Iowa-Georgia Tech: Hawkeye Defense Tailor-Made for Success in FedEx Orange Bowl

When Georgia Tech learned that they'd be facing Iowa in the FedEx Orange Bowl, I can't help but wonder if their reaction was: "Anyone but them."  Iowa is just about the last team Georgia Tech needed to draw for an opponent on one of the biggest stages of the bowl season.

When asked about Georgia Tech, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz was very respectful saying, "I can't imagine trying to get ready for them in a normal week."  What he didn't elaborate on was what defensive coordinator Norm Parker thought .  Parker is as good as they get at preparing his defense for an opponent and he's had plenty of time to figure it out.

So, how do you defeat the nation's only true triple-option attack?  "It’s about getting off blocks and playing the ball and reading your keys and playing football."  It takes quick linebackers, a mobile line, and players that are disciplined enough to stick to their assignments no matter what. 

Enter AJ Edds, Pat Angerer, Jeremiah Hunter, Adrian Clayborn, Tyler Sash, and the rest of the Iowa Hawkeye defense.  If anyone was ever made to defend the triple option, these guys are it.

Remember Adrian Clayborn chasing down Arizona's Nic Grigsby for a loss on the opposite side of the field?  That play may have best displayed the speed that Iowa truly possesses.  Pick about any game on the Hawkeye's schedule and you can see Pat Angerer, AJ Edds, and Jeremiah Hunter chasing down plays all over the field.  If we're talking speed and mobility, Iowa can hang.

Speed isn't the only measuring stick, though.  Discipline is as important, if not more so, than just how fast the players can run.  This is probably Iowa's strongest attribute.  There's nothing sexy about the Hawkeye defensive attack.  They don't blitz, use a lot of fancy schemes (they use a basic 4-3 and often employ a cover-2 zone), or try to confuse anyone with a lot of stunts.  Iowa just comes straight at their opponent and dares them to get by. 

Norm Parker doesn't believe in getting too fancy.  His style has always been about being very good at the basics and staying in your lane.

It's been a formula for success all season long—particularly since their offense has been so inconsistent.  Against the run, Iowa is ranked 30th in the nation, but they're ninth in scoring defense and eighth in touchdowns allowed off the run. 

While they haven't faced any true option teams in a few years, they held their own against teams with running quarterbacks and fast halfbacks.  Against Penn State, the Hawks held Daryl Clark to just 19 yards rushing and kept RB Evan Royster to only 69 yards.  Against Ohio State, they held Terrell Pryor to only 29 yards, though they did give up 103 to Brandon Saine.  Northwestern's QB Mike Kafka was held to minus-12 yards and Scott Concannon managed only 59.

Consider that Georgia Tech has lost two games this year.  The first was against a Miami team that brought a quick, mobile defense and the other was against Georgia who had two weeks to prepare.  Iowa's defense is just as fast as Miami's and they've had six-plus weeks to prepare. 

There are a lot of reasons to doubt Iowa's ability to beat the Yellow Jackets.  There are a slew of running backs to contend with.  There's a quarterback who runs the option as well as anyone in the country.  There are also Iowa's troubles in BCS-caliber games over the last five decades (their last BCS win was in 1959 when they won the Rose Bowl).  Let's not even get started on Iowa's offensive woes.

If anyone can negate the Georgia Tech option, though, it's the Hawkeye defense.  They were tailor-made just for this kind of game.