I'm not going to harp too much on some of the other games this week, but I have these thoughts:
Upset special: Call me crazy, but I have Michigan upsetting Wisconsin in The Big House tomorrow. I know WIsconsin's ranked ninth, and Michigan just got their you-know-whats handed to them by Notre Dame, but the fact is - the Badgers always seem to struggle any time they play Michigan in Ann Arbor. If this game was in Madison, I'd be picking Wisconsin without hesitation. But something tells me you're going to see an inspired Michigan team after two weeks to recover from the debacle in South Bend.
Back in Black: Georgia is wearing those awesome looking black jerseys against Alabama. Chalk that up as a win for the Bulldogs in Round 1 of 2 against the Crimson Tide this year.
White Out: Penn State beats Illinois. No questions asked. At Beaver Stadium, with the "White Out," and it's a payback game for the Nittany Lions. Not to mention Penn State looks like a legit title contender while the Fighting Illini have had some struggles thus far in 2008.
Bo knows: Take Nebraska going away against Virginia Tech tomorrow night. If you recall last year, when LSU manhandled the Hokies, Bo Pelini, now the Huskers head coach, was LSU's defensive coordinator. Meanwhile, the Hokies' offense hasn't really changed much from last year. Nebraska might not win 41-7, but with this game in Lincoln, I see blowout written all over this one.
other Big Ten: The three other games featuring Big Ten teams (this excludes Iowa, who I have winning 24-21 tomorrow over Northwestern) are Minnesota-Ohio State, Michigan State-Indiana, and Purdue-Notre Dame. I see the Boilers leaving South Bend with a victory over the Fighting Irish, Michigan State should have no problems with IU, and Ohio State will hand Minnesota its first loss of 2008.
I'll be back to discuss more after this weekend.
- Brendan
Friday, September 26, 2008
In response to what's assigned
Like I've said in multiple posts, including the one I wrote earlier, the two best teams in the country are the Georgia Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners.
Now, I can see Georgia losing in Death Valley against LSU, but I see the 'Dawgs beating Florida again, and just like tomorrow night, I believe they're going to beat Alabama twice this season - Saturday night in Athens, and on Dec. 6 in Atlanta at the SEC Championship Game.
As for OU, I don't see the Sooners losing any game on their schedule, and if they meet Missouri again for the Big XII title, I see a repeat of what happened last year with the better defense prevailing.
BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Georgia vs. Oklahoma
ROSE BOWL: Penn State vs. USC
USC still might lose a second game, but the Trojans remain the cream of the crop in the Pac-10. Meanwhile, I have Ohio State winning the Big Ten, but since no one wants that ugly rematch I mentioned before, I see Penn State getting this bid. This would certainly be interesting because while USC has had success against the Big Ten during Pete Carroll's tenure, the Nittany Lions are the one Big Ten team that has lately shown up in bowl games, winning their last three of them over Texas A&M in the Alamo, Tennessee in the Outback, and Florida State in the Orange. This would be a fun game to watch.
ORANGE BOWL: BYU vs. Clemson
To me, Clemson is still the best the ACC has to offer, and the Tigers will dominate conference play (although Wake Forest is legit as well). Keep in mind that both the Tigers and Demon Deacons are in the same division, which is a shame this year, so whoever wins that game on Oct. 9 (Again, I think Clemson wins) is going to have an easier opponent in the ACC Championship Game, probably Virginia Tech. As for the Cougars, I've been proclaiming them this year's version of 2007 Hawaii and 2006 Boise State. BYU is better than that Utah team that only beat Michigan by two points, and if they're undefeated at season's end, it's the Orange Bowl's turn to get the BCS Buster. I can imagine the people in South Beach hope I'm wrong, otherwise all the clubs will be filled with orange and purple around New Year's.
