What We Learned From Orange Bowl

Three things we learned from Iowa's 24-14 win over Georgia Tech.

1. Georgia Tech is what we that they were. The consensus on the Yellow Jackets' triple option was that if you had time and you were strong up the middle, they were beatable. The Hawkeyes had plenty of time and were plenty strong enough on the defensive line and held GT to 143 yards on the ground, 164 yards below its season average. Paul Johnson has proved his critics wrong to the point that the triple-option can be successful at the BCS level, but to this point he's been blown out in two bowl games (last year, LSU thumped the Jackets in the Chick-fil-A Bowl). Johnson has understandably remained stalwart in his mindset that this offense can adapt and can change with the game, but unless he adds more wrinkles that his opponents can't already see coming, this program won't take the next step.
2. The Big Ten has earned some respect. Ohio State's domination of Oregon in the Rose Bowl raised some eyebrows, but with Iowa lifting the conference to 2-0 in BCS games this season, it's hard to deny this was a statement for the much-maligned Big Ten. Of course, the detractors will say that the Buckeyes faced arguably the weakest Pac-1o representative in Pasadena since Stanford in 2000, but two BCS wins are two BCS wins. But now the true test comes in what the Big Ten does with this momentum. We could look back and say this was the bowl season that saw the conference's revival ... or we could look back and say the Big Ten beat two middling teams. For now, give a conference that has taken its share of lumps some serious props.
3. Ricky Stanzi is severely underrated. I'll admit, I was just as much of a Stanzi hater as anyone. No quarterback was more confounding to watch than the Hawkeyes junior. I mean, how were we to judge a guy who had thrown five picks in one game and 14 on the season? But Iowa was much more complete with Stanzi, for all his erratic play, at the controls. In his first game back from the ankle injury that sidelined him for 2 1/2 games, he was 17 of 29 for 231 yards and two TDs. He'll need to cut down on those careless mistakes next season if the Hawkeyes are to stay in the thick of the Big Ten hunt, but there's no doubt who makes Iowa go and it's Stanzi.