Insult & injury

Corn-shucking cynics have insisted all season that the passwords at Kinnick Stadium have been ''lucky'' and ''charmed.'' But no one knew those words would pass from No. 8 Iowa to Northwestern in the blink of a Hawkeye on Saturday. With fire-poling Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi lost to an ankle injury on a massively game-changing play early in the second quarter, the Wildcats notched one of their biggest upsets in years with a 17-10 victory, handing the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season. With Stanzi, Iowa (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) had coasted to a 10-0 lead. Without Stanzi, who was blasted and stripped by NU defensive end Corey Wootton on a slow-developing bootleg in the Hawkeyes' end zone, the Wildcats (6-4, 3-3) stitched together just enough offense to complement a defense that forced three other turnovers. ''We fully expected if we could put together 60 minutes of Wildcat football in all three phases, we'd have an opportunity to compete,'' said NU coach Pat Fitzgerald, whose team became bowl-eligible for the third consecutive season. ''To the credit of our young men, we did.'' Actually, NU put together about 42 minutes of Wildcat football -- all after Wootton's big play -- but it was enough for a shocker heard 'round college football . Iowa was No. 4 in the BCS standings entering the weekend, but it never will see that lofty perch again this season. The Hawkeyes now must win at Ohio State on Saturday to retain the pole position for the Big Ten championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl. ''I think the course of the game was pretty obvious to all,'' Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. ''The bottom line is that we weren't good enough to overcome the problems that we caused ourselves in the first half and the problems that [NU] forced.'' The biggest problem was caused by Wootton, who courageously has labored through an uphill season after suffering a serious knee injury Dec. 29 in the Alamo Bowl. With the Wildcats desperately in need of a spark after their languid start, Wootton got quick penetration on second-and-10 from the Hawkeyes' 6-yard line and found himself claw to wing with Stanzi. Wootton swooped, down went Stanzi and NU's Marshall Thomas covered the football for a touchdown. Stanzi limped off the field -- already with 134 passing yards and a touchdown -- never to return. Iowa generated only 121 yards in total offense after he departed. ''The X-ray was negative,'' Ferentz said. ''That's the good news. The bad news is that it's a severe sprain.'' Replacement James Vandenberg, a redshirt freshman who had thrown only three passes all season, completed 9 of 27 passes for 82 yards as the Wildcats' defense held the Hawkeyes scoreless the rest of the way. That defense also helped stake NU to a 14-10 halftime lead after linebacker Quentin Davie intercepted Vandenberg and ran it back to the Iowa 46-yard line. Ten plays later, backup quarterback Dan Persa connected with Drake Dunsmore on a four-yard touchdown pass with 5:20 left in the half. Persa had a skeltering afternoon, entering in place of injured Mike Kafka before going to the sideline himself with a hand injury suffered late in the third quarter. Kafka, who was limited by a lingering hamstring injury suffered in a loss Oct. 31 against Penn State, returned and kept moving the chains just enough to prevent the Hawkeyes from making one of their trademark fourth-quarter rallies. ''It was a great team effort,'' said Kafka, who finished 10-for-18 for 72 yards. ''It wasn't one guy standing out; everyone did it. If Dan and I had to do a little tag-team action to get the win, then that's what we did.'' Persa was only 5-for-9 for 37 yards, but he repeatedly kept Iowa's defense scrambling with 67 rushing yards on 17 carries. Scott Concannon buttressed the Wildcats' ground game with 59 yards on 15 carries. ''We're starting to play our best football of the year,'' Fitzgerald said. ''It has nothing to do with Iowa; it has everything to do with us. I really believe we're starting to hit our stride.'' In Iowa City, the once ''lucky'' and ''charmed'' now understand. WILDCATS RECAP Northwestern 0 14 0 3--17 Iowa 10 0 0 0--10 First Quarter Iowa--McNutt 74 pass from Stanzi (Murray kick), 14:00. Iowa--FG Murray 39, 9:50. Second Quarter NU--Thomas recovered fumble in end zone (Demos kick), 11:46. NU--Dunsmore 4 pass from Persa (Demos kick), 5:20. Fourth Quarter NU--FG Demos 47, 13:29. A--70,585. TEAM STATISTICS NU Iowa First downs 18 14 Rushes-yards 49-130 27-65 Passing 109 216 Comp-Att-Int 15-27-1 13-36-2 Return Yards 27 16 Punts-Avg. 8-36.6 5-47.0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-2 Penalties-Yards 5-55 4-40 Time of Possession 34:20 25:40 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING--Northwestern, Persa 17-67, Concannon 15-59, Simmons 6-11, A.Fields 1-6, Schmidt 3-5, Team 3-(minus 6), Kafka 4-(minus 12). Iowa, Wegher 19-63, O'Meara 3-6, Vandenberg 3-2, K.Davis 1-0, Stanzi 1-(minus 6). PASSING--Northwestern, Kafka 10-18-0-72, Persa 5-9-1-37. Iowa, Vandenberg 9-27-1-82, Stanzi 4-9-1-134. RECEIVING--Northwestern, Stewart 4-24, Brewer 3-33, Markshausen 3-20, Dunsmore 3-19, Schmidt 1-7, Ebert 1-6. Iowa, Johnson-Koulianos 6-63, Stross 3-45, McNutt 2-91, Wegher 1-14, Morse 1-3. Northwestern (6-4, 3-3) Sept. 5 Towson W, 47-14 Sept. 12 E. Michigan W, 27-24 Sept. 19 at Syracuse L, 37-34 Sept. 26 Minnesota L, 35-24 Oct. 3 at Purdue W, 27-21 Oct. 10 Miami (Ohio) W, 16-6 Oct. 17 at Michigan State L, 24-14 Oct. 24 Indiana W, 29-28 Oct. 31 Penn State L, 34-13 Nov. 7 at Iowa W, 17-10 Nov. 14 at Illinois 11 a.m. Nov. 21 Wisconsin TBA Iowa (9-1, 5-1) Sept. 5 Northern Iowa W, 17-16 Sept. 12 at Iowa State W, 35-3 Sept. 19 Arizona W, 27-17 Sept. 26 at Penn State W, 21-10 Oct. 3 Arkansas State W, 24-21 Oct. 10 Michigan W, 30-28 Oct. 17 at Wisconsin W, 20-10 Oct. 24 at Mich. State W, 15-13 Oct. 31 Indiana W, 42-24 Nov. 7 Northwestern L, 17-10 Nov. 14 at Ohio State 2:30 p.m. Nov. 21 Minnesota TBA THE JINX? Is the notorious Sports Illustrated cover jinx alive and well? You decide. The Hawkeyes were featured on this week's cover and then promptly lost at home to Northwestern. CATS NOTES Northwestern's stirring victory was its first against a team ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll since it defeated No. 6 Ohio State 33-24 in 2004. It was the Wildcats' first road victory against an AP top-10 team since a 47-44 decision at No. 6 Wisconsin in double overtime in 2000. ... The loss ended Iowa's 13-game winning streak, the second-longest in the nation. ... The Hawkeyes scored on their first two possessions, including a 74-yard bomb from Ricky Stanzi to Marvin McNutt on the fourth play of the game. Iowa didn't score in the final 54:50 of the game. ... NU forced turnovers on four consecutive Hawkeyes possessions in the second quarter, beginning with an interception by Jordan Mabin. Corey Wootton followed with a strip of Stanzi that led to Marshall Thomas' fumble recovery for a touchdown. Then Quentin Davie picked off a pass, and Brad Phillips forced a fumble that was recovered by Nate Williams. ... With their lead a dicey 14-10 late in the first half, the Wildcats caught an enormous break when a 64-yard touchdown run by Iowa's Brandon Wegher was called back because of a holding penalty. The drive ended with Williams' fumble recovery three plays later. ... While coach Pat Fitzgerald offered little information about backup quarterback Dan Persa's hand injury, he admitted NU had hoped to alternate Persa and starter Mike Kafka more in the second half. ''If you're asking me would we have played Dan more if he didn't have his hand injured, the answer is yes,'' Fitzgerald said. ... Both Kafka and ace cornerback Sherrick McManis started and appeared a click or two slow because of leg injuries. ... The Wildcats outgained the Hawkeyes 130-65 on the ground, boosting their record to 6-0 when they lead in rushing. ... The victory was NU's third in a row at Kinnick Stadium and boosted Fitzgerald's record against Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz to 3-1. ... After Stanzi left with an ankle injury, the Hawkeyes managed only one trip into Wildcats territory. It ended with a missed 46-yard field-goal try by Daniel Murray. Jim O'Donnell