Defense carries lowa to watershed victoryA BCS bowl appearance, a double-digit win season, representing a resurgent Big Ten - it all seems a little strange for the Hawkeyes.
Ferentz erred in praising Wake Forest, not Georgia Tech, for being such a quality Orange Bowl opponent after Iowa's 24-14 victory Tuesday night. Despite the amusing slip up, it's clear Ferentz, his staff and his players did their homework and were prepared. The Hawkeyes scored one of the biggest bowl wins in school history and claimed another postseason victory for the Big Ten the same way they had won 10 regular-season games - with clenched teeth and white knuckles.
In true Iowa fashion, nothing came easy. The final margin was comfortable on the scoreboard, and Iowa had a clear statistical advantage, but the Hawkeyes still had to sweat out the coldest Orange Bowl (49 degrees at kickoff) in history.
"For us, this is a rout," Ferentz said. "We were all breathing a sigh of relief."
It was Iowa's best bowl win in more than 50 years. Iowa defeated California 38-12 in the Rose Bowl following the 1958 season, the last time the school had a "major" bowl victory.