Big, Bigger, Biggest

Jan. 14, 2005

Drew Tate’s 56-yard touchdown pass to Warren Holloway came on the last play of the last game of an unforgettable Iowa football season.

It was an unbelievable play that left 70,000 fans at the Capitol One Bowl and a national television audience amazed. Most of us — maybe none of us — had ever seen a big game end as dramatically.

When the aftershock subsided and we realized our eyes weren’t playing tricks, some Iowa fans began wondering if there had ever been a bigger play in the history of Hawkeye football.

My first reaction was: Oh, come on, Iowa has been playing football for 115 years and there have been lots of big plays in that time.

But after thinking it over for a week or so, my conclusion is: Nope, there was never a bigger play. The 56-yard pass that beat LSU 30-26 in Orlando was the biggest play in Iowa history.

Bigger than the field goal by Aubrey Devine in 1921 that beat Notre Dame 10-7, ending a 20-game winning streak by the Irish. Iowa went on to a perfect season.

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