Iowa Hawkeyes Football

The Iowa Hawkeyes snapped their five-game winless streak in bowl games with a 27-20 victory over the Boston College Eagles in the 2017 Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium in New York City.

Akrum Wadley finished with 88 rushing yards and a touchdown to help deliver the win, and Drake Kulick's one-yard touchdown run with 3:09 remaining in the fourth quarter was the difference in the result.

The Pinstripe Bowl proved to be a battle between the two running backs.

In addition to his performance on the ground, Wadley caught two passes for 24 yards and returned five kicks for 171 yards. Although Wadley's collegiate career is over, Yahoo Sports' Dr. Saturday believes the senior has a bright future ahead at the next level:

Akrum Wadley feels like one of those running backs who'll get picked in like the fourth round yet still immediately be productive in the NFL

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) December 28, 2017

On the opposite side, AJ Dillon had 157 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries, his fourth straight game with at least 150 rushing yards. NFL free-agent safety Will Blackmon, who played four years for Boston College, marveled at Dillon's effort:

AJ Dillion is a work horse man. Can't believe he is just a true freshman! #PinstripeBowl @BCFootball

— Will Blackmon (@WillBlackmon) December 28, 2017

The frigid conditions in New York City presented a lot of problems for the two teams. In addition to battling cold temperatures, they also had to deal with a field that had frozen over. Some Boston College players exchanged their cleats for a shoe that would allow them to have more traction, per ESPN CollegeFootball:

The field at the Pinstripe Bowl is so frozen, players are ditching their cleats for sneakers. ❄️ pic.twitter.com/mNBUY2onmk

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 27, 2017

Entering the game, many fans expected a defensive struggle. It's not as if Boston College and Iowa were known for their explosive offenses; the Eagles and Hawkeyes ranked 84th and 108th, respectively, in total offense. The wintry weather meant points would come at even more of a premium.

Iowa lived up to its reputation by finishing with 200 total yards. Although Boston College had 383 total yards, 281 of those came in the first half.

In particular, the Hawkeyes did a great job of bottling up Dillon in the second half, limiting him to 31 yards in the final two quarters. That put a lot of pressure on Eagles quarterback Darius Wade.

Wade went 16-of-27 for 208 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, the latter of which proved costly.

On Boston College's first drive after Kulick's touchdown, Joshua Jackson intercepted Wade's pass with 1:18 remaining. Bleacher Report's Connor Rogers wasn't surprised to see Jackson force the turnover:

Josh Jackson is just an INT magnet...ball finds him

— Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) December 28, 2017

The Eagles had one more possession to try to tie the game, but they needed to go 82 yards in 54 seconds with zero timeouts. Anthony Nelson and Parker Hesse combined to sack Wade on 3rd-and-3 at the Boston College 25-yard line, which ate precious time off the clock. Wade threw an incomplete pass as time expired to end the game.

Although this is now the fourth time in five seasons the team has won seven games under head coach Steve Addazio, the program should be headed for bigger things in 2018.

In addition to Dillon, the Eagles will get leading passer Anthony Brown back once he recovers from his season-ending leg injury. Only three starters on defense are seniors, so much of the first team will return there as well.

With nonconference games against Massachusetts, Purdue, Temple and Holy Cross coming up next year, eight or nine wins may be an achievable goal for Boston College.

Iowa's outlook isn't so rosy. Wadley graduates, which will leave a significant void in the backfield.

Nick Easley and Noah Fant, the Hawkeyes' top two receivers, and Nathan Stanley will return to help pick up the slack on offense with Wadley gone. But head coach Kirk Ferentz will also have to deal with a defense that's losing five starters and potentially Jackson as well since the junior projects as a high NFL draft pick.

John Waggoner, a 4-star defensive end hailing from West Des Moines, Iowa, announced Tuesday he will suit up for the Iowa Hawkeyes when the 2018 college football season starts.

Waggoner made his decision official on Twitter:

Excited to announce my commitment to Iowa! Can't thank everyone enough for the support throughout this process. Go Hawks! #Swarm18 pic.twitter.com/qzPoqUuDZ2

— John Waggoner (@johnwaggs_12) December 5, 2017

Waggoner didn't garner the same attention as top defensive end prospects in states that are conventional recruiting hotbeds, but he rose up the ranks in impressive fashion to solidify himself as a coveted pass-rusher. 

According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Waggoner is the 20th-ranked weak-side defensive end and 347th-ranked player overall among 2018 recruits. He's also the top prospect at his position among players in Iowa. 

