College Football Old School Game of the Week: Iowa "Cooks" Ohio State with Miracle 4th Down TD

Iowa tight end Marv Cook would catch nine passes for 159 yards, including the game-winner in the Hawkeyes' 1987 win over Ohio State.

In recent years, the University of Iowa has been nicknamed "Tight End U" because of the fact since 1999 when Kirk Ferentz took over as head coach, 11 tight ends have been selected in the NFL draft.

Some have gone to have marvelous careers such as Dallas Clark and George Kittle while some like T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant are entering their prime.

But Iowa's long history of producing great tight ends goes back to the 1980s under head coach Hayden Fry, who used the tight end position to help produce explosive offenses that helped the Hawkeyes reach the top of the Big 10 conference.

Perhaps the best one was Marv Cook, a six-foot three-inch 234-pound man from West Branch, Iowa who would etch his name in Iowa football lore with what he did on the Hawkeyes' trip to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on November 14, 1987.

Iowa came into the game with a 7-3 record, poised to play in their seventh straight bowl game as the Hawkeyes had changed the perception of the Big 10 with their strong passing game which had helped Iowa to two Rose Bowl appearances during Fry's tenure.

Quarterback Chuck Hartlieb was at the helm of the Iowa offense which featured running back Kevin Harmon, younger brother of Ronnie who helped the Hawkeyes beat #1 Michigan in 1985(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2021/12/college-football-old-school-game-of.html)and wide receiver Quinn Early plus Cook and fellow tight end Mike Flagg.

The Hawkeyes came in on a three-game winning streak as they traveled to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes who  had lost their previous two games and came into the game with a 5-3-1 record.

Expectations were high for the Buckeyes before the season as Ohio State had All-American wide receiver Cris Carter and All-American linebacker Chris Spielman set to return for head coach Earle Bruce, who was in his ninth season as the Ohio State head coach.

But just before the season began, the Buckeyes lost Carter who was ruled ineligible to play after it was discovered he had signed with a sports agent.

Carter's departure hand-tied the Buckeye offense which under the control of quarterback Tom Tupa which averaged just under 20 points per game while the Hawkeyes came in with a 29.7 points per average.

Despite the struggles on offense and the two-game losing streak, the Buckeyes were favored to beat the Hawkeyes who had not beaten Ohio State at the "Big Horseshoe" since 1959.

After forcing the Buckeyes to punt on their opening possession of the game, the Hawkeyes got the ball at their 12-yard-line where after Harmon ran for six yards on 1st down, Hartlieb connected with Flagg for an apparent 1st down only to have the tight end fumble the ball after he was hit by Ohio State cornerback William White.

Linebacker Andrew Gurd made the recovery at the Iowa 26-yard-line as it took the Buckeyes three plays to get into the end zone as Tupa found Everett Ross for a 24-yard touchdown that put Ohio State on top 7-0 with 10:08 to go in the opening quarter.

Iowa would begin its ensuing possession at their six-yard-line where it took the Hawkeyes only three plays to drive to the Ohio State 28-yard-line as Harmon ran for 15 yards to start the drive, followed by a 38-yard pass from Hartlieb to Flagg, and then a 13-yard shovel pass to Harmon.

The drive would stall as Iowa would be forced to kick a 39-yard field goal by Rob Houghtlin which put the Hawkeyes on the board down 7-3 with 2:33 left in the first quarter.

The two teams would then trade interceptions as Tupa was picked off by Iowa linebacker Brad Quast, whose 19-yard return set the Hawkeye offense up at the Ohio State 25-yard-line, only to have Hartlieb give it right back when he was intercepted by White.

The two teams would then trade punts as the game moved into the second quarter when with the ball at his 40-yard-line, Tupa dropped back and hit Ross at the Iowa 32-yard-line, who then turned cut left and ran it in to complete the 60-yard touchdown which increased the Ohio State lead to 14-3 with 11:19 remaining before halftime.

Ohio State quarterback Tom Tupa would throw three touchdown passes on 13-of-22 passing for 216 yards.

The Hawkeyes would get the ball back at their 15-yard-line as it took them four plays to drive to the 50-yard-line until Hartlieb pitched it out to Harmon, who exploded for a 50-yard touchdown run.

Fry decided to go for two after the touchdown which failed as Hartlieb's pass for Cook was too high to keep the score 14-9 with 9:10 left in the second quarter.

Following an Ohio State three-and-out, the Hawkeyes would drive 37 yards in six plays to set up Houghtlin's 41-yard field goal which cut the Ohio State lead to 14-12 with 3:14 to go before halftime.

Ohio State would start its next drive at its 32-yard-line as Tupa completed passes of 13 yards to running back Vince Workman and then 28 yards to Ross to put the Buckeyes at the Iowa 23-yard-line when running back Carlos Snow fumbled the football, which was recovered by Hawkeyes defensive tackle Steve Thomas.

With the ball at their 20-yard-line and only 70 seconds left before halftime, the Hawkeyes went to their two-minute drill offense as Hartlieb completed a 25-yard pass to Travis Watkins and then hit Cook for 19 and then 22 yards to give Iowa a 1st & goal at the Ohio State five-yard-line.

