Top-5 Finishes

[Gonzo_Bloor]

Rob Houghtlin FG to lead #1 Iowa over #2 Michigan in '85

Drew Tate to Warren Holloway to win the Citrus Bowl over LSU

Chuck Long naked bootleg to walk into the end zone and beat Michigan St.

Marvin McNutt TD catch as time ran out to beat Michigan St.

Keith Duncan's walk off FG to beat #3 Michigan in Kinnick

Daniel Murray walk off FG to beat #3 Penn St. in Kinnick

Hank Brown to Reece Vander Zee for the walk off TD to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor



Today's finish probably makes my top-5 Iowa finishes of all time.

 

[HoggI74]

How about top wins as time expired that were NOT a field goal...

# 1 Marv Cook at *O$U
# 2 Today
# 3 McNutt @ MSU ( Big X trumps second tier bowls )
#? If Chuck Long's naked bootleg was the final play then it goes to #1...
#? I remember a Mike Saunders last second scamper around the corner to beat Wisky at Camp Randall. I don't think it was the last play of the game...

 

[Raymond K Hessel]

Outback bowl Tate to Holloway is my #1, but I agree this is right there with the McNutt TD.

 

[HoggI74]

Outback bowl Tate to Holloway is my #1, but I agree this is right there with the McNutt TD.

Of course but not a Big X road game and we did lead like all but 52 seconds of the game. We should have won going away...

 

[Gonzo_Bloor]

How about top wins as time expired that were NOT a field goals...

# 1 Marv Cook at *O$U
# 2 Today
# 3 McNutt @ MSU ( Big X trumps second tier bowls )
#? If Chuck Long's naked bootleg was the final play then it goes to #1...
#? I remember a Mike Saunders last second scamper around the corner to beat Wisky at Camp Randall. I don't think it was the last play of the game...

Can't believe I left out Cook's winner v. OSU. Classic.

 

[uihawk82]

Rob Houghtlin FG to lead #1 Iowa over #2 Michigan in '85

Drew Tate to Warren Holloway to win the Citrus Bowl over LSU

Chuck Long naked bootleg to walk into the end zone and beat Michigan St.

Marvin McNutt TD catch as time ran out to beat Michigan St.

Keith Duncan's walk off FG to beat #3 Michigan in Kinnick

Daniel Murray walk off FG to beat #3 Penn St. in Kinnick

Hank Brown to Reece Vander Zee for the walk off TD to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor



Today's finish probably makes my top-5 Iowa finishes of all time.

Hartlieb to Cook for long yardage was more improbable than Stanzi to McNutt although the McNutt one was to keep the hawks undefeated.

Was Kinnick's dive into the endzone against Notre Dame iirc real late in that game

 

[BunchofAholes]

Walk off field goals are great, but I think TDs are on another level.

Tate-Holloway, Stanzi-McNutt, Hartlieb to Cook, this is right up there.

 

[Rambler Hawk]

How about top wins as time expired that were NOT a field goals...

# 1 Marv Cook at *O$U
# 2 Today
# 3 McNutt @ MSU ( Big X trumps second tier bowls )
#? If Chuck Long's naked bootleg was the final play then it goes to #1...
#? I remember a Mike Saunders last second scamper around the corner to beat Wisky at Camp Randall. I don't think it was the last play of the game...

1990 - Paul Kujawa up the gut to beat Michigan was nerve racking! (Not the last play though) Mikey Saunders with a key play...

 

[Hawkangler]

How about top wins as time expired that were NOT a field goals...

# 1 Marv Cook at *O$U
# 2 Today
# 3 McNutt @ MSU ( Big X trumps second tier bowls )
#? If Chuck Long's naked bootleg was the final play then it goes to #1...
#? I remember a Mike Saunders last second scamper around the corner to beat Wisky at Camp Randall. I don't think it was the last play of the game...

I have seen so many great wins live. 1, 3 and 4 on your list. Saw the Catch in Orlando also. Saw Houghtlin's, Murray's and Duncan's kicks. Wish I had been there today.

 

[Anon1751800595]

1. Tate to Holloway is still my all-time favorite
2. Stanzi to McNutt
3. Yesterday

I was too young to really remember the Houghtlin kick, but I know it’d probably be at the top if I were older. My dad still talks about today.

 

[SoonerBeAHawk]

Can't believe I left out Cook's winner v. OSU. Classic.

That's funny because that's the very first game, and only one actually, lol, that I thought of.

To win on the road against the other traditional Big Ten power with a long pass kinda locks those two inexorably together in my little mind.

Tate to Holloway is the only other comparable it seems to me. Bowl win over the defending National Champions was very nice, ofc.

But regardless of order, hot damn did we need one of these!

 

[RuggieC]

How about top wins as time expired that were NOT a field goals...

# 1 Marv Cook at *O$U
# 2 Today
# 3 McNutt @ MSU ( Big X trumps second tier bowls )
#? If Chuck Long's naked bootleg was the final play then it goes to #1...
#? I remember a Mike Saunders last second scamper around the corner to beat Wisky at Camp Randall. I don't think it was the last play of the game...

Marv Cook's catch and run was the best because of Zabel's call......classic.

