The Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 24-14 last night in the Orange Bowl. Iowa finish the season 11-2. This is the second time in history and under Coach Kirk Ferentz that Iowa finished the season with 11 wins.

This is also Iowa’s first BCS bowl win and first win against an ACC team in nine attempts.

Iowa is going to the Orange Bowl in Miami Florida on Jan. 5th, 2010. It was I little nervous seeing the Fiesta Bowl going against what they said by not picking Iowa.

#10 Iowa (10-2) will be facing #9 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-2). The Yellow Jacket won the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship game against the Clemson Tigers. So the Hawkeyes will be facing the best team from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Hawkeyes have just under a month to prepare for Georgia Tech’s triple option offense that help them win the ACC this year.

The Hawkeyes are now starting to see the rewards for finishing the season 10-2. This is just the fourth time the Hawkeyes had finished with ten or more victories under coach Ferentz.

Iowa had a league high ten players selected by the media and by the coaches for their teams. Penn State had the second high number of players selected followed by Ohio State.

Iowa also received two other rewards as well.

Coach Ferentz was named the Coach of the Year for the third time by the media. He won this honor in 2002 and 2004 seasons.

Junior offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga received the Offensive Lineman of the Year award by the conference’s coaches.

Hawkeyes earning coaches first team honors were offensive guard Dace Richardson, offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga, tight end Tony Moeaki, defensive end Adrian Clayborn, linebacker Pat Angerer as well as defensive backs Tyler Sash and Amari Spievey.

Hawkeyes earning coaches second team honors were wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, offensive center Rafael Eubanks, and linebacker A. J. Edds.

Hawkeyes earning media first team honors were Bryan Bulaga, Adrian Clayborn, Pat Angerer, and Tyler Sash.
Hawkeyes earning media second team honors were Rafael Eubanks, Dace Richardson, Tony Moeaki, Amari Spievey, offensive tackle Kyle Calloway, defensive back Brett Greenwood.

Congratulations to all of the Hawkeyes who were named to the teams as well as Coach Ferentz for his third coach of the year award.

Next season looks very promising for the Hawkeyes with a possible run for the Big Ten Title and another chance to win ten or more games again. This should make any Hawkeye fan proud and energized for next season.

Iowa (5-2, 9-2) loses their second game of the season to Ohio State (6-1, 9-2) at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State scored a 39 yard field goal in overtime to beat Iowa 27-24. This was an epic nail biter game for both teams. Both teams played with their hearts.

With this win, Ohio State secures their spot at the Rose Bowl even if they lose against Michigan next week. A loss to Michigan will allow another team (Penn State, Iowa, or Wisconsin) to become Co-Champion of the Big Ten.

Iowa stills have a shot in getting an at-large BCS bid. Currently Ohio State, Iowa, and Penn State are ranked in the top 14 in the BCS poll. By the rules, if a conference has three teams that are ranked in the top 14 in the BCS poll, then the BCS selectors has to take two out of the three teams.

Iowa has the lead over Penn State for three reasons. They are as follows.
• Iowa has beaten Penn State 21 -10.
• Iowa is ranked 13th and Pen State is ranked 14th in the BCS poll.
• Penn State lost last week to Ohio State 24-7 as Iowa lost 27-24 in overtime.

THE GAME

Iowa’s offense gained the most overall yards than any other team against the Ohio State’s defense this season. As well as scoring the third most points against Ohio State. Iowa gave up 229 rushing yards while only allowing 94 passing yards.

Redshirt quarterback James Vandenberg went completed 60 percent of his passes for 233 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Two of the three interception was from a deflection and a hail mary pass. This was very impressive for being his first start as a college quarterback.

Safety Brett Greenwood and wide receiver Colin Sandeman both played very well in this game for their first game back since injuries. The biggest surprise was having running back Adam Robinson back from his high ankle sprain injury.

THE INJURIES

Quarterback Ricky Stanzi is out for the rest of the season. He is working on returning before the bowl game. His surgery on his ankle was successful.

Running back Brandon Wegher did not play in the Ohio State game. He is battling sore ribs from the Northwestern game.

Linebacker Jeremiha Hunter injured his ankle during the second quarter of Ohio State’s game. He did not play in the second half and is questionable for the Minnesota game this weekend.

