VOTE: The Biggest Iowa FB Plays in Last 50 Years

[woodyk1]

Also, we are the #1 highlight on College Football on ESPN right now!

 

[BlitzBuster]

Rob's kick because that was my first taste of our Hawks being at the top of the rankings.

 

[ThunderHawk]

The result of every other option is known. This one remains 'pregnant' with possibilities. Those possibilities are immense.

Well stated. That is my rationale.

 

[nilekinnick]

How not to say #1 Iowa over #2 Michigan? Plus I was a student in the stands.

 

[StixSymmonds]

This was a fantastic win and is historical, but at the end of the day, it may not (yet) mean that much. Iowa still has four games to go, and none of them are given wins.

Robs kick against Michigan was an all-time classic, but it ended up not meaning enough because the Hawks lost to Ohio State a couple of weeks later, losing their #1 status.

The Cap One victory was the best possible outcome for Iowa that season. It was the best play in Iowa history because there was no tomorrow for that team as it existed. It was a January bowl game, against the former National Champions (just the year before), and there was no hope for anything better than a win that day.

I'll agree with the member that said to ask again in January, though. If Stanzi were to pull out the same drive for a National Championship, or Rose Bowl victory, that would definitely be the best play in Hawkeye history (of the last 50 years, that is).

 

[poncho72]

has to be stanzi to Mcnutt, it's history in the making

 

[VanMan1]

I'm 36, so I was 12 when Houghlin made The Kick (I watched that game on Channel 2 in the same place I am watching it right now). Because that was No. 1 vs. No. 2 puts that play miles above all the rest. However, I do put Stanzi to McNutt up close to Tate to Halloway for the runner-up spot because of the pressure on the QBs at the time.

 

[stlrnhwk]

i voted Iowa vs Michigan, hard to chose against 1 vs 2, even though this was huge!

 

[cliffhanger57]

I would give tonight's game a tie with Tate to Holloway because in both cases I thought that they were beaten, so the result was ecstacy.In the #1 vs. #2 game I really liked Houghlin's chances and wasn't as surprised. Hopefully the best is yet to come!

 

[VanMan1]

I'm listening to the Liberty Link Hawkeye Huddle on 600, and while I was on the air with them, mentioning the Houghtlin kick, they replayed the Ron Gonder call. They later played the Tate-to-Holloway call, too.

 

[rdubbs]

Rob Houghtlin's field goal, easy choice here

 

[UP6936]

I voted for Houghtlins kick because it was #1 vs #2 and we ended up going to the Rose Bowl. Wouldn't have happened without it.

We still do not know the final implications of "The Drive." Although things look good now, neithe the National Championship game nor even the Rose Bowl is yet locked down. If McNutt's catch ends up helping to get us to either, it may be the biggest. If we lose 2-4 games to end the season (unlikely, but certainly not impossible) and McNutt's catch only ends up getting us back to The Blockbuster Bowl or the Cap One, then it is not as big.

If the "biggest" means the one that means the most to you personally, I would probably have to take Hartleib to Cook to win in the Shoe. That may be my #1 sports memory of all time.

 

[phays01]

I can still remember Houghtlin's boot in '85, Iowa was screwed out of a TD that was proved in on replay...but the game held only the #1 v. #2 significance, was too early in the season to change anything (besides we loose at OSU later anyway).

Tate to Hollaway was incredible-still the most fantastic way to win-but it was a bowl game not a title game. We did get big MO going into the off season.

I will still go with Hartlieb to Cook-because there just hasn't been much success for us over in the shoe. Those kinds of wins stick.

If we go undefeated this season then I may change my mind-this was a defining game in a special season. If we win out, we are the only B10 team to ever do a road schedule like we have, @Penn St., @Wisconsin, @Michigan St., and @ Ohio St.

Here's hoping for 12-0!!

 

[IATrainMaster101]

I voted Stanzi to McNutt. Until iowa loses a game this was the biggest play in Iowa hisotry.

 

[ChosenChildren]

I'm 54 so in a positon to give an opinion. I would rank them this way:

1. Stanzi to McNutt - keeps us alive for the Rose Bowl and the National Championship - first team to go 8 and 0
2. Tate to Holloway in Cap One Bowl
3. Houghtlin makes 27 yd FG to beat Mich. in 85
4. Hartlieb to Cook in the Shoe
5. Ploen to Gibbons in 1956 to defeat Ohio St and go to first Rose bowl
6. Long goes naked bootleg to beat MSU in 1985
7. Fleming goes 73 yards on punt return against Michigan to clinch Rose bowl in 1958
8. Banks to Clark on 4th and 7 to beat Purdue in 2002 to keep perfect Big Ten season alive
9. Kinnick nails 70 yard punt to defeat Notre Dame in 1939

 

[gimpyhawk]

I voted for Houghtlin's kick because it was a signature moment during a time when Iowa was still just six years into the overall framework of Coach Fry taking the Iowa football program's status from laughingstock of the Big Ten to national relevance.

 

[WhitUp]

I got to go to Tate to Halloway, because that was like a 55 yard miracle. Especially with the clock running and we didn't even know if Tate knew it. And it was a January 1st bowl game, but I reserve my right to change my mind if we go to the championship game. We have to see how the season plays out if we lose 2 more games it kind of goes down as the cook play. It's very debateable for the top 3, I think it's funny I think we had this same discussion last year after the Murray Field Goal and I felt people were overranking it and over time people would see it differently. NOW it's not even in the discussion.

 

[bcl20]

My answer really has to do with the outcome of the season. Right now at 8-0, I'd pick Stanzi to McNutt, as it's kind of like throwing a winning TD in a playoff game if you think about it. I'd probably pick something else if we end up losing though.

 

[JHawkI]

I have to break it down further:

Most unlikely,hardest: Tate to Holloway,Hartlieb to Cook,Stanzi to McNutt
Biggest single moment: Houghtlin over Michigan, Stanzi to McNutt
Most Historical: Stanzi to McNutt, Houghtlin over Michigan.

This play could become bigger as the weeks go, become the defining moment in a all time season. If we should go 12-0....Stanzi to McNutt will grow in stature.

 

[baries]

The play that sticks out in my mind as the greatest play in Hawkeye history is Chuck Long walking into the end zone against MSU on a bootleg. I have no idea of the historical impact of the play (other than Iowa won as a result) it just represents Iowa football at its finest for me.

Of the choices in the poll, I don't know which I'd choose. It's just nice to have so many great memories from which to choose.