But this game at Michigan is right there.

 

[Ripcord]

for me, the Tate to Holloway and Sanzi to McNutt have always been a tie for Number 1. I am still deliberating about yesterday's Brown to Vander Zee, and its final placement will depend on what happens the rest of the season.

Safe to say it will go down in Iowa lore never to be forgotten and will be replayed many, many times in bars throughout the state. Can't imagine how many photos Vander Zee and Brown will have to autograph of that play.

 

[DukeSlater]

That's funny because that's the very first game, and only one actually, lol, that I thought of.

To win on the road against the other traditional Big Ten power with a long pass kinda locks those two inexorably together in my little mind.

Tate to Holloway is the only other comparable it seems to me. Bowl win over the defending National Champions was very nice, ofc.

But regardless of order, hot damn did we need one of these!

Hartlieb to Cook was on 4th and 23 in the Horseshoe. Marv caught ball at the sideline around the ten, got tackled about the two yard line and fell forward onto the goal line. It was incredible. Today in the Big House is right there with just about any of these great finishes in Hawkeye history, especially since it capped a 91-yard drive that took every second of the final 1:46.

 

[SCHawkeye2]

Marv Cook's catch and run was the best because of Zabel's call......classic.

But this game at Michigan is right there.

Zabel might have stroked out yesterday.
RIP

 

[Katan]

for me, the Tate to Holloway and Sanzi to McNutt have always been a tie for Number 1. I am still deliberating about yesterday's Brown to Vander Zee, and its final placement will depend on what happens the rest of the season.

Safe to say it will go down in Iowa lore never to be forgotten and will be replayed many, many times in bars throughout the state. Can't imagine how many photos Vander Zee and Brown will have to autograph of that play.

I agree it becomes a good replay, but without knowing the outcome the first 58 minutes would be soooo painful. I know the classics aren't all sunshine and rainbows. The other two have a little different makeup.

The LSU game was so weird and frustrating since we were really in control until #1 bust of all time QB made it a game. Norm should have done more to shake him up.

The MSU game is an easier watch as it was a back and forth slog the whole game (saw that one live). Nobody was doing much until Kirk Cousins hit that late TD prior to the game winner.

 

[Gonzo_Bloor]

1. Tate to Holloway is still my all-time favorite
2. Stanzi to McNutt
3. Yesterday

I was too young to really remember the Houghtlin kick, but I know it’d probably be at the top if I were older. My dad still talks about today.

I was 13 and remember it well. The funny thing about Houghtlin's kick though, for me, I've always felt the play by Larry Station to stone Michigan's RB Jamie Morris on 3rd and short was the play of that game that has never gotten the flowers it deserves. If Michigan gets that relatively easy first down, we don't get the ball back and the Houghtlin kick never happens.

It happens around the 8:27 mark of this vid:

 

[SoonerBeAHawk]

Hartlieb to Cook was on 4th and 23 in the Horseshoe. Marv caught ball at the sideline around the ten, got tackled about the two yard line and fell forward onto the goal line. It was incredible. Today in the Big House is right there with just about any of these great finishes in Hawkeye history, especially since it capped a 91-yard drive that took every second of the final 1:46.

In today's game Marv might have been determined, on review, to be inches short. It was SO close. I guess that made it even crazier to literally be tackled on the goal line. If it was ruled short I think there was time for just one more play, like 6 seconds or so. I think they would have still won .

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[Max Rebo]

In today's game Marv might have been determined, on review, to be inches short. It was SO close. I guess that made it even crazier to literally be tackled on the goal line. If it was ruled short I think there was time for just one more play, like 6 seconds or so. I think they would have still won .

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It has occurred to me several times that I’m glad replay wasn’t in effect on that play in ‘87.

 

[Bierhalter]

Haven't seen Marshall Koehn's last-second, 57-yard field goal to beat Pitt mentioned. I would agree a last-second touchdown is naturally more exciting, but Koehn's kick did keep us undefeated in 2015. I had forgotten it was that year.

 

[SoonerBeAHawk]

I was 13 and remember it well. The funny thing about Houghtlin's kick though, for me, I've always felt the play by Larry Station to stone Michigan's RB Jamie Morris on 3rd and short was the play of that game that has never gotten the flowers it deserves. If Michigan gets that relatively easy first down, we don't get the ball back and the Houghtlin kick never happens.

It happens around the 8:27 mark of this vid:

I was reading a Michigan board this week and a dude, all these years later, was ruing the dropped potential interception on Iowa's final drive. He referred to him as "the player who will not be named" so I get the feeling this has been something of a festering wound in the fan base for 4 plus decades.

Good! And I think Hank and Reese just threw a little extra salt their way!

 

[Ripcord]

In today's game Marv might have been determined, on review, to be inches short. It was SO close. I guess that made it even crazier to literally be tackled on the goal line. If it was ruled short I think there was time for just one more play, like 6 seconds or so. I think they would have still won .

---

that is kind of how I see it also. a QB sneak or something would have gotten the last 6 inches

 

[Roncuba65]

Was Kinnick's dive into the endzone against Notre Dame iirc real late in that game

I will do a séance with Bob Brooks and get back to you...