Iowa Now Just One Step from Playoff After Business-Like Win vs. Nebraska

It wasn’t easy. It never is with this Iowa football team.

That’s the reality of this unexpected 2015 season, a year that began with Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz on the hot seat and might end with a most unlikely College Football Playoff berth.

The Hawkeyes aren’t flashy. They might not be as talented as other teams in the national title conversation. But they play with effort. They play efficiently. They don’t make mistakes, and that’s why they’re 12-0 and one step away from a playoff spot after Friday’s 28-20 win at Nebraska.

“They play hard,” Ferentz told ABC’s Olivia Harlan on air following the game. “I’ve said it all along. I don’t know how good they are, but they play hard and they play together. It’s a lot of fun to be with them every day.”

Nebraska outgained Iowa 433-250. The Hawkeyes didn’t convert a third down all day (0-of-9). Quarterback C.J. Beathard completed just nine of 16 passes for 97 yards with a touchdown. But aside from a Desmond King muffed punt that Nebraska turned into a touchdown, Ferentz and Co. didn’t do things to hurt themselves all day long.

You can’t say the same for the Cornhuskers, who committed eight penalties for 95 yards, including multiple silly personal fouls. Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw for 296 yards, but he also tossed four interceptions.

Iowa linebacker Parker Hesse tipped an Armstrong pass and returned it four yards for a touchdown, giving the Hawkeyes a lead they would never relinquish.

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

The Hawks had an answer for everything Nebraska did. After the Huskers cut the lead to 21-17 in the third quarter, tailback Jordan Canzeri rushed 68 yards down the left sideline—running what looked like the same play as a 29-yard touchdown run earlier in the quarter—for a dagger of a touchdown and a two-score lead.

One year after blowing a 17-point second-half lead to the Huskers in Iowa City and falling 37-34 in overtime, Iowa simply looked more polished and disciplined than its western neighbors. Friday put the memories of 2014’s ugly 7-6 finish to rest for good. For those tuning in for a first look at Iowa, they got exactly what those who have followed more closely have received all year: smart, hard-nosed football.

“We look at it one week at a time, and we just try to prepare and play our best on Saturday,” Ferentz said. “These guys have handled it week by week. You start to stack them up and good things happen.”

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Now it’s time to face reality: Iowa is one win away from the College Football Playoff. The Hawkeyes and Clemson are the only remaining FBS unbeatens, and it’s all but impossible the selection committee would jump a one-loss team over the Hawkeyes at this point in the season, given their current ranking.

Iowa will face either Michigan State, Michigan or Ohio State in Indianapolis. The Spartans will clinch the East title by beating Penn State on Saturday. If Michigan State falls, the winner of the Michigan-Ohio State game would reach Indy.

The Spartans stunned the Buckeyes in Columbus last week but did so without their best player, senior quarterback Connor Cook, who sat with a shoulder injury. If Cook can’t go, Iowa’s chances of winning increase significantly.

Michigan has had an outstanding first season under Jim Harbaugh’s watch, but the Wolverines are quarterbacked by Jake Rudock, who has 16 touchdowns against nine interceptions this season. Rudock, of course, was encouraged to transfer from Iowa by Ferentz after Beathard passed him on the depth chart.

Iowa’s staff would surely have a book on Rudock, and Michigan’s struggling run game and run defense, which has given up multiple big plays in the past two weeks, is also enticing.

Ohio State, with its NFL-caliber talent across the board, from Ezekiel Elliott to J.T. Barrett to Joey Bosa, is the most intimidating foe. Its fast-paced scheme could seriously test Iowa’s opportunistic defense. But at this point, do you count Iowa out against anyone?

The Hawkeyes aren’t polished or pretty, but they’re 12-0 and 60 minutes away from playing in the College Football Playoff. It’s well past time for America to embrace that reality.