5 Thoughts ...
2009 Outback Bowl
Iowa 31 ... South Carolina 10
GAME RECAP: Greene runs wild on
Gamecocks
- 2009 CFN Outback Bowl
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2009 Outback Bowl
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1. Kirk Ferentz is back.
Actually, I’m in the minority
who felt he never should have
left the discussion involving
some of the game’s better
coaches. Yeah, there were lean
times over the past few years,
but over the long haul, he and
his staff have continuously done
a great job of taking marginal
talent and coaching it up into
NFL-caliber athletes. Now,
that’s not to say that Ferentz
didn’t need this year’s strong
finish and Outback Bowl rout. He
did. And now that he’s on the
verge of getting closer to
rejoining the A-list of head
coaches, watch the speculation
about his future swirl like it
did earlier in the decade. The
NFL is calling one more time to
see if it can lure Ferentz back
to the pros. I have a strange
feeling he might take the bait
this time.
-
Richard Cirminiello
2. Kirk Ferentz is gone. Watch
for Ferentz to be among the top
candidates for the Cleveland
Browns opening, especially if
Scott Paoli from New England
becomes the general manager.
Ferentz was a hot name for
several NFL openings around five
years ago, cooled off, and now
he’s not going to let the ship
sail twice. If Ferentz wants to
take a step up and be in the
NFL, now he has to do it on the
heels of this great Outback Bowl
win, and with a wee bit of a
rebuilding job to be done losing
Shonn Greene to the NFL and with
some other key pieces also gone.
Hopefully Ferentz sticks in Iowa
City, he’s a great head coach
who continues to do big things
for the program, off-the-field
controversies aside. Don’t be
shocked, though, if he’s leaving
on a fantastic high note.
-
Pete
Fiutak
3. Stephen Garcia was supposed
to be the "Golden Child," the
savior-like quarterback who
would handle Steve Spurrier's
intense coaching methods and
lead South Carolina to new
heights.
After Chris Smelley's disastrous
performance at Clemson in the
regular-season finale--with
Garcia staying on the bench for
the duration--one had to wonder
why Spurrier was so down on the
man who held so much promise and
potential. Was the Head Ball
Coach (it's NOT the "Ol' Ball
Coach," by the way--please put
that label to bed) losing his
eye for quarterbacking quality?
Evidently, Spurrier knew more
than a lot of people thought.
Garcia's total train wreck, the
centerpiece of a disastrous game
against Iowa, showed how far
away the Tampa native is from
being a special signal caller.
Okay, so Spurrier accurately
assessed Garcia. The problem is,
why can't the Visored One can't
get Garcia (or Smelley, or
anyone in Columbia) to become a
top-flight QB who will take this
program to a new level? Every QB
Spurrier's had at South Carolina
has been a certifiable headcase,
totally unpredictable from one
snap to another. Blake Mitchell
lacked a high football IQ.
Smelley and now Garcia also
offer little in the way of
innate football intelligence.
The reality is as unmistakable
as it is bizarre: One of college
football's greatest quarterback
coaches has utterly failed in
the attempt to mold great
quarterbacks for the Gamecocks.
Until South Carolina finds a
leader under center who has a
great natural feel for the game,
the program won't rise from the
middle of the SEC East.
-
Matthew
Zemek
4. This was Shonn Greene’s final
game for Iowa, and he did it in
style rushing for 132 yards and
three touchdowns against a very
tough South Carolina D. However,
any talk about Greene’s
afternoon in Tampa has to
include a mention of the Hawkeye
offensive line, which completely
dominated the Gamecock front.
Bryan Bulaga, Seth Olsen, Rob
Bruggeman, Julian Vendervelde,
and Kyle Calloway went old
school on South Carolina,
creating a wall around QB Ricky
Stanzi and just enough daylight
for Greene to do his work. Both
Iowa lines, in fact, played huge
roles in a 31-10 win that was
every bit as one-sided as the
score indicated.
-
Richard Cirminiello
5. People will naturally tout
Shonn Greene as the next really
big thing after Iowa's star
running back topped 100 yards
yet again, but the key to this
game was Iowa's first scoring
drive, which took half a quarter
(7:21), scored a touchdown, and
allowed the reeling
Gamecocks--fresh off their
late-season tailspin--to doubt
themselves anew. The difference
maker on the drive was Hawkeye
quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who
played with remarkably elevated
poise late in the team's upset
of Penn State nearly two months
ago. Answering his own personal
wake-up call for this 11:05 a.m.
(local time) kickoff, Stanzi
completed three third-down
passes, all of them in obvious
passing situations
(third-and-10, third-and-5,
third-and-8), to move the sticks
after Carolina's defense--keying
on the run--initially stuffed
Greene. Seeing Iowa excel on
passing downs, the very
situations the Gamecocks wanted
to create, had to demoralize
everyone on coordinator Ellis
Johnson's defense. It wasn't
until the game turned into a
21-0 runaway that Carolina's
defense fully settled down. By
then, however, it was much too
little, and far too late. Credit
Ricky Stanzi for delivering
early daggers that set the
emotional tone for this lopsided
affair.
-
Matthew
Zemek