Seeing EDSBS reconstruct the famous "Herschel Walker steps on the face of the entire state of Tennessee" run gave me an idea. Why not pull up the 2009-2010 bowls with Big Ten contestants and give a blow by blow with commentary? Welcome to the 2010 Orange Bowl, featuring Iowa and Georgia Tech...and the rise of Adrian Clayborn's 2011 NFL Draft stock.

Weather: 49 degrees, the coldest Orange Bowl ever. Frankly, 49 doesn't sound half bad right now. Kirk Ferentz looks like an aged James Bond, some kind of Connery/Dalton combo.

Georgia Tech Jerseys: I don't know. That yellow is pretty diluted. +1 for Iowa sticking true to the pee yellow. Wait, a quick wiki search of GT says their colors are old gold and white. So the dilution was purposeful.

Commercials: The Flaming Lips sold "Do You Realize" to an investment company, Howie Long pushes his arrogance on GMC buyers, and Ryan Seacrest has tears in his eyes, probably from hearing too many horrendous auditions.

Kickoff: Most of you readers picked Iowa to win. So what follows should be no surprise, right? Marvin McNutt's success this year might be one of the Big Ten's biggest surprises this year...oh wait...

Fumble! McNutt fumbles after a successful slant reminiscent of the MSU game winner. Okay, now I'm watching Iowa's linebackers. They are trying to maintain their position pre-snap, but they love having no pass coverage responsibilities, so they keep inching forward. And Shaun Prater is limping after picture perfect bump and run coverage. GOD I LOVE PHYSICAL CORNERBACKS AND THE DEFENSIVE COORDINATORS WHO ROLL THEM UP TO THE LOS.

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In the course of six months in 1998 and 1999, then-athletic director Bob Bowlsby completely reshaped the Iowa sports landscape.  Hayden Fry retired at the end of the 1998 season after the best 20 year period in Iowa football history.  Dr. Tom Davis was forced out as head coach of the men's basketball team.  Bowlsby made two hires that were met with two very different reactions.

Fry and Ferentz in 1998.

For football, he hired Kirk Ferentz, the offensive line coach of the Baltimore Ravens.  He was an assistant under Hayden, but hardly the fan's choice.  We hoped that the hot young coordinator of the year would be coming to Iowa.  After all, Bob Stoops, the head of the dominating Florida defense, played at Iowa and got his first coaching experience under Fry.  We were furious when we learned that Stoops was never offered the job.  He went to Oklahoma.  Iowa got Ferentz instead.  For basketball, Bowlsby went out and hired the hot young mid-major coach of the year - Steve Alford.  

I was at a party that Spring when a classmate of mine discussed how Iowa would likely become a basketball school. After all, Alford couldn't miss and Ferentz...well, we didn't get Stoops, the guy we needed. I agreed with him. It's been 11 years since that party.  Alford exploded: first in the good way and then in the bad.  No one bothers to compare him to Dr. Tom Davis.  The comparison only makes Hawkeyes sad.  Ferentz kept an even keel and has led Iowa to a pair of Big Ten titles and a pair of BCS bowl games.  But how does he stack up against his predecessor? Have we reached a point where we can say that Fry has been passed by Ferentz? Let's break it down.

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Iowa's 24-14 smothering of Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl really put the final nail in the "Big Ten Too Slow" coffin. It set up the Hawkeyes for a Top 10 preseason ranking and possible Big Ten title run next year.  It also introduced the country to the charm of Adrian Clayborn and the patriotism of Ricky Stanzi.  That's great. But as a Hawkeye fan, as someone who was just enjoying the game, here are the five football things that I'll take away from the night that Iowa won the Orange Bowl.

