Menu
Tiger alum gouging the Hawkeyes for Big Red
One of Friday’s holiday tone setters was Dundy County-Stratton alum Phalen Sanford (37, above) who played special teams for the Nebraska Cornhuskers against No. 16-ranked rival Iowa at Memorial Stadium.
Iowa’s Charlie Jones had shook loose for a 100-yard kickoff touchdown return against the Illinois Fightin’ Illini during a Hawkeye home victory one week earlier.
But after catching this first-quarter punt on Friday, Jones encountered the hustling Sanford who was running on pure tackling fuel (first photo below) and took Jones down (second photo below) in a roaring good play before 85,000 fans. Even Iowa iconic coach Kirk Ferentz (far left, bottom photo) looks like he could cheer the tackle.
The Cornhuskers took an early 7-0 lead which reached 14-6 by halftime and 21-9 through three periods.
Unfortunately, the resilient and good bounce-of-the-ball-blessed Hawkeyes scored 19 unanswered points to secure a 28-21 comeback victory.
The 10-2 Hawkeyes earned their spot in this weekend’s Big Ten Conference championship game when Minnesota knocked off previous West Division leader Wisconsin, 23-13, on Saturday. Iowa takes on the Michigan Wolverines, who knocked off No. 2 Ohio State for Big Blue’s first rivalry series win since 2011. T
he Wolverines are 11-1 and could be ranked as high as No. 2 when tonight’s College Football Playoffs are announced. Michigan and Iowa meet Saturday night to determine the Big Ten champion along with the Wolverines’ Final Four playoff hopes.
Meanwhile, Sanford finishes his junior season where he played in all 12 Nebraska games. He also made key kick return tackles against No. 12 Michigan State and Purdue.
