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| Ohio State players celebrate after their shocking win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in 1990. |
When Ohio State traveled to Iowa City to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes on November 10, 1990, the Buckeyes were cast in the unfamiliar role of underdog when facing the Hawkeyes as Ohio State came into the game unranked while Iowa was ranked #6 in the country.
Ohio State was led by head coach John Cooper, who was in his third season as the Buckeyes' head coach having gone just 15-13-1 sinch his arrival, as the Buckeyes were trying to bounce back from a three-game winless streak earlier in the season while they lost to USC and Illinois while tying Indiana.
But the Buckeyes came into the Iowa game on a three-game winning streak as they had scored a combined 142 points over the past three games with senior quarterback Greg Frey throwing seven touchdown passes during the winning streak.
With Frey and the offense clicking, the Buckeyes looked to continue their dominance over Iowa, a team Ohio State had defeated in 20 of their previous 23 meetings since 1962.
Iowa fans thought that 1990 would be different when it came to Ohio State as the Hawkeyes came into the game on a five-game winning streak and a 6-1 overall record as the Hawks stood atop the Big 10 standings.
Led by head coach Hayden Fry, who was in his 12th season as the head coach of the Hawkeyes and junior quarterback Matt Rodgers, son of then Boston Celtics head coach Jimmy Rodgers, Iowa seemed poised to return to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1985 and third time in 10 years.
The Hawkeyes got the ball to start the game as Fry surprised the Buckeyes with an end around reverse pass from wide receiver Danan Hughes to tight end Michael Titley that went for 30 yards on the second play of the game to put Iowa at the Ohio State 37-yard-line.
Six plays later, the Hawkeyes were in the end zone as Rodgers kept the ball and ran it in for a three-yard touchdown to give Iowa a 7-0 lead with 11:12 remaining in the first quarter.
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| Iowa quarterback Matt Rodgers 13 of 21 passes for 137 yards while running for one touchdown. |
After an Ohio State punt, the Hawkeyes got the ball at the Buckeyes' 46-yard-line as Nick Bell ran for four yards to set up 2nd & 6 when Paul Kujawa fumbled the football on a hit by linebacker Tom Lease which was recovered by cornerback Foster Paulk to give Ohio State the ball at its 36-yard-line.
The fumble would not amount to anything as the Buckeyes would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Hawkeyes who would also go three-and-out on their ensuing possession to give the ball back to Ohio State who would take over at their 41-yard-line.
The Buckeyes would drive down the field as Frey completed passes of 24 yards to Jeff Graham and 17 yards to Bobby Olive to put Ohio State at the Iowa one-yard-line as time expired in the first quarter with the Buckeyes facing a 4th & goal situation.
Cooper decided to go for the touchdown as the second quarter began which he got when Frey ran it in on a quarterback option to help tie the game at 7 just two seconds into the second quarter.
The Hawkeyes would respond with a 12-play, 50-yard drive where Rodgers completed all five of his passes on the drive for 45 yards only for Iowa to settle for a field goal after the junior quarterback was sacked by Buckeyes linebacker Jason Simmons for a 13-yard loss on 3rd & goal at the Ohio State four-yard-line as Jeff Skillet would come on to kick a 34-yard field goal to give Iowa a 10-7 lead with 9:04 left in the second quarter.
Following an Ohio State punt, the Hawkeyes got the ball at the Ohio State 46-yard-line as Iowa would ride the legs of Lew Montgomery as he carried five times for 29 yards on a nine-play, 46-yard drive that ended with Montgomery punching it in from a yard out to increase Iowa's lead to 17-7 with 2:17 left before halftime.
Iowa seemed poised to increase their lead before the end of the first half as they would get the ball once again in Buckeyes territory as their next possession would begin at the Ohio State 44-yard-line with 1:56 left in the first half.
A clipping penalty would push the Hawkeyes back 15 yards to their 41-yard-line as two runs by Bell for 24 yards put Iowa at the Ohio State 35-yard-line when Fry opted to go for the 1st down.
However, an illegal motion penalty would push the Hawkeyes back five yards to make it 4th & 6 as Fry kept his offense on the field to try and get the 1st down which they failed to get as Rodgers threw an incomplete pass intended for Bell.
Taking over at their 25-yard-line after a dead ball penalty following the 4th down stop, the Buckeyes would drive into Iowa territory as Frey completed an 11-yard pass to Graham which was followed by a 16-yard run by running back Robert Smith to put Ohio State at the Hawkeyes' 48-yard-line with 10 seconds left in the half.
