Aug. 6, 2010

The 2009-10 athletic year at Northwestern University was one to remember. Filled with memorable wins, honors and championships, there was much to be celebrated this past year in Evanston. Thanks for following along at NUsports.com this summer as we took a look back at some of the very best highlights the Wildcats experienced last season. See you in a few short weeks for the start of a memorable 2010-11 Wildcat athletic season!

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EVANSTON, Ill. -- On Nov 7, 2009, Northwestern traveled to Kinnick Stadium to face an undefeated Iowa team that was ranked No. 4 in the BCS poll. When the day ended, the Wildcats had earned their third-straight victory over the Hawkeyes in Iowa City and kicked off a perfect November that resulted in an Outback Bowl berth. That win over Iowa is the No. 1 entry on our countdown of top moments from the 2009-10 athletic season at Northwestern.

Northwestern forced four turnovers -- all in the second quarter -- and overcame a game-ending injury to quarterback Dan Persa to gut out a 17-10 win in the game. NU has now left Kinnick Stadium with a win in its last three trips to Iowa City and has defeated Iowa in four of the last five games between the schools.

Mike Kafka started the game at quarterback for Northwestern (6-4, 3-3) but played sparingly in the first half before Persa took over for most of the second and third quarters. A right hand injury late in the third quarter knocked Persa out of the game and put Kafka back in the pocket, where he performed fantastically despite limited mobility as a result of a leg injury sustained vs. Penn State.

Iowa (9-1, 5-1) jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead with a 74-yard touchdown pass on the third play from scrimmage and a 39-yard field goal on its next possession.

Northwestern got on the scoreboard with 11:46 left in the second quarter thanks to its defense. Defensive end Corey Wootton earned his second sack of the season when he forced a Ricky Stanzi fumble in the end zone that was recovered by Marshall Thomas to cut NU's deficit to three, 10-7. The sack also knocked Stanzi, the Iowa signal-caller, out for the remainder of the game, proving to be the pivotal play in the contest.

Relive the rest of the exciting game through notes, quotes, photos and more at the original game recap on NUsports.com.

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