At 6'5'' and 230 pounds, it's not hard to see why Waggoner earned such high marks. 

A disruptive force off the edge, Waggoner consistently knifed his way into the backfield and found ways to pressure the passer. And not only does he have encouraging burst, but Waggoner displayed a solid arsenal of moves and counters that allowed him to work past offensive tackles snap after snap. 

The Dowling Catholic product will now head to a Hawkeyes program that could soon wield one of the Big Ten's more imposing pass-rushing duos. 

Not only is Waggoner a 4-star talent who looks like a future starter along the defensive line but the Hawkeyes landed a major prize in advance of the 2017 season when they secured a commitment from 5-star defensive end A.J. Epenesa. 

With those two in tow, head coach Kirk Ferentz should be giddy about the potential of his front seven moving forward.

Recruiting information via 247Sports.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — It's the smell that hits you first. The aroma of fresh popcorn overpowers the senses the moment the door opens, producing a welcoming tailgating fragrance in one of the most sterile environments you can imagine. These game-day scents are not uncommon on an autumn Saturday here in America's heartland, where football is played and celebrated in ways outsiders couldn't possibly understand.

Then it's the sounds. The bustling Saturday soundtrack plays inside a room they call the Press Box, located on the 12th floor of the Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. There is the rapid-fire popping of kernels. The clash of Jenga pieces falling to the floor and the reactions that follow. The applause of parents. The excited voices of children—some patients of the hospital, some siblings. And the beeping and buzzing of the machinery they're hooked up to—IVs pumping fluids intended to hopefully cure or at least treat what's ailing them.

Then you see the wheelchairs and the tubes and the little faces radiating pure happiness. You see small children pressed up against windows, sitting on the laps of parents whose faces bear, for a few fleeting moments, the same blissful expression.

There is a football game going on down below. It's September 16, and Iowa is playing North Texas in Kinnick Stadium, which is a sight to be seen from up above. It is near the end of the first quarter.

In a few moments, more than 65,000 people will wave in unison to this room of fierce, fragile children, many of whom are sick, injured or recovering. Perhaps you've seen the videos and photos of the greatest new tradition in sports—an idea that began organically through social media before it sprung to life.

It is the simplest of gestures—a way of saying hello that is used each and every day without much thought—but for those who sit on the other side of the glass, it is so much more. It is an acknowledgment of the struggles that have taken place and the others still to come. It is jolt of support from a sea of perfectly good strangers.

It is, in the simplest and purest of terms, a wave of hope.

---

It is 24 hours before Kirk Ferentz will lead his team into the stadium, and he can hardly find the words. Sitting in a chair in his office, the face of Iowa football since 1999—the longest-tenured coach in all of college football—struggles to describe what the last few weeks have meant.

"I don't think any of us anticipated this kind of attention," Ferentz says, his voice cracking throughout much of the interview. "But it's so healthy not just for our children's hospital but hospitals across the country. The heroes are the people doing the work, the patients and their families."

For the past few years, during practice, Ferentz watched the Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital being built. It opened back in February. It is the tallest habitable building in Iowa City, a $360 million structure that is separated from Kinnick Stadium by only Hawkins Drive.

The hospital is egg-shaped. Ferentz, who was involved in some aspects of the design, says the curves help eliminate some of the outer sounds. The hospital feels like an extension of Kinnick—like some sort of high-tech treehouse of the future sitting over its shoulder.

In August, Ferentz and his wife, Mary, donated $1 million to the hospital to fund the Ferentz Program in Neonatal Research. They began the initiative after their granddaughter arrived at just 21 weeks old in 2014.

The plan had always been to continue to strengthen the marriage between the football program and the hospital—a union that stretches back to Ferentz's time as an assistant in the '80s. But earlier this year, the relationship received a boost from an unexpected source.

The idea first came to Krista Young during nap time. Young, who works at a day care, began reading about the new hospital while her children slept. She then shared an idea on the Hawkeye Heaven Facebook page, a popular online Iowa hangout.

"I think, with the new U of I hospital addition open, Kinnick should hold a 'wave to the kids' minute during every game," she wrote back in May. "Can you imagine how neat it would be to have all those fans, players & coaching staff looking up at you sending a little extra inspiration?"

The idea quickly blossomed into something more— through likes, shares and positive feedback. As it gained traction, the hospital took note. Slowly but surely, a plan was implemented before Iowa's first home game against Wyoming.

"We're so quick to disagree on everything," Ferentz says. "We're so quick to have confrontation as a nation. And here is one thing everyone can feel really good about. The attention for these kids and their families is what this is all about."