SUGAR BOWL: Florida vs. South Florida
The only game I see Florida losing is that game with Georgia on Nov. 1, and with the Bulldogs in the national championship, the Sugar Bowl spot held by the SEC goes to the Gators. As for USF, I'm convinced now that they're the Big East's best to offer (West Virginia's making my preseason prediction look real bad right now), and this proposed match-up would have everyone ecstatic, especially since last year's Sugar Bowl between Hawaii and Georgia was a clunker. This game would have all the intrigue everyone looks for during bowl season.
FIESTA BOWL: Missouri vs. Ohio State
With OU in the national title, Mizzou gets the Big 12 selection for the Fiesta Bowl, making up for last year's joke. Meanwhile, I got to put Ohio State here because even though I like the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten, which would give them a Rose Bowl bid, if Penn State remains high enough in the rankings, I could see everyone wanting to avoid a rematch of the Buckeyes and Trojans, plus everyone knows Ohio State fans travel well to Arizona. They've only been there, what, four times since Jim Tressel took over for John Cooper?
Now, I can see Georgia losing in Death Valley against LSU, but I see the 'Dawgs beating Florida again, and just like tomorrow night, I believe they're going to beat Alabama twice this season - Saturday night in Athens, and on Dec. 6 in Atlanta at the SEC Championship Game.
As for OU, I don't see the Sooners losing any game on their schedule, and if they meet Missouri again for the Big XII title, I see a repeat of what happened last year with the better defense prevailing.
BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Georgia vs. Oklahoma
ROSE BOWL: Penn State vs. USC
USC still might lose a second game, but the Trojans remain the cream of the crop in the Pac-10. Meanwhile, I have Ohio State winning the Big Ten, but since no one wants that ugly rematch I mentioned before, I see Penn State getting this bid. This would certainly be interesting because while USC has had success against the Big Ten during Pete Carroll's tenure, the Nittany Lions are the one Big Ten team that has lately shown up in bowl games, winning their last three of them over Texas A&M in the Alamo, Tennessee in the Outback, and Florida State in the Orange. This would be a fun game to watch.
ORANGE BOWL: BYU vs. Clemson
To me, Clemson is still the best the ACC has to offer, and the Tigers will dominate conference play (although Wake Forest is legit as well). Keep in mind that both the Tigers and Demon Deacons are in the same division, which is a shame this year, so whoever wins that game on Oct. 9 (Again, I think Clemson wins) is going to have an easier opponent in the ACC Championship Game, probably Virginia Tech. As for the Cougars, I've been proclaiming them this year's version of 2007 Hawaii and 2006 Boise State. BYU is better than that Utah team that only beat Michigan by two points, and if they're undefeated at season's end, it's the Orange Bowl's turn to get the BCS Buster. I can imagine the people in South Beach hope I'm wrong, otherwise all the clubs will be filled with orange and purple around New Year's.
SUGAR BOWL: Florida vs. South Florida
The only game I see Florida losing is that game with Georgia on Nov. 1, and with the Bulldogs in the national championship, the Sugar Bowl spot held by the SEC goes to the Gators. As for USF, I'm convinced now that they're the Big East's best to offer (West Virginia's making my preseason prediction look real bad right now), and this proposed match-up would have everyone ecstatic, especially since last year's Sugar Bowl between Hawaii and Georgia was a clunker. This game would have all the intrigue everyone looks for during bowl season.
FIESTA BOWL: Missouri vs. Ohio State
With OU in the national title, Mizzou gets the Big 12 selection for the Fiesta Bowl, making up for last year's joke. Meanwhile, I got to put Ohio State here because even though I like the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten, which would give them a Rose Bowl bid, if Penn State remains high enough in the rankings, I could see everyone wanting to avoid a rematch of the Buckeyes and Trojans, plus everyone knows Ohio State fans travel well to Arizona. They've only been there, what, four times since Jim Tressel took over for John Cooper?
Iowa vs. Northwestern pre-game thoughts
Maybe last week's game at Pitt wasn't considered by many to be a must-win.
