Brandon Wegher:

This game footage is going straight to the archives – at least for Jonathan Dwyer. 

"It leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I don't know if I will ever get it out and I will probably never watch this game," Dwyer said after Georgia Tech lost to Iowa 24-14 in the Orange Bowl on Tuesday night.

No one saw this loss coming.

The Yellow Jackets were averaging 307 yards per game on the ground, but were held to 143 in a lackluster offensive performance that only produced one touchdown all night.

Dwyer was limited to 61 yards, another flat performance against a top BCS school this season, while quarterback Josh Nesbitt was held to 64.

The Yellow Jackets didn't get a first down until the second quarter, and converted 0 of 5 third downs before halftime.

"We just never had any consistency on offense," Tech coach Paul Johnson said.

"We had a hard time blocking them inside, and it made it tough to run on the perimeter. We could never hit a big play with our passing game. It's hard to get consistency when we weren't out there much."

That was certainly the tale of the first half, when Iowa kept Tech's offense off the field for 17 minutes.

"We just shot ourselves in the foot," Dwyer said. "We weren't executing on the offensive side of the ball, and it took us a while to get it clicking. When we did, we had opportunities to score, and it just backfired on us."

Tech made it 17-4 when Anthony Allen scored early in the fourth quarter, but a Nesbitt interception and a three-and-out series on their next offensive play didn't give the Yellow Jackets another chance.

Add a 32-yard touchdown run from Brandon Wegher, and the game was over with 2:58 left in the game.

No matter.

It still gave Dwyer, a junior, much to think about this offseason.

"You work so hard to get to this point, and you put all your effort into this last game of the season and you're trying to leave your mark and try to represent the school you're playing for. I'm a competitor, I hate losing."

The good news?

This one might get Dwyer, a probable first round NFL pick, to come back.
"I don't know. I'm just taking it all in and trying to enjoy the experience of being here in a BCS bowl. That decision will happen a few weeks later. This loss may influence me to make me come back. We'll see."