November 2008 Archives

Happy Thanksgiving all.  Hope you all are well fed and getting ready for the Texas / Texas A&M game.

This past week, I finalized the Constitution for the Graham-Cooper Cup of College Football Supremacy and sent a copy to all participants for review and approval.  You may access the proposed set of official rules and regulations here.  Please use the comment interface to voice your questions, concerns or admiration.

What a great way to end the regular season.  It took the Hawkeye offense a few possessions to get firing on all cylinders but once they did ... look out!  After settling for two Murray-kicked FGs, IOWA found a groove and followed it to the end zone - over and over and over again.  Shonn Greene was able to keep his rushing streak alive.  For those who have not been paying attention, the IOWA rusher has earned more than 100 yards each and every game this season.  Further, he took possession of the IOWA single-season rushing record with style, on a 15-yard touchdown-scoring run in the third quarter.

The defense was stellar as well.  Not only did they contribute to the score [Amari Spievey returned an interception 57 yards for a touchdown, raising the IOWA second quarter scoring total to 24] but they limited the Gophers to 134 offensive yards and zero points.  So decisive was the IOWA victory that the shockwaves it sent through the sporting community nearly cured Lou Holtz of his endearing lisp! 

Sadly, Shonn Greene will not get a shot at the Heisman trophy.  So it goes for the nation's best runner on an 8-4 team.  But on the plus side, a decent bowl should be in our future.  Here's hoping that our strong showing [on the field and in the stands] in Minneapolis will allow us to jump Northwestern and earn a spot in the Jan. 1 Outback bowl.  Who knows ... we may even crack the top 25 if we can continue to ride the wave we are on.  Currently, the Hawkeyes are circling the bottom limit of the rankings with the likes of West Virginia and Pittsburgh.  [note: these two face-off on 11/28]

 

With Texas Tech battling Oklahoma and Ohio State facing Michigan, who could have guessed that Wisconsin / Cal Poly would be one of the tightest games of the weekend?  The Mustangs of the Football Championship Subdivision [oh yeah - you read that correctly] jumped on top of the Badgers and did not surrender the lead until overtime.  Cal Poly actually scored a touchdown rather quickly in OT but missed the extra point.  Wisconsin was not so careless.  It was nice that the seniors could wrap up their last game at Camp Randall with a victory, but if you saw the way they were celebrating you would think they had just won the Rose Bowl, as opposed to squeaking by a Division 1-AA foe.

 

Speaking of roses, Penn State secured their trip to Pasadena by defeating Michigan State in a snowy game in Happy Valley.  Due to their matching records, the Nittany Lions "share" the Big10 crown with Ohio State but with the head-to-head victory going to PSU so too does the privilege to represent the conference in the January 1 game.  Just think ... if it were not for a one-point loss to IOWA, Penn State would likely be playing for a national championship.  Also interesting to note:  the sideline heaters [which according to many PSU fans were the missing key to victory in Iowa City] were present and cranked to high this last Saturday.  It seems that the hypocrisy of denying players warmth, from the climate controlled press box finally became apparent to Coach Paterno.  However, next year's Lions better invest in some long johns, for JoePa is currently recovering from his hip replacement surgery and itching to run out of the Beaver Stadium tunnel for another year or three.  Get ready for another silky smooth segue ...

 

In the land of coaches that know when to retire ... Joe Tiller ended his career at Purdue on a high note.  The Boilermakers sent their coach out with a thundering 62-10 win over intra-state rival Indiana.  I am happy to say that the departing coach supported my prior notion that he is a cool guy by throwing both fists in the air to celebrate his final Gatorade bath. 

Neither team will contribute to the conference coffers by the way of post-season play. 
But there is always next year.  Mark your calendars now ... the Old Oaken Bucket is up for grabs on 11/21/2009.

Tiller's successor should have the opportunity to ease into his new position.  Not only does Dan Hope have the benefit of taking over after a 4-8 season but the absence of Penn State and IOWA from the 2009 schedule provides an opportunity to surpass the lowered expectations, as long as the team is ready for Notre Dame.  

Indiana's outlook for the upcoming season is not so bright.  Not only are Penn State and IOWA both on the schedule but each contest is a road game for the Hoosiers.  At least Wisconsin and Ohio State are home games.  Let's not forget the Memorial Stadium expansion project ... next year Indiana will be able to lose in front of even more empty seats.

