No. 17 Iowa stunned No. 18 Michigan 20-19 on Saturday when Hank Brown hit Reece Vander Zee with a 16-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the game at Michigan Stadium.
The Hawkeyes drove 91 yards in 11 plays after taking over at their own nine-yard line with 1:46 left. A 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Michigan defensive back Zeke Berry kept the drive alive at midfield.
Brown then completed a 29-yard pass to Addison Ostrenga, setting up the final snap with two seconds on the clock. Vander Zee caught the winner as time expired, giving Iowa its first victory in Ann Arbor since 2010.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, a Michigan alumnus and prominent booster, watched the Wolverines control long stretches only to watch the lead slip away.
“I cannot believe they lost that game,” Portnoy said. “They dominated that game so thoroughly, and then they just kept making mistakes.”
Michigan outgained Iowa 429 yards to 285 and held the ball for 34 minutes, 29 seconds. The Wolverines still could not close it out.
Underwood was stopped on a fourth-and-1 sneak from the Iowa 18-yard line in the second quarter. A procedural penalty wiped out another chance to keep a drive going. Michigan also missed chances in the passing game, including a dropped interception.
The late personal foul on Berry after a play on Iowa’s final possession was the error Portnoy singled out. He called it “so stupid.”
Iowa (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) scored 13 points in the fourth quarter after being held without an offensive touchdown through three quarters. The Hawkeyes are 4-0 for the first time since 2021.
Michigan (3-1, 0-1) struck first when Underwood threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to JJ Buchanan with 1:58 left in the first quarter. Braeden Jackson answered on the ensuing kickoff, returning it 99 yards for a touchdown.
Trey Butkowski kicked a 41-yard field goal early in the second quarter and a 22-yarder late in the third, putting Michigan ahead 13-7 heading into the fourth.
Brown and Vander Zee connected for a 16-yard score at the 14:02 mark of the fourth to give Iowa a 14-13 lead. Underwood answered two minutes later with a 49-yard touchdown to Buchanan, their second scoring play of the afternoon. The two-point conversion failed, leaving Michigan in front 19-14.
Iowa kicker Caden Buhr then missed a 51-yard field-goal attempt with 2:33 remaining. Michigan went three-and-out and punted, handing the ball back for the decisive drive.
Portnoy said the loss was hard to accept because the Wolverines had looked sharper than they had in weeks.
“That’s ironically the best by far Michigan has looked in a long time,” Portnoy said.
The ending carried extra weight after Michigan’s season-opening 13-12 win over Western Michigan, which ended on a 47-yard Hail Mary from Underwood to Buchanan after officials restored one second to the clock.
This time Michigan was on the wrong side of a last-second score.
Underwood finished with 276 passing yards and two touchdowns. Buchanan had 130 receiving yards. Brown completed 21 of 35 passes for 227 yards and two scores. A crowd of 111,126 attended the Big Ten opener.
Michigan’s last two offensive series totaled eight plays and 19 yards. Portnoy later said he broke out in a cold sweat and believed Michigan would win 999 times if the same teams played 1,000 times.
The Wolverines now turn to a road game at Minnesota next week while Iowa hosts a conference opponent with an unbeaten record intact.
