Jan. 23, 2005
The game story
Photos from the game
Notes from the game
Statistics from the game
Video highlights from the game
Listen to the game
Watch Mediacom's pre-game special
Iowa Football 2005
Order your 2004 Iowa Football Instant Replay DVD
Hmm. Here's some stuff to chew on....
The New England Patriots defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday to advance to the NFL's 2005 Super Bowl.
The Patriots, coached by Bill Belichick, handed Ben Roethlisberger his first loss as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Roethlisberger's last loss as a starting quarterback occurred in Iowa City on Aug. 30, 2003 when Iowa defeated Miami (Ohio) 21-3 inside historic Kinnick Stadium. Of course, Iowa was coached that day by Kirk Ferentz, who worked for Belichick in the early 1990s when Belichick was head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
Nice.
Now, here's where it gets really interesting for fans of the Hawkeyes.
Iowa has won a share of the Big Ten Conference championship two times in the last three years. In 2002, the Hawkeyes went 8-0 in league play en route to a berth in the 2003 FedEx Orange Bowl. In 2004, the Hawkeyes posted a 7-1 league record to earn a berth in the 2005 Capital One Bowl.
2002 and 2004.
Interestingly, Belichick's New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2002 by a 20-17 score over St. Louis and again in 2004 by a 32-29 score over Carolina.
2002 and 2004.
Sure, a little "Twilight Zone-ish." Nonetheless, do you want to take a guess on who fans of the Hawkeyes will be cheering when Belichick's Patriots square off against the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 6 in Alltell Stadium in Jacksonville?
