The Hawkeyes came off a 9–4 season in 2008, including a win over South Carolina in the Outback Bowl and a 24–23 upset of Big Ten champion of Penn State.

Despite the win, Iowa's struggle against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent knocked them out of both the Associated Press and USA Today Top 25 polls until their upset of #5 Penn State at the end of the month.

The Hawkeyes fell behind early, 10–0, after a 79-yard pass from Daryll Clark to Chaz Powell on Penn State's first play from scrimmage and then a 20-play drive by the Nittany Lions that led to a Collin Wagner field goal.

[15] At year's end, it would also prove to be a selling point for choosing the Hawkeyes over the Nittany Lions for an at-large bid in the Bowl Championship Series.

Unlike Stanzi, the offense would stall, however, which allowed the Red Wolves back into the game before the first half ended, with quarterback Corey Leonard connecting with Brandon Thompkins for a score.

The Hawks would answer back in the second half, as Tyler Sash's fifth interception on the year set up a 43-yard TD pass from Stanzi to Marvin McNutt.

[18][19] The scoring began with Stanzi's third pick-six of the year, with cornerback Donovan Warren taking the intercepted pass 40 yards to give Michigan an early 7–0 lead.

The Wolverines committed five turnovers to the Hawkeyes' one, the most crucial being an interception by Brett Greenwood with 46 seconds remaining in the game to seal Iowa's 10th consecutive victory, the second-longest winning streak in the nation behind Florida.

Then, in a scene reminiscent of Iowa's effort at Penn State three weeks earlier, the Hawks rattled off 20 unanswered points, while the defense intercepted Wisconsin QB Scott Tolzien three times.

The Hoosiers looked to extend the lead to three scores when Tyler Sash somehow managed to intercept a Ben Chappell pass and take it 86 yards the other way for a touchdown.

Ricky Stanzi had perhaps his worst game as Iowa's quarterback, throwing five interceptions, four in the third quarter as the Hawkeye offense played into a strong wind from the north.

He and his team were able to recover in the fourth quarter, however, as Stanzi found Marvin McNutt for a 92-yard touchdown pass then on the next offensive play, connected with Derrell Johnson-Koulianos for a score from 66 yards out that would put Iowa up for good.

James Vandenberg would make his first start in place of injured Ricky Stanzi in this battle for the Big Ten championship and the conference's automatic bid, which would put the winner in the Rose Bowl.

Vandenberg showed remarkable poise playing such a big game in a tough environment in Columbus, completing 20 of his 33 passes for two touchdowns, including the game-tying score to Marvin McNutt with 2:42 left in regulation.

Derrell Johnson-Koulianos also helped in the Hawks' comeback with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown after Ohio State extended its lead to 24–10 on a 49-yard Brandon Saine run following a Vandenberg interception.

After a Marvin McNutt fumble on the game's opening drive led to good field position for the Yellow Jackets' dangerous triple-option attack, the Iowa defense was able to force a 3-and-out.