Well folks, here we are.  We knew it had to happen, couldn't be avoided but that does not make it any easier to bear.  Tomorrow marks the end of the Big10 season ... at least the regular season.  Though, I hate to use the term "regular" to describe what the last 12 weeks have given us. 

I am going to miss writing these posts almost as much as I will miss the games.  Not as much as the game wherein a hard-nosed, smash-mouth team of over achievers from IOWA knocked off a #3 ranked team from PA [the name escapes me now] but you know what I mean. 

Thank you to everyone who has checked out this site.  The visitor hit counter has just rolled past 500!  My goal for next season is to get enough traffic that I can generate some ad revenue.  I am thinking Sierra Nevada, Planters and Rotel. 

Thank you to those that contributed a comment.  I apologize for my initial censorship of a certain Ohio State supporter and I appreciate her [or his] continued support after the fact.

Thank you to my wife, Sarah.  Lady gridiron may be my muse but you are my valued proofreader, creative consultant and funny meter. 

Thank you to my biggest fan ... get ready ... this is gonna be cute ... my MOM.  Not only is she the proud owner of her first computer but she knows how to use it to get the e-mails AND the google.  Plus she thinks I'm the coolest kid in school ... and handsome.  Welcome to the nineties Mother Dearest.

The Game I Attended ...

I could have used my birthday wish to request pleasant weather for the PSU/Indiana game we attended on Saturday.  Instead, I chose to ask for the IOWA win over Penn State.  Consequently Sarah, her folks and I were forced to endure what was arguably the wettest game in the history of football.  Even so, two days later I stand by my decision.  That win gives me bragging rights for a year and my game day jeans are already dry!

OK ... it was not that bad.  For starters it was not really cold.  The rain was fairly consistent, but light, and proved to be less annoying than the girl sitting in front of us ... who apparently thought that running her mouth non-stop would keep her dry.  While the rain did cut down on some of the social interaction in the stands [it is not easy conversing with your bleacher-mates through hooded ponchos] I think it contributed to a collective sense of pride and accomplishment.  I mean, anyone can go to a game on a nice day ... we should have received merit badges for our audience participation.

As for the action on the field ... it was somewhat limited in the first half.  Perhaps more correctly stated: the effectiveness of the Indiana defense [forcing PSU to punt 3 times and fumble once on seven first half possessions] and the inefficiency of the Nittany Lion offense [the aforementioned fumble came after an interception on the Indiana 2 yard line] kept the game tight through the first two quarters.  The Penn State special teams play was pretty impressive, twice pinning the Hoosiers within their five yard line.  Paterno and crew turned things around after intermission, scoring on 50% of their second half possessions [3 TDs & one FG].  Conversely, the Hoosiers were unable to add to their first half total and were handed their eighth loss of the year 34-7.

The Game I Watched ...

After the game we got into dry clothes and cranked up the DVR to watch the IOWA/Purdue battle at Kinnick.  As we had skipped out early on the Penn State game, and avoided ESPN upon our return home, we were not aware of the final outcome.  Though it should be noted that each time a score update was announced at Beaver Stadium the Hawkeyes were ahead, which elicited BOOs from the crowd.  It is a shame that our IOWA apparel had to be covered up by raingear.

Speeding through the commercials of the recorded game, I felt awkwardly removed from the contest.  It was still satisfying to see the plays that added up to the score reports we had heard.  Again, the last one broadcasted [as we descended from our soggy perch in the south end zone] was 22-10.  As a result, things got a little intense when Purdue closed the lead to 5 five point, forced a Hawkeye turnover on downs and then marched the ball down the field in the final minutes.

In the end, as most of you knew hours earlier, the Hawkeyes were victorious!  We have now officially defeated all of our G-CC competitors and cemented our bowl hopes with a seventh win.  If we can push the record to 8-4 with a final road victory over the Golden Gophers we may be looking at a January 1 game. 

Additionally, Mitch King proved one of my favorite adages ... hair is over-rated.  The anchor of IOWA's defense, devoid of his freshly shorn blond locks, celebrated senior day [look for him on Sundays next year] by making his 43^rd consecutive start and recording five tackles [3 for loss & 1 QB sack].  On the other side of the ball, Shonn Greene did it again!  For the 11^th straight game, the IOWA back pounded out more than one hundred yards.  For the second time this season, he rushed for over 200 and established a personal best 75-yard run.

 

The Game I Did Not See ...

