Hawkeyes win coldest Orange Bowl
MIAMI – Stymied by the Iowa Hawkeyes’ swarming defense, Georgia Tech found itself out of options.
No. 10 Iowa solved Tech’s explosive triple option and Ricky Stanzi threw two early touchdown passes for a 24-14 victory Tuesday night in the coldest Orange Bowl.
The temperature at kickoff was 49 degrees, and Tech’s offense was slow to warm up. The ninth-ranked Yellow Jackets averaged 35 points during the regular season, but their only score in the first three quarters came on Jerrard Tarrant’s 40-yard interception return.
“This was Hawkeye weather,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We feel right at home right now.”
The Hawkeyes (11-2) earned their first Bowl Championship Series bowl win, matched the school record for victories and could claim their highest final ranking since finishing No. 3 in 1960.
Georgia Tech (11-3) totaled nine first downs and a season-low 155 yards.
The Yellow Jackets were first in the nation in time of possession, second in rushing and 11th in scoring at 35 points per game. But they sputtered against an Iowa defense that held four bowl-bound teams to 10 points or less during the regular season.
End Adrian Clayborn led Iowa’s defensive charge. He had two sacks and nine tackles, including two for a loss, and was chosen the game’s most valuable player.
The Hawkeyes had never faced the triple option in Ferentz’s 11 seasons as coach, but his staff had a month to prepare for Tech – and it showed. The Yellow Jackets had only 14 three-and-outs during the season, fewest in the nation, but they failed to pick up a first down on their first four possessions.
“It’s just a good thing we had a month to prepare because it was difficult,” Clayborn said.
Georgia Tech finally made a first down midway through the second quarter. The Yellow Jackets’ first pass completion came 43 minutes into the game with Iowa leading 17-7.
Quarterback Josh Nesbitt went only 2 for 9 for 12 yards for Tech, which had a season-high seven punts.
By comparison, Stanzi went 17 for 29 for 231 yards in his return from a sprained ankle that sidelined him in the season’s 10th game. Iowa freshman Brandon Wegher ran for 113 yards and a TD.