IOWA CITY - Marvin McNutt came up with two of the game's most electric catches just days after he was stricken with illness.

McNutt, a 6-foot-4 sophomore wide receiver, didn't start for the first time this season but caught two passes for 50 yards. On the game's fourth play, McNutt hauled in a Ricky Stanzi pass with his left hand for 16 yards to put the ball on the Iowa 35-yard line.

"He's got long arms and on top of that, he's got long hands," Stanzi said. "So he can reach around and get the ball anywhere. You're not afraid to miss a little with him because you know you've got a big area that he can cover."

Midway through the second quarter, McNutt caught a 15-yard in-route from Stanzi, then raced past several Arizona defenders for 34 yards and was pushed out of bounds at the 1-yard line.

"That's a play we work on a lot so we put a lot of time in that," Stanzi said. "It's a long-developing play so it takes great protection. That's where it started, with our backs picking up a blitz that … really allow me to stay in the pocket and have the time to make that pass."

McNutt said he was able to play through his illness but it was a much larger problem earlier in the week.

"The practice that came after the Iowa State game I was really congested and couldn't really breathe as good as I wanted to," he said. "We actually had a lot of guys who were sick this week. So we just really need to take care of ourselves really."

STROSS IS BOSS: Iowa wide receiver Trey Stross dropped an early pass but rebounded to catch four balls for 37 yards. On Iowa's final scoring drive, Stross caught three passes for 40 yards, including two on third down and four. Stross said he just put the drops behind him and focused on the plays he needed to make.

"Our job is to catch the ball, but you hear the clichés that even Jerry Rice drops passes," he said. "You have to keep reminding yourself that when you drop a pass, you know it happens, it's a part of the game.

"(On the first dropped pass) Rick threw a great ball. I was more worried about going out of bounds, and I didn't make the catch. I learned what I did wrong, and it won't happen again."

UNEMOTIONAL RETURN: Arizona Coach Mike Stoops played safety for Iowa from 1981 through 1984 and later served as an Iowa assistant coach. Stoops said he wasn't emotional about facing his alma mater.

"Playing in the stadium, it's really irrelevant, and I don't mean that in a derogatory way whatsoever," Stoops said after the game. "I loved my time here, but my concerns are about our program and what we're doing."

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz was an offensive assistant when Stoops was a player and they remain good friends.

"I love Kirk, and I love the people here, but it's more about what we needed to do to win," Stoops said. "I'm just disappointed we didn't play better as a team and as a program. That's the disheartening part to me. I love coming back.

"I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary except the normal butterflies and respect and go out and play. It's been a long time since I've participated with the university. I'll always have great memories of the players and the coaches but it's about Arizona right now for me."