Hawkeyes still control destiny despite loss

By Brian Heinemann

For The Herald



IOWA CITY –––– The dream for the Iowa Hawkeyes isn’t completely over yet.

They’ve just gotten much closer to awakening from it.

Sure, Saturday’s 17-10 heartbreaking loss to Northwestern knocked them out of the national championship picture, plummeting them to the tail end of the top ten in the newest BCS standings.

But they still control their own destiny, as a win this weekend would give the Hawkeyes the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

That they have to travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on an Ohio State team that is tied with Iowa for the Big Ten lead, would be tough enough. Doing so without starting quarterback and emotional leader Ricky Stanzi stands to make things much more challenging for the Hawkeyes.

The reigns – and the hopes of the Hawkeyes – are now in the hands of redshirt freshman James Vandenberg, after a game- and season-changing play left Stanzi crumpled up in his own end zone with a severe high ankle sprain.

“Ready or not, here he comes,” said wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. “He has no choice now. We lost our captain, our leader. That’s unfortunate and that hurts a lot, and the loss hurts a lot.”

The Hawkeyes had jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead and had the ball again before Stanzi went down, fumbling the ball into his own end zone. Northwestern recovered for a touchdown, and the Iowa offense effectively hit a wall, leading to their first loss in over a calender year.

“You know, it’s hard when you lose your leader like that,” said wide receiver Marvin McNutt. “But at the same time, we know Vandenberg can produce and we know what he can do. We don’t have any excuses.”

For his part, Vandenberg did admit to being too amped up and having happy feet in the pocket, leading to some overthrows. He finished 9-of-27 for 82 yards and one interception – which came on his first throw – in a performance that can’t be repeated if the Hawkeyes hope to upend the Buckeyes Saturday.

Iowa still believes, both in themselves and their new quarterback. But what they need now is a bit of memory loss and the 19-year-old Vandenberg to transition to team leader as seamlessly as possible.

“I have a lot of confidence and I know these guys have confidence in me,” said Vandenberg. “They helped me out so much that I’m ready to step into this role and lead this team, because that’s what we need. I mean, we can’t settle into a lull because of this loss. We still have to go, because we know there’s a lot at stake.”

This season has been rife with comebacks and resiliency, but the Hawkeyes now face their two toughest tests yet – moving on without their leader and coming off a devastating loss.

As they’ve done most of the season, though, the Hawkeyes are keeping their heads up and expecting success. Vandenberg said there was no crying or pouting in the locker room after the loss. The attitude was clear. 


No more second chances.

“We know there’s a lot out there. There’s a Big Ten championship still out there,” said Vandenberg. “It’s not like all hopes lost, so there’s no reason to dwell on this. We’ve got to move on and get back to work.”

“It’s not the end of the world,” added free safety Joe Conklin, who started in place of still-injured Brett Greenwood. “We have to move on and get ready for Ohio State next week.”

Ohio State will be ready, and they’ll certainly know that the Hawkeyes have an inexperienced young quarterback under center. Johnson-Koulianos expects the Buckeyes to do whatever they can to confuse the youngster, which he knows will make things tougher for the offense.

Until Northwestern came to town, Iowa had passed every test thrown its way. Even as the minutes slowly ticked away against the Wildcats, they firmly believed they would make something happen to pull out another improbable win.

But it didn’t happen, and now comes the true test – can the Hawkeyes, who have believed in the impossible all season, maintain that belief after the rug was pulled out from under them?


“If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” said Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz. “We’re going to try to get back on our feet and see if we can’t win next weekend. That’s going to be a tough task. We know that already.”