We heard it all week long: Kinnick Stadium was where top 5 teams went to die. The Big Noon Kickoff crew couldn’t go ten minutes without reminding Urban Meyer of the last time he faced Iowa, and lost 55-24 in case you’d forgotten. Kinnick and the Iowa Hawkeyes have a hard won and well earned reputation for toppling college football’s giants over the years.
But none of that mattered yesterday because none of those previous teams were taking the field against the undefeated #4 Michigan Wolverines. The recipe Iowa so often uses in these type of games — limiting mistakes, playing smart, taking advantage of opportunities and opponents’ miscues — must not have been passed down to this year’s team, as the Hawks did none of those things.