NEXT WEEKS GAMES

The Hawkeyes will host Minnesota (3-4, 6-5) on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. This is Iowa’s last chance to try to win 10 games this season as well as keeping their BCS at-large hopes alive. The Hawkeyes are favored to win by 10 points by the odds makers.

Ohio State travels to Michigan (1-6, 5-6) on Saturday. Ohio State will represent the Big ten Conference in the Rose Bowl as Michigan tries to get bowl eligible.

Iowa (5-1, 9-1) loses their first game of the season to Northwestern (3-3, 6-4) at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Northwestern scored the last 17 points of the game to make it 17-10 final score.

This loss ends the Hawkeyes nine game and 13 game winning streaks as well as a chance to play in the BCS championship game.

THE GAME

Ricky Stanzi was injured in the beginning of the second quarter. This was a very costly injury since the offense never recovered from it.
James Vandenberg replaced Stanzi at center and was able to move the ball some towards the end of the game. He had an interception and no touchdowns for the game. He will get his first collegiate start on Saturday in Columbus.

The referees missed several penalties that could cause the game to go a different way. They missed three penalties on the Hawkeyes final drive that would put them in Northwestern territory. The biggest penalty they missed was facemask that Stanzi got when he was injured in the second quarter.

The Big Ten Conference should review the referees in this game and suspend them for the rest of the season for their actions. It is so interesting that no one lists who the referees were.

My opinion is that the line judge that missed the holding of Tony Moeaki should be fired. He was 20 feet from them when this happened. It clearly shows him favoring Northwestern over Iowa. They are not to favor any team in a game.

THE INJURIES

The Hawkeyes are still battling injuries from the Michigan State and Northwestern games.

Free Safety Brent Greenwood did not play in the Northwestern game. There was no update about his concussion.

Wide Receiver Colin Sandeman did not play in the Northwestern game as well. He is still healing from his concussion and an injury to his shoulder from the same play. He has a small chance to play next week.

Running Back Adam Robinson is out for the rest of the season. He was walking with a limp and without crutches on the sideline during the game.

Quarterback Ricky Stanzi is out for the rest of the season. His surgery was successful.

NEXT WEEKS GAMES

The Hawkeyes will try to rebound this Saturday as they travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1, 8-2). The winner will win be the sole Big Ten champions and have the automatic berth in the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes are favored to win by 16 points by the odds makers.

Northwestern travels to Illinois (2-5, 3-6) on Saturday. Northwestern is now bowl eligible and will be facing Illinois team that has won the past two games.

Iowa (5-0 9-0) won their ninth straight game by beating Indiana (1-4 4-5) 42 – 24 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. This is the first time in school history the Hawkeyes won the first nine games in a single season. This victory also makes it 13 in a row dating back to last year. It has been over 365 days since Iowa has lost a game.

THE GAME
The Hawkeyes beat Indiana after scoring four touchdowns in the fourth quarter . This is the first time since 2005 that Iowa score 28 points in a single quarter. This marks the first time since 2005 that Iowa has scored 28 points in a single quarter.
Ricky Stanzi threw two touchdown passes back to back in the fourth quarter. First one was a 92 yard reception to Marvin McNutt and the second one was a 66 yard reception to DJK. The 92 yard reception is the fourth longest in Iowa history. Brandon Wegher ran for two more touchdowns.
This is after Stanzi threw four interceptions in four possessions in the third quarter. This marks the worst quarter Iowa has played in this year. Indiana only scored ten points in the six turnovers Iowa had in the game.
Stanzi threw for a career high 337 yards to go with his career high five picks. Wegher ran for 118 yards in 25 carries with three touchdowns. These are all career highs for Wegher.
Tyler Sash added another interception to his total in the third quarter. He had an 86 yard interception that he returned for a touchdown. Sash has a total of six picks this season. Shawn Prater and A. J. Edds add two more interceptions in the fourth quarter to make the team total 18. Iowa leads the NCAA in this category.

THE INJURIES
The Hawkeyes is also still battling injuries from the physical game against the Spartans two weeks ago.
Free Safety Brent Greenwood tried playing in the Indiana game, but pulled himself out of the game. He is still feeling the effects of the helmet to helmet hit. He is saying it feels like a stinger. He is not listed on the depth chart against Northwestern.
Wide Receiver Colin Sandeman did not play in the Indiana game as well. He was hit helmet to helmet by Michigan State’s Cornerback Ware. He is not listed on the depth chart against Northwestern.
Robinson’s injury is not as bad as everyone first thought. His injury is not same injury that sidelined Tony Moeaki for three games earlier this season.

