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

Iowa QB ready for return in Orange Bowl matchup with Georgia Tech

By Bud L. Ellis

It was not the way Ricky Stanzi hoped to end the regular season, not with Iowa unbeaten and dreaming of a berth in the BCS championship game.

And while the Hawkeyes dropped two of their final three games, Stanzi is back and looking to end the season on a positive note when Iowa takes on Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl, Jan. 5 at Land Shark Stadium.

The junior signalcaller injured his right ankle in Iowa’s first loss of the season, a 17-10 setback against Northwestern on Nov. 7. Under Stanzi’s steady leadership, the Hawkeyes had won 13 games in a row with Stanzi under center before the Northwestern game. Eight times during that stretch, Stanzi rallied Iowa for come-from-behind victories.

The high ankle sprain forced Stanzi to sit out Iowa’s final two regular-season games, but the quarterback is working back into shape and expects to be 100 percent when the Hawkeyes meet the Yellow Jackets in Miami. And while Georgia Tech’s high-octane offense meets Iowa’s stingy defense in the game’s focal point, Stanzi would love nothing more than to steal the storylines and the spotlight.

Stanzi has passed for 2,186 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, after throwing for 1,956 yards and 14 scores as a sophomore in 2008.

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 6:50 pm by bud

Tags: Georgia Tech, Iowa, Land Shark Stadium, Northwestern, Orange Bowl, Ricky Stanzi