1) Josh Nesbitt and Jonathan Dwyer combined for 95 rushing yards.  Brandon Wegher, Iowa's backup who only played in half of the offensive series, ran for 113 yards.  That 113 included a 32 yard touchdown run that doubled in length the best run that Georgia Tech could muster.  For a team that was supposed to be a scary option, bringing back the ghosts of Mike Rozier, JC Watts, and Tommie Frazier, Georgia Tech never seemed able to, or even capable of, breaking off a big run.  Yes, 

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Georgia Tech runs for 300+ yards per game while featuring three game-breaking runners and a system that's been run long enough to allow for in-game changes. Can Iowa's staunch defense do anything versus this old-school run attack?

The Yellowjackets offense is predicated on avoiding unmanageable third down situations and keeping the opponent's defense on the field for a long time. Runs of 4-6 yards on first and second down are generally signs that the running game is attacking appropriately. Let's take a look at this year's rushing results.

Only three times did GT not rush for 300 yards - Georgia (205), Miami (95), and Mississippi State (213). A couple other teams had success, so to speak, slowing the triple option. North Carolina gave up only 4.59 yards per rush in a 24-7 loss to GT, while Virginia Tech forced 4 straight GT punts before the run game took its toll and GT scored rushing touchdowns on three of the next four possessions.

Here are Iowa's specs to compare

Iowa

Average Starting Lineman size: 270lbs.

Average Starting LB size: 241 lbs.

Formation played: 4-3

Nationally v. the run: 32nd

Let's take a look at the defenses of each team that didn't get overrun totally by the Yellowjackets attack.

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The Iowa Hawkeyes are 9-1 (5-1).  Somehow, in the aftermath of Saturday's loss to Northwestern, that's been lost.  Their record is what I predicted prior to the season.  They still control their own destiny for a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth.  And yet, Saturday's loss still leaves an empty feeling that I'm still struggling to explain.  

It's not that Iowa lost.  Lord knows, I never really believed that Iowa would go undefeated.  I had planned out the article talking about the number of good Iowa teams that saw dreams crushed in Columbus.  I never stopped knowing that this magical run would end against Ohio State.  It was fun to dream, but that's all it ever was - nothing real.  And yet, there was something about this season.  "This is a special team," my wife said before the Michigan State game.  Of course, she was right.  And that's why it hurts so much.  It's not that it ended; it's that it wasn't supposed to end like this.

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About the time Ricky Stanzi sealed Iowa's daring victory Saturday by taking a knee on a lame-duck P.A.T., I got a text message from my cousin Steve.  It read: "Iowa is a reincarnation of the 2002 bucks."

It's a flattering comparison for the Hawkeyes.  After all, the 2002 Buckeyes are the first and only team to go 14-0 in the history of our sport. They were the epitome of everything that's right -- and wrong -- with the Big Ten; a plodding, plain, and immediately likable rough and tumble crop of underdogs that refused to lose.  After a season of nailbiters, and overtime triumphs, the Bucks faced a a defending national champion Hurricane squad with a Heisman finalist quarterback, a Heisman finalist running back and a 34 game winning streak.

Four bone-crushing quarters, and two mesmerizing overtimes later, the scarlet came out on top: 31-24.  The win brought the Big Ten its 34th -- and most recent -- National Championship. 

That was seven years ago.

Since then the Big Ten is 3-8 in BCS bowls (0-2 in the BCS National Championship).  A crown gem in the early part of the decade, the conference has slipped into a funk, as the great giants of the sport fell asleep at the wheel.  Strange shifts in parity have substituted crisp autumn leaves and cool November snaps for sweat, julips, and electric September nights in the swamp.  Bruising brutes and bloody-noses have been replaced with soft-zones and slow pokes.  Or so they would have us believe.

Still, there are signs everywhere that college football's most esteemed conference is on its way back, not the least of which are these Hawkeyes.  A powerful Iowa joins perennial patriarchs Ohio State and Penn State at the top of a league that with Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Michigan in the wings just might be the deepest in the country.  Sure, our ceiling might be just a bit lower than the spires atop the Pac 10, Big 12, and SEC.  But none of those leagues are as hotly contested six floors down.

Is Iowa predestined to earn a spot in the BCS National Championship Game?  Consider these striking similarities between the Hawkeyes and the 2002 Buckeyes.

