College Football

Michigan dominates Iowa for third straight Big Ten crown

Updated Dec. 3, 2023 1:32 a.m. ET

College Football and College Basketball Writer

INDIANAPOLIS — For the third time in three years, the celebrations along Michigan’s sideline at Lucas Oil Stadium were fairly muted, tempered by a prevailing sense of anticlimax that has come to define the Big Ten’s divisional era.

It wasn’t that the Wolverines and their embattled head coach, Jim Harbaugh, lacked excitement about winning a third consecutive outright conference title for the first time in school history. Nor were they apathetic about the impending College Football Playoff berth that Saturday night’s 26-0 pummeling of Iowa guaranteed.

Rather, it was the manner in which Michigan extended its remarkable stranglehold over the league that rendered another conference championship game dreary, dull and drab because of the Wolverines’ unwavering dominance.

From 2021 through the present, Harbaugh’s teams have emerged victorious in this setting by an average margin of 28.7 points per year: a 42-3 drubbing of Iowa two years ago; a 43-22 dismantling of Purdue last season; a 26-point undressing of the Hawkeyes in the 2023 rematch that most believed was a forgone conclusion.

And they were right.

As expected, Michigan did what Michigan does during its unprecedented resurgence.

The Wolverines protected the ball on offense and never committed a turnover. They smothered the Hawkeyes on defense by keeping them out of the red zone for the entirety of Saturday’s game. An early 10-point lead gave way to a 54th consecutive victory when Michigan leads by double figures at halftime. And now the Wolverines have an excellent chance at becoming the No. 1 seed in this year’s College Football Playoff.

Michigan vs. Iowa highlights

Here are some quick takeaways from Lucas Oil Stadium:

Play of the game

Any team that plays as dominantly as Michigan has this season doesn’t leave its fans with much to criticize, especially when the dominance extends across all three phases. This year’s group of Wolverines arrived at the Big Ten Championship game ranked 13th nationally in scoring offense (37.6 points per game), first in scoring defense (10.3 points per game) and 33rd in FEI special teams rating (0.16), which measures "the scoring advantage per special teams event a team would be expected to have on a neutral field against an average opponent."

One of the factors holding Michigan back in the special teams rankings is punt return efficiency, a subcategory in which the Wolverines sit 100th overall. For most of the season, special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh has eschewed the idea of utilizing an explosive athlete in the return spot, opting instead for the sure-handed-but-statuesque Jake Thaw, a reserve receiver who never plays from scrimmage and focuses more on fair catches than flipping the field. Through 12 games, Thaw had returned just 15 punts for an average of 7.1 yards per return.

On Saturday, however, Jay Harbaugh made a noteworthy change by swapping Thaw for freshman wide receiver Semaj Morgan, a 5-foot-10, 176-pound speedster who has carved out a small role in the Wolverines’ offense. Morgan’s impact in the return game was almost instantaneous. He transformed Iowa’s second punt of the game into an 87-yard return during which he split two defenders near the catch point before racing up the middle and veering toward the left sideline. It was the longest punt return in Big Ten Championship game history, with Morgan eventually shoved out of bounds at the Iowa 5-yard line.

Two plays later, tailback Blake Corum rumbled into the end zone for a 2-yard score that extended Michigan’s lead to double digits late in the first quarter.

Semaj Morgan's ELECTRIC 84-yard punt return sets up TD

Turning point

The moment Iowa’s paralytic offense had been waiting for finally arrived shortly beyond the midway point of the second quarter. A timely third-down sack of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy forced the Wolverines to punt from deep in their own territory, and the ensuing boot from punter Tommy Doman was a misfire of epic proportions. The parabolic effort slammed into the Lucas Oil Stadium turf bursting with backspin and quickly reversed course toward Doman. When it mercifully halted at the Michigan 38-yard line, the entire exchange netted the Wolverines just 28 yards.

After witnessing a season of unprecedented offensive futility, the Iowa fans who traveled to Indianapolis swelled with expectations. Everyone familiar with the Hawkeyes’ limitations knew a short field would be the cleanest path to the end zone when quarterback Deacon Hill was on the field. Even if a touchdown proved too tall a task, the Hawkeyes were already in field goal range when the offense trotted out, trailing Michigan by 10.

