IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -As fans stormed the field at Kinnick Stadium last fall to celebrate Iowa’s dramatic win over then-No. 3 Penn State, it was easy to forget how huge that victory was for Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz.
Iowa was grappling with a series of off-the-field conduct issues with its players and had lost 16 of its last 28 games. At 5-4, Iowa seemed destined for a minor bowl bid at best and, after three straight top-10 finishes from 2002-04, many fans were wondering why Ferentz was one of the nation’s highest-paid coaches.
It took one 31-yard field goal from Daniel Murray to make it all go away.
The Hawkeyes haven’t lost since beating the Nittany Lions. Iowa’s seven-game winning streak, which dates to that 24-23 win, is currently the fourth-best in the nation and includes victories over teams from the Pac-10 (Arizona), Big 12 (Iowa State) and SEC (South Carolina).
by a combined score of 62-20.
“It was a turning point in the fact that we won that day and then we continued to win,” Ferentz said. “I think we became a pretty good football team about that time last year. We were on the road to it, and that helped us.”
No. 5 Penn State (3-0) gets its shot at payback Saturday night when it hosts Iowa (3-0).
So what’s changed for the Hawkeyes since last season? Well, hardly anything.
In an era of instant gratification, the Hawkeyes never fired coordinators or strayed from their philosophy that a strong defense and balanced offense leads to wins.
It wasn’t always easy to do, though.
The Hawkeyes reached No. 13 in the national rankings early in 2006, but a number of key players, including quarterback Drew Tate, battled through injuries and team chemistry took a dive. Iowa lost six of its final seven and finished below .500 for the first time since 2000.
Doomed by a moribund offense, Iowa slumped to 6-6 in 2007 and choked away a shot at a bowl trip with a stunning loss to Western Michigan.
Last season, the Hawkeyes lost three straight after a 3-0 start, and Ferentz took a lot of heat for sticking with quarterback Jake Christensen in the second half of a loss at Pittsburgh.
Things began to turn around for Iowa in the thick of Big Ten play, thanks in large part to star running back Shonn Greene.
d and thumped Wisconsin at home. Their final defeat came at Illinois, 27-24, as untested quarterback Ricky Stanzi was 11 for 29 passing with a pair of interceptions. That gave Iowa four losses by a combined 12 points, but its luck in close affairs has changed.
After the one-point win over Penn State, the Hawkeyes survived a late scare to beat Purdue, 22-17. In this season’s opener they blocked two straight field goals at the end of the game – a Division I first – to get past a Northern Iowa team that’s since outscored its opponents 96-7.
Of course, it’s too early to tell whether Iowa has returned to the glory days of the Ferentz era or not. But there’s little question that the Hawkeyes are in better shape heading up to Happy Valley than they were in the weeks and months leading up to last season’s upset.
“It definitely was a confidence builder,” Iowa wide receiver Trey Stross said. “At Iowa, we seem to always improve later in the season. … I think it was just a matter of time before we clicked. We clicked at a good time.”
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