Defense leads Iowa passed Gophers
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IOWA CITY (MCT) — If Iowa earns an Orange Bowl bid, the defense gets dibs on the oceanside rooms in Miami. Orange Bowl representatives and the brightest orange suitcoats this side of traffic cones were in the Kinnick Stadium press box Saturday for the Hawkeyes’ 12-0 grip-and-grunt victory over Minnesota before 70,585 fans.
Playing extra-super cautiously with a red-shirt freshman quarterback, Iowa improved to 10-2 (6-2 Big Ten) and definitely is in the mix for a BCS at-large bowl berth.
Even with an offense that was held to seven three-and-outs and two turnovers against the Big Ten’s eighth-ranked defense, Iowa is a BCS contender.
“Yes, we’re definitely looking at Iowa, but there’s a lot of football to go,” Orange Bowl representative Larry Gautier said. Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said Iowa has been in talks with the Fiesta Bowl.
Now comes the wait for the bowl bid. It’ll likely go to the Dec. 6 BCS selection show.
Iowa is looking for its second BCS bid under Kirk Ferentz and first since the 2003 Orange Bowl. The 15th-ranked Hawkeyes kept the Floyd of Rosedale bronze pig trophy for the third straight season and for the eighth in the last nine, while Minnesota (6-6, 3-5) settled for bowl eligibility. Where Iowa’s offense was constipated — the Hawkeyes were held to 171 yards, the fewest since Ohio State 2005 (137) — the defense was gigantic.
The Hawkeyes turned away Minnesota on a first-and-goal from Iowa’s 2 in the fourth quarter.
A goal-line stand that defined a season of defensive gumption.
“(Defensive coordinator) Norm (Parker) talks about it, the players talk about it, the fireman mentality,” Ferentz said. “It’s one thing to talk about it, it’s another thing when it’s hitting the fan.” It hit the fan a lot in the second half. The Gophers just weren’t good enough to do anything with golden opportunity and fell in a shutout for the second straight season to Iowa,
the first time the Hawkeyes put back-to-back shutouts on UM since 1955-56.
In the second quarter, Minnesota had secondand-11 at Iowa’s 13.
Quarterback Adam Weber fumbled a snap and linebacker Bruce Davis recovered.
With 1:35 left in the third quarter, Minnesota fullback Jon Hoese ran up the middle twice on fourth-and-1 at Iowa’s 34 and was twice pushed back.
Then the coup de grace.
Quarterback James Vandenberg, who finished 11 of 24 for 117 yards and an interception to go with four sacks, fumbled a snap and gave UM the ball at Iowa’s 29. A pass interference penalty on corner Shaun Prater put Minnesota first-and-goal at Iowa’s 2 while trailing 12-0.
Say hello to “Jumbo Tough,” the defensive call and personnel group for Iowa’s goal-line defense.
“Just ‘Jumbo Tough, ‘basically,” defensive end Broderick Binns said.
“Just everybody play heads up and control your inside gap. Guys were just resilient and we came out on a high note.” On first down, linebacker Pat Angerer wrapped up quarterback MarQueis Gray, the Minnesota version of Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor. Second down, Angerer stuck running back Duane Bennett.
So far, so good for “Jumbo Tough.” Or was it? “You guys would be surprised how many times everybody on the team is in a different defense,” Angerer laughed.
“We can’t hear what we’re saying out there. I’d say 90 percent of the time, we’re all running our own defense.” Whatever works.
Iowa, which sacked UM quarterbacks five times Saturday, dropped into a regular 4-3 defense on third down and Prater atoned with a fabulous breakup in the end zone.
Fourth down and everything for Minnesota.
Weber took a shotgun snap and had nowhere to go with the ball. Binns flushed him out of the pocket and D-linemen Adrian Clayborn and Christian Ballard ran him down.
First down and possible BCS for Iowa.
