Hoosiers unravel, lose to Iowa 42-24

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Heading into halftime, IU held a 21-7 lead against the undefeated No. 7 Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Hoosiers were poised to pull off the biggest win of their season.

But then they played the second half.

IU surrendered 35 points in the final two quarters, including two long touchdown plays from the Iowa offense, and the Hoosiers lost their fifth game in their past six outings.

The Hawkeyes totaled 265 yards in the fourth quarter and scored four touchdowns to turn a 24-14 third quarter Hoosier lead into a 42-24 final score.

Two of the touchdowns were one-play drives for the Hawkeyes. Pinned at the eight-yard line following an IU punt early in the fourth quarter, Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi converted a pass on first down to wide receiver Marvin McNutt who sprinted past the Hoosier secondary for a 92-yard touchdown.

IU punted on the ensuing drive after a three-and-out. Once again pinned deep in his own red zone, Stanzi found wide open receiver Darrell Johndon-Koulianos for a 66-yard score.

In that two-minute stretch, Iowa stole the lead and momentum from IU.

Hoosier safety Collin Taylor said the breakdown on those two plays was mental mistakes.

“Physically, we played with them all game,” Taylor said. “We had guys coming down slamming their running backs and their quarterback...We just had a couple mental breakdowns.”

Prior to Iowa’s fourth quarter outburst, the Hoosiers had two second half red zone opportunities that resulted in zero points.

In the middle of the third quarter, IU reached the Iowa two-yard line. On third-down, Iowa blitzed Hoosier quarterback Ben Chappell. His pass was tipped several times before Iowa safety Tyler Sash caught the ball and returned it 86 yards for a score.

A few minutes later, Chappell appeared to complete a touchdown pass to receiver Terrance Turner. However, Turned was ruled out-of-bounds following replay review. Kicker Nick Freeland missed a 28-yard field goal attempt on the next play.

IU coach Bill Lynch said several big plays decided the game.

“There were some crazy plays in that football game from about the middle of the third quarter on,” Lynch said. “And we just didn’t have enough plays in our own arsenal to hang with them.”

As for the overruled touchdown –  Lynch refrained from making judgment, but said “somebody thought it was a touchdown.”

This game was the second straight game in which IU gave up a significant lead. Last week, the Hoosiers lost 29-28 after building a 28-3 lead against Northwestern.

This week, they couldn’t hold a 14-point lead.

Some of the stats from last week and this week were similar, as well. Last week, IU intercepted quarterback Mike Kafka three times in the second half and did not score any points off those turnovers. This week, the Hoosiers picked off Stanzi five times, but scored only three points on the ensuing drives.

Chappell said the failure to capitalize ruined the game for the Hoosiers.

“We knew that we had a football team to play with them,” Chappell said. “We moved the ball, but you can’t turn the ball over. You’ve got to capitalize on their turnovers better. It’s a tough one.”

Iowa, ranked No. 4 in the BCS moves to 9-0 on the season.

IU safety Ray Fisher injured his knee on the opening kickoff return and did not return to the game.