Sorry For The Delay ...

It has been a busy week in my world ... darn work encroaching on my social networking time.  Another reason that I have been absent from these pages lately is the fact that I have just unclenched from game one ...

The Hawkeyes have not lost to the Panthers of Northern Iowa since their first clash in 1898.  This Saturday they came uncomfortably close to breaking that streak.  Fortunately the IOWA special teams came through with TWO last second field goal blocks to preserve that precious lead.  As expected, the Jewel Hampton-less running game got off to a sputtering start.  On the plus side ... it was nice to see the new guys can take some hits and hold on to the ball.  Paul Chaney Jr. had some Kinnick crowd pleasing big plays. 

With the exception of Illinois, the rest of the Big10 conference managed to win their first games as well.  Indiana went first, opening the season on Thursday night with a win over Eastern Kentucky.  Not sure if the Big10 network picked up this game.  We were at a sports bar that was broadcasting the South Carolina snoozefest.  Along these lines ... I fell asleep before the Boise State/Oregon game got exciting.  Truthfully I did not watch as much college football as I should have.  I hope to remedy that this weekend.

Speaking of losing interest in games ... after the Wisconsin Badgers scored on their first play from scrimmage I quickly gave up hope that the contest would provide much drama.  Likewise, the Nittany Lions quickly pounced on the Akron Zips in a one-sided affair in Happy Valley.  The victory [and the losses of the Oklahoma, etc.] propelled Penn State to #5 in the USA Today poll.  That being said ... Purdue gets the gold star for the week.  The boilermakers put up 52 points in their whipping of Toledo.

Tomorrow the Hawkeyes play their first road game in Ames ... here's hoping that this week the win is less of a nail-biter and we can keep the Cy-Hawk trophy in Iowa City.  Sticking with the theme of potentially disastrous road trips ... Purdue heads to Oregon to battle the agitated ducks.

The undefeated Indiana Hoosiers take on Western Michigan in a game that will be broadcast on the Big10 network.  PSU hosts the Orangemen of Syracuse and Wisconsin welcomes Fresno State to Camp Randall

On the fringes of the G-CC [hi Amy] ... the Ohio State Buckeyes face off against USC in Columbus.  Let's hope that this game lives up to the hype.  Go Big Ten !