No. 15 Iowa still hoping for BCS berth
November 17, 2009
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)—All season long, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz dismissed theBCS talk that swirled around the program, saying simply that the Hawkeyes wouldprobably end up where they belonged.
It won’t be the Rose Bowl, which vanished in 15th-ranked Iowa’s overtimeloss at No. 10 Ohio State last weekend. But if the Hawkeyes can close out theirroller coaster of a regular season with a home win over Minnesota on Saturday,their hopes for a first BCS bowl trip since the 2003 Orange Bowl would still bealive.
Iowa (9-2, 5-2 Big Ten) is ranked 13th in this week’s BCS standings, oneplace ahead of the final spot for at-large consideration for a team from aBCS-affiliated conference.
The Hawkeyes are also ahead of fellow Big Ten schools Penn State andWisconsin—both of whom they beat on the road—and Iowa fans have a reputationof traveling in droves to whatever bowl the Hawkeyes land in.
Of course, all that BCS chatter is moot if the Hawkeyes can’t get pastMinnesota (6-5, 3-4).
“I’m not even thinking about it. I hope nobody else is in our camp, becauseit doesn’t matter,” Ferentz said Tuesday. “That’s somebody else’s job.”
Ferentz said that Iowa will face the Gophers without quarterback RickyStanzi, who “definitely will not play” because of a high ankle sprain. Thatmeans that the Hawkeyes will again turn to redshirt freshman quarterback JamesVandenberg.
Vandenberg saw extensive action at home two weeks ago when Stanzi got hurtand didn’t return. He struggled that day against Northwestern, throwing for just82 yards and an interception in a loss, but Vandenberg bounced back with a gutsyperformance in Columbus.
Thrown into the starting job with just 30 career passes and a trip to theRose Bowl on the line, Vandenberg was 20 of 33 passing for 233 yards. Though hethrew three interceptions—including one on a fourth-and-26 desperation heavein overtime—Vandenberg defied expectations by putting Iowa in position to win.
Vandenberg, a native of Keokuk, Iowa who grew up dreaming of playing forIowa, drove the Hawkeyes 70 yards in eight plays and threw a 10-yard TD pass toMarvin McNutt with 2:42 left that tied the game at 24.
Of course, Vandenberg also threw a pair of interceptions in the fourthquarter, including one on that final drive that was called back because of anOhio State penalty. That was a major reason why Ferentz elected to play for OTlate in regulation, even though Iowa had the ball on its own 33 with 52 secondsleft.
Ferentz has taken some heat for that decision, but said Tuesday he wouldn’thave done anything different.
“I guess maybe I had a little bit tougher time releasing those interceptionreturns that took place in the second half,” Ferentz said. “I just didn’t likethe odds of 52 seconds, or whatever it was, and 70 yards.”
A loss to Minnesota would almost certainly knock the Hawkeyes out of any BCSgame scenario and, conceivably, drop them to fourth place in the Big Ten. A winover the Gophers would keep the Hawkeyes in the discussion for a major bowl bid.
“This is a big game,” offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga said. “We’re at twolosses right now, but there’s still an opportunity to get to a good bowl game ifwe win this game. There’s a lot riding on this. I know Penn State and Wisconsinare right on our tail.”
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