The two big stories of the Orange Bowl were Iowa's absolutely dominating defense led by Clayborn and the rust-free return of quarterback Ricky Stanzi. Overlooked was another fantastic performance by Tony Moeaki.
Moeaki finished the game with 4 receptions for a team high 85 yards (DJK, McNutt, and Sandeman also had 4 catches each). He was on the receiving end of the longest play of a game...a 54-yard catch and run off of play-action that set up the touchdown giving Iowa an early 7-0 lead. Moeaki also had another big catch that gained 23 yards on 2nd and 20 in the third quarter. The play was a huge momentum swinger as the Hawks had just been flagged for holding and it looked like Georgia Tech would get the ball back just when the offense was starting to click. Instead Moeaki made a fantastic catch and Iowa finished the drive with a field goal that turned out to be the game winning score.
Of course, Moeaki did a lot more than just catch the ball though. On Tuesday night he did an absolutely great job of sealing the edge blocking on many run plays. He also acted as the lead blocker motioning from his TE spot to more of a fullback position.
Moeaki finished his career at Iowa with many ups and downs that have been well chronicled. He has been injured in about every way possible and it seems like he's sat out more games than he's played. But, his presence as a de facto 3rd offensive tackle of running plays will be missed, especially with the departure of Bulaga, Richardson, Calloway, and Eubanks. His sure hands on 3rd down will not easily be replaced. He was truly a great TE and at the end of the day he had a fine career at Iowa and one good enough that he should be playing somewhere on Sundays next year.