Late TD pass lifts Northwestern comeback win over Iowa

 

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• Pontiac GM 4: Iowa vs. Northwestern

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Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	27	25
Total Yards	492	453
Passing	276	338
Rushing	216	115
Penalties	5-50	7-41
3rd Down Conversions	6-15	9-18
4th Down Conversions	0-1	1-1
Turnovers	0	2
Possession	30:42	29:18

Individual Leaders

Iowa Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Tate 21/35 273 0 0 Manson 2/2 3 0 0	Northwestern Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Basanez 31/51 338 2 2
Iowa Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Young 38 202 2 21 Greene 3 9 0 7 Tate 2 5 1 10	Northwestern Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Sutton 17 65 2 16 Basanez 12 55 0 15
Iowa Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Grigsby 7 84 0 23 Chandler 4 56 0 28 Brodell 4 46 0 15 Solomon 3 33 0 15	Northwestern Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Philmore 10 123 0 44 Fields 7 50 0 27 Lane 6 57 1 17 Herbert 4 80 1 34

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				IOWA	NW
	TD	10:05	ALBERT YOUNG 12 YD RUN (KYLE SCHLICHER KICK) Drive info: 11 plays, 78 yards.	7	0
	TD	6:33	ALBERT YOUNG 21 YD RUN (KYLE SCHLICHER KICK) Drive info: 4 plays, 40 yards.	14	0
SECOND QUARTER				IOWA	NW
	TD	12:36	SHAUN HERBERT 34 YD PASS FROM BRETT BASANEZ (JOEL HOWELLS KICK) Drive info: 12 plays, 80 yards.	14	7
	TD	9:56	DREW TATE 10 YD RUN (KYLE SCHLICHER KICK) Drive info: 6 plays, 69 yards.	21	7
	FG	0:02	KYLE SCHLICHER 19 YD FG Drive info: 14 plays, 88 yards.	24	7
THIRD QUARTER				IOWA	NW
	TD	10:19	TYRELL SUTTON 12 YD RUN (JOEL HOWELLS KICK) Drive info: 11 plays, 80 yards.	24	14
FOURTH QUARTER				IOWA	NW
	FG	10:58	KYLE SCHLICHER 32 YD FG Drive info: 4 plays, 7 yards.	27	14
	TD	2:10	TYRELL SUTTON 1 YD RUN (JOEL HOWELLS KICK) Drive info: 12 plays, 77 yards.	27	21
	TD	0:42	ROSS LANE 9 YD PASS FROM BRETT BASANEZ (JOEL HOWELLS KICK) Drive info: 6 plays, 47 yards.	27	28

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) -- Northwestern has lived on the edge all season. So it was no surprise that another one of the Wildcats' games came down to the end.

This time, Ross Lane caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Brett Basanez with 42 seconds remaining to give Northwestern another wild victory, a 28-27 comeback win over Iowa on Saturday.

"We made plays at the right time and came through," Basanez said. "It just speaks to the character of the offense. The older guys were keeping everybody else [relaxed], saying, 'Calm down.' ... It speaks to the young guys. They played like veterans."

It was the latest in a season of close games for Northwestern, which overcame a 24-7 halftime deficit.

The Wildcats won 38-37 in Week 2 when Northern Illinois failed on a 2-point conversion after scoring with 6 seconds left. They survived a late charge by Wisconsin on Oct. 8 and won 51-48, then beat Purdue 34-29 the following week. Northwestern also lost 34-29 to Penn State on Sept. 24 on a last-minute touchdown.

With the win over Iowa, Northwestern (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) remained in contention for the conference title and became bowl-eligible. Iowa (5-4, 3-3) needs to beat Wisconsin or Minnesota to become eligible for the postseason.

Freshman Tyrell Sutton, scored on a 1-yard run to bring the Wildcats to within six with 2:10 remaining, and Reggie McPherson recovered the onside kick at the Iowa 47.

"The ball bounces funny sometimes, and I guess it bounced well this time," kicker Joel Howells said.

The ball bounced over several Hawkeyes, and a leaping McPherson grabbed it.

"I had a clear shot at it, and I just jumped up and got it," he said. "It was a great opportunity."

On second-and-2 at the 24, Basanez ran for 6 and Iowa's Chad Greenway committed a personal foul after a helmet-to-helmet hit, putting the ball on the 9. Basanez hit an open Lane on a slant in the end zone for the winning score.

"It was a fake to the corner, and do a post," Lane said. "The way they were playing, it was wide open. There was no one in the middle."

Upset about the penalty, Basanez questioned Iowa's sportsmanship.

"They were trying to get us out of our game by grabbing facemasks, hitting guys late, hitting you in the head," he said. "I mean, if that's how they teach football down there ...

"I was kind of disappointed in their sportsmanship."

Iowa had left by the time Basanez made his remarks.

Basanez was 31-of-51 for 338 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Sutton carried 17 times for 65 yards and two touchdowns, and Mark Philmore had 123 yards receiving.

Iowa's Albert Young rushed for a career-high 202 yards and two touchdowns, and Drew Tate passed for 273.

Young had his fifth straight 100-yard game and became the 11th Iowa running back to gain 1,000 in a season, finishing the game with 1,070. The sophomore, whose previous high was 165 against Purdue on Oct. 8, had 105 yards at halftime.

"He has played well all season long," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "He competes so hard for every yard he gets and today was no different."

Tate was 21-for-35 and ran for a touchdown, but he was just 6-of-15 for 76 yards in the second half. Herb Grigsby caught seven passes for 84 yards.

Iowa gained 492 yards against a defense that was allowing 494.8 on average and ranked 117th in the nation.

With a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Iowa defensive tackle Matt Kroul intercepted Basanez at the Northwestern 26. That led to a 32-yard field goal by Kyle Schlicher that made it 27-14 with 10:58 remaining.

But the Wildcats rallied for their final two scores to notch yet another improbable victory.

It started with Sutton's touchdown and ended with Lane's reception, which the onside recovery made possible.

"We always practice it [the onside kick], but in the last five weeks, I'm not sure we got close to recovering one," coach Randy Walker said. "It's an odd thing, really unpredictable."

Which, in a way, describes his team.

After winning three straight and earning its first Top 25 ranking in four years, Northwestern appeared on its way to its second straight loss. It fell 33-17 to Michigan a week earlier, and Saturday's game was more of the same until the end.