GAME RECAP: No. 16 Iowa Walks Off Michigan 20–19 in Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Big House had seen this movie before. Just not with Iowa holding the script.

Three weeks after Michigan beat Western Michigan on a last-second heave, the Wolverines got the other end of it. Hank Brown found Reece Vander Zee as the clock hit zero, and No. 16 Iowa walked out of Michigan Stadium with a 20–19 win — the Hawkeyes’ first in Ann Arbor since 2010.

Iowa improved to 4–0 (1–0 Big Ten). Michigan fell to 3–1 (0–1 Big Ten).

Michigan had the yards. Iowa had the ending.

Bryce Underwood opened the scoring the way a home favorite is supposed to. He drove the Wolverines 81 yards in nine plays and hit JJ Buchanan for 18 yards at 1:58 of the first. Dominic Aller kicked it through? No — T. Butkowski converted. Michigan 7–0.

Fourteen seconds later, the game flipped. Jacob Baggett’s kickoff was caught at the 1, and Braeden Jackson took it 99 yards down the right sideline. Caden Buhr tied it. Michigan Stadium went from roar to murmur in one return.

The Wolverines spent the next two quarters winning the field-position fight and nothing else. Butkowski made a 41-yarder at 12:58 of the second and a 22-yarder at 1:29 of the third. Michigan led 13–7 entering the fourth after owning the line of scrimmage and the air. Underwood kept finding Buchanan and Andrew Marsh. Iowa’s offense had 58 rushing yards for the day and no answers on the ground.

Then Brown started throwing the ball where Iowa throws it in November.

He hit Vander Zee from 16 yards at 14:02 of the fourth. Buhr converted. Iowa 14, Michigan 13. The visitors had their first lead since the kick-return smoke cleared.

Michigan answered in two minutes. Underwood dropped a 49-yard touchdown to Buchanan at 11:59. The two-point try failed. Michigan 19–14. The Big House believed that was the dagger. Buchanan finished with five catches for 130 yards and both Wolverine scores. Marsh added seven for 106. It was the first pair of 100-yard receivers in Ann Arbor since 2002.

It was not enough.

Iowa punted. Michigan punted. Iowa got the ball at its own 9 with 1:48 left, down five, 91 yards from the end zone. Brown moved it. A 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty kept the chains alive. A 29-yard completion put the Hawkeyes in striking distance. Michigan called an injury timeout. Two seconds remained.

Brown threw it. Vander Zee caught it. The play went under review. The call stood. Iowa 20, Michigan 19. No extra point required. The walk-off was the whole thing.

Michigan outgained Iowa 429–285 and ran 40 times for 153 yards. Underwood went 17-of-28 for 276 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Jordan Marshall led the rushers with 59 yards. None of it showed on the final score.

Brown finished 21-of-35 for 227 yards and two scores, both to Vander Zee. The Iowa receiver had five catches for 66 yards and the two touchdowns that booked the trip home. Tony Diaz had 46 yards. DJ Vonnahme had 44. Kamari Moulton led the rushers with 44 yards on 13 carries. The Hawkeyes did not turn it over.

Zach Lutmer led Iowa with 12 tackles. Cam Buffington had 11. Landyn Van Kekerix had 10. Jayden Montgomery added a sack. The defense bent for 429 yards and did not break when the clock asked it not to.

Iowa leaves Ann Arbor 4–0 for the first time since 2021. Michigan leaves its own building 3–1 and 0–1 in the Big Ten, staring at a one-point loss that will follow the program around until the next time these two meet.

The Hawkeyes did not dominate the Big House. They walked it off in the Big House. On this Saturday, that was the only stat that traveled.