Now the Wolverines know how Western Michigan feels. In that sense, Michigan football got what was coming, sooner or later.
This is Sports. And Sports has its gods – they act on their own accord and do their best to even things out.
But also, the Wolverines blew this game. They had it. More than once. A interception dropped that would’ve ended it. An interception thrown that would’ve, too ... had it not been picked off at the goal line.
U-M even had the chance to end it the last time it had the ball, with less than two minutes, 5 yards from a first down, but Wolverines coach Kyle Whittingham got conservative and called for a third-down handoff instead of letting his sophomore quarterback try to win it with his arm ... or his legs if he didn’t like
what he saw down the field.
That might have made sense considering Bryce Underwood had played – to that point – the best game of his young career. Yes, there was that pick at the goal line, but that was his only poor decision of the day.
Otherwise, he commanded the game for stretches, feathering balls into relatively tight spots, leaving the pocket when he needed to, throwing it away when that made sense.
Whittingham nevertheless put the game in the hands of his defense. Perhaps the safe play considering this was Iowa. But also, not the safe play considering ... this was Iowa.
This is what the Hawkeyes do, just when you're least expecting it. They hang around. They win games they probably shouldn’t. They drive 91 yards in 1:46 with one timeout and throw a 16-yard touchdown pass with no time left on the clock.
OK, maybe they don’t do exactly that every time. But then, coach Kirk Ferentz has lasted at Iowa for 26 years because his teams stick around when it looks like they shouldn’t.
So, yeah, there they were, like they always were, hanging around in a game they didn’t belong in – outgained, out-flashed, but hardly outmuscled. No one ever does that to Iowa.
It seems like it, right? That’s why Ferentz has been the Hawkeyes' coach forever, or at least since 1999 – the winningest coach in Big Ten history.
He may not believe in offense – or the forward pass, some seasons – but he believes in everything else.
Mostly, that his team will not beat itself, will not be broken, will not fail to take advantage when a young quarterback finally makes a mistake, as Underwood did in the third quarter Saturday at the Big House, when he threw his first poor pass of the game, right into the hands of Deshaun Lee, who was lurking near the goal line.
The interception kept the Wolverines from taking a two-score lead, which is really a four-score lead against Iowa. Naturally, Iowa took advantage – just not right away. It’s not what they do.
No, they waited ... and waited ... and waited some more. And then, in those final two minutes? When Hank Brown found DJ Vonnahme for 21 yards on third-and-9? And then found Reece Vander Zee from 16 yards out on the next play to take a 14-13 lead early in the fourth quarter?
Yeah, this is what Iowa does.
But maybe this is what Underwood does, too, or can do, and will do as this season unfolds, his second in college football, if given the chance.
After Iowa took the lead, Underwood, already having the most complete and efficient game of his time at U-M – other than that interception – took his first snap at the Wolverines’ 25.
Incomplete.
His next pass went 14 yards to Andrew Marsh. True freshman running back Savion Hiter gained 4 yards on the ground. Hiter gained 8 more. Underwood threw incomplete to JJ Buchanan, overthrowing everyone.
Intentionally.
On second down, from near midfield, he dropped back, juked left to avoid the intial rush, went right to escape the collapsing pocket, leaked out, kept running toward the boundary – careful to stay behind the line of scrimmage – and floated a 49-yarder to Buchanan.
In one play, he showed the reasons behind the recruiting rankings, the athleticism, the fearlessness, the toughness, the feel, the touch.
Yes, the touch.
Underwood not only uncorked the play of his young career, but he was putting together the game of his career until he didn’t get that final chance to end it. He did this against a respectable team. At least we think.
We thought Oklahoma was respectable, too, before the Sooners fell to Michigan and struggled with New Mexico.
As for the Wolverines?
They were on their way, played it too safe, and got burned. Yes, they got a little unlucky, too, especially on the last drive. (Funny how teams always get unlucky when they dominate the stats).
But then no one wants to hear it. Besides, now they know how it feels.
It stings. And will for a long time.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Now Michigan knows how WMU feels after stunning loss to Iowa
