Defense rules: Iowa stuffs Georgia Tech in Orange Bowl
By Bud L. Ellis
In the matchup of explosive offense vs. gritty defense, the guys from the Midwest shut down the powerful running attack from the South.
No. 10 Iowa used a staunch defensive showing and two early touchdown passes from Ricky Stanzi to knock off ninth-ranked Georgia Tech 24-14 in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 5 at Land Shark Stadium in Miami.
Georgia Tech, the ACC champion, came into the game featuring one of the nation’s highest-scoring offenses. But the Iowa defense stuffed the Jackets’ much-ballyhooed triple option attack time after time. The Jackets finished with just nine first downs and 155 total yards, both season lows.
That defense more than made Stanzi’s two early TD passes hold up. Playing for the first time since spraining his right ankle, Stanzi finished 17-for-29 for 231 yards. Running back Brandon Wegher rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Iowa, which brought one of the top defenses in the nation into the game, completely disrupted Tech’s timing-predicated offensive attack. Jackets’ quarterback Josh Nesbitt completed just two passes for 9 yards, and Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer mustered just 43 yards rushing on 14 carries.
Tech only scored one touchdown on offense. Its first score came on Jerrand Tarrant’s 40-yard interception return for a touchdown, the Jackets’ only touchdown in the first three quarters.
Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn earned MVP honors, finishing with nine tackles and two sacks.
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Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 8:38 pm by bud
Tags: Adrian Clayborn, Brandon Wegher, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Jerrand Tarrant, Jonathan Dwyer, Josh Nesbitt, Land Shark Stadium, Orange Bowl, Ricky Stanzi