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This week, I chose to watch Pat Angerer take on the zone read of Michigan. Would the Michigan O-Line get to the 2nd level and mitigate the effect of PA? Would Pat turn Tate Forcier's lights out? Is this all-conference MLB worthy of the praise lavished on him since the Penn State game?

First Possession, First Half, 7-0 Michigan

Lined up in an offset 4-2, Angerer is almost heads up on a WR. He bumps the WR and ignores the Forcier run. If Tate doesn't slip, this is a huge play for the Wolverines. Lined up on the other side (strong side), PA adjusts and dives at Minor, missing the tackle. Now at MLB, PA sniffs out the play and easily chases down Minor. Lines up on the inside slot receiver and chases him down the field as Forcier whips a pick to Hunter.

Second Possession, 7-7

On this kickoff return, Stonum got absolutely killed by a backup Iowan, btw. PA as the MLB, gets shielded easily by the OT and Minor gets a 7 yard gain. Next play, PA run blitzes and gets picked off again by the OT. Not swimming past those blocks yet. Reads pass correctly on third down, but cannot stay with Martavious Odoms and gives up a completion. 2nd and five and PA is not fooled by the read option. Forcier looks at Angerer and falls down. PA picks up Forcier. Seems like a good guy. 4th down and the Wolverines go for it; PA bumps and holds the slot receiver while Forcier scrambles for a first down.

Hunter and Klug clean up the blocking on first down and PA gets a tackle for no gain. After a long pass, the Wolverines run away from PA and score from three yards out.

Third Possession, 14-10 Michigan

MLB, PA is eaten up by an OL and Minor flies by him. MLB again, but the Iowa outside contain works well and PA jogs over to watch his teammates clean up. First down, Forcier fumbles the ball off his foot and Iowa recovers. Angerer had read the screen anyways.

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For two quarters, last week's "Matchup of the Week" played out exactly the way I discussed. As I wrote:

On a realistic note, Greg Robinson will probably continue his "bend but don't break" defense (H/T MaizeandBrew) to protect Floyd/Cissy from giving up big plays to Dell, Cunningham, and Martin. Also, if the Wolverine LB's are continuously matched up with with crossing wide receivers, bad things will probably befall Robinson and co.

Then MSU went conservative and allowed the inept and overmatched Michigan offense to mount a vicious comeback. We learned two things about the Wolverines last week. First, they aren't there yet. The defense is a year or two away and the offense is susceptible to teams that can slow the run early. Second, the Michigan passing offense is almost always more effective when quarterback Tate Forcier can get out of the pocket.

Michigan Offense v. Iowa Defense

This week, 95% of you picked Iowa to defeat Michigan by a touchdown or two. Considering the Hawkeye's boast the second best defense in the Big Ten and Michigan just got shut down by the 2nd worst defense in the Big Ten, it sounds like 95% of you are paying attention.

But as Bama writes in his "Hitter" article, this can be a dangerous game for Iowa -

Michigan didn't have speed last year. They have it now. Iowa is fast in the front four. Iowa is disciplined in the back seven. That's a polite way of saying that Iowa players use technique, strength and positioning to make up for less speed. There's nothing wrong with that. It can win you a lot of ball games. It also can get you beat if the players are both 1) confused by formations and motion that they have not seen and 2) slower than the men their chasing.

Here's what you should be watching this weekend when Michigan lines up over the ball and the RichRod spread tries to comeback from last week's 28 yard rushing performance.

Forcier will be running, whether that's planned or "Oh Jesus here comes Clayborn again"

The most impressive thing about Forcier is his shifty playmaking ability while scrambling. He throws across his body accurately and he does this nifty move where he sprints toward the line of scrimmage as if to run, but whips the ball to a wide receiver instead.

He also draws incomprehensibly bad intentional grounding calls and heaves the ball while falling down. It's a mixed bag, as expected for a frosh quarterback. Forcier's also not that fast, while is why I have to use the word shifty about a million times.

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