‘M’ SURVIVED
‘M’ SURVIVED
JARED GREENSPAN
Managing Sports Editor
Michigan fends off Iowa in Kinnick, 27-14
I
OWA CITY – On the turf,
deep in the bowels of Kinnick
Stadium, surrounded by a
striped sea of black and gold, top-
five teams often go to die.
There’s a magical quality to
Kinnick, an aura that seems
to
catalyze
stunning
upsets:
Entering Saturday, Iowa had
defeated five of the last six top-
five opponents that it faced at
home, including a then-No. 2
Michigan football team in 2016.
Saturday, the fourth-ranked
Wolverines waltzed into Kinnick
conscious
of
its
reputation,
cognizant of the history. But they
bucked the slogan – for a day, at
least, Kinnick is where top-five
teams survive.
Michigan (5-0 overall, 2-0 Big
Ten) staved off the upset-minded
Hawkeyes (3-2, 1-1), 27-14, to
secure the program’s first win in
Iowa City since 2005.
“Great,
great
feeling
of
winning and the thrill of victory,”
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh
said. “It’ll be a very happy flight
back to Michigan.”
This isn’t a vintage Iowa
team, but that doesn’t take
away from what the Wolverines
accomplished.
The
Hawkeyes
tout a vaunted defense, as the unit
allowed just 23 points across the
first four games.
On the game’s opening drive,
Michigan
made
a
definitive
statement. The offense marched
down the field for an 11-play,
75-yard drive capped off by
graduate receiver Ronnie Bell’s
16-yard
touchdown
scamper
on an end around. Iowa looked
hapless; Kinnick felt punctured.
“We did a good job of mixing
up the plays, and that’s how you
want to start a game,” Harbaugh
said. “I thought it was a very
impressive drive.”
Iowa’s offense – the worst
scoring unit in the Big Ten –
looked the part early on. In the
first half, the Hawkeyes moved
the ball past midfield only once.
Michigan, meanwhile, doubled
Iowa’s time of possession and
secured a sound 13-0 halftime
lead.
The
second
half
began
similarly. The Wolverines forced
a quick Iowa punt and then
steamrolled 67 yards into the
endzone on another brutally
methodical
drive.
This
one
ended in emphatic fashion, with
sophomore
quarterback
J.J.
McCarthy scampering away from
a blitz and floating a touchdown
pass for sophomore running back
Donovan Edwards.
Michigan’s 20-0 lead appeared
SPORTSWEDNESDAY
But they bucked the slogan – for
a day, at least, Kinnick is where
top-five teams survive.
EMMA MATI/Daily | Design by Lys Goldman
insurmountable.
The
crowd,
boisterous at kickoff, seemed
lifeless.
“We weren’t gonna let up
at all,” senior tight end Luke
Schoonmaker said. “When you
get up like that on a defense like
this, you know they won’t be far
behind in an environment like
this.”
Sure enough, on a dime,
everything changed.
Iowa cracked the scoreboard
early in the fourth quarter, as
running back Kaleb Johnson
bounced outside for a two-
yard
score.
Feeding
off
its
reinvigorated fans, the Hawkeyes’
MICHIGAN 27
defense
forced
a
three-and-
out, handing the ball back to a
suddenly competent offense.
Kinnick was alive, and so were
Iowa’s hopes.
Down 13, the Hawkeyes had a
legitimate chance to whittle the
deficit to a one possession game.
They stormed to Michigan’s
six-yard line, confronted with
a pivotal fourth-and-two. But a
13-play, 78-yard drive came to
an underwhelming close: Iowa
turned the ball over on downs,
throwing short of the sticks and
dashing dreams of a comeback.
“We faced a little adversity,
but we didn’t flinch, we kept
punching,” junior edge rusher
Jaylen
Harrell
said.
“Keep
playing. Next play mentality.”
That
mindset
helped
demoralize Iowa. As the final
minutes played out, fans trudged
for the exits, black and gold
patterns giving way to barren
metal bleachers. Kinnick, silent
but for cheers from the Michigan
sideline,
seemed
innocuous,
far less daunting – just as the
Wolverines intended.
Kinnick is known for upsets
as much as its mind games; the
visiting locker room is painted
light pink, a calculated decision
intended
to
mess
with
the
opposition’s
psyche.
On
the
recommendation
of
graduate
cornerback
Gemon
Green,
Michigan players brought out
pink towels with them to wave
on the sideline, an ode to their
temporary home.
“We always want to embrace
everything they throw at us,”
senior edge rusher Mike Morris
said. “They have a pink locker
room, thinking that it’s gonna be
some type of adversity. I really
didn’t notice it until we sat down
and someone said it was pink. I
liked the color.”
They liked the color, and they
liked Kinnick, too. Because on
this day, as junior running back
Blake Corum staked the dagger
with a 20-yard touchdown run,
a top-five team lived. Michigan’s
ambitions
–
and
undefeated
record – are still intact.
KINNICK STADIUM, 2022
IOWA 14