2005 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

The 2005 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa during the 2005 college football season. The Hawkeyes played their home games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa and were coached by Kirk Ferentz.

Iowa finished the season 7–5, including a record of 5–3 in the Big Ten Conference. Despite an up-and-down season, the Hawkeyes were invited to a January bowl game in Florida for the fourth consecutive year.

Preseason
Coming off a 10-2 season that included a thrilling last second 2005 Capital One Bowl victory over LSU, expectations were high. With the return of first-team All-Big Ten quarterback Drew Tate, the Hawkeyes were considered national title contenders by some publications. Indeed, the addition of a running game (which the Hawkeyes lacked in 2004 due to injuries) was thought to make Iowa even stronger. The Hawkeyes entered the season ranked 11th, their highest preseason ranking in two decades.

Outback Bowl - University of Florida
The game ended in controversy. Iowa kicked a field goal in the 4th quarter, which brought the game to a one possession lead by Florida. Iowa attempted an onside kick, and recovered the ball. However, flags were down, with the call being offsides against Iowa, giving the ball back to Florida. However, replays clearly showed no one offsides, even being pointed out by commentators. "Challenges" were not allowed in college football at this time, so Iowa had no way of arguing the bad call. (needs citation)