On September 2, as Iowa and Wyoming's first quarter came to an end, the movement was brought to life.

---

It is 35 minutes before the Press Box will officially open and one hour before Iowa and North Texas will kick off. To enter the viewing area, families are required present a ticket at the door. Because of the new tradition's growing popularity, the hospital has had to limit entry to patients and immediate family.

Inside the Press Box, chairs are aligned along the window facing the stadium. Black and gold pom poms rest neatly on the windowsill, a new addition for the second home game of the year.

There are cornhole boards and a giant set of Jenga blocks in the two corners of the room. Small foosball and air hockey tables sit idle, but not for long. There are two circular coloring tables, each equipped with crayons, markers and a stack of football-themed coloring sheets. The popcorn machine is already at work, pushing its sounds and smells to a mostly empty room.

Down below, the stands at Kinnick begin to fill slowly. A smattering of players and coaches are on the field for warm-ups. As the game inches closer, families begin to gather outside the room—peeking out the windows below.

Inside the Press Box, the name etched outside the room's main entry, four flat screens, positioned together across from the windows, are powered on and ready for the game.

Hospital employees do their last-minute preparations, ensuring that everything is in perfect order.

---

Minutes before families pour into the room to take their seats, 4-year-old Sam Davidson throws a football covered in his own signatures down the 12th-floor hallway. Courtney, Sam's mother, follows his every step. It's been difficult for Sam to manufacture energy over the previous months, but not these past few days.

"His attitude and spirit were different all week long," Courtney says as Sam holds onto her legs.

On March 14 this year, after complaining of headaches on and off for a month, Courtney and her husband, Joel, brought Sam to the doctor to be examined. The next day, he underwent surgery to have a brain tumor removed. On March 20, following six days of heavy sedation, Sam was woken up by hospital staff. It was his fourth birthday.

Today, he wears a black Iowa T-shirt and sports a beautiful bald head. A feeding tube that goes through his nose and into his stomach dangles as he walks. A scar that starts near the bottom of his neck and works its way upward is plainly visible.

Back in March, Sam was one of the hospital's first patients. The family has since spent the majority of its days here as Sam underwent both radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

Home for the Davidsons is Boone, Iowa, a short drive from Iowa State, the Hawkeyes' primary rival.

"We all grew up Cyclone fans," Courtney says with a smile. "Now, what my mom keeps saying is that the Cyclones will always be in our heart, but the Hawkeyes are getting in his head."

Mady, Sam's older sister, wears a blue shirt with a picture of her brother dressed as a superhero on the front. The hashtag #SUPERSAM is written on the back.

Kenzie, Sam's cousin, is wearing Iowa State colors—cardinal red and gold—that is unmistakable amid all the black and gold. Instead of reading "BEAT IOWA," however, the lettering on the front reads "BEAT CANCER."

---

It has been 20 minutes since the Press Box opened, and the room is nearly full. The pom poms that were neatly placed by the window hours earlier are now in the hands of young children. All the chairs and vantage points along the windows are occupied.

Not long after, two Iowa cheerleaders enter the room. They share stories with the children at the coloring tables that are now full. Upon request, they hold up little girls shaking pom poms as their parents take photos.

The families in attendance all have their own stories of how they arrived here—remarkable, heartbreaking and triumphant journeys that are still being written unfolding.

There is Amy Condon, whose son, George, was born as a collodion baby 35 days earlier, meaning his skin was covered with a thick membrane. Once the membrane has shed (most of it has), George will have some form of ichthyosis—a rare condition that leads to extra dry skin and comes with other potential complications down the line.

Today, as George rests, Amy is watching her 2-year-old son Benjamin attempt to eat his weight in popcorn—sticking his entire arm in the bag as he pinballs from wall to wall. Her husband, J.J., a longtime Iowa fan, attempts to teach his son how to sing various Iowa chants in the rare moments he isn't in motion.

"He can't say Hawkeyes yet," Amy says. "But he can say Iowa."

There is 19-year-old Troy Hepker, one of the oldest patients here, and his father, Steve. Back in April, Troy was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia—an aggressive type of cancer that impacts the blood and bones.

The prognosis is positive, according to his father, thanks in part to his treatment here. But it will take years to fully see it through.

"They're basically shooting poison into his system, killing off everything," Steve says of his son's treatment. "And then they give him an antidote to fix whatever is impacted by it. It's a war, and he's won every single battle thus far."

Of all the people in the room, Troy and his father are perhaps the most engaged in what is happening on the field. Troy sits in a wheelchair at the window with an IV by his side, sporting a gold Iowa hat. Steve stands behind his son, wearing a black Iowa pullover, his hands resting on Troy's shoulders.

