My No. 2 -- 2004 Wisconsin

Big stakes, big stage, big ceremony.

The Hawkeyes played the crash test dummy for Wisconsin in 1999. The Badgers thumped Iowa to earn a Big Ten title and a spot in the Rose Bowl. The night's ceremony ended with the unveiling of Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne's jersey number on the Camp Randall facade on the upper deck.

The Badgers enjoyed all the spoils. They danced on an impromptu stage and hauled in the Big Ten trophy. They gave speeches. They enjoyed their moment.

They even had a streaker that game.

All the Hawkeyes could do, really, was watch.

Fast forward six years.

Big stakes, big stage, big ceremony.

Iowa and Wisconsin played for a piece of the Big Ten title at Kinnick Stadium in 2004.

Drew Tate whirled and danced. Matt Roth and the defense did their thing.

And, sometime near the end, a Big Ten Trophy rolled out of the runway near the north end zone.

Kinnick Stadium crews quickly constructed a platform near the Iowa sideline. Ropes went up, keeping crazy fans at bay.

Inside the ropes, they gave speeches.

Full circle.

________

Headline: CHAMPIONS!

IOWA CITY - It sure looked like a full-sized Big Ten championship trophy.

No co-championship in Kirk Ferentz's tears, Jonathan Babineaux's hoist and Drew Tate's grip on the game ball.

The shared part of the deal was mere formality. The Kinnick Stadium fans' bull rush onto the field, the crowd that surrounded a makeshift platform and Ferentz's words were the real deal.

"No one ever put their head down. This team never quit," Ferentz said into a microphone and 70,397 fans hung on every word. "They fought to the end."

The No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes dumped No. 9 Wisconsin, 30-7, to finish an improbable run to an unbelievable Big Ten championship Saturday.

Iowa's defense mangled the No. 9 Badgers, forcing four turnovers, and Tate threw three touchdown passes to lead the Hawkeyes to a share of the Big Ten title for the second time in three seasons.

Earlier Saturday, Ohio State opened the door by upending Michigan, 37-21, at Columbus.

Michigan gets the trip to the Rose Bowl by virtue of its 30-17 victory over the Hawkeyes on Sept. 25 in Ann Arbor.

The Hawkeyes' bowl destination isn't set in stone, but that's also a formality. Iowa will end up in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando on New Year's Day. No one could officially sign off on that Saturday, but Capital One committee member Jack Oppenheimer said head-to-head competition is the determining factor.

The Bowl Championship Series will release teams from BCS bowl consideration Tuesday. That's when everything is expected to become official.

"It's unofficial, we have to wait for the BCS, but there's a pretty decent shot," Oppenheimer said. "Last year, Iowa and Purdue had the same record and we went with Purdue because of the head-to-head win over Iowa. It's Iowa and Wisconsin this year, and now this year Iowa's got that head-to-head win."

Iowa has never played in the Capital One, formerly the Citrus Bowl. The game pits the Big Ten against the Southeastern Conference and kicks off at noon on ABC.

"You know, the bowl doesn't even matter," defensive tackle Tyler Luebke said. "We're rolling right now and we just want to keep playing."

Tate, Iowa's first-year starter at QB, started with back-to-back interceptions, giving the Badgers first downs at Iowa's 32 and 35. The Badgers had two point-blank cracks at the Iowa defense and came away with zip. Wisconsin punter Ken DeBauche botched the hold on Mike Allen's 47-yard attempt. Then Allen missed a 51-yard attempt.

"We started off on the wrong foot," linebacker Chad Greenway said. "We knew holding them to three was going to be big. Holding them to zero, that was really big."

Running back Anthony Davis, the Badgers' leading rusher, sat out Saturday's game with a deep thigh bruise. The Hawkeyes held Wisconsin to a season-low 41 yards on 30 carries.

"His leg was very weak," Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez said. "We thought we could rehab him, but after Thursday and Friday he still couldn't protect himself."

After the Badgers blew two turnover opportunities, Iowa's offense started rolling.

On third-and-2 from Iowa's 42, Tate hit wideout Ed Hinkel for a 12-yard gain to move the ball to Wisconsin's 46.

Then on a third-and-1 from Wisconsin's 37, the Hawkeyes put Babineaux, an all-Big Ten caliber defensive tackle, in as an H-back. Babineaux went in motion to the left, and the Hawkeyes went right behind him. Fullback Aaron Mickens crashed up the left side for 8 yards to the 29.

Three plays later, Tate hit wide receiver Clinton Solomon for a 6-yard TD with 4:22 left in the first quarter.

Wisconsin free safety Jim Leonhard, who picked off both passes from Tate, set up the Badgers with a 29-yard punt return to Iowa's 43. Fullback Matt Bernstein converted a third-and-1 and a fourth-and-1 with counter runs, and the Badgers scored on reserve running back Booker Stanley's 4-yard run, making it 7-7 with 1:51 left before halftime.

Instead of turtling and going into halftime tied, Iowa's offense went into two-minute mode. On third-and-1 from the 50, Tate got Iowa to the line of scrimmage.

Wisconsin defensive end Jamal Cooper was all over Tate. But Tate dipped his shoulder, spun and started running up field. He saw Solomon break behind strong safety Robert Brooks and threw as hard as he could off his back foot.

The ball got there, and it was academic after that. Solomon scooted in untouched, and Tate had some more magic behind his name.

"To be honest with you, I don't know what happened there," said Solomon, who caught six passes for 100 yards and two TDs. "We just put that play in this week. I usually run a crossing route. Drew got me the ball. We made eye contact and he let the ball go."

It was the one big play that threw off the momentum of the game, a field-position grunt fest.

And it was quintessential Tate, who completed 15 of 24 for 186 yards, three interceptions and three TDs.

If first-year sophomore starters are allowed to have "quintessential" next to their names.

"We had them corralled up and the kid (Solomon) got behind us on a little vertical route," Wisconsin defensive coordinator Bret Bielema said. "(Tate) is a great player."

From there, Iowa's defense won this championship.

Down 14-7 after halftime, Wisconsin's offense went three-and-out, interception, interception, fumble, four-and-out and fumble.

The Hawkeyes scored 13 points off the turnovers and stretched their lead to 27-7 with 10:59 left in the game.

The Hawkeyes sacked UW quarterback John Stocco four times, with Babineaux collecting two.

Jovon Johnson and Sean Considine had interceptions. Defensive end Matt Roth had three tackles for loss.

It was quintessential Iowa defense. And these guys have more than earned their "quintessential."

"We never thought we were out of anything," Greenway said. "We lost like 30 running backs this year (actually seven). We played through the ups and downs and here we are."

So many rough spots - the 44-7 loss at Arizona State. So many ups and downs - seven running backs out at times.

There was one gold football on one Big Ten championship trophy here Saturday.

And that trophy belonged to Iowa.