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player ready...Unless the Big 10 grants Matt O’Dwyer a ruling, Northwestern’s All-America guard candidate will have to miss one half of his final college game at Penn State next week.
O’Dwyer, a 309-pound senior from Stevenson High, was ejected on the third play of the second half of Saturday’s 49-13 Iowa victory over the Wildcats. An official called him for a late hit and a 15-yard penalty. An ejection calls for a one-game suspension for the player involved.
“It was not a malicious hit,” said O’Dwyer. “The Iowa player grabbed my jersey. I did not hear the whistle. I got a shot in on him. Not with a fist, with an open hand. It happens all the time. The guy clearly faked it and went down.”
Northwestern coach Gary Barnett was visibly irate over the call.
“I asked the official how many men had been ejected this year, and he said none,” said Barnett. “One official said he did not recall an ejection in his 17 years. The official told me O’Dwyer took a swing.”
The loss was Northwestern’s 21st in a row against Iowa. Barnett thought the large number of penalties, 21 on both teams and eight on the Wildcats, may have occurred because of the Cats’ awareness of the losing streak.
“We were mad. There was a vengance factor,” Barnett said. “We played a little harder . . . and a little dumber. There was a lot of talk going on out there.”
Iowa rolled up 602 yards of total offense, 386 on passes.