NEXT WEEKS GAMES
Iowa will try to go for ten straight wins this Saturday as they host the Northwestern Wildcats (2-3 5-4). Northwestern is going to play spoiler this weekend as they try getting bowl eligible. The Hawkeyes are favored to win by 16 ½ points by the odds makers.
Indiana hosts Wisconsin (3-2 6-2) on Saturday. Indiana is still battling to become bowl eligible as Wisconsin is already bowl eligible.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (5-0 Big Ten, 9-0 Overall) are currently setting in the fourth spot in the most recent BCS standings. They also hold the nation’s second longest college football winning streak with 13 wins. The nation’s longest streak goes to Florida with 17 wins. Iowa is the only team in college football to win nine games so far. Winning the first nine games of the season is also a first for the Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes are now in the college football spotlight and everybody is talking about them. Mostly they are talking about is how overrated Iowa is and how they don’t deserve to be in the BCS National Championship Game. This is why Iowa is considered the underdogs of college football.

I have noticed some sports analysts are now coming out defending Iowa’s football team. I have even read articles on sports sites about how Iowa deserves to be ranked fourth in the BCS as well as others writing about the opposite.

Why Iowa is the underdogs of college football? Iowa has squeak by winning games by a small margin of points or even fighting their way back into the game to win it. Teams like this make college football very exciting to watch. One close game is better to watch then several other games were one team is winning by 30 plus points.

This is why they play football games against each other is to prove who is the better team between them. People can compare Iowa against all the other teams in the top ten, but this is only a comparison on paper and is only worth as much as the paper is worth. I’m not saying that the comparison is not right, but it is not 100% correct either. Remember the Ohio State – Purdue game.

I watched an advertisement for College Football a couple weekend’s ago, I saw a statement that sums it all up. I believe it was on my local ABC network. The statement was “Every Underdog is Dangerous”. This is why I believe Iowa is still undefeated.

Now onto another subject that got my attention.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion as long as they don’t go overboard with it and some are going way overboard with the bashing of Iowa. Now I’m seeing people not only bashing Iowa’s football team, but bashing the individual players in Iowa’s history. This is why I’m writing this next paragraph.

LEAVE NILE KINNICK OUT OF THE BASHING. He is a hero as well as an icon in the state of Iowa. He is the Hawkeyes only Heisman winner and a veteran of WW II. In 1972, the stadium was renamed Kinnick Stadium from Iowa Stadium in his honor as a football player as well as a veteran. This was sparked by a Nebraska fan bringing his name up in an article that was bashing Iowa. His article also cause others like to react to it like this article by Tim Weideman.

Iowa (4-0 8-0) won their eighth straight game by beating Michigan State (3-2 4-4) 15 – 13 at East Lansing, Michigan. This is the first time in school history the Hawkeyes won the first eight games in a single season. They have won seven straight four other times with the last time being in 1985. This also marks the first win for Coach Kirk Ferentz (1-4) at East Lansing and the Hawkeyes first win since 1995. The home team has won the game for the past nine meetings.

THE GAME
The Hawkeyes beat Michigan State on the last play of the game as Ricky Stanzi threw a seven yard touchdown pass the Marvin McNutt with no time left in the game. This is after Michigan State took the lead with a 30 yard touchdown pass. They also had a hook and ladder pass prior to the touchdown pass to get the Spartans into scoring range.

The last four minutes of the game is when both teams were able to score touchdowns on each other’s defenses. The rest of the game was made up of five field goals (Iowa 3, Michigan State 2) and two goal line stands (Each team had one) that were at the one yard line.

THE INJURIES
The Hawkeyes also had five injuries during the game that likely knocked two players out for the rest of the season. This was a very physical game against a very physical Spartan team.
Offensive Right Tackle Dace Richardson broke his leg or foot in the first few minutes of the game and will be out for the next four to six weeks. This didn’t hurt the Hawkeyes that much since they are deep with talent on the Offense Line. Julian Vandervelde will start at right tackle for the injured Richardson with Dan Doering backing him up.

