Iowa Wins It on the Final Play, 20-19 over Michigan
Iowa trailed 19-14 when Hank Brown found Reece Vander Zee from 16 yards out, and the clock read 0:00 when it happened. That touchdown made it 20-19 Iowa, and Michigan had no time left to answer. Iowa is 4-0. Michigan is 3-1 and will spend the week thinking about the numbers below.
Start with the yardage, because it makes no sense. Michigan outgained Iowa 429 to 285, ran for 153 yards to Iowa's 58 and threw for 276 to 227. Iowa did not turn the ball over and Michigan gave it away once. And Iowa won, because it found the end zone three times to Michigan's two.
It was close the whole way. Michigan scored first on an 18-yard pass from Bryce Underwood to JJ Buchanan, Iowa answered 14 seconds later with a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown from Braeden Jackson, and from there Michigan took a 13-7 lead on two Trey Butkowski field goals. Vander Zee's first 16-yard catch put Iowa up 14-13 early in the fourth. Michigan took it right back with a 49-yard Underwood to Buchanan score, then missed the two-point try, which left the lead at five. Flip that conversion and Iowa needs more than a touchdown, so that miss mattered.
For fantasy, this was a Michigan game even in defeat. Buchanan caught five passes for 130 yards and two scores, and Underwood put up 26.6 points. Vander Zee, who had been quiet all season, finished with 23.6 on five catches and two touchdowns, and he was on the winning side for it.