This Date in College Football Belt History – September 21

The 19^th ranked, 2-0 Iowa Hawkeyes of coach Hayden Fry met the 0-2 Tulsa Golden Hurricane of coach Dave Rader.  Tulsa had scored only one touchdown in its first two games & seemed to be little test for the 16½-point Big Ten favorite.  The Golden Hurricane defense held Iowa to 2 of 16 on third down conversions & All-WAC DE Salifu Abudulai recorded 3 sacks as the Golden Hurricane upset the Belt holders 27-20.  The Hawkeyes came out firing on all cylinders with a 7-play, 80-yard drive capped by an 8-yard touchdown run from All-Big 10 RB Sedrick Shaw.  Tulsa responded with a 37-yard field goal by All-WAC PK James Anderson.  After a short punt gave Tulsa the ball at their own 43-yard line, QB John Fitzgerald led an 8-play, 57-yard drive connecting with WR Wes Caswell on a 13-yard touchdown pass for the 10-7 lead.  Iowa regained the lead when QB Matt Sherman hit WR Tim Dwight on a 4-yard touchdown pass.  Hawkeyes’ PK Brion Hurley gave Iowa a 17-7 lead when he hit a 45-yard field goal but Tulsa got a 29-yard field goal from Anderson just before halftime.  The 3^rd quarter belonged to the Golden Hurricane as RB Reggie Williams scored on an 8-yard touchdown run & RB Solomon White scored on a 1-yard touchdown run as Tulsa took a 27-17 lead to the 4^th quarter.  Iowa got a 26-yard field goal from PK Zach Bromert on the first play of the 4^th quarter to get the Hawkeyes within a touchdown but it was time for the Tulsa defense to step-up.  The Golden Hurricane defense held the Hawkeyes’ offense without a point twice in the final 7:17 with Iowa inside the Tulsa 10-yard line.  The win gave the Golden Hurricane their first Belt reign.  Fitzgerald finished with 357 yards passing with his touchdown, Williams added 106 yards rushing to his score, Caswell had 7 catches for 120 yards, & WR Damon Savage added 4 catches for 101 yards.  Sherman finished with 149 yards passing with a touchdown but was sacked 6 times & Shaw had 123 yards rushing with his score in the losing effort.  The Hawkeyes finished the season 9-3; ranked 18^th nationally while the Golden Hurricane finished 4-7.  Iowa would play for The Belt again in 2006.

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