But a successful first-down pass from Hill to wideout Nico Ragaini was quickly squandered two plays later when freshman tailback Jaziun Patterson fumbled. Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil put his right shoulder directly onto the football after Patterson made a short reception on a check-down from Hill, and the loose ball bounced kindly to defensive tackle Kris Jenkins for an easy recovery.

That spelled the end of the first, best and only real chance Iowa had.

Key stat

Sainristil imprinted himself on the game a second time during the Hawkeyes’ first possession of the second half, this time as a blitzer from his patented slot position. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter decided to bring pressure on second-and-7 from the Iowa 9-yard line, keenly aware of how vulnerable the Hawkeyes are on obvious passing downs. Two Wolverines met at the quarterback when Sainristil contacted Hill’s throwing arm — thus forcing another fumble — as defensive tackle Mason Graham bear-hugged the passer’s waist.

A video review deemed the play a fumble rather than an incomplete pass, with Michigan cornerback Josh Wallace there to make the recovery. The ruling sent Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz into a tirade along the home sideline, with the son of head coach Kirk Ferentz ultimately drawing a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Replays captured Kirk Ferentz cursing at the referees in strong protest of the fumble.

The outpouring of rage was emblematic of Iowa’s latest horror show on the offensive side of the ball, a years-long pattern that has finally triggered Brian Ferentz’s dismissal after Iowa's bowl game. Hill’s fumble concluded one of seven Hawkeyes drives that gained 9 or fewer yards through the first three quarters of Saturday’s game. Their only other possessions gained 15 yards, 18 yards and 31 yards, respectively, on an altogether forgettable evening for an altogether forgettable scheme.

Brian Ferentz finally reached wits’ end a few minutes later, on his offense’s next drive, when a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 came up short, handing the ball back to Michigan. The maligned offensive coordinator didn’t scream and didn’t yell. He simply placed both hands over his head — with a useless play sheet trapped between them — and stared into the abyss.

First came the rage, then came acceptance.

Referees rule that Iowa's Deacon Hill fumbles and Michigan recovers

What's next for Michigan?

Another week, another dominant performance from the Wolverines, whose victory over Iowa improved their record to 13-0 for the second consecutive season en route to the national semifinals. Georgia’s loss to Alabama earlier Saturday evening opened the door for someone else to land atop the College Football Playoff selection committee’s final rankings after the Bulldogs held that spot in every previous iteration this fall. Despite Florida State entering the ACC title game with an undefeated record, the only schools with a legitimate claim to the No. 1 slot are Michigan and Washington, which knocked off Oregon to become Pac-12 champions on Friday night. The Wolverines’ résumé includes noteworthy wins over Penn State, Ohio State and Iowa, which were the only three quality opponents on an otherwise pedestrian schedule. The Huskies’ résumé includes victories over Boise State, Arizona, Utah, Oregon State and Oregon (x2). While it’s clear that Washington’s regular season schedule was far more difficult in a conference that, at one point, had eight teams ranked in the Top 25, it’s Michigan that entered the weekend ahead based on the most recent College Football Playoff rankings. So was Saturday’s win over Iowa convincing enough for Michigan to remain in front? Or will the Huskies leapfrog them for the top spot? We'll find out on Sunday.

Michigan's Blake Corum, Mike Sainristil join the 'CFB on FOX' crew

What's next for Iowa?

Generally speaking, teams that reach 10 wins in the regular season and advance to their conference championship games don’t spend the winter months agonizing over the program’s offensive identity. Even if a hot-shot coordinator leaves to become the head coach at another institution, there are typically ready-made replacements among the remaining position coaches who operated within the same scheme. But despite the success Iowa enjoyed in 2023 — winning the Big Ten West and finishing 7-2 or better in conference play for just the fifth time in Ferentz’s 25-year tenure — the Hawkeyes will need to replace offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, whose contract won’t be renewed following a disastrous performance on his side of the ball. Iowa reached the Big Ten title game despite ranking last in the country for total offense (246.3 yards per game) and tied for 124th in scoring offense (18 points per game). Interim athletic director Beth Goetz, who oversees Brian Ferentz directly due to university nepotism regulations, announced in late October that the football program would be forced to make a change.

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.