Free Safety Brent Greenwood and Cornerback Tyler Sash hit helmet to helmet during a tackle. Greenwood was carted off the field to the locker room as Sash was able to get up and still play in the game. Green wood was up and walking around in the locker room and returned to the game on the sideline for the second half. He is currently on the depth chart for the Indiana game.

Wide Receiver Colin Sandeman was hit helmet to helmet by Michigan State’s Cornerback Ware as he caught a pass from Stanzi. Sandeman was knocked unconscious for a few minutes before getting up and walking off the field. Sandeman is also listed on the depth chart of the Indiana game.

Running Back Brandon Wegher was also injured during the game as he took a hit in the chest. He was out for a while before returning briefly later in the game. He is also on the Depth Chart as the number one back for Iowa.

Running Back Adam Robinson sprain his leg on the last drive of the game as a defender landed wrong on him. They are saying it is similar to Tony Moeaki’s injury earlier this year. Ferentz announced on Tuesday that Robinson was likely out for the remaining regular season.

With Robinson out and Wegher as starting RB, that makes room for RB Paki O’Meara to see some action as the backup for Wegher. The biggest concern is fumbling the ball. Robinson has not fumbled the ball all season. There are rumors flying around that RB Brad Rogers is going to be put into the running back rotation. This will mean Rogers will lose his Red Shirt season. This will be interesting how good Rogers is after entering spring practice a little heavy and out of shape two months ago.

NEXT WEEKS GAMES
We will see how the new adjustments will work for Iowa this Saturday against Indiana (1-3 4-4). This is a home game that the Hawkeyes are favored to win by 17 ½ points by the odds makers.

Michigan State travels to Minnesota (2-3 4-4) on Saturday. This will be Minnesota’s first game without Wide Receiver Eric Decker. Decker was also lost for the rest of the season. This could be the year if Minnesota fails to become bowl eligible since Michigan State is favored to win this game.

Here are some interesting and fun facts about Iowa going into this weekend’s game against Michigan State in East Lansing.

Last win in East Lansing was in 1995
Home Team won last 9 meetings in this series.
Iowa holds the Big Ten longest road winning streak with 3 wins. Since Ohio State lost last weekend.
Seven straight wins first under Kirk Ferentz and first time since 1985 season.
First 3-0 start since 2002 for the Hawkeyes.
11 straight wins tie the second longest streak in school history. The other streak was in 1956 – 1957 season (10-0-1) with Ohio State ended the streak by beating Iowa.
Only team with wins over 3 BCS ranked teams this season. Penn State, Arizona, Wisconsin
Iowa ties Alabama with most wins in FBS this season with 7 (Both 7-0).

Here are some other facts to think about.

Longest winning streak in Iowa history was 20 wins in 1921-1923. Iowa lost to Illinois to end this streak.
Last time Iowa beat Ohio State and Michigan in same year was in 1962
Last Big Ten Conference championship outright was in 1985. Iowa was co-champs in 2004 with Ohio State.
Last Rose Bowl appearance for the Hawkeyes was in 1990.
Last BCS Bowl appearance was the Orange Bowl in 2002.
Last time Iowa won every away game in a single season was in 2002.
Last time Iowa won every home game in a single season was in 2004.
Last undefeated Conference record Iowa had was in 2002 (8-0).
The last undefeated season Iowa had was in 1922 (7-0-0).
There are only four undefeated seasons in Iowa history. They are 1899 8-0-1, 1900 7-0-1, 1921 7-0, and 1922 7-0.
Highest BCS ranking was fifth in Dec. 2002 for 5 weeks.

Here are some interesting facts about Iowa winning National Championships. I found this information on other websites that keep track of National Championships.

In 1921, Iowa was selected as National Champion by Billingsley and Parke Davis.

In 1956, Iowa was selected as National Champion by Football Research along with selections by others of Georgia, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

In 1958, the Football Writers of America, ranked the Iowa Hawkeyes as #1 and National Champions. This trophy rests not far from Nile Kinnick’s 1939 Heisman trophy in the Iowa Athletic Museum.

