Nov. 3, 2007
Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 1 
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- Iowa’s win at Northwestern marks its second straight and third in four weeks. For the second straight game, Iowa won after trailing by 14 points in the first half. Iowa trailed 14-7 at halftime before holding Northwestern to just three points in the second quarter. Iowa (5-5, 3-4 in Big Ten) hosts Minnesota (Nov. 10) and Western Michigan (Nov. 17) to close the regular season.
- The Iowa win snaps a two-game losing streak to Northwestern and is Iowa’s first win in Evanston since a 59-16 win in 2001. Iowa has won four of the last six meetings with the Wildcats and now holds a 46-20-3 advantage in the series, including a 23-13-3 advantage in Evanston.
- The Iowa win marks the second time under Kirk Ferentz that the Hawkeyes have won after trailing at the end of three quarters. The previous time came in Iowa’s 21-16 win over Michigan State on Nov. 7, 2000 in Iowa City.
- Northwestern won the coin toss and elected to receive. Iowa has started on offense in 91 of its last 102 contests. The Hawkeyes have started the game on offense in 93 of 108 contests under Kirk Ferentz.
- Iowa has not scored on its opening drive in any of its nine games. Northwestern scored a touchdown on its first possession, becoming the fourth Iowa opponent (Purdue — TD, Iowa State and Illinois — field goals) to score on its first possession.
- Redshirt freshman Ryan Donahue had a 76-yard punt in the third period, which ties as the fifth longest in school history. Donahue was named the Big Ten special teams Player of the Week last week for his punting against Michigan State. Donahue averaged 51.6 yards on eight punts against MSU, including an 82-yarder, the second longest punt in school history. Against Northwestern he averaged 43.6 yards on 10 punts.
- Senior LB Mike Humpal had his third interception of the season in the third period. Humpal also had three thefts last season and has six career interceptions. Humpal ended the game with 11 tackles to share the team lead. He has led the Hawkeyes in tackles in six straight games.
- WR Trey Stross had his second touchdown of the season on a 20-yard reception in the final minute of the first half. His other score this season was a 33-yard reception against Indiana on the final play of the second period. Stross also had a 43-yard reception to set up Iowa’s go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter and ended the day with 91 yards on three receptions. The 43-yard catch ranks as the second longest of his career (47 vs. Northern Illinois, 2006). Stross has been hampered throughout the season by a hamstring injury.
- DL Adrian Clayborn blocked a Northwestern field goal at the end of the second period, the first blocked kick of his career. Iowa has blocked three opponent field goals this season, with Ken Iwebema blocking two in the win over Syracuse.
- Senior RB Albert Young scored Iowa’s touchdown in the third period on a 16-yard run. Young now has 23 career touchdowns and 138 points to rank 14th alone on Iowa’s career scoring chart. Young ended the game with 16 rushes for 59 yards. He improved his career totals to 622 carries for 2,986 yards, moving past Tavian Banks (2,977) into third place on Iowa’s career list.
- Junior DB Bradley Fletcher had his first career interception in the fourth period, Iowa’s second theft of the game. Fletcher ended the contest with 11 tackles to share the team lead and he had a career-best 13 stops the previous week in a win over Michigan State.
- Senior CB Charles Godfrey had his fifth interception of the season in the fourth period, leading to Iowa’s fourth touchdown of the game. Godfrey has seven career thefts. The five interceptions are the most for an Iowa player in a single season since Jovon Johnson had six thefts in 2003.
- QB Jake Christensen ended the day completing 21-36 passes for 299 yards, the second best yardage total of his career (308 vs. Indiana, 2007), after missing on his first four attempts in the opening period. He had one touchdown pass and no interceptions against Northwestern, leaving his season totals at 164-308 for 1,863 yards, with 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
- Iowa has scored touchdowns on consecutive possessions three times in the last two games, twice vs.Michigan State and again vs. Northwestern. Iowa had not scored touchdowns on two straight possessions since the second game of the season when it scored touchdowns on four straight drives in the win over Syracuse.
- Iowa lost a fumble in the fourth period, just its fifth lost fumble of the season and its ninth of the year. Through nine games, Iowa ranked first in the Big Ten and 11th in the nation in turnover margin (+11 after today). Iowa has had no turnovers in five of its 10 games.
- Redshirt freshman WR Derrell Johnson-Koulianos had career bests in receptions and yards against Northwestern as he had eight catches for 119 yards. His 32-yard reception is also a career-long. Johnson-Koulianos previously had six receptions in two games (last, at Purdue) and 68 yards vs. Indiana.
- Iowa collected three interceptions against Northwestern, giving Iowa 10 takeaways over the last five games. Iowa scored seven points following the three thefts, while Northwestern did not score after recovery Iowa’s fumble.
- DE Bryan Mattison had a forced fumble in the fourth period, his fourth of the season and the eighth of his career. He ended the game with seven total tackles, including 2.5 QB sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. The 3.5 TFL ties his career best. He had 3.5 TFL vs. Syracuse earlier this season and three sacks in that contest as well.
- Instant Replay was used in today’s contest in the first period. A play originally signaled as a Northwestern touchdown reception was overruled, as the receiver was out of bounds.
- Iowa will play its final Big Ten Conference game next week, hosting Minnesota (11:05 a.m., BTN).