I know it's almost spring football time, and no body wants to talk about the previous football season, but I thought about all we went through this season and was kind of amazed. A 4-4 Big Ten record and 8-5 regular season record is not something us Hawk fans cheer about often, but when we look at all the obstacles, this was a pretty spectacular team. Take, for instance, the Insight Bowl. 

-All-Time leading Iowa receiver kicked off team for every drug charge in the world

-Leading rusher suspended for bowl game

-Leading rusher gets kicked off the team for drug charges the night before the bowl game

-Potential fill-in for leading rusher can't play because of injury

-Defense gave up late scores in every loss

-Went 1-5 in games decided by 7 points or less

And yet, after ALL that drama, the Hawkeyes ended the game with:

-2 receivers with 50+ yards receiving 

-4th string, true freshman running back rushes for 219 yds and 2 TDs and is MVP of game

-Defense doesn't allow a touchdown in the 4th quarter (only 2nd time in the season against top 25)

-First-year starter at cornerback intercepts a throw and returns it 72 yards for a touchdown

-Wins only 2nd game decided by 7 points or less

-Extends bowl streak to 3 in a row

Not to mention that one of the most hyped running backs Iowa has had in a long time tore an ACL for the second consecutive season and asked for a transfer, and the most hyped WHITE Iowa running back in a long time knocked up his girlfriend and will now be a Sooner. Then if you REALLY want to get picky, Robinson, the leading rusher, had multiple concussions which made the season pretty 1-dimensional at times. 

And although we can't say the defense did much good for our record this year, we can be proud that they never made it EMBARRASSING for us, extending the longest streak in the nation for consecutive games without losing by more than 7 points to 39 games (that beats Boise who has 38).