Chicago Sports Then and Now

The Iowa Hawkeyes will look for a different result than in their last Orange Bowl appearance.

This is the ghost of Orange Bowls past—specifically 2003, when the Iowa Hawkeyes met the USC Trojans….

In case you have not heard this before, be advised that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Study your lessons well, Iowa Hawkeyes, before you head off to another Orange Bowl contest.

Simply put, the lesson to be learned is this—”Speed Kills.” You either contain it or it hits you like a Mack truck, leaving you flattened—road kill diem.

Think back…recall the hope and promise of the season…

It was January 2003 and Iowa had an amazing 11-1 record, ranked No. 3 in the polls (No. 5 BCS). The Hawkeyes’ only defeat, if you recall, came at the hands of in-state rival Iowa State. Curse those Clones!

Quarterback Brad Banks had come in second in the Heisman balloting, losing out to Carson Palmer, quarterback for USC who, ironically enough, would be leading his Trojans against Iowa—no, not in the Rose Bowl, but in the Orange Bowl.

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A 21-10 victory over Penn State in Happy Valley was a big highlight of the 2009 season for the Hawkeyes.

In 2009, Santa dropped in early and often to visit Hawkeye head coach Kirk Ferentz, leaving 10 preseason bowl gifts under the nationally ranked Hawkeye tree.

As Ferentz eagerly opened each one, the gold-gilded invitation, kept under lock and key offering a special trip to a warm climate, loomed larger and larger as bowl season moved closer and closer…

Gift No. 1: Iowa Escaped Northern Iowa, 17-16

How could this not be a special year when it started with this first package wrapped tightly in black and gold.

Iowa blocked two Northern Iowa field-goal attempts in the final seven seconds of Iowa’s first game to record a 17-16 win over Northern Iowa.

Broderick Binns blocked the first attempt from 40 yards and Jeremiha Hunter blocked the second attempt from 41 yards.   And Iowa escaped Northern Iowa .

Fa-la-la-la!

Gift No. 2: Sash Helps Stifle Cyclones

Traveling to Ames to play instate rival Iowa State is always met with trepidation.

This road trip became especially rewarding because of the play of Iowa strong safety Tyler Sash, who had 10 tackles on the day and tied a school record with three pass interceptions.

Sash helped Iowa gift wrap this win 35-3 making the final result Iowa’s largest victory in the series since a 63-20 decision in 1997.

Joy to the World!

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#1 Iowa Hawkeyes (#4) [defeated Indiana 42-24 in Iowa City]

Iowa continues its extraordinary winning streak.  Although the Hawkeyes trailed in the fourth quarter, they struck back like lightening to fry the Indiana Hoosier’s hopes of an upset in Iowa City.  Ricky Stanzi threw for over 300 yards for the first time in his career while also setting a career record for interceptions at five, four in the third quarter alone. This was one great Halloween special with plenty of tricks and quite a few treats for the discouraged Iowa crowd in the fourth quarter.  The Hawkeyes delivered one quintessential rally special of the year.

#2 Penn State (#11) [defeated Northwestern in Evanston 34-13]

Penn State also had its hands full and had to resort to fourth quarter heroics to win this game.  Northwestern led the Nittany Lions 13-10 at the half but the Penn State team shut out Northwestern in the second half and used a late surge in the fourth to put this game away. Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka was forced out of the game in the second quarter with a left leg injury.  Subsequently the Penn State defense denied the Cats further scoring and in time the Nittany Lions offense roared to life – better late than not at all.

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Marvin McNutt's 92-yard interception return was just one of several big plays the Hawkeyes made in the fourth quarter to turn their Halloween from trick to treat.

In honor of Halloween, the Iowa Hawkeyes disguised themselves in their Jekyll and Hyde costumes.

They played like the destructive Hyde, too, until the fourth quarter when the rational and sane Dr. Jekyll was able to restore order and reappear as quarterback Ricky Stanzi in his opportunistic stance behind the center reading the defense and completing passes.

Then too, someone cast a spell on the football in the fourth quarter when it managed to bounce Iowa’s way garnering every bit of luck, including the wind at their backs.

For the Iowa faithful, it was an agonizing afternoon of waiting for the good guys to materialize which they finally did in the fourth quarter, scoring 28 points to come from behind once again to secure another victory.

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Power Rankings for Week #8(1) Iowa - Iowa vs. Michigan State - what a game coming down to the wire! Iowa played on the road at East Lansing and escaped with a win 15-13 on the last play of the game with 2 seconds left on the clock.

(1) Iowa - The field was a long, slow, painful defensive juggernaut for both offenses.  Fought like a game of chicken – it was a well-coached contest.  There were any number of ways to win it but only one way to lose.  Iowa took the win on an inside slant left open to them by the Spartan defense.

Evan Royster and Penn State have climbed to second in the Big Ten power rankings.

(1) Iowa – after a slow start on Saturday, the Iowa defense slammed the door hard on the Badger offense, completely shutting it down with 8 minutes left in the first half.  At the same time the Iowa offense found its footing as Iowa scored 20 unanswered points behind the leadership of quarterback Ricky Stanzi.  Iowa won 20-10.  At 7-0, Iowa is getting close to clicking on all cylinders.

(2) Penn State – The Penn State defense shut out Minnesota.  It was a result the Nittany Lions had to find encouraging at this point in the season because of their soft non-conference schedule.  Penn State continued to suffer with far too many miscues.  Minnesota, however, failed to answer the call and take advantage in Happy Valley.  It was a long day for Gopher quarterback Adam Weber and company.  It does not get any better as the Gophers pack their backs for Ohio State and Penn State heads off to Ann Arbor for a real challenge on foreign ground.

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