It was a heartbreaker to see Iowa miss an opportunity to put away Notre Dame on the 3-yard line with :00 left on the game clock. Iowa could have won the game had they made an easy field goal from the left hash mark on the field. "The wind was blowing directly at my kick and I think I put too much power in the kick because I had it angled as far right as I could but I still went wide left of the goal posts," said senior kicker Daniel Murray on Saturday.
With the missed field goal the game went into overtime and the Hawkeyes threw an interception in double overtime to give the win to #8 Notre Dame. "It was a hard fought battle the entire game. It will probably be one of the best games I'll ever coach" stated Coach Pelini after the game.
With the loss, the Hawkeyes slip out of their #1 spot in the BCS to a #5 and still will play in a very good Orange Bowl in January.
"I'm pleased with how my team did. I would have liked to see the turnovers not be there but to stay with the Fighting Irish at their home field, I was pleased. I'm excited to go to a neutral site and play in the FedEx Orange Bowl. Our fans travel VERY well and we know this from Iowa's past Orange Bowl bids," Coach Pelini stated.
The Hawkeyes are set to face #11 West Virginia Mountaineers on January 3, 2011 in Miami, FL at Dolphins Stadium for the FedEx Orange Bowl.
The Hawkeyes also came away with a share of the Big Ten title along with Michigan. The two teams never met during the regular season and both teams ended up with an 8-0 Conference record to take a share of the Conference title.
Iowa's average attendance at home was: 73,379