SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 28, 2010
Micah Hyde's 72-yard interception return for a touchdown with 5:32 remaining gave Iowa a 27-24 victory over No. 14 Missouri in the Insight Bowl on Tuesday.
Marcus Coker rushed for an Iowa bowl record 219 yards on 33 carries, including 113 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as the Hawkeyes raced to a 17-3 lead.
Coker started in place of sophomore Adam Robinson, who was cited for marijuana possession Monday in Des Moines, Iowa, after he was already suspended from the Insight Bowl for violating unspecified team rules.
With speculation swirling this week that Blaine Gabbert would bolt for the NFL after his junior season, the Missouri quarterback played up to most of the hype.
Gabbert, who finished with a Missouri bowl record 434 yards passing, threw two touchcdown passes in the third quarter to give the Tigers (10-3) a 24-20 lead.
But it was Gabbert’s two costly interceptions that ultimately doomed the Tigers. Trailing 17-10 near the end of the first half, Gabbert was picked off in the end zone after his pass went through Jerrell Jackson’s hands.
With just over two minutes remaining, the Tigers went for it on fourth down, but Gabbert’s pass to T.J. Moe was ruled incomplete after a lengthy replay review. Iowa converted a 3rd-and-3 with a 38-yard pass from quarterback Ricky Stanzi to the Missouri 1-yard line, and Iowa ran out the clock.