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| Ryan Radcliff and the Chippewas stunned Iowa on Saturday. (US Presswire) |
CENTRAL MICHIGAN WON. The Big Ten took another body blow to its reputation on Saturday as Central Michigan pulled off a stunning upset over Iowa in Iowa City. Trailing 31-23 with 2:18 left to play, the Chippewas drove 64 yards in 93 seconds, finishing with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Titus Davis with 45 seconds left. CMU then went for two to tie the game, but the conversion failed and it appeared the Hawkeyes would escape.
That is, until Central Michigan recovered the onside kick and quickly moved into field-goal range. David Harman's 47-yard field goal stayed airborne just long enough to clear the crossbar and give Central Michigan the lead with three seconds to play.
WHY CENTRAL MICHIGAN WON: While Central Michigan might have needed an improbable comeback to win, it's not as though the Chippewas didn't play well for the first 59 minutes. CMU led 23-14 at halftime before the Hawkeyes opened the second half with 17 consecutive points. But Iowa also picked up nine penalties in the game for 106 yards, including a personal foul in the final seconds to give the Chippewas 15 pivotal yards to set up for the winning field goal.
WHEN CENTRAL MICHIGAN WON: As Harman's field goal dove through the uprights.
WHAT CENTRAL MICHIGAN WON: This is easily the biggest win for the Chippewas since 2009, when they traveled to Michigan State during the second week of the season and won.
WHAT IOWA LOST: The good news for Iowa is that this isn't a conference loss, so not all hope is gone for this season. But this is an Iowa team that has lost to Iowa State and Central Michigan at home already. Its two wins are against Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa. The Hawkeyes still have a chance to win the Big Ten, but they've shown nothing so far to make you think they will.
