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After a season that saw them win 10 games and reach the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl, the Hawkeyes made the most of this opportunity Tuesday night, defeating No. 9 Georgia Tech, 24-14.

The win ties a school record for most wins in a regular season, is the first victory for Iowa in a BCS bowl game, and marks the first time the Hawkeyes have won a major bowl game since capturing the 1959 Rose Bowl over California.

“To win this game meant an awful lot to our football team, especially against a team the caliber of Georgia Tech,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “It was a hard fought game. I thought both teams competed really hard.

“That being said, I just can’t say enough about the job our coaching staff did getting the players ready, and most importantly, the job our players did.”

The night couldn’t have been scripted better for Iowa. Although the Hawkeyes fumbled on their opening possession, they responded in a big way after Georgia Tech went three-and-out on its opening drive.

After a third-down reception by junior Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Iowa junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi made one of his biggest throws of the evening, hitting senior tight end Tony Moeaki for a 54-yard reception that got the Hawkeyes to the Yellow Jacket 9-yard line.

Three plays later, Stanzi found sophomore wide receiver Marvin McNutt, who fumbled on the previous possession, in the end zone for a three-yard touchdown score coming on a fade route to put Iowa ahead 7-0.

The Hawkeyes would keep the ball rolling later in the quarter when Stanzi completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Colin Sandeman to give Iowa a 14-0 lead.

“That’s huge, especially against their offense,” senior tight end Tony Moeaki said about jumping out to a big lead right away. “They’re not going to throw the ball around, and we knew they were going to have to have long drives to score.

“We wanted to start fast. That’s what we said pre-game, that’s what we did, and it helped us out a lot.”

Georgia Tech would capitalize on the Hawkeyes’ second turnover of the game, though. Just before the first quarter ended, Stanzi threw an interception to sophomore cornerback Jerrard Tarrant that was taken 40 yards back for a touchdown.

Meanwhile, the Hawkeye defense put on a clinic. Led by junior defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who finished with nine solo tackles and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, Georgia Tech’s spread option attack offense was practically shut down.

“We just have been looking at film of how other defenses had been tackling them and then using a little bit of our defense,” Clayborn said.

Junior B-back Jonathan Dwyer was held to 49 yards rushing on 14 carries, while junior quarterback Josh Nesbitt only had 46 rushing yards on 20 carries, and only completed 2-of-9 passes for a total of 12 yards.

There would be no scoring in the second quarter, but after the Yellow Jackets missed a field goal in the third quarter, Iowa responded with another score.

The big play came on 2nd-and-19 when Stanzi hit Moeaki again for a 23-yard completion to midfield for a first down. The drive was capped by a 33-yard field goal from kicker Daniel Murray to make the score 17-7.

Georgia Tech responded with a one-yard touchdown run by junior A-back Anthony Allen in the fourth quarter to trim the Hawkeye lead to 17-14.

However, Iowa would put the dagger into the heart of the Yellow Jackets when true freshman running back Brandon Wegher ran down the sideline for a 32-yard touchdown to put the Hawkeyes ahead for good, 24-14.

“This is great,” senior linebacker Pat Angerer said as he walked off the field for the final time in an Iowa uniform. “I can’t imagine anything better than this.”

Wegher finished with 113 yards rushing on 16 carries, while Stanzi completed 17-of-29 passes for 231 yards through the air and the two touchdowns to McNutt and Sandeman.

This victory over Georgia Tech capped off what has been one of the more decorated seasons in the history of Iowa football.

“You flash back to after our first ball game coming off the field, I don’t think anyone envisioned us sitting here [Tuesday] with our 11th win,” Ferentz said. “That’s just a good reminder of how tough it is to win in college football.”

— by Brendan Stiles