Texas came into the Fiesta Bowl with lingering questions, but found a big new issue in the first quarter against Iowa. After almost losing in the Big XII conference championship to Nebraska, the Longhorns jumped out early and aggressively to a 10-0 lead on the Hawkeyes in the first quarter. But they also lost their star quarterback Colt McCoy to injury.
Iowa responded with a touchdown drive in the second quarter, and a interception return for touchdown on an ill-advised pass by backup QB Garrett Gilbert to take a 14-10 lead. The Longhorns looked anemic as Gilbert struggled in the spotlight.
In the second half, the Texas defense stiffened, and Gilbert found his rhythm, including a touchdown pass to take a 17-14 lead, and the score remained the same at the end of the third quarter. A late Gilbert fumble gave Iowa field position to score a touchdown to make it interesting, with the Horns hanging to a 23-21 lead. Texas held on to win, and survive to play another round.
The Longhorns move onto Syracuse, where they will face the undefeated Boise State Broncos.
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