Iowa (3-0 7-0) made Wisconsin’s (3-1 5-1) homecoming bad by beating the Badgers 20-10 on Saturday afternoon in front of 81,043 fans. With this win, Iowa pushes the second longest winning streak to 11 games as well as tying the record for winning the first seven games of the season. Iowa won the first seven games of the season since 1985 when Iowa also won the first seven games.

Iowa Quarterback Ricky Stanzi was 17 for 23 and 218 yards with one TD. Iowa Wide Receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos had 8 catches for 113 yards and Tight End Tony Moeaki had 3 catches for 55 yards and one TD. Running Back Adam Robinson ran for 91 yards as well.

Wisconsin Quarterback Tolzien had 143 yard passing with three interceptions as league leading Running back John Clay was held to only 75 yards rushing for the day.

The Iowa defense adds 3 more interceptions to their total count. The 15 interceptions are the most interceptions by a team in FBS.

Start of the first quarter, Wegher brought back the ball 39 yards after the kickoff to the Iowa 42 yard line. Iowa march down the field with a couple long receptions before stalling out on the Wisconsin 32 yard line. Iowa turn over the ball on downs.

Wisconsin started at their 32 yard line and started moving the ball by giving it to Clay. The Badgers also stalled at the Iowa 44 yard line and had to punt the ball away.

Wisconsin got the ball back with 5:27 left in the first quarter after Iowa had a three and out. Wisconsin started moving the ball from their 26 yard line with a couple 14 yard rushes by Clay and marched down to Iowa’s 18 yard line as the first quarter ended.

At the beginning of the second quarter Wisconsin was not able to move the ball anymore and settle with a 34 yard field goal to go on top 3 – 0.

Wisconsin defense again forced another three and out on Iowa and got the ball back on their eight yard line. Tolzien had a couple long passes of 19 and 21 to move the ball to mid field before Clay started moving the ball with his legs. Clay end up leaving the game for a few plays as Montee Ball came in and end up rushing for his first college touchdown 10 yard out to make the score 10 – 0 Wisconsin.

Iowa started on their 35 yard line with eight minutes left in the half. Stanzi connected with DJK for 34 yards to move the ball deep into Wisconsin territory. Again Iowa was only able to move the ball another seven yards before settling with a 37 yard field goal by Murray to make it 10 – 3 Wisconsin lead.

Wisconsin and Iowa was unable to move the ball in the last five minutes of the quarter to go into halftime with Wisconsin up by seven points.

Wisconsin started the Third quarter on their 33 yard line. Wisconsin was moving the ball up the field until Iowa’s cornerback Amari Spievey intercepted Tolzien’s pass at the Iowa 46 yard line.

Iowa started mixing up the plays by passing and rushing up the field. Stanzi threw a 24 yard reception To Tony Moeaki for a Touchdown to tie the game 10 – 10.

Wisconsin’s David Gilreath returns the ball 25 yards to Wisconsin’s 36 yard line. Wisconsin was not able to move the ball and had their first three and out of the game.

Iowa got the ball back at the Iowa 20 yard line with 5:55 left in the third quarter. Iowa started moving the ball until Stanzi fumbled the ball. Wisconsin recovered it on Iowa’s 34 yard line.

Iowa’s defense buckled down to only give up 4 yards to Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s Philip Welch trying a 38 yard field goal and missed it.

Iowa then moved the ball seven yards to the Iowa 38 yard line as the third quarter finished.

Start of the fourth quarter Stanzi threw a 21 yard pass to TE Reisner and a 24 yard pass to DJK putting the ball on Wisconsin’s 17 yard line. Adam Robinson then rush for seven yards and again for 10 yards to score a touchdown. Iowa leads the game for the first time with a 17 – 10 lead.

Wisconsin again had another three and out and gave the ball back to Iowa. Iowa then pushed the ball down field to Wisconsin’s 48 yard line as Murray hit another field goal for 48 yards. Iowa leads 20 – 10.

Wisconsin started throwing the ball up the field as Iowa’s AJ Edds intercepted it at Iowa’s 31 yard line. Iowa then marched the ball down the field to Wisconsin’s 20 yard line before turning it over on downs.

Wisconsin got the ball back on their 20 yard line with 2:24 left in the game. Wisconsin again tried hurrying the ball up the field and Tolzien threw another interception to Iowa’s Spievey at the Wisconsin 41 yard line.

Iowa then ran out the remaining 1:29 of the game to win it 20 – 10.