Unbeaten Wildcats Top Hawkeyes for Fifth-Straight Win

Saturday, September 27

Iowa City, Iowa

11:00 AM

Northwestern

5-0 , 1-0

Iowa

3-2 , 0-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Northwestern	0	10	6	6	22
Iowa	3	14	0	0	17

C.J. Bach&eacute;r eludes Iowa's Mitch King during the first half. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Unbeaten Wildcats Top Hawkeyes for Fifth-Straight Win

9/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football

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Sept. 27, 2008

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IOWA CITY, Iowa - C.J. Bachér threw for 284 yards and three touchdowns and Northwestern rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Iowa 22-17 on Saturday and improve to 5-0 for the first time in 46 years.

The Wildcats, who have now handed Iowa 25 percent of their losses at Kinnick Stadium since 2002 (Iowa is 35-8 during that stretch), have won five consecutive games for the first time since 1996.

Rasheed Ward added a career-high 10 receptions and a touchdown for Northwestern, which kept Iowa (3-2, 0-1 Big Ten) out of the end zone on four chances inside the Wildcats 10-yard line with less than 2 minutes left.

Iowa sophomore quarterback Ricky Stanzi threw three straight incompletions from the Northwestern 8, and Wildcats defensive tackle John Gill knocked Stanzi's fourth-down pass to the turf to seal the victory. Stanzi finished 21-for-30 for 238 yards.

Shonn Greene ran for a career-high 159 rushing yards to lead Iowa, but was knocked out of the game with a head injury midway through the fourth quarter. NU safety Brad Phillips leveled a bone-crushing hit, which forced Greene to fumble.

Northwestern then turned the takeaway -- its fifth of the game -- into its first lead at 22-17 on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Bachér to Eric Peterman with 7:54 left. The key play on that drive was when Ward made a one-handed catch on third down to keep the drive alive. A personal foul penalty after the play pushed the ball to the 5-yard line and set up Peterman's second TD of the game.

Northwestern (5-0, 1-0) can match the best start in 46 years with a win against Michigan State on Oct. 11.

The Hawkeyes committed five turnovers, which included four fumbles.

Iowa jumped ahead 17-3 late in the first half, but the Hawkeyes gave Northwestern life with a costly fumble. The Wildcats took advantage, pulling within 17-16 on two quick touchdown passes by Bachér.

Iowa's Andy Brodell muffed a punt at the 33, and Bachér hit Ward on a 1-yard TD pass with 17 seconds left in the first half to make it 17-10 at halftime. With momentum back on their side, the Wildcats went 76 yards on just four plays, as Bachér found Peterman for a 15-yard TD with 13:28 left in the third quarter. Kicker Amado Villarreal missed an extra point that would have tied it.

Iowa's Amari Spievey then fumbled on the kickoff, but Villarreal - who had been perfect through Northwestern's first four games - missed his second field goal of the game, this one from 34 yards.

The Hawkeyes opened the scoring on a 30-yard field goal by Trent Mossbrucker. Greene then capped a 90-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown run to put Iowa up 10-0 early in the second quarter.

After a 37-yard field goal by Villarreal put the Wildcats on the board, Stanzi showed off the touch that helped him win the starting job over junior Jake Christensen. He hit a streaking Brodell for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 2:11 left in the first half, giving the Hawkeyes a 17-3 lead.

Line judge Robert Davis was run over early in the second half and was taken to the officials' locker room. Davis was replaced by an alternate official.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)