Some may say it's karma from the Western Michigan game; I am going to say it is simply Michigan's penalty problems coming back to bite them. It was only a matter of time before penalties cost the Wolverines a game, and today's biggest culprit is cornerback Zeke Berry.
The irony of it is that Berry actually had a good game, but a stupid choice when the Wolverines had Iowa stopped on a 3rd & 12; it ultimately gave the Hawkeyes new life. An errant throw from Iowa QB Hank Brown to Tony Diaz resulted in an incompletion and would have had the Hawkeyes trying to draw up something for fourth and long, but Berry decided to push Diaz after the play when he was out of bounds.
That unsportsmanlike penalty gave Iowa 15 free yards and a new set of downs. Granted, who knows if Iowa would have converted on what would have been 4th & 12 before the penalty, but instead of Jay Hill drawing up a play to bring the house, he had to continue defending the entire field.
That allowed Iowa to move down the field and score on the final play of the game with a touchdown pass to receiver Reece Vander Zee. The Big House went from rocking to complete disbelief in two seconds, as Michigan fell 20-19.
Michigan's offense looked better, but it wasn't good enough against No. 17 Iowa
The Michigan offense had to rely on the defense to bail them out the first three weeks of the season, but that luck seemed to run out against the Hawkeyes. The Michigan offense moved the ball very well against Iowa, but struggled in the red zone, and those field goals ended up coming back to haunt the Wolverines. This is going to be a concern for this team moving forward.
Quarterback Bryce Underwood really opened up the passing game with receivers JJ Buchanan and Andrew Marsh, throwing for 276 yards and two touchdowns, but he did have one interception on the day. When Michigan needed him most on their final offensive drive, an illegal formation penalty turned a 2nd and 3 to a 2nd and 8, and Underwood was unable to work his magic.
While Michigan's defense played well until the final drive, they could have used more help from the offense. The two field goals Michigan had to settle for came on the Iowa 4-yard line and 23-yard line; way too close for the Wolverines to have to settle for only three points.
Now, credit does need to be given to Iowa's defense, which came in as the No. 1 unit in the country, but with the way the Wolverines were moving the ball, finishing drives was crucial.
Then there is the stat of eight penalties for 75 yards for the Wolverines that certainly won't make Whittingham happy. Those penalty problems finally came back to bite the Wolverines, and until this team becomes more disciplined, they won't be seeing a College Football Playoff anytime soon.
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