[NU Sports] FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL: Day 32

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

Just another 24 hours closer to the football season!

FORTY DAYS OF FOOTBALL
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> DAYS 1-10: The top coaches of the decade

10) Glen Mason, Minnesota
09) Bret Bielema, Wisconsin
08) Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
07) Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin
06) Randy Walker, Northwestern
05) Lloyd Carr, Michigan
04) Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
03) Joe Tiller, Purdue
02) Joe Paterno, Penn State
01) Jim Tressel, Ohio State

> DAYS 11-20: The top games of the decade

10) 2000: Purdue 32, Michigan 31
09) 2001: Michigan State 26, Michigan 24
08) 2005: Michigan 27, Penn State 25
07) 2003: Minnesota 37, Wisconsin 34
06) 2004: Northwestern 33, Ohio State 27 (OT)
05) 2008: Penn State 13, Ohio State 6
04) 2009: Ohio State 27, Iowa 24 (OT)
03) 2002: Ohio State 10, Purdue 6
02) 2000: Northwestern 54, Michigan 51
01) 2006: Ohio State 42, Michigan 39

> DAYS 21-30: The top players of the decade

10) Laurence Maroney/Marion Barber, Minnesota
09) Antwaan Randle El, Indiana
08) Jamar Fletcher, Wisconsin
07) Dallas Clark, Iowa
06) Troy Smith, Ohio State
05) Damien Anderson, Northwestern
04) Braylon Edwards, Michigan
03) Chris Gamble, Ohio State
02) Larry Johnson, Penn State
01) Drew Brees, Purdue

> DAYS 31-40: The top teams of the decade

10) 2003 Michigan Wolverines

One rule for this list: No more than three teams from one school (so it wouldn't just be a list of Buckeye teams :) ).

TOP TEAMS
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10) 2002 Iowa Hawkeyes

- Record: 11-2
- Quality Wins: @ #12 Penn State, @ #8 Michigan, vs. Purdue 
- Bad Losses: vs. Iowa State
- Average margin of victory: 23.1 points
- Bowl result: L 17-38 to #5 USC in Orange Bowl

Few teams have had such a dream season go as unnoticed as the 2002 Iowa Hawkeyes. Granted, this was not Wisconsin or Purdue ending decades of drought ... or Northwestern's Purple to Pasadena miracle of 1995 ... but this was still a team that was awful in 1999, going 0-8 in league play during coach Kirk Ferentz' first season. Yet four years later, the black and gold were 8-0 and finished the regular season ranked #3 in the country.

But all the "eyes" in the Big Ten and elsewhere were on Columbus and Ohio State's perfect season and title run. The awards voters seemed to notice Iowa (especially Brad Banks), but they seemed to be about as anonymous as a third-ranked team could be when bowl season rolled around. So much so, that when they were blown out by #5 USC, with their flashy Heisman quarterback, few people even turned their heads. And on a side tangent, forget the SEC - we've beaten those guys more often than not in recent years! The TRUE three most dreaded letters for a Big Ten team in the 2000s was U-S-C. The Trojans ended many a dream season - in their backyard bowl and elsewhere.

Back to the Hawkeyes season, one reason it might have been such a quiet year is that they were unranked at the start of the year and nowhere near the top 25 after dropping a 36-31 game against lowly Iowa State. Chalk it up to sloppiness or in-state rivalry, but it was hard to take the Hawks seriously after they gave up a 24-7 halftime lead and blew that game.

But Iowa started to get noticed again two weeks later in Happy Valley against the #12 Nittany Lions, though they almost blew it again. The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 23-0 lead and were up 35-13 entering the fourth quarter. But the Lions roared back to force overtime before falling 42-35 in the extra session. The bumblebees followed up that win with a wild shootout against Purdue in Kinnick Stadium the following week, with Brad Banks finding Dallas Clark in the end zone with two minutes left to win 31-28.

The Hawkeyes were now back in the top 20 and gaining a reputation for exciting games, but the final half of their regular season would only see blowout after blowout (another reason they didn't get the attention that the "Luckeyes" were getting in their run of great escapes). The most impressive of these bumblebee routs was a 34-9 butt-kicking in Ann Arbor. The Hawkeyes handed the #8 Wolverines their worst home loss in 35 years and vaulted into the top 10 of the rankings. A home rout of Wisconsin the following week began a November run that ended with the #3 ranking and a share of the Big Ten title.

Iowa fans would probably have preferred that the ride end more like their trips to Florida in 2005 (the Drew Tate Hail Mary to beat LSU) and 2010 against Georgia Tech ... but they were unlucky enough to catch USC at the beginning of their mid-decade dominance and ended the year with a loss. But the fans should still be thankful for the ride. Coach Ferentz had a four-year plan to turn an 0-8 team into an 8-0 team and like many of his Iowa teams, they went from being shaky in September to dominant by December. It didn't turn up Roses, but considering that the talent level of that team (aside from Clark) wasn't as good as the teams from Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State that they beat out or tied for the title, it was still one heck of a year.

Coming Friday: One heck of an introduction

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!
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