April 19, 2009
- 2009 Spring Camp Central
- New and renewal season ticket customers: Purchase yours online!
- Outback Bowl Central
- Iowa and the Big Ten Network
- gohawks.com
- Iowa Football wallpaper
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa football team has completed its 2009 spring practices. It’s now time to clean up a little unfinished business from the Hawkeyes’ 2008 Outback Bowl season — and award one lucky fan with a pair of season tickets for the seven games that will be played inside historic Kinnick Stadium this fall.
Last fall, fans of the UI marked the 10th season of having Kirk Ferentz as the head coach of the Hawkeyes by selecting from 16 options the four biggest victories in his first nine seasons as the coach who took over for the legendary Hayden Fry.
The final four in the “Touchdown Iowa” project includes Iowa’s 19-16 victory over Texas Tech in the 2001 Alamo Bowl, the Hawkeyes’ 37-17 victory over Florida in the 2004 Outback Bowl, Iowa’s 26-23 double-overtime victory at Penn State and the Hawkeyes’ 30-25 last-play-of-the-game win over LSU in the 2005 Capital One Bowl.
Fans interested in helping to determine the winning game can cast their vote on the Fan Poll located in the lower right hand corner of the home page for hawkeyesports.com. Voting will continue until May 1, the priority deadline for 2008 season ticket customers who will be purchasing season tickets for the Hawkeyes’ 2009 season and want to be assigned the same seats in Kinnick that they enjoyed a year ago.
To be eligible to win a pair of season tickets, simply send at e-mail to gohawks@hawkeyesports.com. Be sure to include “Touchdown Iowa” in the subject line and your favorite game and your name and daytime telephone number in the body of the e-mail. The UI will randomly select one e-mail from all received by 11:59 p.m. on May 1 to receive a free pair of season tickets for the home games of the 2009 Iowa Hawkeyes.
This game ended on one of the greatest plays in Iowa history — a pass pattern called “all up” that culminated in a 56-yard touchdown pass from Drew Tate to Warren Holloway as time expired, giving No. 12 Iowa a 30-25 win over No. 13 LSU in the Capital One Bowl. It marked the third consecutive season with 10 or more victories for the Hawkeyes. Running back Marques Simmons gave Iowa a 24-12 lead with 12:48 remaining on a 4-yard scoring run. Tate completed 20 of 32 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Ed Hinkel caught 10 passes for 93 yards. Holloway caught four passes for 72 yards. LSU controlled the majority of the game clock — 34:12 to 25:48 — due in part because the Hawkeye ground game picked up just 47 yards on 29 attempts.
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Senior defensive back Ryan Hansen intercepted a tipped pass in the second overtime, giving Iowa its first road victory in 12 games, 26-23, over Penn State on before 95,437 fans at Beaver Stadium. Hawkeye kicker Nate Kaeding gave Iowa a three-point lead in the second overtime with a 26-yard field goal. When the Nittany Lions received the ball, quarterback Rashard Casey hit tight end Tony Stewart in the chest with a pass, but the ball bounced in the air and Hansen stepped in for an interception at Iowa’s 14-yard line. Kaeding tied a school record with four field goals, including a career-long 49-yarder. Quarterback Kyle McCann completed 25 of 37 passes for 232 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Freshman defensive back Benny Sapp made 10 tackles, had a sack and broke up four passes. The victory was Iowa’s first on the road since a 37-14 win at Illinois on Sept. 26, 1998. It was the first overtime game ever played by the Hawkeyes.
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Iowa won a New Year’s Day bowl for the first time since the 1959 Rose Bowl with a stifling 37-17 rout of Florida in the Outback Bowl. MVP Fred Russell rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown, leading the Hawkeyes to double-digit victories in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. Nathan Chandler completed 13 of 25 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. The Iowa defense held the Gators to 57 rushing yards. The Hawkeye offensive line was at the top of its game, helping Iowa to 238 yards rushing, converting 7 of 18 third downs and building a nine-minute advantage in time of possession (34:10 to 25:50).
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Nate Kaeding booted four field goals — the final one from 47 yards with 44 seconds remaining — as Iowa defeated Texas Tech 19-16 in the Alamo Bowl. It was Iowa’s first bowl victory since defeating Texas Tech 27-0 in the 1996 Alamo Bowl. The Hawkeyes dominated time of possession (35:03 to 24:57). Running back Aaron Greving, who replaced Ladell Betts after three plays, rushed for 115 yards on 25 carries and scored Iowa’s lone touchdown. Quarterback Kyle McCann completed his first 12 passes. Greving, who was named the game’s offensive MVP, rode Iowa’s offensive line to a big first half, when he gained 82 yards on 13 carries. Iowa’s winning drive included a 21-yard completion to Hill, who led Iowa with six catches for 49 yards, and 16-yard scramble by McCann, who completed 19 of 26 for 161 yards.
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