In an ominous start in its return to Wrigley Field, Northwestern was booed as the players ran out on the field from a door beneath the center-field bleachers at Saturday’s Wildcats Classic.

It was a given Iowa fans would stage a hostile takeover at Wrigley. Northwestern’s downfall from Big Ten Cinderella in 2020 to a team stained by revelations in July of a hazing scandal ensured the Hawkeyes would have home-field advantage on what turned out to be a gorgeous fall afternoon on the North Side.

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Still, does it get any worse than being booed in your own “Classic”? It wasn’t exactly what the school that bills itself as “Chicago’s Big Ten team” expected in February when NU announced the Iowa game would be played at the iconic ballpark.

The world has turned upside-down for the Wildcats since then, and not even a little getaway to Wrigley would make things better.

Iowa wound up with a 10-7 win on Drew Stevens’ 53-yard field goal with 14 seconds left, ending a low-scoring affair that was even less eventful than predicted.

Northwestern interim coach David Braun was distraught over the loss.

“Deeply wanted to see this team come out of Wrigley with a win,” Braun said. “Many reasons for that, but you saw a team today that embodied what a team really looks like.”

The win left Iowa (7-2) with sole possession of first in the Big Ten West at 4-2, while Northwestern fell to 4-5, 2-4.

After Northwestern tied the game with 1:50 left on Brendan Sullivan’s 5-yard pass to Cam Johnson, Iowa quickly drove downfield with the boisterous Hawkeye-heavy crowd on its feet. The Wrigley video board showed a highlight that included former Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman exhorting the crowd at a game earlier this year. Stroman opted out of his Cubs contract a few hours earlier, not that it made a difference to the Hawkeyes.

Wrigleyville bars welcomed their presence. One featured a sign reading “If you pour it, they will come.”

The day was supposed to be all about Northwestern and its bromance with the Cubs. After the third quarter, the video board showed a compilation tape of Wildcats coaches and student-athletes performing during the seventh-inning stretch over the years. Noticeably absent was any of the many performances by former NU coach Pat Fitzgerald, who is suing the university for wrongful termination.

Go figure.

With an over/under of 31 1/2 points, most expected the antithesis of a slugfest from beginning to end. And that’s what they got with two offensively inept teams that couldn’t even elicit a “woo” from Ronnie “Woo Woo” Wickers. Northwestern outgained Iowa 170 yards to 169, a paltry showing by anyone’s standards.

When Stevens doinked a 53-yard field-goal attempt off the right goal post with 3:01 left in the first quarter, Braun celebrated like the word “interim” had been removed from his job title. The Wildcats wound up with minus-2 yards in a scoreless first quarter and 29 total in a scoreless half, so it turned out the missed kick was indeed the biggest NU highlight of the first 30 minutes.

In the only drive actually resembling a drive, a 15-yard sideline interference penalty on Northwestern helped move the Hawkeyes down to the Wildcat 30 early in the second quarter. But Theran Johnson intercepted Deacon Hill’s pass in the end zone two plays later.

And that began the puntfest. Northwestern punted six times in the first half to Iowa’s four. At least the lines in the bathrooms weren’t too crowded. No one seemed to mind missing any of the alleged “action.” Northwestern’s social media account generously termed it a “pitcher’s duel at Wrigley.”

Hunter Renner’s low-trajectory punt was blocked at the line by Iowa on the opening possession of the third quarter, setting up the Hawkeyes for a seven-play, 25-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Hill to tight end Addison Ostrenga.

Northwestern finally found itself in the red zone on its opening possession of the fourth quarter and drew a pass interference call with 8 1/2 minutes remaining to give them a first-and-goal at the 2. After the Wildcats were stopped for no gain on three straight runs, Sullivan was stopped a half-yard shy of the goal line with 6:36 left.

The Wrigley grounds crew was then called upon to fix a massive divot from the pileup, approximately where Cubs catcher Yan Gomes fell on pitcher Drew Smyly to spoil his perfect-game bid in April. The grounds crew returned on second and third down for more work on the spot, spending more time on the resodded field than Northwestern’s offense did the entire first half.

After a 23-yard punt return by A.J. Henning started the Wildcats at the Iowa 22, Sullivan got them on the board with a 5-yard pass to Johnson. Sullivan finished 12-for-19 for 81 yards. Just as NU die-hards began to get into the game, Iowa drove downfield for the game-winning field goal, sending the stands into a glassy-eyed mosh pit of yellow-and-black-clad fans.

Braun wouldn’t acknowledge any disparity in the size of the fan bases at NU’s home game.

“It felt like one of the coolest experiences in college football ever,” he said. “There were fans on both sides.”

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True enough, though a big misleading.

Even before the game, the Big Ten West showed its true colors. Two of the four division co-leaders were upset on the road, putting Iowa in the driver’s seat. Indiana knocked off Wisconsin for its first conference victory, while Nebraska gave Michigan State its first Big Ten win.

That left Iowa and Minnesota tied going into their late-afternoon games, with the Gophers playing host to Illinois. Scoreboard watching would’ve been merited, but the two live games posted on the old center-field scoreboard were updated only by quarters, perhaps a nostalgic nod to the days when the Bears played at Wrigley and a black-and-white Zenith TV was considered modern technology.

As Iowa fans filed out, hundreds stood on the left field patios and in Gallagher Way watching the Gophers blow a late lead to Illinois, giving the Hawkeyes sole possession of first. A huge cheer erupted at the Illini’s win.

No matter how inept they’ve looked offensively, a golden path to the Big Ten title game remains for the Hawkeyes.

After their takeover of Wrigley, perhaps the Cubs should hold a “Hawkeyes Classic” here next season.

Money talks.

Originally Published: Nov 04, 2023 at 8:02 pm