From the ‘eye in the South End Zone
Game Summary (Associated Press): From carrying couches to an All-American carrying a football. Now, Big Ten MVP Shonn Greene figures he's ready for the next level. The Iowa running back turned Thursday's Outback Bowl into a farewell party, leading the Hawkeyes past South Carolina 31-10 and then announcing he intends to skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
"I don't think there's really a lot more I can do here," Greene said. "People talk about the Heisman, but I think that's a lot of politics. I don't like getting caught up in all of that, so I just figure I'll try my chances."
Greene ran for 121 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for more than 100 yards in all 13 of Iowa's games, scored in all but one, and won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's best running back.
"He's been the same guy each and every week," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said, using words like "humble" and "modest" to describe the 235-pound junior, who worked at a furniture store and didn't play football while attending community college to improve his grades.
Greene, of Sicklerville, N.J., finished with school single-season records of 1,850 yards and 20 TDs.
"I'm speechless right now. I never imagined this happening. All the success, all the accolades and stuff like that," said Greene, who sat out the 2007 season after losing his scholarship because of academic problems.
He said earlier this week he planned to meet with his family and consider information from the NFL college advisory committee before making a decision on whether to turn pro.
His Outback performance sealed the deal.
"I'm proud of the way he's handled his recognition and accolades. He's going to be extremely valuable and a great asset to any team that's smart enough to take him next year," Ferentz said.
Iowa (9-4) won for the sixth time in seven games since losing three straight to fall to 3-3. South Carolina (7-6) lost three straight down the stretch while being outscored 118-30.
Greene scored on a pair of 1-yard runs to help Iowa build a 21-0 halftime lead, then added an 11-yarder to make it 31-0 late in the third quarter. South Carolina scored on Chris Smelley's 10-yard TD pass to Jared Cook and Ryan Succop's 48-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
After struggling offensively in lopsided losses to Florida and Clemson, Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier decided to start quarterback Stephen Garcia, a highly regarded redshirt freshman from Tampa who was the centerpiece of his recruiting class in 2007.
But Garcia, who nearly undermined his career by being arrested twice within his first month on campus, turned the ball over four times in the first half and was replaced by Smelley after going 9-for-18 for 79 yards and three interceptions.
"I thought he would play a little bit better, but maybe he just wasn't ready," Spurrier said. "Maybe that's the answer."
The 20-year-old's homecoming and third career start turned sour in a hurry. His first pass was intercepted and returned 29 yards to set up an Iowa touchdown, then the dual-threat quarterback fumbled on his first run to give the Gamecocks turnovers on two of their first four offensive plays.
The next two South Carolina possessions ended with interceptions. After Bradley Fletcher picked off Garcia in the end zone, Iowa drove 80 yards to take a 21-0 lead on Greene's second touchdown.
"I can't take a lot from this. The way it ended was not the way it was supposed to go. It's pretty frustrating for me, playing in my home city and to not do well," Garcia said. "I've just got to get better. Losing a bowl game in general is pretty frustrating, but doing so in my hometown in front of my family is worse."
Ricky Stanzi was intercepted twice before halftime, but neither mistake really hurt the Hawkeyes. Iowa was trying to turn's Garcia's third interception into a quick TD when South Carolina's Chris Culliver made a leaping pick in the end zone.
Smelley, who started nine games for South Carolina this season, replaced Garcia at the start of the second half. Moe Brown fumbled on the quarterback's first completion to set up an Iowa field goal, but the Gamecocks finally had some success moving the ball the rest of the game.
Stanzi was 13-of-19 for 147 yards, including a 6-yard TD throw to Trey Stross on the first drive of the game. Smelley finished 16-of-31 for 179 yards and no interceptions.
Spurrier fell to 7-8 in bowl games, 1-2 at South Carolina. None of the previous teams making postseason appearances under him scored fewer points.
"I thought we had pretty good practices ... and I thought we had a decent game plan," Spurrier said. "Then we throw it right to them and fumbled right to them. ... And we're not, obviously, good enough to do that."
Game Commentary: How sweet it was to welcome the New Year and an Iowa Hawkeye football team into my living room on the morning of January 1, 2009. But before the game I could have told you how great that welcoming was going to be—any Hawkeye event is!
However, what I couldn’t have told you was that the Hawkeyes were going to make an SEC team look like the two high school teams Iowa faced back in August and September.
The final score read 31-10 because of a fourth quarter field goal by South Carolina in an effort to make the score ‘look better,’ according to Steve Spurrier. But the 2009 Outback Bowl was as much of a blowout as the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale on November 22 (Iowa 55, Minnesota 0).
A much more prepared, focused and determined Hawkeye squad beat an inferior, weak, and loud Gamecock team.
“They talked more than any other team we’ve played.”
