The clash of good vs. evil in college football came to a head this weekend as the Iowa Hawkeyes faced down the Michigan Wolverines at the Big House in Ann Arbor. 

The Wolverines have garnered a poor reputation among football fans for the actions of their personnel and players in recent years. The team came under fire in 2023 when credible accusations arose of the Wolverines stealing play-calling signs of their opponents, and once the NCAA investigated, incriminating messages were deleted by those involved. Additionally, at the end of the 2025 season, head coach Sherrone Moore was found to be involved in an extramarital affair with a staffer and was fired on Dec. 10. Within hours, it was reported that Moore had broken into his mistress’s house and was suspected to be fleeing the state. He was caught and eventually agreed to a plea deal, which has placed him on probation to this day.

Their most recent controversy came earlier this season in Michigan’s game against the Western Michigan Broncos. The Broncos, who were 27-point underdogs going into the game, corralled the 16th-ranked Wolverines all game long, allowing just a single touchdown in the first quarter and holding Michigan scoreless for the next two quarters. After two more fourth-quarter field goals for the Broncos, the pressure was entirely on the Wolverines to overcome the 12-7 deficit they were facing. Michigan was forced to go for a hail mary from 47 yards out with nine seconds left on the clock. As time in the game waned, quarterback Bryce Underwood’s moonball couldn’t be caught. The time on the clock was 0:00. The Western Michigan Broncos, beyond all expectations, upset the Wolverines.

The end of the play and the clock ticking to zero was very close, so a booth review was conducted. On the NBC broadcast, replay showed the stadium clock — as well as the clock on the broadcast itself — empty while the ball was still in the air. To the millions at home watching, Western Michigan had sealed the game. Meanwhile, in the review booth, the clock showed one second when Western Michigan safety Micah Davis made contact with the ball. To the shock of everyone, one second was added, and the Wolverines had a second chance. Michigan retried the hail mary, and Underwood uncorked a much more catchable ball to the edge of the goal line. Michigan’s JJ Buchanan came down with it, and Western Michigan lost instantly. Michigan fans stormed the field to celebrate after eking out a win against a team they should have pulverized.

With how controversial the ending of this game was, Western Michigan was suddenly the victim, treated as a martyr by the college football world at large. Many voters for the weekly rankings were so disgusted by the ending of the game that they went against the official result on their rankings, treating Michigan as though they had lost — because, in many people’s eyes, they still had. Western Michigan filed a grievance with the NCAA on the result of the game, which is not expected to be overturned. 

Cut to Week 4, where the Wolverines get to take on their first conference opponent: the Iowa Hawkeyes. In the eyes of many, the Hawkeyes are the gold standard of a classy team and program. Their most famous tradition is the Kinnick Wave, where all 70,000 fans will face toward the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital that overlooks the field and wave to the kids on the 12th floor. Their home stadium in Iowa City is named for Nile Kinnick, a Heisman Trophy winner who was killed in combat during World War II.

Iowa isn’t a bad football team either. They came into their game against Michigan ranked one spot higher than the Wolverines, but were still not expected to win the game against the home team’s big name recruits. Iowa trailed for most of the game, being held to a single score from a kickoff return in the first quarter. Michigan didn’t get much either, but holding Iowa to that single touchdown still gave them a lead entering the fourth quarter. The Wolverines tacked on six more from a touchdown but missed the extra point. The Hawkeyes responded with a touchdown as well, bringing the game down to a final Iowa drive while down 14-19. 

The Hawkeyes walked Michigan down the field in front of 111,000 Wolverine fans stuffed into the largest stadium in the country. From the 16-yard line with two seconds left, Hawkeye quarterback Hank Brown and wide-out Reece Vander Zee laid down the coup de gras. With a familiar 0:00 left on the clock, Vander Zee catches a miraculous ball and manages to get a foot in the end zone to make it count. Amidst all the screaming, in Iowa’s student broadcast booth, commentator Ryan Paris collected himself and gave a line three years in the making.

“Oh my god! He caught it! Oh my god! Yes! Western Michigan, and the college football world, Iowa has your back!”