For Minnesota week I had planned on looking back at the 2009 smackdown when the Iowa Hawkeyes blasted the Gophers 55-0. It was a loss so comprehensive the University of Minnesota decided they could no longer bear to play in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome so they packed up their things and built a brand new stadium. But I’ve already done a few games from the ‘08-’09 seasons and want to go a bit farther back. Variety is the spice of life, as they say. The good news is the runner up game I had in mind
is just as fun as 2009, and for many of you out there even more so.
The 2002 Hawkeyes team is so legendary in the annals of Iowa lore that any preamble seems superfluous. In his fourth year as head coach, Kirk Ferentz had led them to a 10-1 record with a perfect 7-0 in Big Ten play. On the second to last weekend of the regular season they were tied with Ohio State atop the conference and needed to put away the Minnesota Golden Gophers to remain in the mix Iowa’s first title since 1990. Glenn Mason’s Gophers, meanwhile, were a respectable 7-3 and hoping to upset the Hawks and win back Floyd of Rosedale for the third time in five years.
The Hawkeyes flew down the field on their opening possession, racking up 80 yards on only five plays with Fred Russell scoring from 10 yards out. It was almost too easy with huge lanes for Russell to run through and chunk passes from Brad Banks.
Iowa’s next couple of series wouldn’t end in points, however. Despite moving the ball fairly well again, the offense was forced to punt on their second drive and Nate Kaeding missed a 47-yard field goal on their third. Minnesota would even things up following the miss, with quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq tossing the 11-yard equalizer to Antoine Burns.
The Gopher score must’ve sparked something in the Iowa offense. On Iowa’s first play of the drive, Fred Russell burst out of the backfield on a fake reverse for 53 yards. Two plays later Jermelle Lewis took an option pitch from Banks into the end zone. It took only 1:15 and three plays for the Hawks to regain the lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter got of to a great start as Howard Hodges strip sacked Abdul-Khaliq at the Gopher 15, and Banks would scamper in a couple of plays later to push the lead to 21-7. Iowa would add another touchdown on a 31-yard strike to Maurice Brown halfway through the quarter. The Hawkeyes were imposing their will on the Gophers on both sides of the ball, holding the Big Ten’s top rushing attack to less than 20 yards of rushing. Meanwhile Fred Russell has 120 all on his own, and his total only continued to rise. The defense continued to smother Minnesota until right before halftime, when the Gophers sustained an 80-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Abdul-Khaliq. Even so, the Hawkeyes were clearly in control with only one half separating them from a possible Rose Bowl berth.
Iowa would once again be the beneficiary of a turnover with Derek Pagel recovering a fumble and setting the offense up inside the Minnesota 40. Russell continued to gash the Gopher defense with big runs before Clinton Solomon hauled in a touchdown pass of his own. Minnesota wouldn’t go away, however. They’d respond with a scoring drive of their own to cut the lead to 35-21 but - spoiler alert - it’d be their last gasp of the game. Entering the final quarter Iowa still maintained a two score lead and were knocking on the door of another one.
That final quarter would be short on drama as Iowa pulled even farther away on the legs of Nate Kaeding and Brad Banks. Kaeding added a field goal early on and Banks added the final touchdown of the day after yet another Gopher turnover deep in their own territory. Prior to Banks’ touchdown Iowa had actually turned the ball over on downs, but Minnesota just could not hold onto the ball that day, coughing it up a total of six times. The big defensive tackle, Colin Cole, simply bulldozed the center with Jared Clauss falling on the ball.
A desperation heave by Abdul-Khaliq led to an Antwan Allen interception and that was curtains for the Gophers. With fans waving roses the minutes melted away and as the clock hit four zeroes, the Hawkeye players hoisted Kirk Ferentz onto their shoulders to carry him off the field. From 0-8 in his first year to 8-0 four years later, Ferentz had a Big Ten champion early in his Iowa career, much like his mentor Hayden Fry before him. Meanwhile, those fans swarmed the Metrodome turf and tore down the goalposts, breaking them into smaller pieces and carrying them away. In a season full of iconic moments and memories there was no better way to end the regular season than taking the pride and posts of your rival, all while bringing Floyd and a Big Ten championship back to Iowa City.
But there’s a flip side to this euphoric moment in Hawkeye history, one that leaves a bit of a bittersweet taste. Iowa players and fans were expecting nothing less than the Rose Bowl following the 2002 regular season. Not only did they have a perfect 8-0 record in Big Ten play along with a share of the conference title, but with Ohio State ranked #2 in the BCS Iowa was next in line to be the representative in Pasadena. But the Orange Bowl was ahead of the Rose in the pecking order, and they had just lost their first choice in #1 Miami, who joined Ohio State in the national championship Fiesta Bowl. Faced with their choice of at large teams, the Orange Bowl sniped Iowa away from the Rose and left Hawkeye fans with a lifetime of “what if” scenarios. It’s hard to go back and rewatch this game and hear all the references to a possible Rose Bowl berth knowing what would ultimately happen.
There is no guarantee that had Iowa gone to Pasadena they’d have beaten Washington State for their first win in the Granddaddy since 1958. But after one of the most legendary Iowa seasons ended in Miami at the hands of a semi-professional caliber USC Trojans squad, it’s hard not to look back and dream of what could have been.
Regardless, the disappointment in the Orange Bowl can’t completely overshadow that day in Minneapolis when the Iowa Hawkeyes broke Minnesota’s spirit and took their goal posts for good measure.
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