing. They have a real sound defensive package and a lot of talented players doing it.”

Ferentz said Saturday’s game resembled the last Iowa-Iowa State game played inside Kinnick, where the Hawkeyes lost mental concentration in the second half and gave up their only loss of the 2002 season.

“It was unbelievably parallel to two years ago for what was going on there,” Ferentz said. “But we regrouped and got it done. Two years ago, we couldn’t do it. Today we responded.”

After Hodge and Luebke made the final stop and Iowa took over on its own 33, the Hawkeyes were not out of the woods until a two-and-11 play where Lewis, in his first game at running back this season after serving a one-game suspension, found a 34-yard sweep to get a first down. It was Lewis’ longest run of the game, and the senior finished with 30 carries for 113 yards.

“His run out there toward the end was kind of symbolic for our team,” Ferentz said. “Some things weren’t going great there in the second half but we came up with a play there and it was a big, big play for us.”

INJURY REPORT: Albert Young sprained a knee Saturday and will be out for an indefinite period of time. Young is the second running back in as many games to have a knee injury and leave the game. Marcus Schnoor suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury against Kent State.

Ferentz says that Young’s injury “doesn’t look good,” but will have to wait until Monday for a complete evaluation.

“It’s a concern,” the coach said. “Anytime you lose two guys in the same position it’s hard. And they were guys we were counting on – our two and three right there. That’s a major hit.”

Offensive lineman Todd Plagman also exited early with a twisted ankle. However, his prognosis is much better according to the coach.

Wide receiver Matt Melloy, who didn’t play on Saturday, is still recovering from his earlier injury and will back in a matter of weeks, according to Ferentz.

Barry Pump, hawkeyesports.com