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By Jordan Garretson
jordan-garretson@uiowa.edu
TEMPE, Ariz. — After 30 minutes of play in the 2011 Insight Bowl, Iowa maintained advantages against Oklahoma in first downs (11-5), total offense (135-88), and time of possession (18:34-10:43).
But the Hawkeyes still trailed the 19th-ranked Sooners, 14-0. Iowa (7-6) scored 14 points of its own in the second half, but its defense finally gave way and Oklahoma (10-3) won, 31-14, in front of an Insight Bowl-record crowd of 54,247 at Sun Devil Stadium.
The talk leading to to Friday’s game was that Oklahoma’s high-powered attack — averaging the country’s 10th-most points at more than 40 a game — would be too much for the Iowa defense to handle.
But the Sooners managed just six first downs and 89 yards of offense in the first half. The first quarter saw Oklahoma gain 7 yards of offense and zero first downs.
In linebacker Tyler Nielsen’s mind, the defensive performance still wasn’t solid enough to win.
Tempe, Ariz.- Iowa wide receiver Marvin McNutt (left) walks off the field, and Oklahoma defensive end R.J. Washington celebrates the Insight Bowl win at Sun Devil Stadium on Friday, December 30, 2011. Iowa lost to Oklahoma, 31-14. (The Daily Iowan/Christy Aumer)
“It doesn’t matter,” Nielsen said. “I mean, if it was good enough to win we would have held them to zero points. We played hard. We played tough. But we made some mistakes and they ended up with 31 points. So, at the end of the day, it’s about the final score on the scoreboard.”
Oklahoma likely would have ended up with fewer points had Iowa’s offense not put its defense in bad situations. On the third play of the Hawkeyes’ second drive, James Vandenberg fired an inaccurate pass towards Marvin McNutt. Oklahoma corner Jamell Fleming — who did a spectacular job on McNutt all night, limiting the senior receiver to 46 yards on four catches — snatched the ball and returned it to Iowa’s 5-yard line.
“It was a fun matchup [with Fleming],” McNutt said. “It was a battle the whole game … Oklahoma had a game plan, and they worked it well. We just weren’t connecting when we needed to.”
After Fleming’s pick Oklahoma used Blake Bell — its 6-6, 245-pound short-yardage quarterback — to punch in its first touchdown from four yards out. Bell was named the Insight Bowl Offensive Player of the Game after running for 51 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries.
Had you told Kirk Ferentz before the game his team would have a seven-minute edge in time of possession come halftime, he’d be probably be pretty damn satisfied. But Iowa still wasn’t able to find the end zone in the first 30 minutes, largely due to four penalties for 27 yards and inconsistent execution.
The Hawkeyes even drove the ball 65 yards on 14 plays on their drive following Bell’s first touchdown. But even then, they still emerged scoreless. Ferentz elected to hand the ball to Jordan Canzeri on a fourth-and-one at the Oklahoma 6-yard line, but he was stopped three yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Left tackle Riley Reiff said Iowa was “sloppy” in the first half and was punished for poor technique and too many mental mistakes.
“A game like that — you are playing a good defensive team like that — you need every play,” Ferentz said. “The yards came tough tonight. And unforced errors, that’s something we can’t afford to do. You can’t afford that against anybody, certainly not a good opponent.”
Iowa finally seemed to find a rhythm late in the third quarter, chaining together a long drive to end the period. The drive ended with Vandenberg finding C.J. Fiedorowicz for a five-yard touchdown pass with 14:46 remaining. Fiedorowicz’s reception, one of four for 23 yards, capped a 16-play, 75-yard Hawkeye scoring drive that spanned 7:59.
“We were just executing the basics,” Reiff said. “We wish we could have done that the first three quarters. But give them credit — they played hard. We just didn’t have enough today.”
Iowa’s defense responded by forcing two straight Oklahoma three-and-outs. Iowa compiled another successful drive after the second Sooner sputtering, going 78 yards in 12 plays. Canzeri caught a swing pass from Vandenberg, then scampered past the defense to complete a nine-yard touchdown pass with 6:56 to go.
The Hawkeyes had cut Oklahoma’s lead to 21-14. But the offensive charge seemed to be too little, too late. Mike Hunnicutt tacked on a 35-yard field goal with 2:28 to go, and Bell’s final touchdown run — a 21-yarder with 45 seconds left — sealed the Sooners’ victory.
“The defense was doing a great job in the first half,” Fiedorowicz said. “We need to put points up in the first half to back up the defense. That’s the offense’s fault.”
