It’s not Iowa, but Yankee Stadium seems like heaven for Hawkeyes
His 40 tickets weren’t enough to satiate his hometown fans. “I couldn’t get more tickets,” he said, laughing. He had all his hometown fans, the ones freezing inside Yankee Stadium, and the black-and-gold faithful in Iowa roaring in approval: Wadley’s homecoming ended with an MVP trophy that helped put the Hawkeyes’ bowl misery on ice.
Wadley rushed, received and returned in dazzling fashion on a frozen field and Iowa beat Boston College, 27-20, in the frigid Pinstripe Bowl on Wednesday night to snap a five-game bowl losing streak.
“You can’t pay for moments like that,” Wadley said. The only milestone that eluded him was the winning touchdown: Drake Kulick fought for a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter on his only carry of the game that clinched the victory for the Hawkeyes, who had been the only team in the nation to lose a bowl game in each of the last four seasons. Iowa had last won a bowl game in 2010 and started the losing streak the next season. It ended in the Bronx.
The Hawkeyes used their first sack of the game late in the fourth to spark the winning drive. Iowa defensive end Anthony Nelson hit Darius Wade, and Parker Hesse recovered a fumble at the BC 45. Nate Stanley’s pass to Nate Wieting on a rollout was ruled a touchdown until a review showed the tight end was down at the 1. No worries. Kulick got the call over Wadley, who had 283 total yards in his final game, and barged through for the goahead score.
The smattering of Iowa fans went wild and Josh Jackson gave them reason to stay on their feet when he sealed the win with an interception.
“For our team to come out the way they did in the second half, it was a breakthrough moment for us,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. Boston College (7-6) had nothing on its final drive and that ended an otherwise miserable day at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees’ postseason games in October seemed downright balmy compared to the kickoff temperature of 23 degrees and a wind chill that made it feel like 12 degrees. The stadium turf was akin to running on ice and the conditions forced players to change from cleats to sneakers to get some grip.
The most common huddle was the one around the sideline heaters.
“I thought we moved the ball well given what the conditions were,” Boston College coach Steve Addazio said.”