Respect the Hawk
By Josh Roth
Respect. It is a word that Hawkeye fans have been searching for all season long and it is a word that was not given by the majority of the country. It was finally earned on this night, in rather heartbreaking fashion.
Iowa took Michigan State to the limits only relinquishing their lead with 27 seconds to go in a tough 9 minute, 22 play drive. Both defenses were stout and Iowa gave Connor Cook all he could handle. At the end of the day the defense, which had been tremendous all game and season long, likely ran out of gas. It had been on the field way too long in this game, 36 minutes compared to the offenses 23 minutes. Iowa’s offense also missed on some key opportunities to change the landscape of the game (the unlucky interception off the back of the defender in the first half and some crucial drops). However, we must give all the credit to the Michigan State defense, they were amazing. Shilique Calhoun was a beast and took advantage of a promising, but young offensive tackle in Boone Myers. The only thing Iowa could have done was send a RB or TE to help Boone. Michigan State was able to stop our strong run game (although the Canzeri injury was a key in that as well) and kept CJ Beathard in check for the majority of the game.
You can question whether Iowa should have taken shots down field earlier or been more aggressive but at the end of the day two great teams, two great coaches had an old fashion brawl and Iowa just didn’t have time to get one more good punch in. The season should not be defined by one grueling and heartbreaking conference championship loss, it should be defined by the incredible 12-0 start. It should be defined by a 57 yard field goal as time expired vs Pittsburgh, a defensive battle in a win at Wisconsin, a drubbing of Northwestern in Evansville. It should be defined by not one, not two, not three, but four rivalry trophies. It should be defined by the inspirational story of Brett Greenwood and the heart that the team played with after the tragic passing of Tyler Sash. Most importantly this season should be defined by a team and its captain. A team and a coach that many had started to sour on, including myself.
To think just a year ago this team was 7-6 which included a loss to our 2-10 in-state rival Iowa State, being completely dominated by our rival Minnesota, blowing a big lead to Nebraska in the season finale and topping it off with an embarrassing shellacking by the hands of Tennessee in our bowl game. So reality was the fan base had a bit of a right to be furious with the performance and coaching. It seemed like Kirk was coasting to the finish line, but a beautiful thing came from it, new and more dedicated Kirk. He has stated ever since the game against Nebraska that there needed to be a change. He went with CJ Beathard, he gambled more and became more focused. With that came one of the most balanced and successful teams in Iowa history. I am thrilled I didn’t get my wish of a new coach last season, I am glad I was wrong. It had nothing to do with hating Kirk, but not wanting to settle for mediocracy. I am proud to root for a University that has more patience then I could ever have and I am thankful that Kirk is still our coach.
So now we circle back to the heart wrenching Big Ten finale. Often times it is said that there are no moral victories in sports, but in this case that is a bunch of bologna. You can sit there and tell me I am wrong, that winning is all that matters and to a certain degree you are right. Winning does matter, but regaining the respect from your fan base and it’s faith in the program, the media and most importantly your players becomes just as important. Sure it would have been great to finish the season off 13-0 and head to the playoffs and yes I am bummed that didn’t happen, but this could still be the greatest season in Iowa football history. Playing in a Rose Bowl is something Hawkeye fans have been clamoring for for quite some time and after this game Iowa should have convinced the committee that they deserve to be there. The fallback game could be the Fiesta Bowl, which is a great consolation prize if they committee pits them against Notre Dame.
At the end of the day we may not have gotten the ultimate prize we were going after, a Big Ten title and a playoff berth, but we got the next best thing: Respect. It is what restored our fan base and faith in Kirk. Respect is what could lead us to better recruiting, media attention, a good jump start to next season and a brighter future. Respect could lead us into a Rose Bowl, some place Iowa hasn’t been since 1991. Most importantly respect is what this team and Kirk Ferentz deserves. Thank you Iowa Hawkeyes and Kirk Ferentz for this wonderful season (which is not over yet!).