Bielema, Bucky and the rest of the Badgers wrapped up their conference schedule with a win over Minnesota.  I realize that I made some big guarantees about this game and it appears that the teams were not able to completely back up my claims.  The teams put on quite an exciting show [complete with 8 touchdowns and 2 Badger safeties] but could not come up with the hundred points.  Reliable sources suggest that the streaker backed out to due temperature concerns.  On the plus side, Wisconsin's comeback did garner a nomination for the Pontiac game-changing performance of the week!  Further, the win marks the fifth straight year that Paul Bunyan's ax will remain in Madison. 

It has recently come to my attention that there was more than one college football game played on Saturday.  Other teams got together and competed ... people came to watch, they had referees, cheerleaders, hot dogs, the whole deal!  Rumor has it, the games were even televised.  I know, it is hard to believe but my research suggests that it is true.

Wisconsin @ Indiana  This one was a good game, a real back-and-forth battle, at least for the first half.  After intermission the Badgers took the gloves off and relentlessly pounded on the home team to the tune of 55-20.  In my opinion, that is more than a little bit rude.  I would not be surprised if the Hoosiers do not invite Wisconsin to visit their renovated stadium next year.

Next week's outlook for Indiana is no brighter.  The Crimson and Cream travel to Happy Valley and will likely receive a spanking so severe that they look back on the Wisconsin loss with a sense of fondness.

Wisconsin plays host to Minnesota next week.  This may be a good match-up.  Not sure why I am qualifying that remark as it is total speculation.  Yeah ... check that ... this will be a great game.  I guarantee that over a hundred points will be scored and you can bank on a streaker in the fourth-quarter ... do not miss it!

Purdue @ Michigan State  This one was more of a defensive battle, or at least a lack-of-impressive offense battle.  The Spartans put up a hackneyed seven points in each of the first three quarters.  The Boilermaker D was able to break the pattern in the fourth, with an interception on their own 2 yard line.  Justin Siller spent the next nine minutes and change grinding out the 98 yards required to give his team a shut-out preventing TD.  

I was really impressed by Siller's performance in his first career start [11/1 win over Michigan].  It will be interesting to see if he gets a third chance next week [or if Curtis Painter regains control] when Purdue rolls into Iowa City.  If Siller does get the start and Stanzi is still overflowing with confidence from the PSU win, we could be in for a fun game [wind permitting].

OK, here is what I am thinking ...

1 - It is only 18 hours to Tampa [driving from State College]
2 - Outback Bowl tickets are only $70.75 [including fees]

Huh ... huh ... who is with me ?
New Years in Florida ?!

I realize that the bowl invitation has yet to be extended to the Hawkeyes.  But just think how hard the tickets will be to come by once it happens ... and conversely, how easy they will be to get rid of if IOWA gets called up to the BCS Championship game!

... how great the Hawkeyes looked from the start!  The defense set the stage for the upset by shutting down the Lions on their first possession.  Things got really exciting when Darryl Clark fumbled on third down.  I still believe that IOWA recovered that ball and if they didn't [as the refs decided] it should have been a safety as the PSU QB fell on it in the end zone.

... how supple the D was!  You heard the commentators say it over and over, "bend, don't break".  The IOWA defense only allowed one play over twenty yards.  Penn State dominated the first half, at least the time of possession portion of it, but were not able to convert long drives into touchdowns.  The Hawkeyes were able to limit PSU to a mere 289 yards of total offense.

... that it did not take a perfect outing to pull off the win!  Sure, I declared the victory on 10/30 but I imagined that the Hawks would have to play a perfect game to upset the #3 team in the nation.  While the end result was jaw-dropping, fist-pumping awesome the route to victory was far from flawless.  Stanzi turned the ball over twice ... one time by air and once via a botched center-QB exchange.  Then there were the pass interference and roughing the kicker penalties!

 ... Shonn Greene did it again!  The man, the myth, the lion-taming, yard-eating monster continued his streak.  That marks the tenth straight game that the Hawkeye back has rushed for more than 100 yards.

... that Daniel Murray was the hero!  The same Daniel Murray that broke my heart by missing a field goal in Pittsburgh, the Daniel Murray that had made only one field goal prior to last night's game winner came up big, split the uprights and secured his place in Hawkeye lore.  I could have done without the celebratory soccer slide, but what are you gonna do?

... IOWA did Penn State fans a favor!  OK ... we dashed their dreams of a perfect season and the opportunity to play in the national championship game but it is likely that we also ensured the return of JoePa.  While all his sound bites suggested otherwise, it seemed possible that the beloved coach would step away from sidelines [coaches box] after such a successful season.  Now, after the crushing defeat, it seems most certain that coach Paterno will undergo surgery to repair his ailing hip and return to lead his team into the 2009-10 campaign.