That is when Frey fired a Hail Mary pass that bounced off the chest of Hawkeyes cornerback Merton Hanks and into the arms of Graham, who would then run it in to complete the shocking 48-yard touchdown as time expired in the first half to help cut the Iowa lead to 17-14.
The third quarter would be a defensive stalemate as both teams traded punts until 3:15 remaining in the quarter when Rodgers completed a 29-yard pass to Titley, then a 21-yard pass to tight end Alan Cross to help lead the Hawkeyes to the Buckeyes' 15-yard-line.
After a two-yard run by Montgomery, Rodgers would be dropped for a seven-yard loss by Simmons to set up 3rd & 15 when Rodgers fired a pass for Bell, who dropped the ball in the end zone for what would have been a touchdown.
Instead, the Hawkeyes settled for a 37-yard field goal by Skillet which increased Iowa's lead to 20-14 with 18 seconds to go in the third quarter.
Following an Ohio State three-and-out, the Hawkeyes got the ball at their 20-yard-line as they would use Tony Stewart's legs to drive down the field as the senior running back would carry the ball eight times for 52 yards on a 11-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Montgomery to increase Iowa's lead to 26-14.
The Hawkeyes would attempt a two-point conversion but were unsuccessful as Hughes tried to take it in on an end around to keep the score at 26-14 in favor of Iowa with exactly 11 minutes to play.
It seemed like the Hawkeyes would on their way to sixth straight victory as they held the Buckeyes to another three-and-out on their next possession to get the ball back at the Iowa 23-yard-line.
However, the Buckeyes would catch a break when Paluk blocked Jim Hujsak's punt to give the ball to the Ohio State offense at the Hawkeyes' 24-yard-line.
A three-yard run by Smith and an incomplete pass would set up 3rd & 7 when Frey fired a 21-yard touchdown pass to Olive that cut the Iowa lead to 26-21 with 6:34 to go in the game.
Iowa would start its next possession at their 23-yard-line as it took them three plays to move to their 39-yard line when Rodgers was intercepted by cornerback Lance Price, whose nine-yard return put Ohio State at the Hawkeyes' 44-yard-line with 4:37 to go and a chance to take the lead.
The drive would begin with a 15-yard pass from Frey to Olive which was followed by a three-yard run by Smith and then a quarterback sack by Iowa linebacker John Derby for an eight-yard loss to make it 3rd & 15 where Frey threw an incomplete pass to set up 4th & 15.
That is when Frey threw a pass toward the end zone intended for wide receiver Bernard Edwards only to have Iowa defensive back Jason Olejniczak intercept it to give the Hawkeyes the ball back at their 20-yard-line with 2:31 left on the clock and a chance to run out the clock.
The Hawkeyes would run the ball three straight times only picking up a yard before punting the ball back to the Buckeyes as Hujsak's kick traveled only 27 yards as Ohio State would get the ball at the Iowa 48-yard-line with 59 seconds left in the game.
The drive would start with Frey completing a 23-yard pass to Olive, then finding Graham for seven yards, then throwing an incomplete pass intended for Scottie Graham to set up 3rd & 3 at the Iowa 18-yard-line with 20 seconds left.
Frey would then complete a 15-yard pass to Jeff Graham to put Ohio State at the Iowa three-yard-line as Frey would throw an incomplete pass set up 2nd & goal with seven seconds to play.
That is when Frey found Olive in the back of the end zone for a three-yard touchdown with one second to go as the Buckeyes took their first lead of the game at 27-26 as Ohio State would fail to convert on the ensuing two-point conversion.
The Hawkeyes would have one attempt to pull off a miracle as they tried their version of the 1982 California game-winning kickoff return for a touchdown, but it failed as the Buckeyes would come away with the 27-26 win.
The loss would not derail Iowa's dreams of going to the Rose Bowl as they wound up finishing the regular season with a 8-3 record and 6-2 in the Big 10 as they finished in a four-way tie with Illinois, Michigan, and Michigan State as the Hawkeyes advanced to the Rose Bowl based on their head-to-head record against the four teams.
But the Hawkeyes would fall to the Washington Huskies 46-34 in the "Grandaddy of Them All" as Iowa would finish the season with 8-4 record and #16 ranking in the final coaches poll while finishing #18 in the final AP poll.
As for the Buckeyes, they would finish the season with a 7-4-1 record as they would drop their regular season finale 16-13 to Michigan and then lose to Air Force 23-11 in the Liberty Bowl.
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