Meeder Kicks Way in Hawkeye Hearts

Iowa Backup Kicker Boots Game-Winner Friday at Nebraska

Iowa Hawkeyes offensive lineman Rusty Feth (60) hugs kicker Marshall Meeder (82) after kicking the game winning field goal as time expired at Memorial Stadium. (Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports)

In a season when every win seemed to have the weirdest twists, Iowa’s 10th victory will top the list of unlikeliest endings.

Marshall Meeder’s 38-yard field goal as time expired — in case you don’t know who he is, the explanation will come shortly — gave the Hawkeyes a 13-10 win at Nebraska on Friday.

The Hawkeyes finished the regular season 10-2 overall, 7-2 as the Big Ten West Division champions, and will play either Ohio State or Michigan in next Saturday’s Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis.

“Big Ten football, November football, it’s kind of the way it works,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “The bottom line is, football is not a beauty contest. It’s not like gymnastics, where you get style points. It’s about finding a way to be successful, finding a way to win the football game.”

And that’s what the Hawkeyes did. Ethan Hurkett intercepted a pass from Nebraska’s Chubba Purdy with 15 seconds left in the game. Leshon Williams’ 22-yard run got Iowa to the Nebraska 15-yard line. Deacon Hill centered the ball for a 5-yard loss, then Meeder, making his first kick as a Hawkeye, knocked in the game-winner.

Nebraska, which lost its last chance to become bowl-eligible, outgained the Hawkeyes 264-257. But Iowa recovered two fumbles to go with Hurkett’s interception, and found a way, as Ferentz said, to win.

The takeaways:

MEEDER THE HERO: Drew Stevens has been Iowa’s kicker all year, but had an awful day.

Stevens had two kicks blocked, and two of his kickoffs landed out of bounds.

With the game on the line, Ferentz turned to Meeder, a senior who transferred from Central Michigan after three seasons. Meeder, who was 31-of-46 in field goals in his career, delivered the game-winner, joining Miguel Recinos (2018) and Keith Duncan (2019) who have kicked game-winners for the Hawkeyes against Nebraska.

“I’m not overly surprised,” Ferentz said of Meeder making the kick. “You don’t take anything for granted, I’m not playing that card. But I’m not surprised. Drew just had a tough day today. He’s been a really good performer for us.”

Meeder said he was told at halftime that he would be taking over the kicking duties.

“So I kind of knew throughout that I would be the next guy in,” Meeder said.

Meeder said the kick was “the same kick I’ve always made, just a little more pressure.”

And now he’ll go down in Hawkeye history.

HURKETT’S BIG PLAY: Hurkett, a defensive end, has been quietly effective for the Hawkeyes all season, but the interception at the end was his biggest play.

Iowa had lost the ball two plays earlier when quarterback Deacon Hill was intercepted, and it looked like Nebraska would have a chance at a game-winning field goal. Hurkett’s pick changed that.

“I couldn’t really believe it at first,” Hurkett said. “I was like, ‘Is this really coming right to me?’ Fortunately, it did.”

“When you have a D-lineman in coverage, you’re not asking for a lot,” linebacker Jay Higgins said. “Hurkett’s been talking about being a linebacker here for the last four years. I think he made a pretty good linebacker play.”

Hurkett also led the Hawkeyes with nine tackles.

WILLIAMS ON THE RUN: Williams finished the day with 111 rushing yards on just 16 carries. It was his third 100-yard rushing day of the season.

Williams has established himself as the Hawkeyes’ lead back — it was the seventh time this season that he led Iowa in rushing.

Iowa had 163 rushing yards against a Nebraska defense that ranked fifth nationally in rushing defense.

HILL’S INCONSISTENCY: Hill’s education as a starter continues, but he had another inconsistent game.

Hill was just 11-of-28 passing with the one interception, finishing with just 94 rushing yards.

Still, he had one of the bigger plays of the game in the fourth quarter, when he tripped taking a snap at Iowa’s 3-yard line. Hill flipped the ball to Williams before falling into the end zone, keeping the Huskers from getting a safety.