It’s time for another edition of “Spencer’s Sunday Thoughts” – a weekly column focused on college football headlines in Iowa, the Big Ten, Big 12 and beyond. Here’s what’s on my mind this week:
Another game against a top-10 team, another “what if” for Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes, as Oregon kicker Atticus Sappington drilled a 39-yard field goal with three seconds remaining to help the Ducks survive the rain and a raucous crowd at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
When you look back at how this game played out – it’s hard to not look back on things like the bad snap on a punt in the first quarter that Rhys Dakin smartly batted out of the end zone for a safety. Those two points given to the Ducks made a big difference in the final margin, as did the (at least) three points the Hawkeyes didn’t get after Kaden Wetjen fumbled in the third quarter when Iowa was at the Oregon 16 yard line. Another missed two-point conversion attempt after Mark Gronowski’s go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter also made a difference, as Kamari Moulton was ruled out of bounds on the catch that would have forced the Ducks to go for a touchdown to win, instead of a simple field goal like they got.
In all, the Hawkeyes showed a lot of fight in this one. Much like the Indiana and Penn State games at Kinnick earlier this season, they fell behind but battled back to take the lead late in the game, giving the defense an opportunity to get one final stop and score a big win – and turn Saturday’s game into another “November game to Remember”. Instead, Dante Moore and Oregon found a way – getting a big 24-yard completion to Malik Benson to put them in position for the winning kick from Sappington.
What it boils down to is this – the Hawkeyes have gotten back to the point where they are competitive in games against ranked teams. This is the second time this season where Iowa got the game they wanted – a physical, slugfest, type of contest – where they have a chance to win in the fourth quarter. However, just being competitive isn’t enough – the Hawkeyes just can’t do enough to win one of these games, and they drop to 0-12 against ranked teams since that win over Penn State in 2021.
Iowa has another opportunity to break that streak this Saturday when they head to USC.
Victory thy name is Flora. Aiden Flora, that is. The redshirt freshman from Adel ADM high school returned a punt 79-yards for a touchdown with six minutes left in the game as the Cyclones stunned TCU in Fort Worth to break their four-game losing streak.
This was not a pretty game on either side, and plenty of issues remain for Iowa State to clean up – especially on offense, but the defense was able to hold off a potent TCU offense, intercepting Horned Frogs quarterback Josh Hoover twice. His counterpart Rocco Becht wasn’t much better – throwing for only 111 yards, a touchdown and two picks, but Carson Hansen helped the offense along with 108 yards and a touchdown on the day. It was Hansen’s third straight game with 100-plus yards rushing, which is the first time an Iowa State player has done that since Breece Hall had four straight games over 100-yards in 2021.
This was a win Iowa State sorely needed, as the free fall after their 5-0 start was causing quite a bit of frustration from the team and fans alike. The Cyclones get their third and final bye week of the season this week, then finish with a winnable game against Kansas and a must-win game at a bad Oklahoma State team in the final week.
Big Ten notes:
Catch of the year? Maybe so. Indiana’s Omar Cooper kept the Hoosiers unbeaten with a toe-tap catch in the back of the end zone against Penn State – and caused Gus Johnson to spontaneously combust in the process. Fernando Mendoza’s throw and Cooper’s catch saved the Hoosiers from a perplexing loss where they blew a 20-7 lead after a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns from Nic Singleton. Credit to Penn State for battling, again, as you knew they would, but the better team found a way to win, and the Nittany Lions still can’t beat a top-10 team, even without James Franklin.
Extend Luke Fickell?! Badger fans maybe don’t want that just yet – but after Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh announced this week that the embattled head coach would indeed be back for the 2026 season, Wisconsin went out and won a game where their punter Sean West led the team in passing. Quarterback Danny O’Neil got the start, but left the game with an injury in the first quarter, so freshman Carter Smith was pressed into duty. Smith passed for eight (yes, eight) yards and ran for 47 and a touchdown. The Wisconsin defense was stout – shutting down a good Washington offense on the day.
No Dylan Raiola, no problem – as Nebraska got three touchdown passes from TJ Lateef and a strong rushing day from Emmett Johnson as they held on for a 7-point road win at UCLA.
See the rest of the Big Ten scoreboard here
National Notes:
(Leaving this space open in case a coach gets fired today – it seems to be a Sunday tradition this year).
In all seriousness, there weren’t too many national headlines outside of what happened in the Big Ten. There is one less unbeaten team, after Texas Tech dominated BYU 29-7 and handed the Cougars their first loss.
The ACC continues to shoot itself in the foot and damage its playoff hopes from within, after Wake Forest beat 14th-ranked Virginia, and Cal won a “legendary” ACC battle over 15th-ranked Louisville in overtime. Georgia Tech looks to be the conference’s only playoff representative at this point, but there’s still a lot of football to be played.
What stood out to you this week? Send me an email – spencer@kgymradio.com or find me on social media to continue the conversation.
Spencer Wagen is the host of “Spencer on Sports”, weekdays from 4-6 PM on 1600 ESPN. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @SWOnTheRadio