Iowa dominated in each and every facet of the game. It was almost tough to feel bad for South Carolina, almost. But when you reflect on the pre-game quotes from members of the South Carolina defense, it’s much easier not to.
“He's a good back, but we've been facing good backs all year," defensive end Jordin Lindsey said before the game. "We're not stressing over him."
I think after 121 yards and three touchdowns it’s safe to say maybe the Gamecocks should have spent a little more time “stressing” about Greene.
But unfortunately for Lindsey, he didn’t stop there.
"We've been going up against big offensive linemen all year," he said. "We're not worried about them.
"We've got a good plan for them."
Eh, debatable. They may have had a plan, but it failed miserably and it was extremely enjoyable to watch one of the greatest Hawkeyes ever, his offensive line, and an vastly improving offense make Lindsey and his defense eat their words.
As for the defense, you can’t say much more about their performance during the Outback Bowl than what has already been said of this group this year. It’s beginning to be redundant.
Lead by two veteran, interior linemen, the 2008-09 Iowa defense became the first to hold their collective opponents to 13 points/game on the season. The last time an Iowa team gave up 13 points/game was in 1981 and that defense is arguably the best Iowa defense ever.
On the first day of 2009, an unforgettable Iowa football season came to an end with the Hawkeyes ranked #20 in the final Associated Press poll. The season had it ups and its downs. There was the lengthy QB controversy. There was an Andy Brodell PR for a TD to beat Iowa State on a rainy/muddy September day at Kinnick. There were the three consecutive losses by a combined 12 points.
There was the valiant comeback in Champaigne, only to lose on a last-minute field goal. There was Shonn Greene and his bruise cruise through the Big Ten—something Hawkeye fans may never again have the privilege of witnessing. There was the development of Rick Stanzi and the suprising performances by Jewel Hampton, Brandon Myers, and Tyler Sash.
There was an upset. On the leg of then back-up kicker Daniel Murray, the Hawkeyes completed a comeback for the ages as they uprooted the #3 team in the country, Penn State, and instigated the party of the decade that rocked Iowa City well into Sunday. There was a last second, Hail Mary deflection that allowed Iowa to beat Purdue. There was a Gopher feast in the Metrodome complete with an onslaught of 55 points.
And then there was the Outback bowl. A perfect way to end one of the most memorable Iowa football seasons ever.
"This (team) is right up at the top, again, because of the seniors and the way they did it. They responded to our challenges and everyone else followed suit. We had a lot of good leadership from underneath too, a lot of people trying to help us up. All of those little things add up and give you a chance to enjoy a moment like this. It's just been very, very gratifying and this is a team I'll remember for a long time."
Herk’s Hero…for one final time…Shonn Greene 29 carries 121 yards 3 TDs 4.2 avg./carry
Play of the Day…occurred after Tyler Sash recorded his second interception with 4:16 left to go in the second quarter. Up 21-0 and on the SC 26 yard line, offensive coordinator Ken O’Keefe called for a Rick Stanzi play action pass to the end zone. The pass was intercepted, but it was the most refreshing, encouraging play of the game for Iowa fans who have been so accustomed to ultra-conservative play calling and who so badly wanted to see Iowa go up by four touchdowns on a loud-mouthed, egocentric team who underestimated the Hawkeyes.
And the crowd goes wild…and why wouldn’t they? An estimated 20,000 Iowa fans made the trip to Tampa to watch their Hawkeye demolish an SEC team.
Say what!?… “This team…started out 3-3 seven games ago, and the thing about this team is they had a great attitude. They just kept working, they stayed positive and focused on the things that were important and didn't worry about whatever else was going on. That's just great to see their efforts rewarded today. It's been a great year, I can't remember one that's more enjoyable that this one." –Kirk Ferentz
Mother Nature…was a balmy 75 degrees at kickoff.
Next up…2009-10 season
The ‘eye see’s…a perfect opportunity to go into mass amounts of detail about next season and the potential this team and it’s young, quickly developing players have.
But I will refrain. There is too much that can change between now and next August. After all, at this time last year, a guy named Jevon Pugh was slated by many to be the 2008-09 starting RB. So come August, we will see where this team’s at and a full preview and mass detail will come then.
I will say this: With the possibility of losing just 3 offensive starters (2 of which are offensive linemen) from an offense that ranked in the top-ten all-time at Iowa and 3 defensive starters, if this team improves during the long off-season as much as they did throughout this season, expect very good things in 2009 and into 2010.
This team grew up a little bit on (November 8, 2008 in a game against Penn State). You may not notice during the next game, or even this season at all. But next year and in the near future, we may look back upon ‘The Game’ as the catalyst for an advancement of a new Hawkeye era filled with confidence and triumph.
So far, so good!
The Story…from Ann Arbor, MI was all maze and blue as the Hawkeyes never woke up.
