If you like fantastic finishes, the Iowa Hawkeyes have had more than their fair share in the past decade. This year alone, Iowa had several heart stopping victories in the final minutes. We take a look at the ten best games of the decade for the Hawkeyes and included in this list are the obvious choices of the 2005 Capital One Bowl, this year's win at Michigan State, the 2002 pounding of Michigan in the Big House, plus several other big wins for Iowa.

**Games are listed in chronological order**

A couple of weeks earlier Kirk Ferentz had picked up his first Big Ten win, but many still wondered if the new head coach had the right stuff to get the Iowa Football program back on top. What Ferentz needed was a signature road win early in his career and on this November day, he got it. This wasn't a great Penn State team that Iowa beat in Happy Valley, but it was a significant win none the less. Nate Kaeding had struggled early in his career; however on this day he showed the stuff that Iowa fans would come to know very well for the rest of his outstanding career with four field goals, including a season long 49 yarder. The Hawkeyes took the lead in the second overtime and then safety Ryan Hansen picked off a pass on the Nittany Lions possession to secure the victory.

This will go down as the game where Kirk Ferentz finally said that his program had turned the corner. With star running back Ladell Betts on the sidelines for all but three plays, Aaron Greving rushed for 115 yards and Norm Parker proved once again that bend but don't break can work on the defensive side of the football. While Red Raider quarterback Cliff Kingsbury threw for 309 yards, he only reached the end zone once and threw three interceptions. Nate Kaeding was once again the star of the game with four field goals, including the game winner from 47 yards out with just 44 seconds remaining.

There are plenty of games in the 2002 season that could have been highlighted, but Iowa's come from behind win against Purdue was one that the Hawkeyes probably had no business winning and yet that is exactly what they did. The Boilers rolled up over 500 yards of total offense on the Hawkeyes, but Iowa made big play after big play to pull out the heart stopping victory. You want big plays? How about Dallas Clark taking a pass for 95 yards and a score and most of it coming on his own. In the game, Iowa trailed 24-14 late in the third quarter. Special teams were huge for Iowa with Antwan Allen returning a blocked field goal 85 yards for a score and Sean Considine blocked a punt that was recovered in the end zone for a score. Oh yeah, there was also a fourth down touchdown pass from Brad Banks to Clark that gave Iowa the lead and then unheralded Adolphus Shelton intercepted a pass that bounced off Taylor Stubblefield to secure the win.

If you want to point to a moment where the entire country stood up and took notice that Iowa might be a pretty special team in 2002, it was the romp in the Big House and the victory over then #8 ranked Michigan. Brad Banks really launched his Heisman candidacy with nearly 300 yards of total offense and Jermelle Lewis came off the bench to rush for 109 yards and help Iowa blow out the Wolverines in the second half, scoring 24 unanswered points. This was about as big of a win as you will find on this list.

Some Iowa fans will remember this bowl game as the one where Ron Zook thought Nate Kaeding was a running back, but others will remember it simply a huge bowl win over a quality opponent. The Gators spent a good part of the day talking trash and Iowa was simply scoring points. After Florida grabbed an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter, Iowa scored the next 27 points, including a punt blocked and recovery in the end zone by Matt Melloy early in the third quarter that basically put this one out of reach for the Gators. Running back Fred Russell led the way with 150 yards rushing for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa's success rate against Ohio State over the years isn't great, even at Kinnick Stadium. Make no mistake, this wasn't a vintage Buckeye team, but it was a blowout win for the Hawkeyes. With virtually no healthy running backs, it was once again the Iowa defense and the magic of sophomore Drew Tate that got the job done. The Hawkeye defense, which held Ohio State to zero points until the final 2:19 of the contest, limited the Buckeyes to just 177 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, Tate was working his magic to the tune of 331 yards passing, including three TD passes and one on the ground.

Tate to Holloway. Mention those two names to any Iowa fan, even five years later and it brings a smile to their face. Drew Tate's Hail Mary pass to a streaking Warren Holloway found the mark with no time left and Iowa pulled out perhaps the most amazing finish to any game in Iowa Football history. Iowa started fast in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando and built a 24-12 lead in the early stages of the fourth quarter when LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell caught fire and scored 13 unanswered points to take the lead with just 46 seconds left. Tate then took over on the 29 yard line and drove Iowa to near midfield. The Hawkeyes probably should have called a timeout, but didn't all Tate hit Holloway for a 56 yard game winner.

The Nittany Lions arrived in Iowa City on this cold afternoon undefeated and with designs on perhaps playing for the National Title. The Hawkeyes had other ideas, pulling off the upset of the #3 Nittany Lions when Daniel Murray connected from 31 yards out with one second left. The Hawkeyes had gone through a rough stretch over the past couple of seasons losing nine straight games decided by three points or less. It didn't look good for the Hawkeyes towards the latter stages of the fourth quarter. Trailing by two points, it looked like Penn State was in the process of salting this one away when Tyler Sash picked off Daryll Clark's pass and put the Hawkeyes in business. It was Iowa's Greene Out day with students wearing green shirts to salute Shonn Greene and the Hawkeye back did not disappoint with 117 tough rushing yards and two scores.

The Hawkeyes have put together a pretty magical season in 2009 with several instances of late game heroics, but not many were bigger than Adrian Clayborn's blocked punt in the early stages of the fourth quarter that he returned for a score to give Iowa a 11-10 lead. From there, Iowa took over the game, scoring the final ten points of the day. Just as important was Iowa's mastery over Daryll Clark continued as he threw three interceptions on the day. If there is a game in 2009 that gave Iowa the confidence that they could do some special things this year, it was this one. This month the Hawkeyes landed a bid to the Orange Bowl and the people associated with the BCS game said that Iowa's head to head win over the Nittany Lions was a huge factor in their decision to pick Iowa.

Everyone expected a dogfight in East Lansing and we got it. This might have been one of the most physical games in the past ten years for the Hawkeyes with two Iowa players leaving the field after big hits. The Hawkeyes kept plugging away and staying in the game thanks to great defense. Iowa finally took a 9-6 lead in the fourth quarter on a Daniel Murray field goal. That's when the Spartans reached into their bag of tricks and burned the Hawkeyes on a gadget play and then scored their only touchdown the game to take the lead back with just 1:37 left. Ricky Stanzi may be a lot of things, but when the chips are down, he is money in the bank late in the game. On fourth and seven from the Spartans seven, Stanzi hit Marvin McNutt on a slant for the score with no time remaining and Iowa moved to 8-0 on the year.