JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Yesterday, I took a look at the games I felt were the most important of the Kirk Ferentz era from 1999-2004. Today, here are my thoughts on the most important games 2005-2009:
Iowa 20, Wisconsin 13, 2005: Iowa was 5-4 heading into this game with two regular season games remaining at Wisconsin and home against Minnesota. Back to back three-point losses against Michigan and Northwestern left the Hawkeyes in a ‘must win out’ situation in order to guarantee a bowl bid. Iowa fell into an early 10-0 hole in Madison, as they have been known to do from time to time. But they battled back to win the game thanks to the best rushing defense performance of the year by Iowa’s young defensive line. The Badgers were able to muster just 19 yards on the ground against sophomore’s Ken Iwebema and Bryan Mattison and freshmen Mitch King and Matt Kroul. Albert Young rang up 127 yards on the ground and Drew Tate threw for 224 through the air and two touchdowns. Iowa would beat Minnesota 52-28 the next week and they earned a bid to the Outback Bowl over a Michigan team with an identical 7-4 regular season record and one that beat them in Kinnick Stadium. It was a disappointing season, given the preseason hype, but this team could have easily been 9-2 had they not lost in overtime to Michigan and lost a late double digit lead at Northwestern. It kept Iowa’s streak of January bowl games going at four in a row.
Minnesota 34, Iowa 24, 2006: I realize Iowa lost this game, but it will continue to serve as a dividing line of sorts in the mind of Kirk Ferentz. He has said that his program hit a low that day in that loss. That was the regular season finale of the Year of the Fat Cats. An air of entitlement had somehow crept into the program, where players relied more on their recruiting pedigree’s than time spent watching film or putting up extra reps in Chris Doyle’s weight room. Iowa put up nearly 550 yards of total offense that day and lost by 10 points. Drew Tate showed his excitable side and got benched for a series after throwing three picks and Jake Christensen came in and threw an interception. Iowa committed five turnovers to Minnesota’s one. Iowa bounced back in the Alamo Bowl and represented the way a Kirk Ferentz coached team should play, falling just short against Texas after going up 21-3 before a flag came in ruling Scott Chandler as covered up on the line of scrimmage, nullifying a touchdown. While 2007 saw Iowa go just 6-6, give up more sacks than any BCS team in the nation and miss a bowl game for the first time since 2000, the healing of the program began the day after the Minnesota game.
Iowa 38, Wisconsin 16, 2008: It was one of the more physically dominating performances of any Ferentz coached team. Shonn Green ran for 217 yards and four touchdowns while the team rushed for more than 250 as the Hawkeyes beat the Badgers into submission on the Kinnick Stadium grass. The offensive line played as though they were up against a varsity high school squad from Kenosha, with center Rob Bruggeman sealing off linebackers all day long. It was a thing of beauty, and perhaps the most awe-inspiring rushing performance since Sedric Shaw toted the pigskin for Iowa back in the mid 1990’s. It was a great win for the Hawks, who were just two weeks removed from their third straight devastating defeat. But this team would not allow itself to be devastated. They would lose the next week on a late field goal at Illinois before….
Iowa 24, Penn State 23, 2008: …before they beat Penn State on a last second Daniel Murray field goal. Iowa needed this game in the worst way, but so did Penn State. All that lay between the Nittany Lions and a national championship game bid was a 5-4 Iowa team, an Indiana team that won just three games that year and Michigan State coming to Happy Valley. Iowa jumped on the Nits early, nearly forcing a fumble and scoring early on great field position. But Penn State would dominate the first half, however they led just 13-7 at the half. Iowa flipped the ****** in the second half and dominated the stat sheet, but they still had to drive from the PSU 26 yard line to get into field position. They put forth a 15-play, 57 yard drive, Rick Stanzi became a legend, as did Murray for hitting the 31-yard field goal with :01 to play. Iowa upset the #3 ranked team in the nation. They would finish the season with wins against Purdue, Minnesota and South Carolina by a combined score of 108-27 and wound up as Outback Bowl Champions with a record of 9-4, after being 3-3 at one point during the season. All four losses came by a combined 12 points. If the Michigan game in 2002 was monumental for phase one of the Ferentz era, this win was its equal in setting up the ’second run’ of the Ferentz era that we are now in.
Of course, we have the 2009 season. The win at the White House was off the charts…a monumental win for the program, as it was under the lights and nationally televised…the win at home against Michigan, another Musberger-Herbstreit affair, very important for the Iowa program. The Michigan State win in the closing seconds, one of the most memorable wins in Iowa history. The comeback against Indiana received national exposure mostly because of the hole Iowa crawled out of, and it allowed Iowa to get to 9-0 and landed them on the cover of Sports Illustrated. If you look back on the season to that point, given the amount of publicity that garnered for Iowa, you could make a case that the win against Indiana was just as important as any of the wins. The 24-14 win in the Orange Bowl was the first BCS win for Iowa since the ate 1950’s, and it was on a stand alone night.
