Iowa Will Have to Go Through Second Half Comeback Routine Sans Starting QB

Hawkeyes QB Ricky Stanzi went down on a hit in the endzone, causing him to cough up the ball to give Northwestern the first of its two first half touchdowns. It was one of four turnovers by Iowa, which puts them in a halftime hole for the eighth time in their nine games this season.

Worse still, Stanzi won't be returning in this game, putting the hopes of remaining undefeated on the shoulders of redshirt freshman QB James Vandenberg.

Northwestern had a fantastic chance to take a decisive two-score advantage going into half, but Wildcats QB Dan Persa, in relief of Northwestern starter Mike Kafka, forced a ball into double coverage in the endzone.

The rest of the games in the early slate boast leads of more than one score, so it looks up to this tilt to tantalize us with the prospect of added significance for the later Penn State-Ohio State game.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.