My No. 8 -- 2005 Capital One

When you read the game story, you might be mad at me.

Yes, I was the jerkweed who asked Kirk Ferentz in the wake of joy about what exactly he was thinking not calling the timeout. I mean, the clock was running out. You heard Gary Dolphin, the game's going to end on this play.

After Drew Tate's stepdad, Dick Olin, slapped me on the back hard enough to make me wince, I went to the interview room thinking, what just happened here?

What happened was this, Iowa fell into a mud puddle and came up with gold watches on both wrists (thanks for that line, "Sopranos.")

Afterward, I thought too bad I didn't get to know Warren Holloway all that well.

But who knew?

One more thing, I'll never forget the elevator ride down to the field with Norm Parker.

The man was spent. Remember, 2004 he missed the first two or so games after having a toe amputated. It was a physical grind and he poured it all out.

Which makes Norm's 2009 season all the more incredible.

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Headline: Capital Catch

ORLANDO, Fla. - They wanted three points. They got a miracle.

They called "all up." They got ESPN Classic.

They snapped the ball with seven seconds left. They got a play that will go down as one of the greatest in Iowa history.

Not bad for what essentially was a huge screw-up.

Quarterback Drew Tate hit Warren Holloway for a 56-yard touchdown as the stadium clock rolled up four zeroes, and the No. 12 Iowa Hawkeyes pulled out a 30-25 Capital One Bowl victory

Saturday over No. 13 Louisiana State before 70,229 fans at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium.

"I think what they (Iowa coaches) wanted to do was get to LSU's 30 and call timeout," Tate said. "And fortunately, it ended with an ESPN Classic."

No time for Gatorade baths. The entire Iowa sideline - coaches, managers, the whole mass of Hawkeyes - jumped Holloway, a fifth-year senior and yet another "Rudy" on the Iowa roster, just outside the north end zone.

Let the record show, Iowa was called for an excessive celebration penalty.

And oh, by the way, that was Holloway's first TD.

"I was at the bottom of the pile, man," Holloway said. "I got knocked down, I don't know anything else after that."

The Hawkeyes (10-3) wanted three points. They got a third straight season with 10 or more victories. When the final Associated Press poll comes out, they'll have their third straight top 10.

They wanted three points.

They got their eighth straight victory.

They got ESPN Classic.

"For this thing to end the way it did today, it's fitting," Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. "The resiliency these kids have shown, I can't put it into words."

The final scene needs some setting, or at least explanation.

LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the third quarterback LSU used, hit wideout Skyler Green for a touchdown with 46 seconds left, giving the Tigers (9-3) a 25-24 lead after a two-point conversion failed. It capped a 12-play, 69-yard drive that drained 4:20 off the clock and left Iowa with 46 seconds to work with.

It also put Russell's name on the Capital One MVP trophy, if only for the 46 seconds LSU had that lead. The red-shirt freshman directed two scoring drives after Iowa running back Marques Simmons scored on a 4-yard run with 12:48 left to give Iowa a 24-12 lead.

"I think the last 14 or 20 seconds of this game somewhat tarnishes the things that this football team accomplished over the last four years," said LSU Coach Nick Saban, who'll begin his job Tuesday as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. "We came from behind and won five times this season. I thought it would be the sixth today."

Iowa took over at its 29. First down was an 11-yard pass to Ed Hinkel. Second down was a 9-yard pass to Holloway.

And now, this is where things started to unravel.

Tate spiked the ball, thinking he stopped the clock. But the Hawkeyes were called for a false start with nine seconds left. They went into their huddle thinking they had a dead clock.

Referee Hal Dowden stuck his head in to remind them the clock was ticking. After a penalty, the clock starts after the official spots the ball.

"I blew it not taking the timeout there," Ferentz said. "I didn't realize after a penalty, they start the clock."

When Tate took the snap with seven seconds left, that was it. It was over. Any Iowa play inbounds and the clock would likely have run out with the Hawkeyes the proud owners of two timeouts.

"From my point of view, I'm just wondering why we're not calling a timeout when the clock was running," defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux said. "I'm like, do we see the clock running? And they hike the ball, and I'm like, OK, this is it."

It was it.

No need to dwell on the timeouts, right, coach?

"Do we have to, the last series?" Ferentz said. "How 'bout we fast forward to that last play."

The play was "all up," where Iowa's four receivers run vertical routes down the field.

Tate looked off wideout Clinton Solomon, whose 57-yard TD grab gave Iowa a 7-0 lead. He looked off tight end Scott Chandler, whose two catches for 41 yards led to Kyle Schlicher's 20-yard field goal.

Tate found Holloway. LSU didn't.

"We ran that play six times today, I think," said Hinkel, who caught 10 for 93 yards. "That was the first time it went Warren's way."

The confusion at the end of the game actually worked in Iowa's favor. Cornerback Ronnie Prude missed the defensive call. He rolled toward Chandler and left Holloway uncovered.

"Drew saw it the whole time," said Holloway, who caught four passes for 72 yards. "He saw defense wasn't ready. He saw a gap in the coverage. And he took advantage."

Tate brushed off two early interceptions to complete 20 of 32 for 287 yards and two TDs. He won the game MVP award.

"We've got a great quarterback," Solomon said. "Don't ever count this kid out."

Except for running back Alley Broussard's 74-yard run at the end of the second quarter, Iowa's defense held. But Iowa's lack of a running game - the Hawkeyes gained 47 yards on 29 carries - kept the defense on the field too long. LSU owned a 34:12 to 25:48 advantage in time of possession.

The Hawkeyes held LSU to 346 yards offense, but ran out of gas late in the fourth quarter.

And LSU finally found a QB it liked.

LSU senior quarterback Marcus Randall left with a rib injury after linebacker Abdul Hodge crushed him in the second quarter. Randall left the game after junior cornerback Jovon Johnson picked off a pass in the third quarter.

Red-shirt freshman Matt Flynn gave it a try but completed just 1 of 4. Finally, Saban went to Russell, who completed 12 of 15 for 128 yards and two TDs.

"He had a game," Johnson said. "I think if they might've gone to him earlier, they might've been in better shape at the end. But we'll never know that now, will we?"

We'll never know where the Hawkeyes would have been if they hadn't blocked two punts, with free safety Sean Considine returning one 7 yards for a touchdown and a 14-12 halftime lead. We'll never know what Ferentz would have done with those two timeouts.

You know, if "all up" doesn't work, if Warren Holloway doesn't catch it and break a tackle and score the first TD of his career on the last play of his career, if this Disneyworld miracle doesn't happen.

"It's all irrelevant right now," Ferentz said.

They wanted three points. They got a miracle.