Pretty much the entire 2009 season was one of the memory books, and so many meaningful games. I think we might look back in a decade and rank that season as the most exciting of the past 50 years.
Iowa 20, Wisconsin 13, 2005: Iowa was 5-4 heading into this game with two regular season games remaining at Wisconsin and home against Minnesota. Back to back three-point losses against Michigan and Northwestern left the Hawkeyes in a ‘must win out’ situation in order to guarantee a bowl bid. Iowa fell into an early 10-0 hole in Madison, as they have been known to do from time to time. But they battled back to win the game thanks to the best rushing defense performance of the year by Iowa’s young defensive line. The Badgers were able to muster just 19 yards on the ground against sophomore’s Ken Iwebema and Bryan Mattison and freshmen Mitch King and Matt Kroul. Albert Young rang up 127 yards on the ground and Drew Tate threw for 224 through the air and two touchdowns. Iowa would beat Minnesota 52-28 the next week and they earned a bid to the Outback Bowl over a Michigan team with an identical 7-4 regular season record and one that beat them in Kinnick Stadium. It was a disappointing season, given the preseason hype, but this team could have easily been 9-2 had they not lost in overtime to Michigan and lost a late double digit lead at Northwestern. It kept Iowa’s streak of January bowl games going at four in a row.
Minnesota 34, Iowa 24, 2006: I realize Iowa lost this game, but it will continue to serve as a dividing line of sorts in the mind of Kirk Ferentz. He has said that his program hit a low that day in that loss. That was the regular season finale of the Year of the Fat Cats. An air of entitlement had somehow crept into the program, where players relied more on their recruiting pedigree’s than time spent watching film or putting up extra reps in Chris Doyle’s weight room. Iowa put up nearly 550 yards of total offense that day and lost by 10 points. Drew Tate showed his excitable side and got benched for a series after throwing three picks and Jake Christensen came in and threw an interception. Iowa committed five turnovers to Minnesota’s one. Iowa bounced back in the Alamo Bowl and represented the way a Kirk Ferentz coached team should play, falling just short against Texas after going up 21-3 before a flag came in ruling Scott Chandler as covered up on the line of scrimmage, nullifying a touchdown. While 2007 saw Iowa go just 6-6, give up more sacks than any BCS team in the nation and miss a bowl game for the first time since 2000, the healing of the program began the day after the Minnesota game.
Iowa 38, Wisconsin 16, 2008: It was one of the more physically dominating performances of any Ferentz coached team. Shonn Green ran for 217 yards and four touchdowns while the team rushed for more than 250 as the Hawkeyes beat the Badgers into submission on the Kinnick Stadium grass. The offensive line played as though they were up against a varsity high school squad from Kenosha, with center Rob Bruggeman sealing off linebackers all day long. It was a thing of beauty, and perhaps the most awe-inspiring rushing performance since Sedric Shaw toted the pigskin for Iowa back in the mid 1990’s. It was a great win for the Hawks, who were just two weeks removed from their third straight devastating defeat. But this team would not allow itself to be devastated. They would lose the next week on a late field goal at Illinois before….
Iowa 24, Penn State 23, 2008: …before they beat Penn State on a last second Daniel Murray field goal. Iowa needed this game in the worst way, but so did Penn State. All that lay between the Nittany Lions and a national championship game bid was a 5-4 Iowa team, an Indiana team that won just three games that year and Michigan State coming to Happy Valley. Iowa jumped on the Nits early, nearly forcing a fumble and scoring early on great field position. But Penn State would dominate the first half, however they led just 13-7 at the half. Iowa flipped the ****** in the second half and dominated the stat sheet, but they still had to drive from the PSU 26 yard line to get into field position. They put forth a 15-play, 57 yard drive, Rick Stanzi became a legend, as did Murray for hitting the 31-yard field goal with :01 to play. Iowa upset the #3 ranked team in the nation. They would finish the season with wins against Purdue, Minnesota and South Carolina by a combined score of 108-27 and wound up as Outback Bowl Champions with a record of 9-4, after being 3-3 at one point during the season. All four losses came by a combined 12 points. If the Michigan game in 2002 was monumental for phase one of the Ferentz era, this win was its equal in setting up the ’second run’ of the Ferentz era that we are now in.
Of course, we have the 2009 season. The win at the White House was off the charts…a monumental win for the program, as it was under the lights and nationally televised…the win at home against Michigan, another Musberger-Herbstreit affair, very important for the Iowa program. The Michigan State win in the closing seconds, one of the most memorable wins in Iowa history. The comeback against Indiana received national exposure mostly because of the hole Iowa crawled out of, and it allowed Iowa to get to 9-0 and landed them on the cover of Sports Illustrated. If you look back on the season to that point, given the amount of publicity that garnered for Iowa, you could make a case that the win against Indiana was just as important as any of the wins. The 24-14 win in the Orange Bowl was the first BCS win for Iowa since the ate 1950’s, and it was on a stand alone night.
Pretty much the entire 2009 season was one of the memory books, and so many meaningful games. I think we might look back in a decade and rank that season as the most exciting of the past 50 years.
