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Northwestern 17, Iowa 10. Anytime a nondescript, 16.5-point underdog rebounds from a quick 10-point hole to upend a 9-0 national-title contender on the road, that is a "shocking" result. There was no reason to think Iowa might lose to a team with a gimpy starting quarterback and whose marquee wins to date included unlikely, skin-of-the-teeth comebacks against Purdue and Indiana. The Hawkeyes' miracle season obviously was not supposed to end here -- next week at Ohio State, maybe, but not at home, to Northwestern.

I find it hard to believe, though, that anyone who pays greater heed to probability than to miracles is actually experiencing anything like actual shock, especially after quarterback Ricky Stanzi's ignominious exit with an ankle injury on the end zone fumble turned Northwestern touchdown that turned the game in the second quarter and collapsed the Hawkeyes' Jenga tower of a season in a matter of seconds. At some point, it had to happen: Iowa had already survived the loss of its top three running backs and a starting offensive lineman for the season, as well as its best offensive player for a crucial three-game stretch earlier in the season, and emerged unscathed after fourth-quarter comebacks against Northern Iowa, Penn State, Michigan State and Indiana. When you're saddled with one of the worst offenses in the conference, there are only so many miracles at your disposal.

As much heat as he's taken for his perfectly mediocre performance through the first two months (and his five-interception schizo act against Indiana, in particular), Stanzi's injury was the obvious breaking point. At least the resourceful junior gave the Hawkeyes a chance to move the ball: Their first three drives covered 159 yards and put 10 points on the board off a 74-yard touchdown pass from Stanzi to Marvin McNutt and a 30-yard strike to Trey Stross that set up the field goal. The final eight drives, all led by redshirt freshman James Vandenberg, covered 131 yards, entered Northwestern territory only once and produced zero points. Vandernberg's first pass was a laser directly into the chest of a linebacker that set up the Wildcats' go-ahead touchdown, and his longest completion was just 16 yards. He repeatedly missed open receivers Stanzi may have hit. The high wire snapped when No. 12 went down.

So, too, did the nation's second-longest losing streak, as well as the most plausible threat to something other than a Texas vs. Alabama/Florida showdown for the BCS championship. Well, maybe not a threat so much as a protest -- an undefeated Big Ten champion being left out of the title game carries a lot more potential for angst and vitriol than a snub against one of the would-be insurgents from the Big East, Mountain West or WAC. If Iowa had won at Ohio State, run the table and been relegated to the Rose Bowl as a consolation prize, a substantial segment of the punditocracy would have been (justifiably) up in arms, again.

But the Hawkeyes finally drew a club and the BCS doesn't have to worry about them anymore; if Stanzi isn't back for the next Saturday's trip to Ohio State, the Rose Bowl probably won't have to think about them anymore, either. Now if Florida, Alabama and Texas can only keep winning and somebody can finally do something about Cincinnati, everything will be falling into its proper order.