The 2009 college football regular season is in the books and the bowl games have been announced. The season seemed to fly by; I couldn't believe that I was walking out of Kinnick Stadium for the last time in 2009 on November 21. The season was filled with a lot of memorable moments for the Hawkeyes, most of which were good but there were some bad. The Northwestern game was the low point of the season. But it was short-lived.
Iowa went into Columbus, Ohio with their backs to the wall. Winner gets the Big 10's automatic BCS bid (Rose Bowl). Iowa played with a red-shirt freshman quarterback who was making his very first collegiate start. James Vandenburg came into the Northwestern game after Ricky Stanzi was lost for the rest of the regular season and showed some promise. A lot of people were worried about Iowa's chances against Ohio State but I wasn't one of them. I saw a young QB being thrown into the file against Northwestern. I knew having a week to prepare would do wonders for the youngster. It sure paid off! Iowa pushed Ohio State to overtime only to lose by 3 points. Vandenburg played a great games and made some passes that Stanzi can't (including a laser to Marvin McNutt for a touchdown). The defense played very well but gave up a few big runs that really hurt the Hawks. The better team did not win that day (Iowa shot itself in the foot with dropped passes, missed field goal, and sloppy defensive play), but the Hawks showed that they are for real.
Next up was the final game of the year against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Last year Iowa beat Minnesota 55-0 in the final college football game played in the Metrodome. Minnesota tried to erase that game by not including a reference to it in their spring media guide. This year the outcome was the same, but the score was a little different as Iowa won 12-0. Minnesota hasn't scored on Iowa's defense in 2 years! It was a fairly sloppy game but it was an old school defensive battle. Minnesota was much more aggressive on defense than Ohio St was the week before. Minnesota sent defensive backs on blitzes and that really confused Iowa's pass protection. Minnesota had chances to get on the board late in the game but they went for some 4th down plays and Iowa held, including one from the 2 yard line. This victory got Iowa to the 10 win mark on the season.
Then the waiting game. Which bowl would Iowa be going to? If the Ohio State game ended differently Iowa would be on their was to the Rose Bowl. Since it ended the way it did the debate and guessing was on. Would it be the Capital One bowl (which gets the first pick of non-BCS Big 10 teams available)? Would it be the Fiesta Bowl (a BCS game)? Would it be the Orange or Sugar Bowls (other BCS games)? A lot of "experts" were thinking it would be the Fiesta Bowl due to the number of Iowans living in Arizona this time of year. After the conference championship games were played the picture still wasn't clear for Iowa. Penn State also had a shot at the BCS, which would have knocked Iowa to the Capital One bowl. Instead the Orange Bowl (Tuesday Jan 5, 2010) jumped all over Iowa, mainly due to Iowa beating Penn State head-to-head. The Fiesta Bowl decided to take Boise St and Texas Christian as they were undefeated. Iowa was a no-brainer for the Orange Bowl. Iowa's opponent will be Georgia Tech, the ACC champion. This will be an intriguing match up as Georgia Tech runs the very rarely seen triple-option. The key to defending the triple-option is disciplined assignment defense, which is what Iowa has done all season. Georgia Tech doesn't have a great defense and Iowa's offense has been less than stellar most of the year (lone exception: 4th quarter against Indiana). I will preview the game in more detail as it approaches.
I will also be compiling a list of my 10 most memorable moments of the season. I don't like specific plays because there are usually "hidden" plays that make the big play possible. Look for the preview and the memorable moments soon!
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