A Tale of Three Games ...

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.