Iowa blocks Northern Iowa's FG twice in closing seconds to avoid upset

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• Iowa Blocks Two Last-Minute FGs For Win

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Top 25 Overview

It was over when... Iowa blocked two Northern Iowa field goal attempts with just seconds left in the game. Gameball goes to... Richard Stanzi, who threw two TD passes, one for 14 yards the other for 6 yards. Stat of the game... 3-12. The Hawkeyes were just 3 for 12 when it came to third-down conversions. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	18	19
Total Yards	354	329
Passing	270	242
Rushing	84	87
Penalties	10-71	2-15
3rd Down Conversions	7-17	3-12
4th Down Conversions	0-0	0-2
Turnovers	1	2
Possession	31:56	27:59

Air/Ground Leaders
Northern Iowa Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Grace 23/37 270 1 0 Turner 0/1 0 0 0	Iowa Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Stanzi 22/34 242 1 0
Northern Iowa Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Anderson 24 75 0 12 Herring 2 12 0 9	Iowa Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Robinson 15 63 1 11 Chaney 1 28 0 28
Northern Iowa Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Herring 6 100 0 50 Hord 3 46 0 18	Iowa Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Moeaki 10 83 1 22 Stross 3 61 0 29

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				UNI	IOWA
	FG	09:17	Daniel Murray 39 Yd	0	3
	FG	04:22	Billy Hallgren 39 Yd	0	3
SECOND QUARTER				UNI	IOWA
	TD	05:40	Ryan Mahaffey 14 Yd Pass From Pat Grace (Billy Hallgren Kick)	10	3
THIRD QUARTER				UNI	IOWA
	FG	12:27	Billy Hallgren 34 Yd	13	3
	TD	09:41	Adam Robinson 11 Yd Run (Daniel Murray Kick)	13	10
FOURTH QUARTER				UNI	IOWA
	TD	13:18	Tony Moeaki 6 Yd Pass From Richard Stanzi (Daniel Murray Kick)	13	17
	FG	04:26	Billy Hallgren 39 Yd	16	17

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Jeremiha Hunter wanted to pick up the ball, because he thought it was all that separated No. 22 Iowa from an improbable win. His teammates screamed at him to leave Northern Iowa kicker Billy Hallgren's blocked field goal alone, and that's what he did.

Oops.

The Panthers scooped up the ball and, after a long chat by the officials, got a second chance to stun the Hawkeyes.

Fast Facts

• Iowa blocked Billy Hallgren's potential game-winning FG twice in the final seconds as the Hawkeyes escaped the Northern Iowa upset bid. After Hallgren's first FG was blocked, it never crossed the line of scrimmage and was recovered by Northern Iowa with a second left. Hallgren's second attempt was also blocked, sealing the Iowa win.

• Northern Iowa took a 10-3 halftime lead, attempting to defeat Iowa for first time since 1898.

• Iowa improved to 9-2 in season openers under Kirk Ferentz, including nine straight.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

This time, Hunter was ready.

He made up for his earlier mistake by blocking Hallgren's second field goal try in the closing seconds, allowing Iowa to escape with a 17-16 victory Saturday.

"I was praying the whole time, like 'This is why I'm out here,'" Hunter said. "I was just focused on getting that block the second time."

The Panthers lined up for the potential winning field goal with 7 seconds left, but Broderick Binns blocked Hallgren's 40-yard attempt on first down. Believing the game was over, Hunter and several Hawkeyes allowed UNI to recover the ball with a second left.

After officials reviewed the play to make sure there was time on the clock, the Panthers tried again on second down, and Hunter got his hand on the attempt to preserve the win.

Instead of burying his head in his hands after what appeared to be a gut-wrenching mistake, Hunter helped his teammates focus on the next field goal try.

He noticed that Hallgren was kicking line drives -- including a screaming 39-yarder in the first quarter -- so Hunter told the Hawkeyes to be ready for another low one.

"I just told everybody 'Squeeze that middle, press that middle and get your hands up,'" Hunter said. "He was kicking them low all game."

The Panthers, one of the top programs in the Football Championship Subdivision, returned 14 starters from a team that reached the national semifinals last season. The experience showed as Northern Iowa put the ultimate scare into its in-state rival.

"We talked about Appalachian State during the week. I'm not sure everybody hears that all the time," said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz about Michigan's famous home loss to the Mountaineers in 2007. "It's going to be a learning experience for us in a lot of different ways."

Ricky Stanzi had 242 yards passing for the Hawkeyes, who trailed 13-10 before Stanzi found tight end Tony Moeaki for a 6-yard touchdown with 13:18 left in the game.

Hallgren's 39-yard field goal with 4:26 left brought Northern Iowa within 17-16.

Pat Grace, who threw for 270 yards, then methodically marched the Panthers all the way from their own 8 yard line with 2:14 left -- going 6 for 7 passing on the final drive -- to set up Hallgren's potential game-winners.

The Hawkeyes gained just 104 yards of total offense in the first two quarters. The running back tandem of Paki O'Meara and Adam Robinson rushed for 79 yards on 24 carries in Iowa's first game minus Doak Walker Award winner Shonn Greene -- hardly encouraging for the Hawkeyes.

Northern Iowa outgained Iowa 354-329 and went 7 for 17 on third down.

With Iowa's offense stuck in the mud, the Panthers drove 91 yards on 15 plays to take a 10-3 lead and quiet a sold-out crowd -- save for patches of purple-clad Northern Iowa supporters who made the 70-mile drive from Cedar Falls.

"We've built this program to a level so we can come to places like this and play head-to-head," Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley said. "We should have won this thing hands down."

Iowa caught a major break by recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half, but fumbled it right back to Northern Iowa two plays later. A 34-yard field goal by Hallgren gave Northern Iowa a 13-3 lead early in the third quarter.

Iowa's offense got on track in surprisingly quick fashion. The Hawkeyes went 70 yards in just six plays, and Robinson's first career touchdown, an 11-yarder, pulled them with 13-10 with 9:41 left in the third quarter.

The Hawkeyes took the lead on Stanzi's TD pass to Moeaki in the corner of the end zone.

Iowa blew a pair of scoring chances in the third quarter and went into the fourth quarter down by three. Daniel Murray missed a 48-yard field goal, and a 44-yard touchdown pass to Paul Chaney Jr. was called back because of a holding penalty.

Those missed opportunities almost came back to haunt to Hawkeyes.

"It was a wakeup call," cornerback Amari Spievey said, "and we know we have to step it up."