Hoosiers upset No. 15 Iowa

Late in the fourth quarter of IU's 31-28 victory against No. 15 Iowa Saturday -- with the Hawkeyes driving and threatening to regain the lead -- senior safety Will Meyers made a terrible mistake. \nWith Iowa fullback Champ Davis running down the sideline, Meyers streaked in and made the touchdown-saving tackle. The referee threw a penalty flag at the spot of the late tackle.\n"By the time I hit him, he was out of bounds, so it was a bad play on my part," Meyers said after the game. "I wasn't fazed by that. I just thought, 'OK, move on.'" \nThe penalty cost IU 15 yards and put Iowa on the Hoosiers' 41-yard line. Iowa quarterback Drew Tate completed a pass on the next play to put Iowa at the IU 30-yard line.\nMeyers atoned for his mistake on the next play from scrimmage. \nTate threw a pass over the middle that deflected off the hands of his intended receiver. The ball popped up in the air, and Meyers lunged to his left, stuck out his left arm, cradled the ball and rolled over.\nMeyers got up and celebrated with his teammates. His interception sealed IU's upset victory against Iowa. \n"For Will to come up big like that was just a blessing," sophomore defensive tackle Greg Brown said. "That's what you want out of your seniors, to step up. Big-time players make big-time plays when it's crunch time."\nMeyers' interception sealed IU's first victory against a top-15 team since 1987, when the Hoosiers defeated then-No. 9 Ohio State 31-10. It was also the first win against a ranked team since 2004, when IU defeated Minnesota 31-20. \nIU dug itself a hole early, setting the stage for its second come-from-behind win in as many weeks.\n"There were too many turnovers in the first half," IU coach Terry Hoeppner said. "The defense had their backs against the wall, Iowa had great field position and it seemed like every drive of the first half started at the 50-yard line."\nIowa jumped out to a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter after wide receiver Herb Grigsby scored on a 25-yard reverse. \nWith just more than three minutes left in the first half, IU started its comeback.\nFreshman quarterback Kellen Lewis scampered in for a 2-yard touchdown. Then, with one second left in the first half, sophomore kicker Austin Starr made a 46-yard field goal -- a career-long -- and sent both teams to the locker room with Iowa leading 21-17.\nLate in the third quarter, the Hoosier defense came up with a turnover that led to another IU score. Freshman safety Austin Thomas forced Iowa running back Damian Sims to fumble on the IU 9-yard line. The ball shot up in the air, and freshman linebacker Josh Bailey came down with it. \n"It was taking forever to come down, but I knew I was going to catch it," Bailey said of the recovery. \nThe offense took over on its own 12-yard line, and 10 plays later Lewis hit Hardy for a 23-yard touchdown, giving IU its first lead at 24-21.\nIowa regained the lead at 28-24 with more than 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter when Sims scored from one yard out. \nThe Hoosiers answered and took the lead for the final time when Lewis completed a 20-yard pass to Hardy in the end zone, making it 31-28 with 9:51 left in the game. \nLewis was involved in all four of IU's touchdowns, one rushing and three passing. Hardy was on the receiving end of all three passing touchdowns. \nThe defense took over for the duration of the game, and, after Meyers' interception, the offense was able to run out the clock. Even before the clock expired, fans and players celebrated the victory.\n"To have the struggles we've had in the Big Ten, (and) to be able to come up with a big, big win like this is awesome," Meyers said. "What are they ranked, like 15 or something like that? It was huge"