"Usually I'd be down there at a tailgate," Steve says not long before the game begins.

There is Mason Christensen, a 15-year-old only two days removed from back surgery, sitting at a slight recline in his wheelchair.

Last fall, Mason fractured his L5-S1 vertebrae during a football game. Playing right guard, his body was awkwardly bent backward. Unaware of the severity of the injury at the time, Mason wrestled before receiving a proper diagnosis.  

"They stuck metal rods in my back," Mason says of the procedure that took roughly four hours.

Prior to the game, Mason sits at the window, his wheelchair sideways so he can be as close to the field as possible. This is the first college football game Mason has ever seen live.

Shortly before the national anthem begins, Mason's father, Shelby, delicately eases his son out of his chair and upward so he can stand.

---

As the final seconds of an uneventful first quarter drain off the scoreboard, a sudden anxiousness sweeps through the room. The time is nearing, and the windows are now completely occupied. Some are experiencing this wave for the second time in three weeks. For many, it will be their first.

The stands at Kinnick are full of gold—Iowa colors—but also the color for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which is September. The gesture is not lost on Courtney Davidson, who holds Sam up so he can see the field.

"It's pretty special," she says. "Being in the hospital and looking out, a lot of times you don't feel like people quite know the realm of what's going on in here or the day-to-day struggles. Being able to do something normal and fun has made Sam a completely different person."

When the clock finally hits zero, the Press Box grows quiet. The 65,668 people inside Kinnick, knowing what happens next, mute to an audible hum.

As the announcement is made within the stadium, fans slowly begin to stand. A cheer begins to erupt, slowly at first, before the crowd is asked to wave to the 12th floor of the Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.

The moment is here, and it is everything you could possibly imagine: an entire stadium acting as one, supporting families they cannot see with real emotion and support.

Although their faces are impossible to make out, you manage to focus on specific sectors of the stadiums. The arms moving all at once create a kind of rhythmic pattern that makes it seem as if the stands are somehow in motion, rocking back and forth.

Behind the glass, a few cheers are let loose. Most of the parents and children stand in silence, processing the gravity of this moment and everything that had led up to it. Some wave back. Some take video with their cellphones. Others merely stand with their loved ones, arms around one another.

For the first time all afternoon, the hospital employees are motionless. Having put so much into this day, they look down at the field to gauge the response. Then, they divert their eyes to see the joy that comes from inside the room.

"During the wave, you're not even thinking about you," Amy Condon says, holding Benjamin. "You're thinking about all of those kids sitting next to you and their families and their friends and everyone who is cheering for them."

As the waves taper off and the second quarter begins, the windows start to clear. Some families slowly begin their departure, wheeling their children back to their hospital rooms, where the reality of the fight will resume.

The existence of this magnificent new ritual is a reminder of why it has to exist to begin with—that there are things no child or parent should ever have to endure inside these walls.

It's also a reminder of the power of the human spirit—a moment when a city of strangers can stand together as one, supporting faces they cannot see and struggles most cannot understand. But the support is real and unwavering, and those on the other side appreciate every single wave lost in the sea of gold.

As the second quarter begins, the noise returns to the room. The games that sat idle for a few minutes are once again being played, the coloring books back in action. The popcorn machine begins its staccato song.

Down below, Iowa leisurely pulls away from North Texas, setting up perhaps the most meaningful home game of its season against Penn State next Saturday—a rare night game at Kinnick.

Regardless of score, one thing is certain. At the end of the first quarter, the fans will lift themselves from their seats and stare up into the twilight. They will lock eyes with the top floor, giving the children and their loved ones an ovation far more significant than the game itself.

Adam Kramer covers college football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @KegsnEggs.

The Iowa Hawkeyes' football community has started a new game-day tradition that is warming the hearts of many around the country.

Watch the video above to see how the Hawkeyes' Kinnick Stadium is making an effort to connect to the university's children hospital.

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Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz said his players' health is his top priority Tuesday while responding to criticism from former ESPN analyst Ed Cunningham.

Ferentz stressed his dedication to player health in a statement released through the school, via Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com, and noted he defers to the medical staff when deciding whether someone is healthy enough to play.

The comments come after Cunningham—who was a broadcaster for Iowa's 30-3 loss to Florida in the Outback Bowl—discussed the decision to keep quarterback C.J. Beathard in the game after a hamstring injury on ESPN's Mike and Mike. 

