By RON MALY
Sickening, that's what it was.
Michigan State's 9-minute 4-second, 22-play, 82-yard drive for the winning touchdown was sickening enough.
To make matters worse, Iowa football fans had to watch Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany hand the league's championship award to Spartans coach Mark Dantonio after the winning drive.
Fittingly, Delany was booed loudly in a building brimming with people when he was introduced.
Add all that sickness up and you've got a 16-13 Michigan State victory over a previously-unbeaten Hawkeye team that deserved better.
You had to feel for Iowa's heartbroken players, the thousands of Hawkeye fans who made the trip to Indianapolis and the many others [millions maybe?] of black-and-gold faithful who watched the agony on TV.
Minutes after the game ended, a longtime Iowa fan summed up Hawkeye emotions with these comments:
"That's worse than a bummer. What a heartbreaker. A sad way to end a record-breaking season. It ended up to be more of a defensive battle than the Hawkeyes had left in them."
That echoed the feelings of Hawkeye fans everywhere.
Gone was the unbeaten record.
Gone was the opportunity to be in the national football playoffs.
But a bowl game remains in warm weather somewhere.
Iowa's defenders tried desperately to keep Scott out of the end zone as precious seconds ticked off the clock.
Scott desperately fought and stretched his way over the goal-line. The critical play is pictured above, courtesy of USATSI.
Like I said, sickening.