Doc's No. 3 -- 2005 Capital One Bowl

This post coincides with a series on Kirk Ferentz's top 10 games during his Iowa tenure. Mike Hlas and Marc Morehouse also blog on this topic.

Ah, yes, the moment of truth. The greatest single play in Iowa football history -- to date. Everyone connected to that game remembers "where they were" when Drew Tate launched a 56-yard touchdown pass to Warren Holloway on the game's final play to beat defending national champion LSU 30-25. 

But looking more closely, the game was more than just one final play. LSU had more talent at just about every position. Iowa's injuries at running back were evident. Nobody would have blamed Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz if he said staying close was the goal. Instead, Iowa out-prepared and out-coached Nick Saban to take a 24-12 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Granted, LSU mounted its own thrilling comeback, and Iowa mismanaged the clock so poorly in the final minute this game wouldn't have made Ferentz' top 40 list had the last play not worked. But it did, and it was memorable.