IowaSim21: Iowa vs. Michigan

Join us as we follow the great Cody Hills and his #IowaSim21 this season to preview each game as the Hawkeyes work their way through the 2021 schedule.

Since Cody started the #IowaSim in 2013, it is 84-19 in correctly picking the winner of each week's game.

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With Iowa winning the toss and electing to receive, it was the Hawkeye offense out on the field first, starting at the 25-yard line following a touchback.

After an initial first down from the Hawkeyes, it was running back Tyler Goodson providing some early fireworks as he busted one up the left sideline for a 45-yard run, quickly moving the Hawkeyes down the field.

From there, the Hawkeyes' offense stalled out however, Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson sacked quarterback Spencer Petras on third down to force a field goal attempt from Caleb Shudak, whose 37-yarder was good to give Iowa an early 3-0 lead.

On Michigan's first offensive possession, the Wolverines were facing an early third down when quarterback Cade McNamara's pass was picked off by Dane Belton, who returned it 20 yards down to the Michigan 21-yard line to put Iowa's offense right back in business.

The Iowa offense soon faced a fourth and one from the 12-yard line and virtual Kirk Ferentz made the first bold move of the game as he decided to go for it instead of kicking the field goal. The Hawkeyes gave the ball to Monte Pottebaum on a fullback dive and he was good for not only one yard, but three as Iowa moved the ball down to the eight-yard line and had a first goal as the first quarter came to an end with the score still 3-0.

Ultimately, the Hawkeyes did end up having to settle for a field goal early in the second quarter as Caleb Shudak came in for a 24-yard attempt, which was good to make the score Iowa 6, Michigan 0.

The Hawkeye defense was able to force a three and out from Michigan on their next possession, but when Iowa got the ball back the Wolverines came up with their first takeaway of the game as D.J. Turner picked off Petras and returned it to the 21-yard line.

From there, the Iowa defense was able to put out the fire though as they held Michigan to a field goal attempt as Jake Moody's kick was good from 38-yards to cut the Hawkeye lead to 6-3 with 3:02 remaining before halftime.

Iowa's next offensive possession was a quick three and out, but punter Tory Taylor was able to flip the field with a 52-yard boot as Michigan took over at their own 17-yard line.

The score would stay at 6-3 as the teams headed to the locker room for halftime.

With Michigan getting the ball to start the second half, the Iowa defense continued to play tough with defensive end Zach VanValkenburg throwing McNamara for a big loss.

Then, it was linebacker Seth Benson coming up with a huge play as he intercepted McNamara and had a big return to give the Hawkeyes the ball at the 20-yard line

From there, once again the Hawkeyes were held to a field goal attempt however, as Caleb Shudak made it 3/3 on the night with this one good from 37 yards to give Iowa a 9-3 lead midway through the third quarter.

That would be all the scoring in the third as it ended with Iowa still holding a 9-3 lead going in the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth, it was Michigan finding the end zone for the first touchdown of the game as McNamara found tight end Erick All for the score and with the PAT from Moody, the Wolverines took a 10-9 lead.

Now trailing by one, the Iowa offense kicked into gear as Petras went to the air and found true freshman wide receiver Keagan Johnson deep for their first big play in the passing game all night and suddenly the Hawkeye offense was in business at the 12-yard line.

From there, it was running back Tyler Goodson that found the end zone, running through would be tacklers as the Hawkeyes finally scored their first touchdown of the game. Iowa decided to go for two, but a wide receiver screen to Arland Bruce IV came up short so their lead stood at 15-10 with 4:50 remaining in the game.

With the Hawkeyes now holding the lead, it was a big moment for the Iowa defense and they were up for the challenge, forcing a three and out from Michigan, who had no choice but to punt the ball away with 3:34 remaining.

Iowa took over at their own 34-yard line looking to run some clock.

Facing a crucial third and six, Petras rolled to his right and found Arland Bruce IV for a gain of 23 yards and a huge first down.

With Michigan using all of their timeouts, the Hawkeyes now faced a fourth down with less than 30 seconds remaining as Caleb Shudak came on to try to make his fourth field goal of the game. This time, it was a 39-yard attempt and sure enough it was good once again as Iowa took an 18-10 lead with just 24 seconds on the clock.

After a touchback, Michigan's offense got the ball at the 25-yard line with 24 seconds on the clock and no timeouts.

After nearly being intercepted by Jermari Harris on first down, McNamara was able to complete a pass along the sideline at the 36-yard line. The next play was a completion to Mike Sainristil, who got the ball up to the 48-yard line before getting out of bounds with eight seconds on the clock.

As McNamara looked for another quick completion along the sideline, this time Iowa defensive tackle Logan Lee was able to knock down the pass which left only three seconds on the clock and one final play.

Looking for a Hail Mary, McNamara dropped back and heaved the ball 55 yards to the end zone, but it fell incomplete as the Iowa Hawkeyes held on to win 18-10 and were crowned Big Ten Champions.

The virtual celebration was on for the Hawkeyes and their fans at Lucas Oil Stadium as kicker Caleb Shudak was named player of the game after his 4/4 performance in a peak Iowa win with a final score of 18-10 in the Big Ten Championship Game.