After a long lay-off for Iowa and a longer layoff for its top quarterback, one might expect Iowa to start slowly against high-powered Oregon, showing some rust in drizzly Seattle. Not even Lewis and Clark would have predicted seeing Oregon trail, but Iowa jumped to an early lead. Only a lost fumble and interception kept Iowa from totally dominating the first quarter, and the quarter ended with only a 7-0 lead.
Oregon showed life in the second quarter, and pulled within 14-10 at halftime. Iowa toyed with the Ducks like Hawkeye from MASH flirted with nurses. Streaks of Iowa offensive perfection would be ruined by turnovers, and spells of Duck defensive stops and Hawkeye penalties would be saved by daring completions by Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi. Iowa continued to lead 21-17 going into the last quarter.
In the end, it was the Ducks who toyed with their fans and flirted with disaster. A red zone fumble by running back LeGarrette Blount and a key missed field goal broke the hearts of Oregon faithful in the fourth quarter. Key clutch first down runs during the final minutes by Hawkeye back Brandon Wegher sealed the 24-17 victory.
Iowa moves on to meet second seed Texas in the Fiesta Bowl.
Since the increase of the tournament to ten teams from eight, and the resulting inception of the first round games, Big Ten schools have played in four of the eight play-in contests. With Ohio State and Iowa winning on this day, and Wisconsin (over Wake Forest) and Penn State (over Cincinnati) in previous seasons, the conference is now 4-0 in first round games.
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