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.
Leave a comment