Iowa's Defense Shuts Down Georgia Tech's Triple Option Attack, Earn First BCS Bowl Victory

Adrian Clayborn stops Georgia Tech Quarterback Josh Nesbitt

Miami Lakes, FL (www.orangebowl.org) – In a game that featured one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation against one of the country’s stingiest defenses, it was the #10 Iowa Hawkeyes solving the #9 Georgia Tech’s triple option attack for a 24-14 victory at the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl.  Despite a temperature of 49 degrees at kickoff, the coldest in the 76 year history of the football classic, the Hawkeyes had the Yellow Jackets feeling the heat from the start.

Iowa (11-2) earned their first Bowl Championship Series bowl win, matched the school record for victories and could claim their highest final ranking since finishing No. 3 in 1960.  Atlantic Coast Conference champion Georgia Tech (11-3) totaled nine first downs and 155 yards, both season lows.

The Yellow Jackets were first in the nation in time of possession, second in rushing and 11th in scoring. But they sputtered against an Iowa defense that held four bowl-bound teams to 10 points or less during the regular season.  Defensive end Adrian Clayborn led Iowa's defensive charge with two sacks and nine tackles, including two for a loss, and was chosen the game's most outstanding player.

With the victory, Iowa earned its first FedEx Orange Bowl win after losing in its previous appearance, a 2002 loss to Southern Cal 38-17 in the Hawkeyes' only other Orange Bowl appearance.  The game marked the sixth appearance for Georgia Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl, its first since 1967, the final game coached by the legendary Bobby Dodd. 

The Hawkeye offense was led by quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who went 17 for 29 for 231 yards and threw two early touchdowns in his return from a sprained ankle that sidelined him in the season's 10th game and true freshman running back Brandon Wegher, who carried the ball 16 times for 113 yards and one score.

Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt went only 2 for 9 for 12 yards for Tech, which had a season-high seven punts. Jonathan Dwyer, a 1,300-yard rusher the past two seasons, netted only 49 yards on 14 carries against the Hawkeyes.

This marked the first meeting ever between these schools and was only the second time in Orange Bowl history that the Big Ten will face the ACC.  The two conferences previously met in the 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl where Joe Paterno and his Penn State Nittany Lions outlasted Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles 26-23 in a triple-overtime thriller.