Tuesdays with Torbee
Kinnick Stadium will host its 502nd game this Saturday when the 18th-ranked Hawkeyes take on the 17th ranked Indiana Hoosiers.
I’ve been fortunate to see more than 140 of them in person, but this is among my most anticipated. Not since the interruption of World War II have Iowa fans missed so many opportunities to see their team in person. The atmosphere this weekend will be one for the ages.
Typically, in this space, I’d devote some time discussing the upcoming opponent and Iowa’s chances. But truth-be-told, after last year’s weirdness, I really have no idea what to expect from this contest, other than an old-fashioned intra-conference battle.
Instead, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down Torbee Memory Lane and share with you my 10-most memorable-in-person Kinnick games. Note, I didn’t say “best” or “most important.” I have a pair of losses in there, and a game or two that maybe wasn’t a season-decider. But these are the ones that stick in my brain. That I tell stories about over beers. That I’ll never forget.
Presented in chronological order as I didn’t have the heart to rank them:
1991 Minnesota – You all know this as the infamous “Snow Angel Game.” And unfortunately (for me), my good friend Scott Dochterman at The Athletic has already written a history of that game impossible to top in his brilliant recounting of the ’91 season. But I’ll tell you how it looked through my eyes.
I was a sophomore and my then-girlfriend, someday-to-be-wife, called me up bright and early saying there was NO WAY we were going to the game. There was two feet of snow on the ground and it was brutally windy and cold.
Pshh, I said. We’re going. And she sighed, said I was dumb, but that she’d come along to make sure nothing stupid happened. It basically presaged our entire 25-year marriage, but that’s a different story for a different day.
The Cambuses weren’t running so we hoofed it all the way across the river to the stadium. The student section was maybe 40 percent full, the rest of the stadium less than 20. But those that were there were lubricated, rowdy and ready to give the Gophers hell. And a barrage of snowballs. Repeatedly. Poor Hayden Fry tried in vain to call for a cease fire, but even the beloved Fry’s plea was met with more fury from the bleachers.
I vaguely remember the game being closer than I thought it should be, but then Danan Hughes made a beautiful grab in traffic, dove into the end zone and did the happiest snow angel known to man. Iowa hoisted the pig, and all was well – if wet and cold – in the world.
1992 Miami – Believe it or not, kids, this was the very first night game at Kinnick Stadium. This was four years AFTER Wrigley Field, the last holdout of Day Baseball, gave in to illumination. Iowa wasn’t as hip and connected back then, I guess.
You can imagine what the atmosphere for this one was like. Miami were the undisputed kings and bad boys of college football in 1992. They were 2 Live Crew with helmets and shoulder pads.
The only bummer about this game was Iowa blowing its season opener in the Kickoff Classic against a very mediocre North Carolina State team. Even the Hurricane players were bummed, with Miami linebacker Michael Barrow telling the Chicago Tribune “I think they underestimated North Carolina State. Iowa is a much better team. I would have rather seen them win because they`ll be even more fired up for us.''
And fired up they (and the crowd) were. Iowa hung tough against the faster, stronger Hurricanes and trailed only 10-0 at halftime. But despite 266 yards from Jim Hartlieb, Iowa could only muster one touchdown and fell 24-7.
The atmosphere, though, is what puts this one on the map. The first night game against the hottest team in college football with a national TV audience had Kinnick as revved up as I’ve ever seen it.
2002 Purdue – In our fuzzy memories, 2002 was a season of utter domination for Iowa, minus that one pesky Seneca Wallace game. We remember Iowa just steamrolling teams, embarrassing them.
But this game wasn’t like that. Not at all.
Really, Iowa’s defense was a hot mess on that warm October day. Kyle Orton, yes THAT Kyle Orton and interchangeable starter Brandon Kirsch put up more than 400 passing yards and 500 total yards on the young, untested Iowa secondary. Iowa’s offense didn’t do much of anything early and the Hawks appeared to be headed to halftime down 14-3.
And then Bob Sanders happened.
He blocks a punt with 1:36 left and Antwaan Allen returns it 85 yards for a TD to close the gap to 4 at the half.
Now here’s the weird part. I had gone down to get a soda at about 1:50 in the half, thinking there was no way Iowa would be able to score. But I stopped at one corner to watch the punt, and got to see Allen run into the endzone right in front of me.
Early in the third quarter, Purdue again faced fourth down, and I jokingly told Bladel I was going to go down and stand in the same corner to bring about another punt block, which I did. And guess what happened?
Another blocked punt for a touchdown, this one by Sean Considine!
And that wasn’t even the craziest play of the game. That had to be the insanely long 95-yard touchdown pass Dallas Clark snagged and rumbled for, hurtling hapless Purdue defenders along the way. Still a Top 5 individual effort I’ve seen in Kinnick.
But again, the Purdue offense struck, and the Hawkes were down 28-24, needing to go almost 90 yards in 2:16 without a timeout.
And Brad Banks happened.
He took the first snap 44 yards on a quarterback draw and Iowa had a two-minute drill going in earnest. Once again, Dallas Clark would be the hero, faking a block on third-and-goal from the seven and catching a beautiful Banks floater for the winning score.
For pure adrenaline, this game might be #1.
2003 Michigan – It was cold. Michigan took what felt like an insurmountable, unfair 14-0 lead and the festive air of Kinnick was grim.
But that Iowa team had undeniable moxie and rallied. Lumbering Nate Chandler rushed in from six yards out to make it 14-7 and then the game became a back-and-forth affair.
Michigan led 20-17 at halftime, but everyone in the buzzing stadium knew there’d be much more scoring. Unfortunately, Iowa drives in the third kept stalling out, but they did hit a pair of Nate Kaeding field goals to take the lead 23-20.