"I wanted to go get in a fistfight with the coaches over it because they abused the kid, flat-out," Cunningham said.

Ferentz also called Cunningham's comments "surprising and offensive to our coaching staff, the player and his parents," while Beathard's father defended the way his son was used at Iowa in a statement released through the school, via Rittenberg.

Rittenberg cited a source close to the Hawkeyes who revealed Beathard—who is now on the San Francisco 49ers—suffered multiple soft-tissue injuries during the contest but was cleared from a medical standpoint and wanted to continue playing in what was his last contest for the program.

As for Cunningham, he made news Wednesday when he resigned from his position as an ESPN college football analyst out of concern for the injuries and head trauma within the sport, per John Branch of the New York Times.

The Iowa Hawkeyes will have more depth in the secondary after adding class of 2018 cornerback D.J. Johnson.

Johnson announced his decision Tuesday on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/DjJohnson1127/status/900024862961524736

According to Scout.com, the 4-star recruit is the No. 337 player overall and No. 31 cornerback in the 2018 class. He's also the best cornerback in Indiana.      

Johnson's quality coverage ability against all types of receivers is his best attribute. Per ESPN.com, he had a 40-yard-dash time of 4.75 seconds, but he makes up for his lack of elite speed with outstanding instincts. He knows how to read routes, and he has enough closing speed to attack the ball before it gets to its target.

Johnson also has a 36.6-inch vertical jump, so it's not easy to complete passes against him.

While this skill set earned him plenty of offers from around the country, he narrowed down his choice to a final two of Notre Dame and Iowa in June.

He ended up deciding on the Hawkeyes, a squad that has had one of the most underrated defenses in college football over the past few years. The team has finished in the top 20 in points allowed per game in each of the last two seasons, and Johnson could be the next key piece in this unit.

Iowa will look to sustain its success on defense after the departure of Desmond King, who was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft. 

Even if Iowa continues to crowd its secondary with more standout defensive backs, it shouldn't be long until the young prospect is able to work his way into the lineup and make an impact on Saturdays.

Iowa tight end Noah Fant was allegedly threatened at gunpoint while at a public park on Tuesday. 

According to WHOTV's Dan Hendrickson, citing an Omaha police report, Fant said an Omaha man "approached him, pulled out a handgun, pointed it at him and told him to leave the park."

After leaving the park, Fant called the police and said he would press charges against the man, later identified as Matthew Trimble, if they were able to locate him. 

Police later found Trimble at his mother's house, noting he was "heavily intoxicated." He was charged with making a terroristic threat with a firearm. 

Fant is entering his sophomore season with the Hawkeyes. He played in six games as a freshman and recorded nine receptions for 70 yards with one touchdown. 

Iowa Hawkeyes defensive lineman Faith Ekakitie said a player on the Nebraska Cornhuskers used a racial slur during his team's 40-10 win Friday at Kinnick Stadium.   

According to Mike Hlas of the Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Ekakitie declined to name the player or say what derogatory term he used.          

"Anyone willing to go out of their way and throw that around, even in a competitive environment, I think you're a piece of trash," Ekakitie said, per the Des Moines Register's Chris Cuellar. "I've been fortunate enough to not have to experience things like that...I think they got what they deserved."

Nebraska provided a statement on the matter Saturday, per Samuel McKewon of the Omaha World Herald:

A statement from Nebraska Athletics regarding Iowa player report of racial slurs. pic.twitter.com/d16Nea9nH8

— Sam McKewon (@swmckewonOWH) November 27, 2016

In July, Ekakitie made headlines when he described an incident in which officers from the Iowa City Police Department held him at gunpoint. In a Facebook post, the senior wrote he had matched the description of a suspect in a nearby bank robbery.

Following a search of Ekakitie and his belongings, the officers let him go.

"Lastly, I would urge us all to at least to attempt to unlearn some of the prejudices that we have learned about each other and now plague our minds and our society," Ekakitie wrote in the post. "I am convinced that in the same way that we learned these prejudices, we can also unlearn them."

WHAP pic.twitter.com/mnuu1XTSjb

— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) November 13, 2016

Ouch.

Iowa's Ron Coluzzi literally tripped over nothing during Saturday's game against the Michigan Wolverines.

But this wasn't just an ordinary loss of balance. The Hawkeyes punter seemed to accidentally drag one of his feet while running the ball past Iowa's 30-yard line.

Instead of regaining his balance, he somehow launched into a full forward flip, landed on his back and was aggressively tackled by Wolverines linebacker Devin Bush. 

Bush was flagged for targeting on the play and was ejected from the game.

[Twitter]