Who plans a wedding on the first Saturday of the college football season ? Chris Daly - that's who! Hockey fans ... what are you gonna do ? I can tell you what this guy did. I contacted the DC area alumni club. Soon after, Sarah and I celebrated the kickoff at Kinnick from the Crystal City Sports Pub [good nacho dip but expensive pitchers] in beautiful Arlington, Virginia. After just a few steps through the front door a member of the wait staff assessed our black & gold attire and sent us down the stairs to the Iowa area. It was a nice turnout. Better organized than the LA group we used to associate with [even if the raffle was a bit suspect].
As for the game ... what a contest [or lack thereof]! The Hawkeyes did not let down the Iowa faithful - wiping the floor with the Maine squad, as expected. Both quarterbacks [Christensen & Stanzi] had good showings, combining for 9 completions on 16 attempts and only one interception. The ground attack was equally solid. The Hawkeye backs totaled 245 yards, gaining an average 5.6 yards per rush. Running Back Shonn [not a typo] Greene notched a career high 22 carries for 109 yards and one TD. Only one yellow flag was thrown at the Hawks. Bring it on Florida International!
Penn State put on a similar show for the masses in Beaver Stadium [even if they did give up a touchdown]. Again, like Iowa - PSU put multiple QBs on the field, who in turn, put many a ball into their receivers hands. 260 passing yards came on 19 completions and 26 attempts [zero interceptions]. The Lions averaged 8.6 yards per play and recorded darn near six hundred yards of total offense. We will have to wait and see if they saved any scoring magic for next week when the Oregon State Beavers come to town.
The Indiana Hoosiers gave hope to the Western Kentucky program by only drubbing them by a score of 31 to 13. To give credit where credit is due ... my statistical research suggests that the game was a shutout in IU's favor at halftime. The crimson and cream took care of business on the ground - with 297 of their 450 total offensive yards by way of the run. 185 of those yards were earned by QB Kellen Lewis. Murray State comes to Bloomington this week for a nighttime battle - 7pm EST / Big10 Network. Check your local listings.
Wisconsin was the most generous team this weekend - allowing the Akron Zips to amass 17 points. Like Indiana, the Badgers lit up the turf: 404 rushing yards - 211 of which belong to PJ Hill. Unlike Indiana, the Badgers were barely holding onto a seven point lead at the half. Must have been an exciting second half. I don't know ... I was watching the Hawkeyes. The Marshall Herd make the trip to Madison next week to take on the turnover happy Wisconsin team.
Outside of the G-C Cup race, Big10 counterparts Michigan, Illinois and Michigan State racked up early season losses. It should also be noted that the Coastal Carolina massacre was JoePa's 373rd victory [tied with Bobby Bowden].
In conclusion, it is too early to talk much about rankings. Let's get into conference play first. As it stands now ... Indiana is on top of the conference standings [due to alphabetical ranking of the 1-0 teams]. Wisconsin is holding on to the number 11 spot on the AP top 25, with PSU sitting strong at 19.
As for the game ... what a contest [or lack thereof]! The Hawkeyes did not let down the Iowa faithful - wiping the floor with the Maine squad, as expected. Both quarterbacks [Christensen & Stanzi] had good showings, combining for 9 completions on 16 attempts and only one interception. The ground attack was equally solid. The Hawkeye backs totaled 245 yards, gaining an average 5.6 yards per rush. Running Back Shonn [not a typo] Greene notched a career high 22 carries for 109 yards and one TD. Only one yellow flag was thrown at the Hawks. Bring it on Florida International!
Penn State put on a similar show for the masses in Beaver Stadium [even if they did give up a touchdown]. Again, like Iowa - PSU put multiple QBs on the field, who in turn, put many a ball into their receivers hands. 260 passing yards came on 19 completions and 26 attempts [zero interceptions]. The Lions averaged 8.6 yards per play and recorded darn near six hundred yards of total offense. We will have to wait and see if they saved any scoring magic for next week when the Oregon State Beavers come to town.
The Indiana Hoosiers gave hope to the Western Kentucky program by only drubbing them by a score of 31 to 13. To give credit where credit is due ... my statistical research suggests that the game was a shutout in IU's favor at halftime. The crimson and cream took care of business on the ground - with 297 of their 450 total offensive yards by way of the run. 185 of those yards were earned by QB Kellen Lewis. Murray State comes to Bloomington this week for a nighttime battle - 7pm EST / Big10 Network. Check your local listings.
Wisconsin was the most generous team this weekend - allowing the Akron Zips to amass 17 points. Like Indiana, the Badgers lit up the turf: 404 rushing yards - 211 of which belong to PJ Hill. Unlike Indiana, the Badgers were barely holding onto a seven point lead at the half. Must have been an exciting second half. I don't know ... I was watching the Hawkeyes. The Marshall Herd make the trip to Madison next week to take on the turnover happy Wisconsin team.
Outside of the G-C Cup race, Big10 counterparts Michigan, Illinois and Michigan State racked up early season losses. It should also be noted that the Coastal Carolina massacre was JoePa's 373rd victory [tied with Bobby Bowden].
In conclusion, it is too early to talk much about rankings. Let's get into conference play first. As it stands now ... Indiana is on top of the conference standings [due to alphabetical ranking of the 1-0 teams]. Wisconsin is holding on to the number 11 spot on the AP top 25, with PSU sitting strong at 19.
Blake - I love the new website and will be a frequent visitor....I am a little sad that I sent you ALL of those wonderful Badger pictures and only got ONE posted....I only hope it is due to lack of time....
Hey Julie - Just count yourself lucky that he did not censor your post. Amy and I have had our creativity stifled by his Tipper-Gore-ish editing.
Fun site, Blake.....hope springs eternal for us Hoosiers fans.....maybe we'll have 2 after this weekend (and then beating PU could make the season complete!!!) We are the MUSIC school, you know......with a basketball season most years (as the coaching drama continues).
I guess the Badgers just felt like the Thundering Herd Needed a 14 point head start...