Iowa kicker Marshall Koehn hit the second-longest field goal in Iowa history to beat Pittsburgh.
By DI Pregame Staff
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If you’re reading this, you already know Iowa kicker Marshall Koehn hit a 57-yard field goal — the second-longest in Iowa history — as time expired to beat Pittsburgh on Sept. 19. The following are some of our Pregame staff’s favorite quotes from coaches and players regarding the kick.
Koehn
“My ball kind of has a naturally draw to it, so I was just aiming a little more right than I usually do, and it just worked out well.
“I’m glad I avoided the dog pile; some guys were on the bottom of that, so it wasn’t too pleasant. I don’t even know who hit me first, I was just running around aimlessly … I don’t know how I got out of it [the dog pile], but I knocked over a cheerleader on the way.”
Center Austin Blythe
“I didn’t watch it, I was sitting on a knee next to Jordan Lomax, and he said he’d tell me if it went in or not. I just saw him run off the bench, and I figured that was good enough. I was just thinking ‘Please, Marshall, please Marshall.’ It was good, he’s a good kicker, and it showed. I knew he had the leg; it was just a matter of getting the accuracy down. Marshall’s a great kicker; he’s been working on it all camp, all off-season. I had 100 percent confidence in him.”
Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi
“We were kind of all kicking ourselves in the locker room afterwards, but some of our guys had said, Coach, he didn’t follow through on it anyways. That’s what everyone does; you have time-outs sitting up on your board, and you’re going to try to use them. He’s got ice in his veins I guess.”
Tight end Henry Krieger Coble
“We knew if we made a few plays that we’d be in field goal range, and Marshall stepped up for us. I had the corner off the edge, and once I saw it go up it was straight on, and I knew it was going in. Then after that I was just chasing Marshall, just swarming after him.
“That’s a heck of a feeling for all of us, I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a game that ended like that. It was such a long field goal and such a good kick, it was just fun to be a part of.”
Quarterback C.J. Beathard
“I was chasing it down. I didn’t know where everyone else was running to, I was just following everyone else. I didn’t want be on the bottom of the pile because that’s kind of scary, but I was excited and pumped.
“I thought last week was crazy exciting — this topped that.”
Wide receiver Tevaun Smith
“When he actually had that chance to make that kick, it was nerve-racking. To see Marshall make that kick was kind of special.
“I was just watching him, making sure he does whatever he does in practice. He’s calm, when he kicked the first one, he looked pretty calm, relaxed guy and made the kick.”