first blog: Intro/Week One observations

Hello. My name is Brendan Stiles. For those who don't already know, I'm the Sports Editor of The Daily Iowan and a beat reporter for the Iowa football team. In my blog, I will present to you observations I make from every Saturday of college football - both what I observe in the press box covering the Hawkeyes, and other college football-related matters. There will be seven from each Hawkeye game, including the "PAT," and and eight non-Hawkeye related observations, with the last two titled "Going for Two." So with that, here's Week One.

Iowa: 46 - Maine: 3

1. Good all-around win

If anyone could have scripted a best-case scenario for the Hawkeyes on Saturday, this was good as it could get. I've always been of the school of thought, and still am, that you have nothing to gain and everything to lose playing opponents such as Maine, but there were a lot of positives for Iowa on Saturday. The offense played with balance - establishing a running game right away and getting guys involved all across the board, including the two quarterbacks. Take away a few bonehead plays and the defense played lights out, and finally, the special teams looked the best I had seen in quite some time. Overall, it was a fun game to observe from the Kinnick press box.

2. The quarterbacks

Once again, we all got to see how both Jake Christensen and Ricky Stanzi fared. I'll start with the starter Christensen. I thought he played pretty well. There were definitely moments he struggled throwing two ducks on Iowa's second drive, and an interception where he underthrew a receiver in Paul Chaney, Jr. that had Christensen gotten enough zip on the ball (from my vantage point) would've been an easy six for Iowa. It was the right read, but a poorly thrown ball. That said, in six series, Iowa scored points on five of those when he was in. Stanzi looked poised in the pocket and never seemed afraid to tuck the ball in and run with it when he felt pressure. Based on what coach Kirk Ferentz said after the game, I have to believe next week's script will be the same as Saturday's with Christensen starting and Stanzi getting some reps with the first team as well.

3. Nice to see the Hawkeyes run the ball

So much for the inexperience of running backs. If the offensive line plays more like it did Saturday than in 2007, the void left by Albert Young and Damian Sims won't be as significant as many figured it would be. Shonn Greene ran possessed out there, and both Paki O'Meara and Jewel Hampton played well when they both got game experience. All three guys scored, which is a good sign, especially with the announcement of Nate Guillory transferring to UAB earlier this week.

4. While we're talking about voids...

I was impressed with the entire defense, and most notably, the defensive line. Yeah, everyone by now knows about the two tackles - Mitch King and Matt Kroul - but considering how both Adrian Clayborn and Christian Ballard made their first career starts at the two end positions on Saturday, the two of them were especially wreaking havoc on Maine's offense. Both looked like they were getting in the backfield every 2-3 plays, and when the game was already getting out of reach, Clayborn tipped a ball that would get intercepted by linebacker Pat Angerer. With these two around, I think Iowa's defense will remain strong amongst the Big Ten for quite a while.

5. 46 being an ironic number

After the game, I asked right guard Seth Olsen about this. In 2007, the offensive line allowed 46 sacks, and at the team's media day, he along with some of the other linemen talked about how much they dreaded being reminded of that number. As it turned out, 46 was the number of points the Hawkeyes ended up scoring, and this time around, he was much happier about the number, especially since the offensive line only allowed one sack during the entire game.

6. Some dumb penalties

A lot of the players, as well as Ferentz, kept talking about how they felt Iowa still made too many mistakes that need to be corrected, which is true. While there was only one false start I can recall on the offensive line, there were a few big penalties of the 15-yard variety, including a face mask on safety Harold Dalton, and most notably, the horse-collar called on linebacker A.J. Edds just before the Black Bears scored their lone three points at the end of the first half. The defensive players admitted that those are unacceptable, and while I'm not trying to rain on the Hawkeyes' parade here because Edds was among those that played extremely well Saturday, I'm glad to see guys on the team realize that those things can be corrected and that they believe they can build off this game and become better and more well-rounded as the season progresses.

"THE PAT": Fans need to appreciate this win

Forget for a second that this was against an FCS opponent. I'll tell you right now that after standing on the field at both the spring game and the open scrimmage two weeks ago, and now after being in the press box Saturday, the Hawkeyes have made improvements. The competition was far from the best it will face, but like I said in the opening, this was about as good a performance as fans of the team could've asked for. I, for one, would be a lot more concerned if the final score was only 28-10 as opposed to 46-3. For Iowa's psyche, this was a good way to start the season, and considering that this was a game the Hawkeyes were expected to dominate, they did just that. Hopefully, this momentum will carry into the Florida International game next weekend.

Now, the rest of college football (you'll enjoy reading this)

1. Thank you, East Carolina.

For those of you who didn't see our Pregame section, my upset special this week was East Carolina beating No. 17 Virginia Tech at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. The Pirates beat Boise State in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl last year, and while Chris Johnson was drafted by the Tennessee Titans, East Carolina returned 16 starters. Also, the Pirates played the Hokies last season (that was the first game in Blacksburg after the shooting tragedy) and hung in there with a Virginia Tech team that ended up winning the ACC and playing Kansas in the Orange Bowl. Hats off to Skip Holtz and his team, but I'll be more impressed if they do it two weeks in a row with No. 8 West Virginia (another team the Pirates played well last year) coming into Greenville, N.C. next week. If East Carolina pulls this upset, the Pirates just might be a team that goes undefeated and perhaps plays in a BCS bowl. Time will only tell.

