and the O did just enough

Glad that if we couldn’t do it you guys could. I think you just saved the Big 10 the embarrassment of having our asses handed to us in the MNC game again.

In our four losses this year…you know…by 5, 3, 3, 1…it seemed to me that the Hawks didn’t know how to win the close one. Was Stanzi going to lead the last drive or was Christensen? Is the kicker up to the task? How’s Moeaki feeling? So many questions that you could see the doubt in the shoulders of the Hawks late in these games.

We have a young, inexperienced team this year. They know the system fairly well and some seem to learn it by leaps and bounds every week (cf. DJK and Pat Angerer). We have a smart team that plays well and can hang with just about anybody.

However, the one thing you cannot coach is how to win the close one. Our Hawks played their hearts out only to come up short against Pitt, Northwestern, Michigan State and Illinois. Each loss shaking them to their foundation but teaching them something in the process; something that can’t be reviewed on tape or schemed in practice. Each loss taught them sting of disappointment and how to pick themselves up off the turf and carry on.

It’s this perseverance combined with learning to play together mixed in Kinnick Stadium on a blustery November afternoon that led to an Iowa victory.

Yeah, I know, it’s romantic, and schmultzy and touchy-feely and all that but look at the stats from the game. ESPN’s ticker was touting Iowa’s 14(?) second-half first downs and 202 yards. Like that’s some great accomplishment. Look at past games, win or lose, and you’ll see that’s about average for us. We were dominated the entire first half but came back in the second knowing that we could win because we’d been in these situations before.

Moral of the Story: Don’t give up. Don’t EVER give up.