Two incomplete passes later, Houghtlin came on to kick a 22-yard field goal as time expired to give Iowa a 15-14 halftime lead with the Hawkeyes set to get the ball to start the second half.

Following an exchange of punts, the Hawkeyes had the ball at their 33-yard-line when Hartlieb completed a 27-yard pass to Flagg, only to have White strike again as he hit the tight end to cause a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Fred Ridder at the Buckeyes' 40-yard-line.

From there, the Buckeyes would drive 60 yards in 10 plays, culminating with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Tupa to tight end Jeff Ellis that put Ohio State back on top at 21-15 midway through the third quarter.

The two teams would trade punts as the game moved into the fourth quarter when Iowa fullback Marshall Cotton was able to deflect a Tupa punt that gave the Hawkeyes the ball at the Ohio State 37-yard-line.

From there, the Hawkeyes would drive 32 yards in five plays, with the biggest play being a 21-yard pass from Hartlieb to Cook, until they were faced with a 4th & 3 at the Buckeyes' five-yard-line.

Fry decided to gamble and go for the 1st down which he got when Harmon took it off tackle and ran for four yards, which led to David Hudson's one-yard touchdown run to give the Hawkeyes a 22-21 lead with 9:11 left in the fourth quarter.

The Buckeyes would get the ball back at their 25-yard-line where they proceed to lean on the running game for their next possession as Ohio State would run the ball 13 times on their 16-play, 75-yard touchdown drive which was capped off with a 14-yard touchdown run by Snow to put Ohio State ahead 27-22.

The Buckeyes would go for two following the touchdown but fail to convert as tight end Jay Koch try to run it in on a tight end reverse but was stopped one yard short of the end zone to keep it 27-22.

Iowa quarterback Chuck Hartlieb would complete 20 of 37 passes for 333 yards and throw one TD.

The Hawkeyes would begin its ensuing possession at their 36-yard-line with 2:39 left in the game and three timeouts in their pocket as they needed a touchdown to take the lead.

After a five-yard pass to running back Rick Bayless to start the drive, Hartlieb would then Flagg for 14 yards and a 1st down which got 15 yards added on as the Buckeyes were called for 12 men on the field which put the Hawkeyes on the Ohio State 30-yard-line.

However a holding penalty and a quarterback sack by Ohio State defensive tackle Ray Halliman, which caused a fumble that was recovered by Hudson, pushed the Hawkeyes all the way back to their 49-yard-line where they would face a 2nd & 31 with 1:33 remaining.

Iowa would get most of the yardage back on 2nd down as Hartlieb connected with Cook for 27 yards to set up 3rd & 4 at the Ohio State 24-yard-line as Hartlieb handed the ball off to Harmon who picked up only one yard to force 4th & 3 when Hartlieb found Cook again, this time for eight yards to give Iowa a 1st down at the Buckeyes' 15-yard-line.

Once again the Hawkeyes would go backwards as a quarterback sack by Ohio State's Eric Kumerow for an eight-yard loss which the senior linebacker followed up with a tackle of Harmon five yards behind the line of scrimmage to force 3rd & 23 when Hartlieb threw an incomplete pass to bring up 4th down with 16 seconds left in the game.

It looked bleak for the Hawkeyes as it was going to take a miracle for Iowa to at minimum convert the 4th & 23.

That is when Hartlieb fired a pass for Cook, who was near the right sideline as he made the catch at the Ohio State 10-yard-line, still needing five yards to pick up the 1st down as the tight end would make a cut to his left.

As Cook was nearing the 1st down marker, he was met by Ohio State safety David Brown who tried to bring the big tight end down as Cook was able to carry Brown inside the five-yard-line when the two were met by fellow Buckeyes defensive back Mark Pelini.

Pelini and Brown were able to bring Cook down to the ground but not before Marv was able to lunge the football over the goal line and in for a shocking touchdown that along with the extra point gave Iowa a 29-27 lead with just six seconds to play.

The Buckeyes would get one last shot at pulling out the win only to have Tupa's desperation Hail Mary pass be intercepted by Iowa safety Merton Hanks as time ran out with the Hawkeyes coming away with the 29-27 victory, their first win in Columbus since 1959.

Two days after the shocking loss to the Hawkeyes, it was announced that Bruce would not return as the Buckeyes' head coach following their regular season finale with arch rival Michigan.

However, Bruce was sent out a winner as his Buckeyes stunned the Wolverines 23-20 to finish the season with a 6-4-1 and bring Bruce's time in Columbus to an end as he finished with 81-26-1 record after nine seasons.

Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes would follow up their historic win over the Buckeyes with a 34-20 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers which Iowa a second straight trip to the Holiday Bowl, where they would knock off the Wyoming Cowboys 20-19 to finish with a 10-3 record and #16 ranking in both the AP and coaches polls.

As for Cook, he would play one more year for the Hawkeyes as he would catch 63 passes for 767 yards which earned him All-American honors despite missing three games.

Cook would go on to a seven-year NFL career where he would be selected to the Pro Bowl after a 82-catch season in 1991 and then again following a 52-catch season in 1992 with the New England Patriots.

But Cook is still best known for his game-winning touchdown against Ohio State as well as making Iowa "Tight End U".