Iowa reaching new heights with rusty parts

For a moment there on national television, Kirk Ferentz seemed to choke up.

Kirk Ferentz and Ricky Stanzi have been at the center of Iowa's 8-0 start. (Getty Images)

During the obligatory on-field, postgame interview the reporter asked him how Iowa had accomplished its latest out-of-nowhere victory. That's when it hit the Iowa coach. Eight games into one of the all-time seasons in the school's history, in his 11th year as head coach he didn't have an answer.

Why shouldn't he break down? The question is would they be tears of joy or a sign of a nervous breakdown?

Ferentz's team is the sum of some very rusty and questionable parts. Iowa has never started 8-0. Four of those victories have come by a total of eight points. Converted quarterback Marvin McNutt, there's a name for posterity, sealed the latest win, catching the winning touchdown pass at the gun at Michigan State.

The Hawkeyes are undefeated this deep in the season for the first time and are trying to figure out how.

"I definitely wasn't thinking about championships or an undefeated season," quarterback Ricky Stanzi said the thoughts that didn't clutter his mind moments before tossing the 7-yard slant to McNutt.

Stanzi is a good place to start the dissection of the Hawkeyes, who are the class of a flawed, cussed and discussed Big Ten at this point. What do they say, though, if the cleat fits ...?

Stanzi is what Iowa needed: a leader at quarterback, not a poser. The guy he replaced, Jake Christensen, was the Parade All-American who started for two years at Iowa. Christensen had all the tools except the most important one, a football brain. He was a pretty boy, a perfectionist who never lived up to his promise.

In came Stanzi, from Mentor, Ohio, as somewhat of a mutt. He is still just as likely to throw it over your head as throw it at your feet. The thing is Stanzi doesn't care. He has thrown as many interceptions this season (nine) than Christensen did in three seasons in Iowa City. Three have been taken back for touchdowns.

But when it counted, Stanzi became John Elway on Saturday night, leading the Hawkeyes on a 10-play, 70-yard drive that preserved Iowa's Big Ten, BCS and, yes, national championship hopes.

"If you're thinking about [championships], then you're going to make the wrong play," said Stanzi, who is cruising toward a Rose Bowl. Meanwhile, Christensen is down in I-AA with Eastern Illinois.

There haven't been many championships for Iowa lately. There was an Orange Bowl in 2002 and a shared Big Ten title two years later, but in recent years the Hawkeyes have been known for their off-field escapades. They were numerous and embarrassing and filled the police blotter, even the coach's own son.

In the offseason, Ferentz strongly suggested that some parts of Iowa City's night scene were off limits to his players. Judging by the record -- the lack of the police type and the unblemished won-loss type -- the players are listening.

After completing 11 of 27 for 138 yards in one of the greatest games in Iowa history, there are 67 quarterbacks nationally with a higher efficiency rating than Stanzi. His numbers are actually worse in some way than last season, when he started 11 of 13 games in Iowa's 9-4 season.

There is aptly named linebacker Pat Angerer who is angry enough to play his position but would rather talk squirrel hunting than football strategy. Tailback is held down by a couple of freshmen. Before Iowa Nation had caught on, there was Brittney Mears. She was cited for harassment during the Sept. 22 Arkansas State home game for basically picking on defensive end Adrian Clayborn. Really. Police said Mears "continually yelled" at Clayborn, making him "feel distracted and annoyed."

The road, it turned out, has been less hostile. On Saturday, Iowa became the first Big Ten team in 12 years to win at Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State in the same season, three of most unfriendly spots in the conference.

The last Big Ten team to do that also won a national championship, Michigan in 1997.

You wonder after all this if Iowa is being ignored. The combined winning percentage of its five BCS conference opponents is .676.

But a lot of things about Iowa are ignored. That's why there haven't been many days like Saturday. Everyone was happy. Iowa State took that turnover snowman from Nebraska (eight) and turned it into an improbable 9-7 victory. A former walk-on, Jake Williams, caught what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown pass.

These are not your Osborne's Huskers. Iowa State was an 18½-half point underdog that was missing its starting quarterback and tailback due to injuries. Oh, and the team was fighting a stomach bug so intense that there were, um, "issues" at halftime. Don't believe it? Guard Ben Lamaak could be seen vomiting on the sideline.

Nice visual.

McNutt, a mutt himself, caught the game-winning slant pass just like they draw it up, cutting in front of the defensive back. McNutt came to the school from St. Louis high school power Hazelwood Central, but never made it above third-string quarterback. His line coming into this season was three passing attempts and one catch.

Because of his catch, Iowa won for the first time at Michigan State since 1995. It won its 12th consecutive game (second longest behind Florida) for the first time since the early 1920s. It is 8-0 for the first time ever.

What's next? Seemingly winnable games against Indiana and Northwestern before a showdown at Ohio State on Nov. 14. If form holds, by that time, Ferentz will definitely need some tissue.

Nothing, though, is for sure. The Hawkeyes can win or lose any game 17-13. It is a team carried by its defense but defined by its mutts.

"Iowa has never done [this] before," McNutt said, "especially to win it like this. We love to play these type of games."