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After winning six of their final five games to close the 2008 season, Iowa football appeared poised to return to their early-2000s glory days under Kirk Ferentz. 

Shonn Greene dealt a small blow to the 2009 season outlook when he decided to leave school early and declare for the 2009 NFL Draft, but the Hawkeyes still returned a plethora of key returners. 

Those key returners included quarterback Ricky Stanzi, wide receiver Darrell Johnson-Koulianos, and a stingy defense anchored by defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn. 

Iowa fans don't need much to remember the memories the 2009 team brought them, but with a 24-team College Football Playoff seemingly imminent in the near future, it does make one wonder what this group could've done in the expanded bracket. 

We try to unpack the answer here. 

The Rundown 

The Hawkeyes entered the season ranked No. 22 in the preseason AP Poll, but it only took one game for disaster to nearly strike. Iowa was heavily favored to defeat in-state FCS foe Northern Iowa in the season opener, but the Hawkeyes needed two blocked field goals in the final seconds to hold on by a point, 17-16. 

Iowa was swiftly dropped from the polls as a result, but a 21-10 upset victory over then-No. 5 Penn State in Happy Valley vaulted the Hawks all the way to No. 13 in the polls by the next game. 

This was a perfect metaphor for the 2009 season because Iowa fans were in for a massive roller coaster ride. The Hawkeyes could look like a national championship contender one week, but then resemble a paper tiger the next. 

Iowa managed to ride the roller coaster to a perfect 9-0 start and No. 4 ranking, but its undefeated season was ruined by back-to-back heartbreaking losses to Northwestern and Ohio State, the latter of which cost the Hawkeyes a share of the Big Ten title. 

Iowa still finished the regular season 10-2 and No. 10 in the final polls, which was enough to earn a bid to the 2010 Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets were heavily favored to win, but the Hawkeyes used a brilliant defensive game plan to shut down Georgia Tech's triple option offense and win their first (and only) major bowl game since 1959. 

Iowa finished 11-2 overall and No. 7 in the AP Poll – the highest final ranking for a Ferentz-coached team to date. 

The Bracket 

Since the BCS only ranked the top 15 teams during its existence, this hypothetical 24-team bracket will be created with the pre-bowl season AP rankings. 

That poll leaves Iowa the No. 10 seed in this bracket, where it would've had an opening round matchup with No. 23 Utah. The Utes would've been a tough out, as would a second round battle with Oregon or BCS runner-up Texas if the Hawkeyes would've gotten that far. 

But this is only a hypothetical bracket, though. Nick Saban won the first of his six national championships at Alabama with a win over Texas. 

Iowa relied on a lot of late-game magic to win games in 2009, but it was talented enough to make a legitimate run in this bracket. Seventeen years later, it's still one of Ferentz's best teams in Iowa City. 

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This is easily the biggest giveaway we've ever done on this site, and it's a great opportunity for two lucky fans to experience the joy of attending a Hawkeye football game at Kinnick Stadium. 

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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io

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