Ramon “Razor” Ochoa, the ultimate “moxie” receiver hauled in a 31-yard touchdown pass in the fourth to put Iowa on the road to victory, which they ultimately claimed 30-27.
To this day, I think this might be the loudest game at Kinnick. Or if not…
2004 Wisconsin – This one might have been the loudest game ever at Kinnick. The madness started early when Ohio State knocked off Michigan, meaning the winner of UW-Iowa would get an unexpected share of the Big 10 title. After near misses and coulda-beens in 2003, this had the Hawkeye faithful in berserker mode.
Oh, did I mention Iowa was riding a 17-game home winning streak?
The game was close early, with Iowa holding a tenuous 14-7 halftime lead. But Drew Date and a ferocious Iowa defense led by Matt Roth were not to be denied the hardware.
The Hawks rolled 30-7, shutting the Badgers out in the second half, the fans rushed the field and my seatmate Bladel got his clump of Kinnick turf.
It was a good day.
2006 Ohio State – I’m not going to write that much about this one, because the game itself was an awfully ugly loss.
But Gameday was there. The night was beautiful. And I’d traded up to get tickets on the 50-yard line. I don’t remember Kinnick Stadium ever looking more beautiful at night. I even have a poster.
2008 Penn State – If not for the exploits of Tyler Sash and Daniel Murray, this game would likely be remembered as an uncomfortable cold slog that cemented the fact Iowa could compete with top teams, but just not enough to push through to victory.
Remember, despite having the Doak Walker Award-winning running back in Shonn Greene, Iowa was a pedestrian 5-4, (2-3) heading into its contest against #3 and national title seeking Penn State.
Iowa got a gift touchdown on a goal line fumble by the Nits early in the first quarter, but its 7-0 lead would be its last until the game clock flashed zero. Though the Iowa defense was salty that season, this was a skilled and dangerous PSU team that finished the regular season 11-1, its lone loss the result of Kinnick At Night.
To Iowa’s credit, it stayed within striking distance thanks to Greene rumbling for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns on 26 carries and some timely passing by Ricky Stanzi.
Still, this was shaping up to be another “aw man, so close” loss as Penn State, leading 23-21, pushed the ball all the way down to the Iowa 23-yard line with about five minutes left in the game. But a holding call on 3rd and 14 was surprisingly accepted by Coach Ferentz, forcing Penn State out of field goal range. And on 3rd and 24, Sash intercepted a pass headed toward Derrick Williams who had abused the Iowa defense all day, but it sailed high, Sash snagged it and Ricky and Daniel did the rest.
The sound of the silence as Daniel Murray lined up the kick was eerie. The roar when that ball sailed through the cold Iowa night and between the uprights was cathartic. This was a much-needed win to show that Iowa could still hang with the elite teams in the conference. Though 2008 wouldn’t be one of Ferentz’s all-time best teams, it sure had a lot of heart.
2009 Indiana – Trick-or-Treat Iowa City! Much like the 2002 Purdue game, this one was just wild and exciting.
This was another 14-0 comeback for the Hawks, who looked sleepy and like they ate too much candy for much of the first half. Brandon Wegher got Iowa on the board, but the Hoosiers were a surprise 21-7 leader at the half. And it looked like they might put the dagger in when Tyler Sash single-handedly changed the course of the game, and some might say that season, with his pinballing 86-yard interception for a touchdown.
From that point on, the Halloween crowd was amped and the Hawkeyes dominated, highlighted by two long strikes from Ricky Stanzi, the first a 92-yarder to Marvin McNutt and the next 66-yards for a touchdown to DJK to put Iowa up 28-24. They’d never trail again, enroute to a 42-24 final and an exuberant crowd that piled into downtown Iowa City and partied long into the night.
2015 Minnesota – This remains my favorite full-day at Kinnick. Despite being late in November, the weather for the double bill Grapple on the Gridiron and a night game for Floyd of Rosedale was sunny and warm. Seeing Kinnick configured for wrestling was a trip, and the Hawkeye grapplers didn’t disappoint, dispatching the highly ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys 18-16 in front of 42,000-plus, at the time a record crowd for a college wrestling match.
Oh, did we mention the football team was undefeated and playing its most historic rival in the nightcap? This was one of those games where Iowa mostly dominated but couldn’t quite grasp full control. Despite a heroic 195 yards rushing by LeShun Daniels, the Gophers kept coming back. In fact, Iowa was outscored 21-16 in the second half, but the boisterous crowd and Iowa’s relentless running attack – it would finish with more than 270 yards on the ground – never let Minnesota get over the hump in its comeback attempt, helping keep the dream undefeated 2015 season alive.
2017 Ohio State – Kinnick At Night II: OS-Who? Anytime you get to absolutely woodshed the Buckeyes, it’s cause for celebration. Doing it at home on national TV against a #3 rated national title contender? Priceless.
The Hawkeyes were relentless in all three-phases in this one, continually fooling and flummoxing the Buckeyes, who for once in this series looked to be the team shell-shocked by their opponent’s raw power.
The Hawkeyes never trailed in this game, exploding for three second-quarter touchdowns on the way to a stunning 55-24 thrashing.
Honorable Mention – I would be remiss not to recount my most emotional game inside Kinnick – the 2015 Pittsburgh game where Brett Greenwood led the swarm onto the field, showing his resiliency in fighting back from a 2011 collapse and brain injury. With friend and former teammate Pat Angerer at his side, Greenwood’s inspiring walk out of the tunnel left zero dry eyes in the house.
I hope you enjoyed this nostalgic trip through some magical Kinnick moments. Here’s hoping we get to add at least another to the list in the much-anticipated 2021 season.
Follow me on Twitter @ToryBrecht