Falling camera caps off frustrating night for Iowa
A snapshot of ESPN telecast
By RANDY PETERSON
TEMPE, Ariz. One way or another, someone was out to get Iowa record-breaking receiver Marvin McNutt Friday night.
During the first three quarters of the Hawkeyes’ 31-14 Insight Bowl loss against 19th-ranked Oklahoma, it was Sooners cornerback Jemell Fleming who stood between James Vandenberg passes and McNutt.
Then once Iowa’s offense started clicking in the fourth quarter, it was as if the sky was falling.
“I looked up and said: “What is it that fell out of the sky,” McNutt said long after the Hawkeyes finished the season with a 7-6 record.
Michael Hunnicutt’s 35-yard field goal with 2 minutes 28 seconds to play provided the 10-3 Sooners a 24-14 lead, then 6 seconds later, ESPN’s sky camera broke free of its restraining wires.
It fell to the ground, so close to McNutt that he got tangled momentarily in wires that were supposed to suspend the remote-controlled Skycam above the field.
“I feel like somebody was trying to kill me,” McNutt said in jest. “It was like “I’m looking for you.” The game, which started at 9 p.m. Central Time, already had time-consuming ups and downs – Iowa’s inability to produce an offense for three quarters, then suddenly finding the end zone.
And then the camera tumbled 30 feet to the ground, nearly striking Iowa’s top receiver.
“I was lucky it didn’t hit me,” McNutt said.
He broke free of wires that enable the camera to move from one place to another easier than he eluded the Fleming’s glove-like defending.
“It was kind of pulling me, and I knew I didn’t want to keep going with it,” he said with a slight chuckle of his brief entanglement.
The game stopped for five minutes as the ESPN crew cleaned camera parts from the field – a lull that resembled Iowa’s early-game offense.
Vandenberg, who was injured late in the game, completed just nine of his first 20 passes against a blitzing defense and a solid secondary against whom McNutt caught just one pass during the first half.
“Me and Vandy just weren’t clicking when we needed to,” McNutt said.
Iowa trailed 21-0 until tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz caught a 5-yard touchdown pass with 14:46 to play in the game.
That gave the Hawkeyes life after three quarters in which the defense kept them in the game.
Defensive tackle Mike Daniels had two sacks. Broderick Binns had an interception.
The offense? It sputtered, in part because of the defensive job Fleming did against McNutt during the first half.
“Jamell did a great job,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “(McNutt) is a great receiver, and I think he does a great job.”
The Sooners’ once-maligned defense came to play on this occasion before an Insight Bowl record crowd of 54,247.
Vandenberg’s sixth pass was intercepted. Freshman Jordan Canzeri, starting at tailback in place of suspended Marcus Coker, lost three yards on fourth-and-one from the Oklahoma 6-yard line.
With 5 minutes remaining in the first half, Vandenberg completed a 35-yard pass to Kevonte Martin-Manley that would have resulted in a first down at the Oklahoma 38-yard line – had the Hawkeyes not been called for an illegal formation penalty.
“We had a critical error – an unforced error on a play that would have got the ball (past) mid-field,” coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We did some things to hurt ourselves.”
Those mistakes were part of the reason Iowa averaged a season-worst 3.44 yards per play.
“When you’re playing a good defensive team like that, you need every play,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “The yards came tough, and unforced errors are something we can’t afford.”
Blake Bell, Oklahoma’s 6-foot-6, 245-pound backup quarterback who is used on short-yardage power running plays, rushed for three touchdowns, the last one a 21-yarder with 45 seconds to play.
“That guy is a load,” Ferentz said. “It’s a well-conceived package.”
The loss stopped Iowa’s bowl victory streak at three.
“We’re losing a group of 18 seniors that really have done a great, great job over the last four years — 35 wins,” Ferentz said. “They’ve done a good job in the classroom, and certainly they have taken us to four straight bowl games.”
McNutt, one of those seniors, ended his career with records for touchdown receptions (28), receptions (170), and receiving yards (2,861).
“It was great to be a part of the Iowa tradition,” McNutt said. “Maybe I’ll reflect on that in a few more days.”
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
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Unfortunately, McNutt did not get the record for receptions…he fell short of DJK. Just another error in your reporting. Going back to your article on the seniors trying to win 4 bowl games, have you figured out yet that Iowa played in the 2009 Outback Bowl (not 2008) and the 2010 Orange Bowl (not 2009)…let’s hope one of your New Year’s resolutions is to get your facts straight!
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