... I can't wait to go back to work on Monday!  In case you are not aware, I work at Penn State and the folks there have been counting their championship chickens since Coastal Carolina laid its egg.  I will not have to gloat ... just get comfortable and collect the apologies and congratulations.

... that I am gonna take the high road!  And I will be rewarded.  After what is shaping up to be my best week at work ever, I get to take my IOWA pride into the belly of the beast.  That's right ... I will be at Beaver stadium on Saturday for the game against Indiana, decked out in my finest [and warmest] black and gold!

... that Western Michigan beat Illinois!  Faithful readers of this blog will recall that I did not pass judgment on last week's loss to the Fighting Illini.  The Hawks may be guilty of looking past a respectable opponent but they are also now owners of a win that far outshines that defeat.  The cherry on top ... the Zook got shook by the Broncos of the Mid-American Conference ... ouch!

... IOWA is on the verge of sweeping the G-CC competition but may not win The Cup?!  This does not seem right.  Sure, PSU will have a better overall record and likely a larger number of Big10 wins but IOWA has won the head-to-head match-ups with Wisconsin, Indiana and Penn State.  Stay tuned ... we will revisit this topic after next week's game against the remaining G-CC opponent, Purdue.

No ... It's IOWA.

Excitement that is ... and likely many other things [it is cold and flu season after all] ... but I am talking about excitement.  And not just any garden-variety excitement but rather the zenith of enthusiasm ... the pinnacle of palpable, pre-game passion and pride that is college football fandemonium.  With roughly 24 hours until kickoff against Penn State this Hawkeye athletic supporter [hee hee] is boldly confident.  It is an optimism both tempered by realism and magnified by the belief that wonderful things can happen between the end zones. 

To win, the Hawkeyes will need to be perfect over all one hundred of those yards.  For the defense, few adjustments will be required, though they will be staring down this season's toughest opponent.  IOWA's special teams squads will have to work hard to shrink the field for our offense and conversely put a lot of green in front of the potent Nittany Lions when they have the ball.  Speaking of Greene, I look forward to seeing how our star back will perform in front of a student section dressed in his honor.  Can Shonn continue his 100-yard game streak against Linebacker U?  Another question to ponder ... what offensive schemes will Ferentz and O'Keefe pull from their collective sleeve to accomplish the upset?  Methinks that the status quo will not cut the mustard against Joe and his boys.  Coming off a bye week, it is likely that PSU has crammed some extra film review into their game prep and they are prepared for Slick Rick Stanzi and his now legendary play action roll-out.  On the plus side, there is also the chance that Penn State will be a little rusty and the Hawkeyes can jump on top of them in the first quarter and never look back!

All together now ... GO HAWKS!

I realize that this post is long overdue, but let's get it over with ... rip off the proverbial adhesive bandage.  IOWA was not able to pull it out in Cham-bana.  That's Liz - 1 / Blake - 0 ... and I have to live with that until 10/8/2011.

It was a rough loss but I did not let it get me down.  More importantly, I did not let it ruin my 3-day weekend.  Rather, I gave my Hawkeyes the benefit of the doubt, choosing to believe that they were caught looking past Illinois to their matchup with Penn State.  As such, when IOWA beats PSU, all will be forgiven.  If however, the Lions are somehow able to pull off the upset @ Kinnick ... I will be two weeks mad and disappointed.

Wisconsin also suffered a heart-breaking loss.  Not sure what Bielema was thinking with that time-out.  Perhaps he did not have his field goal personnel in there?  If it were me I would take a chance on the wrong lineup and a running clock.

Indiana lost again, but without the drama of the IOWA & Wisconsin games.  To their credit, the Hoosiers did put up 34 points ... unfortunately Central Michigan scored 37.  Central Michigan?!

Purdue put Michigan out of their misery with a 48-42 victory in West Lafayette.  The loss officially ends the Wolverines hopes of post-season play.  The question for the Boilermakers is ... can they build on this win, and carry the momentum on the road?  Tiller and team [who have yet to string together 2 wins this years] will be steaming [railroad pun intended] into East Lansing this weekend for a game with the 8-2 Spartans.  

Nothing to report on the idle Nittany Lions.  They remain #3 in the polls after being leap-frogged by the giant-killing Red Raiders of Texas Tech.