On Saturday, September 5th, 2009, the University of Northern Iowa lost to University of Iowa by a score of 16-17. It took the FBS team two blocked field goals in the final seven seconds to beat the FCS team. I was in the crowd that day. I must say that was one of the most enjoyable football games I have been to in my life, and I have been to a lot. Going into the game, my only concerns were that UNI did not have any major injuries. Being an Iowa and UNI fan, I was not too concerned with who won. Iowa winning might have been the best since it hardly effects UNI to lose to an FBS team.
Iowa was ranked #22 in the nation in the preseason. However, that was before a few season ending injuries to HB Jewell Hampton and CB Jordan Bernstine. Both of whom were to be key figures in the success of the Hawkeyes on the season. I felt like Iowa came out a little flat and might have slightly underestimated UNI. That being said, it is hard to say how much was bad play versus struggling against a quality team. Not to mention, there will always be the cobwebs and shaky play that come with the first game of the season.
I believe UNI was ranked #4 in the nation preseason in the FCS. While there were brief moments of questionable play, overall, the Panthers looked pretty sharp. They attacked Iowa on both sides of the ball. There was some luck in that Iowa was still trying to sort out who the primary ball carriers would be to setup the play-action for Stanzi “the Manzi.” One of the things I noticed early on was Billy Hallgren was kicking some line drive kickoffs. His extra points were not too high either. This did not surprise me as he always struggled during warm-ups last year, and I knew the kicking game would be a weakness for UNI this year after losing our starter from the 2008-2009 season. Perhaps the thing that surprised me the most was the ability of UNI’s linemen to compete in the trenches against Iowa. I thought this would be where the game was decided, and that UNI would simply be overmatched. I was wrong. Overall, I would call it a draw as was the game in most areas.
Ultimately, the game came down to a field goal with seven seconds left. I told Jessa to not be surprised to see a blocked kick. I knew Hallgren had been kicking low all game, and Iowa is one of the best teams in the nation at blocking critical field goals at the end of games. Everything screamed for an adrenaline surge up the middle of the formation with outstretched arms to deflect the ball. Amazingly, I was dead on. I was a little surprised to see one of the Iowa players telling everyone to get back from the ball, but did not have time enough to process the reasoning it was a bad move. UNI recovered the ball.
The referees gave UNI the ball on the right hash at the spot where the ball was located and with a stopped clock. My problem with the ruling of the referees is the stopped clock. When the ball does not cross the line of scrimmage on a field goal attempt, the ball is considered live. This means when a UNI player fell on the ball, it was as if they were attempting a running play or something similar. Since this player did not go out of bounds, the clock should have been started as soon as ruling was decided and the ball ready for play. There was only one second on the clock. This means the ball would have had to been snapped immediately upon the whistle signaling ready for play. This makes it more difficult for the kicker because he does not have the opportunity to wait until he is ready to have the ball snapped. On the other hand, the defense would have a little less time to get ready and organize their attempts to time the block. Normally, the upright defenders can get a jump on the snap by watching the backfield for the kicker and holder to signal their readiness for the snap. Considering the kick was blocked by Jeremiah Hunter, an upright defender, maybe the second kick would not have been blocked. It is hard to say either way. I just wish the referees would know the rules of college football better than a guy out in the stands. Maybe we should give them a phone call or a poll the audience lifeline…