SB Nation is doing a look back at the wacky, crazy 2007 football season (the craziest part might be that Iowa didn’t even play any football games that season how weird!). In honor of that football season, here is our contribution to the collection. You can find the rest here.

In my look through Kirk Ferentz’s tenure at Iowa, one season really stands out from the rest: 2007. On its face, they returned a bevy of skill position players on offense and a strong defense. Though Shonn Greene and Amari Spievey left on hiatus, Iowa still had things looking up with 4-star Jake Christensen poised to step in as the quarterback.

That was not the case.

Before the season began, City Boyz, Inc. sent the season off the rails. The former proprietors of the site summarized the off-field hijinks in their “great moments of the 2000s” series:

I urge you to follow the links because the pictures are worth 1000 words of straight cash, homie.

The season didn’t get much better! They played 12 straight Saturdays. It was also during a time when I was not 100% devoted to their games sine I had marching band competitions keeping me occupied during my senior year of high school.

After a wet blanket win against Northern Illinois at Soldier Field and beatdown of Syracuse, Iowa went on to score 20 points or fewer in six straight games, losing five. The only win came against a Rose Bowl-bound Illinois team: 10-6.

My most memorable moment of the 2007 season season occurred when I got my acceptance letter to Purdue on the one Saturday I could watch them play: a 31-6 loss to the Boilermakers. I remember telling my Mom: “Of course this arrived today. It’s almost like they knew.”

Backed against the wall at 3-5 with the potential of missing a bowl game for the first time since 2000, Iowa offered a glimmer of hope with an overtime win against Michigan State. Then they beat Northwestern and Minnesota. With only Western Michigan left on the schedule, another bowl berth and a salvaged season were within reach!

Just kidding.

In a performance emblematic of the season, Iowa looked lazy and disinterested as Western Michigan jumped to a 19-0 lead with the help of a Derrell Johnson-Koulianos fumble. Though Iowa got it to within 6 after their first possession of the second half, and again in the fourth quarter, they could never get over the hump. 28-19, season over.

It was the first time Iowa missed a bowl game since 2000 after going 6-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play. Mitch King, Charles Godfrey, Bryan Mattison, and Mike Humpal were voted onto various all-conference teams. Other fun stats (and one lie)!

Iowa had the 6th best defense by opponents points per game (18.8) of the Ferentz era

It was the 3rd worst offense by points per game (18.5)

2007 was one of four seasons when a Ferentz squad had a negative point differential

Kirk Ferentz was able to move decisively into 2008 by benching JC6 in the offseason

What do you remember about 2007?

*Edits were made to clarify the names in the block quote