Sept. 10, 2006
- Iowa-Syracuse photo gallery
- Order your Gold Bowl I , Blackout Saturday II t-shirts
- Order the “Video Season Ticket”
- The Schedule: 2006 and beyond
- Cruise with Kirk
Some plays are indelibly etched into the memories of long-time Iowa football fans.
Nile Kinnick’s touchdown run that beat Notre Dame in 1939, a play in which Kinnick switched from left halfback, his normal position, to right halfback.
Kenny Ploen’s touchdown pass to Jim Gibbons that beat Ohio State in 1956, a play that sent the Hawkeyes to their first Rose Bowl appearance.
Chuck Long’s bootleg touchdown run that beat Michigan State in 1985, a play that fooled Spartan defenders so badly that Long held the ball high over his head at the five-yard line and trotted to the end zone.
Rob Houghtlin’s field goal that beat Michigan in 1985 and kept Iowa No. 1 in the national rankings (the Wolverines were No. 2).
Chuck Hartlieb’s touchdown pass to Marv Cook on 4th and 23 at Ohio State, a play that silenced a roaring crowd in the “Big Horseshoe.” (Buckeye Coach Earle Bruce was fired the next day.)
And perhaps the most memorable play of all – the stunning touchdown pass from Drew Tate to Warren Holloway that beat LSU in the 2005 Capital One Bowl.
Most of those plays came very late in the game. Two – Houghtlin’s field goal and Tate’s pass to Holloway — were the final plays of the game. All were offensive plays.
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With the roaring crowd urging on the home team, Iowa’s defense dug in to preserve the victory and prevent a third overtime. Was this a hopeless cause? It seemed that way, but when three more running plays failed to penetrate the goal line the Hawkeyes still had hope and Syracuse called timeout.
Would the Orangemen throw a pass or try something tricky? No, they ran another play up the middle that Iowa stopped well short of the goal line and the game was over. Jubilant Hawkeyes on the sidelines raced on the field to congratulate the equally jubilant Hawkeye defenders. They had just experienced one of the great thrills in sports – winning a close, hard-fought game on the road in a hostile environment. |
We can now add to them seven defensive plays that collectively rank as the most remarkable goal line stand in Iowa history. They occurred Saturday in a noisy indoor stadium at Syracuse and sent the Hawkeyes home with a grueling hard-fought victory.
It unfolded this way. With Iowa leading 20-13 in the second overtime, a pass interference penalty gave Syracuse a first down at the two-yard line. Two running plays gained nothing, but another interference call gave the Orangemen a fresh set of downs.
With the roaring crowd urging on the home team, Iowa’s defense dug in to preserve the victory and prevent a third overtime. Was this a hopeless cause? It seemed that way, but when three more running plays failed to penetrate the goal line the Hawkeyes still had hope and Syracuse called timeout.
Would the Orangemen throw a pass or try something tricky? No, they ran another play up the middle that Iowa stopped well short of the goal line and the game was over.
Jubilant Hawkeyes on the sidelines raced on the field to congratulate the equally jubilant Hawkeye defenders. They had just experienced one of the great thrills in sports – winning a close, hard-fought game on the road in a hostile environment.
There is never one individual star in a goal line stand. Every Hawkeye on the field during those seven plays had a role in preventing a Syracuse touchdown.
Most of the plays were stopped by gang tackling, but one individual who stood out was linebacker Mike Klinkenborg, who seemed to fly out of nowhere to knock down Perry Patterson when the big quarterback ran left on an option.
Yes, this was a team effort by the defense, especially those up front, so remember the names of Kenny Iwebema, Ryan Bain, Mitch King, Bryan Mattison, Edmond Miles, Mike Humpal as well as Klinkenborg. Collectively, they were the stars.
What does the goal line stand and the victory it produced mean for the Hawkeyes?
In the short term, it keeps Iowa among the unbeaten teams in the nation and high in the national rankings. In the long term, perhaps a Top Ten finish, maybe a January bowl game. Time will tell.
Had the goal line stand occurred in a late-season game with the Big Ten title on the line, or in a bowl game, it would be more meaningful. But it happened in a non-conference game in upstate New York on the second game of the season.
Yes, the timing might have been better, but nonetheless it was a great achievement and a thrill to witness. And for the Hawkeyes, it will keep their heads up and give them momentum as they head into this week’s game with Iowa State.
Editor’s Note: George Wine served as the sports information director for intercollegiate athletics at the University of Iowa for more than 25 years.