The 2009 Iowa Hawkeyes were a team defined by close calls and it started off in the first week of the season against Northern Iowa of all teams. The Hawkeyes holding just a 1 point lead with a handful of seconds left lined up against a NIU squad looking for the game winning upset field goal. The Hawkeyes blocked it. The problem? There was still time left on the clock, enough time for NIU to attempt another field goal... Blocked again, the Hawkeyes skated by.After two weeks of breezing by opponents the Hawkeys were back playing on thin ice. In their biggest win of the year against Penn State, they were trailing by 10 and needed a dominating 4th quarter to grab the victory. The next week against a poor Sun Belt team the Hawkeys garnered just a 3 point victory. The following week against another miserable Michigan team, the Hawkeyes needed to come up with an interception on UM's final drive to secure a 2 point lead. In week 8, the closest call of all, Iowa needed a Ricky Stanzi touchdown pass on the last play of the game to get by Michigan State. In week 9 the Hawkeyes found themselves incredibly turnover prone and down by 10 heading into the 4th quarter. They rallied and won big.
The Hawkeys have been skating on thin ice all year long. They had won every close game. It was really just a matter of time before the Ice was gave out and when Ricky Stanzi went down in 2nd quarter, the cracks grew to a point of no return. James Vandenberg was not ready to quarterback a Big 10 team to a victory. The Hawkeyes dreams of a BCS title game are dashed, the ice finally broken from under their feet.
Now onto this weeks preliminary blogpoll:
 | ||
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | |
| 2 | Florida | |
| 3 | Texas | |
| 4 | Cincinnati |  3 |
| 5 | TCU | 3 |
| 6 | Boise State |  1 |
| 7 | Georgia Tech | 3 |
| 8 | Iowa | 4 |
| 9 | Oregon | 3 |
| 10 | Southern Cal | 1 |
| 11 | LSU | 2 |
| 12 | Houston | 1 |
| 13 | Pittsburgh | 1 |
| 14 | Miami (Florida) | 1 |
| 15 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 16 | Arizona | 1 |
| 17 | Virginia Tech | 1 |
| 18 | Stanford | |
| 19 | Oregon State | |
| 20 | Penn State | 8 |
| 21 | North Carolina | 3 |
| 22 | Texas Tech | |
| 23 | Clemson | |
| 24 | South Florida | 1 |
| 25 | Auburn | |
| Last week's ballot | ||
Dropped Out: Brigham Young (#19), Oklahoma (#20), California (#21), Notre Dame (#22).
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