2. About USC...

WOW! I knew the Trojans would go into Charlottesville and beat Virginia on Saturday, but 52-7 wasn't what I pictured. Mark Sanchez looked phenomenal for a QB who suffered a dislocated kneecap during camp, and someone (I don't remember who) on ESPN said it best: "They looked like men playing boys out there." For those of you who still think Ohio State is going into the Coliseum and beating USC, keep in mind that Pete Carroll is going to have two weeks to prepare the Trojans for this game of epic proportions since they don't play anybody next week. Carroll, with enough time, can beat anybody. It has been proven time and time again. USC made, by far, the biggest statement this weekend and left the best impression on me playing a decent ACC squad on the road and demolishing them.

3. Speaking of Ohio State...

The Buckeyes looked dominant against Youngstown State (the final score was 43-0), and while the ballyhooed Terrelle Pryor looked real good in the time he got out there, the big story is the status of Beanie Wells, who in my opinion is THE best running back in the country. The good news for Ohio State fans is that the X-rays were negative on his foot, and unlike USC's position, the Buckeyes do have another game against Ohio at home before traveling to L.A. This could be a win-win because if Wells can go, he has a chance to test out that foot before USC's defense goes after him, and if he can't go, at least the Buckeyes are playing a team in Ohio that they should have no problems with given the amount of talent Jim Tressel has at his disposal.

4. USC's performance was second to none...

But I have to say, the second best performace on Saturday came from Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide. The freshmen he brought in made an immediate impact and the Tide fittingly rolled over No. 9 Clemson in Atlanta, 34-10. As for the game itself, what struck me was what was being said about Saban coming in real loose and relaxed, while Clemson coach Tommy Bowden seemed real uptight, because that to me explains exactly why Alabama came out firing. That wicked looking 54-yard field goal by Leigh Tiffin sucked the life out of Clemson, and aside from C.J. Spiller's kickoff return at the start of the second half, Clemson looked absolutely flat, while the Crimson Tide looked like a team that I feel is going to end up winning the SEC West, even with both LSU and Auburn currently in the Top 10. A dynasty might have been born in Atlanta Saturday night, and it's going to reside in Tuscaloosa.

5. Missouri looks good, but has chinks in the armor

As impressed as I was with Missouri in its 52-42 victory over No. 20 Illinois Saturday night in St. Louis, there's no way I feel the Tigers can beat Oklahoma in a Big XII title game. Chase Daniel had a real good outing, but did throw a pretty bad pick-6 that actually gave the Fighting Illini a lead in that game and could've broken Missouri's back completely had it not been for Jeremy Maclin returning the ensuing kickoff back for a score, which gave the Tigers a lead they wouldn't relinquish. But here's the thing - I heard a lot coming into this season about the 10 starters Missouri returned on defense and how the Tigers' D is going to be incredible (which it still might be). But giving up 42 points to Illinois doesn't say much to me about the defense being that much better because Missouri does play a team like Oklahoma down the line that has a stingy defense, it's going to be hard to rely on Daniel having to lead the offense to 45-50 points per game.

6. This script looks sort of familiar

It's safe to say that Rich Rodriguez's Michigan debut didn't turn out too well. For the second year in a row, the Wolverines lost the first game of the season in "The Big House" by two points to an opponent they historically would dominate. I commend Michigan for coming back and making a game of it there at the end, but a lot of mental miscues hurt them, and Utah looked like a pretty solid football team that could do damage in the Mountain West. I expect Michigan to bounce back against Miami (Ohio) next week, but that following game in South Bend, like many on TV have said, is going to tell us a lot about this year's Michigan.

"Going for Two": Finally, I will talk about two Texas schools in particular, Texas and Texas A&M. First, in regards to the Longhorns, an impressive victory over a pretty good Florida Atlantic team that won the Sun Belt. But the talk with this game has to do with Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger, who called Texas "soft." For as much criticism as I've had of Mack Brown over the years, he does how to get his team fired up, and the Longhorns always seem to do well when they have bulletin board material. Just ask Arizona State QB Rudy Carpenter, who paid the price for talking a lot of smack to Texas before last year's Holiday Bowl. Colt McCoy and the rest of the Longhorns' offense looked far from soft, scoring 52 points on the Owls. Next time, Schnellenberger needs to be more careful because Texas isn't like any of the teams Florida Atlantic will be playing in the Sun Belt.

Finally, Texas A&M deserves to be made fun of more than any program after this weekend. You probably didn't notice, but the Aggies lost 18-14 on Saturday at home to Arkansas State. Yes, Arkansas State. First, I went back and looked at the magazine I got from College Football News this summer previewing every FBS team. Arkansas State was No. 106 out of 119. But it's not just that with Texas A&M. This is a team that practically forced coach Dennis Franchione last year for too many inconsistent seasons and because of problems with some letter he sent to boosters, even though the guy led Texas A&M to wins over Texas the past two years and decent bowl games. Mike Sherman comes in, says there's a QB battle even though Stephen McGee has shown me he can run a good offense, says that Jorvorskie Lane can't be an adequate running back even though the guy is so big that he can simply bulldoze through defenses, and then he goes out and loses his debut to Arkansas State? This might be a long season in College Station.

I hope you enjoyed my first blog, and I will see you next time.

- Brendan Stiles