Do you believe in miracles? Minnesota upset Wisconsin Saturday, 23-13, so Iowa will play Michigan this Saturday in Indianapolis. It was hard for me to root for Minnesota but good job Gophers. The Wolverines are favored by 10 which isn’t a surprise the way they handled Ohio State.
The comeback kids — Iowa 28, Nebraska 21
For the third time this season, the Hawkeyes overcame a double-digit lead and beat Nebraska for the seventh straight time. That is the biggest comeback in Big Ten play for Iowa in 25 years. I’ve got to admit I didn’t feel very confident going into the fourth quarter with Iowa trailing, 21-9. Iowa needed a spark and they got one with a fifth-year senior and a walk-on leading the way.
Henry Marchese blocked a Nebraska punt, the ball went straight up, walk-on Kyle Fisher caught it and waltzed into the end zone to cut the lead to 21-16. Marchese also threw a key block for Charlie Jones last week in Charlie’s 100-yard kick-off return. He has played both receiver and defensive back while mostly playing on special teams and was named Next Man In on special teams in 2019. Kyle Fisher is a walk-on from Farhamville, in Northwest Iowa where he was first-team all-state as a senior running back scoring 41 touchdowns in his career.
The Hawks outscored the Huskers 19-0 in the 4th quarter by special teams, defense and offense.
Iowa special teams
Thanks goodness Caleb Shudak came back. Iowa doesn’t win the last two games without the 6th year senior. Shudak kicked four field goals and three extra points in Iowa’s 33-23 win over Illinois the week before as Iowa trailed 10-0, one from 51 yards. Against Nebraska, Shudak made four field goals, one from 51, and three extra points. For the season, Shudak is 22-25 on field goals and 34-34 on extra points scoring 100 points to lead the Hawkeyes. Shudak has kicked off 68 times this year with only 12 returned for a 17.3-yard average return.
Tory Taylor averaged 44 yards on two punts. For the season, Taylor averaged 45.8 yards per punt; four his career, 45.2
Reggie Roby is the all-time leader at Iowa averaging 45.4 for his career. When you talk special teams you have to talk about the impact Charlie Jones has made. Jones had only one kickoff return for 25 yards against Nebraska but his 100-yard return against Illinois was a deal-breaker. He ranks second in the Big 10 in kickoff return (26.3) and third in punt returns (8.5).
The transfer from Buffalo has also caught 19 passes, three for touchdowns. You have to give credit to LaVar Woods, Special Teams coach, for this work all season.
Iowa defense
The Hawkeye D gave up 111 yards rushing in the first half, just 18 in the second. There were plenty of heroes with Jack Campbell and Seth Benson leading the way with 16 and 10 tackles.
Both had tackles for a loss. Lucas Van Ness and Zach VanValkenburg had huge sacks and Logan Lee recovered a fumble. Van Ness forced the Nebraska quarterback into an intentional grounding call in the Husker end zone for an Iowa safety to make the score 21-18.
Iowa took the following kickoff and drove 62 yards for Shudak’s game-tying (21-21) field goal. What a great way to end the game with Jemari Harris getting his second interception of the year in the Iowa end zone with 43 seconds left. The Hawks lead the country with 22 interceptions. Phil Parker, Iowa’s defensive coordinator, is up for National Coordinator of the Year.
Iowa offense
I was a little surprised when Spencer Petras started the second half replacing Alex Padilla. Padilla was 6-of-14 for 76 yards and was sacked twice and the Hawks were trailing 14-6 at the half. There was a case of the flu going through the team and reports of both being affected. Petras looked sharp going 7-of-13 for 102 yards and it was only fitting that he scored the final touchdown on a quarterback sneak.
What a great game for Tyler Goodson who had a career-high 156 yards on 23 carries (6.8) including two runs over 40 yards. Goodson’s 55-yard run in the fourth quarter set up the QB sneak. The drive started on the Iowa 24 and the Hawks had five straight running plays before the score.
Sam LaPorta should be an All-Big Ten tight end. The big guy from Illinois, who leads the team with 40 catches, caught three against Nebraska, two for first downs. He averages 12.2 yards per catch and is one of the best blockers on the team.
Wrap up
If someone told me Iowa would go 10-2, win the West division and go to the Big Ten championship before the season I would have said, “Really?” No matter what happens Saturday it was a fun team to watch, a little nerve-racking, but I don’t want the season to end. The Hawkeyes will play at least two more games and who will start at QB Saturday? I’m thinking Petras.
Hawkeye men play two
Iowa hosted Western Michigan and Portland State this week, both big wins.
In the first game, the Hawks had 31 fast break points and 63 points off the bench. They also had Keegan Murray. Murray scored the first 17 points for the Hawks finishing with a personal high 29.
The 6-8 sophomore was 10-14 from the field and had six rebounds playing only 21 minutes. For the season, he is shooting 62% from the field, 89% from the free throw line, averages 8.8 rebounds and has a team-high 14 blocked shots. Murray is playing so well they are already projecting him as a first-round draft pick in the NBA. It is still a little early but I’m not sure he would go. First of all, you would think since his dad Kenyon was a great Hawkeye in the 90s that Murray grew up a Hawkeye fan living in Cedar Rapids. Also, he gets to play with his brother Kris. Finally, although you can’t tell it by his facial expressions, I believe he likes playing for the Hawkeyes. Tyler Linderbaum was projected a first-round pick in the NFL and he came back. If he goes, good for him. If he stays, good for Iowa.
The Hawks lead the nation in scoring averaging 99.6 ppg. Iowa’s fast break is a thing of beauty averaging 22 points in the first five games. The Hawkeye bench is averaging 42 points, which is a really good number considering they didn’t have a deep bench last season. Iowa is averaging 20 assists per game and only eight turnovers.
Pretty good numbers for an up-tempo team. Iowa is also shooting a Big Ten best 83.9% from the free throw line.
In the win against Portland State, the Murray twins, Keegan and Kris, combined for 36 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots. The Hawks had 46 points in the paint, 36 bench points and 20 fast break points.

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Charlie Jones takes down the Nebraska ball carrier as John Waggoner comes in for the assist.