As someone who played football from junior high up to my sophomore year of high school, there are two sayings I think are stupid - "must-wins" and "moral victories."
If you're an athlete and you don't view every game as a must-win, no matter who you're competing against, then you shouldn't be an athlete. Who cares if Pitt's from the Big East? I would certainly hope everyone on the Hawkeyes was playing to win last week. That's why one of my all-time favorite quotes is from Herm Edwards when he said "You play to win the game." That should always be a mindset. Every game is a must-win.
As for the moral victories, there's no such thing. Sure, you can learn from losing and find some positives from a loss, but if you come out a loser, your immediate reaction isn't, 'Well, we kept their running back under 100 yards, or we didn't give up any touchdowns through the air, or we fought valiantly in the second half,' all of which Iowa did last week. No, when you lose, you're ticked that your opponent beat you. You don't care about anything else because that loss is driving you insane. I asked a couple of players afterwards how they felt about losing in the fashion they did as opposed to an alternative way, and both guys gave me answers the athlete in me was hoping they'd say - A loss is a loss, and no matter the margin, it hurts.
Now I'm not trying to contradict here when I say this because like I said earlier, every game should be considered a must-win. But if the Hawkeyes are going to have a good 2008 and end up in a decent enough bowl game, they need to jump out right away and just take Northwestern to the woodshed. Iowa cannot afford to lose this game.
Forget the fact it's Homecoming. Forget the fact that Kirk Ferentz has been heavily criticized this past week about his "gut feeling." Forget about the QB deal. Forget that this is the first conference game.
We in the media have a tendency to always look ahead while the teams we cover strictly focus on the here and now. If you look at Iowa's upcoming schedule, the next two games are on the road in the Big Ten against a darn good Michigan State team, and an Indiana squad that has given the Hawkeyes fits the last two years. If Iowa enters that road stretch on a two-game losing streak and at 0-1 in the Big Ten, things have the potential to flatout go downhill.
Northwestern is not going to be a cupcake, even though the Wildcats have played a bigger cupcake non-conference schedule than Iowa. Right now, there's so much parody in the Big Ten that all 11 teams - yes, this includes Michigan - have the potential to be bowl-eligible. Everyone except Minnesota last year was, and this season, the Gophers are already 4-0.
These games are going to matter more than ever, and you could make the argument that if this is an easy game, it's the easiest one Iowa has. After those two road games, you have Wisconsin, who at the moment is a Top 10 team, at Illinois, Penn State and Purdue both come to Kinnick and both are legit - especially Penn State - and then that last game at Minnesota.
If the Hawkeyes win tomorrow, some of these games are going to appear easier, and the amazing thing about Iowa this season is that I believe they're capable of winning every game left on their schedule. That said, I can just as easily see the Hawkeyes LOSING every game left. That's how close the Big Ten really is right now. Just about every conference game is going to feel unpredictable.
This is just one of the biggest reasons as to why the Hawkeyes need to win on Saturday.
- Brendan
As someone who played football from junior high up to my sophomore year of high school, there are two sayings I think are stupid - "must-wins" and "moral victories."
If you're an athlete and you don't view every game as a must-win, no matter who you're competing against, then you shouldn't be an athlete. Who cares if Pitt's from the Big East? I would certainly hope everyone on the Hawkeyes was playing to win last week. That's why one of my all-time favorite quotes is from Herm Edwards when he said "You play to win the game." That should always be a mindset. Every game is a must-win.
As for the moral victories, there's no such thing. Sure, you can learn from losing and find some positives from a loss, but if you come out a loser, your immediate reaction isn't, 'Well, we kept their running back under 100 yards, or we didn't give up any touchdowns through the air, or we fought valiantly in the second half,' all of which Iowa did last week. No, when you lose, you're ticked that your opponent beat you. You don't care about anything else because that loss is driving you insane. I asked a couple of players afterwards how they felt about losing in the fashion they did as opposed to an alternative way, and both guys gave me answers the athlete in me was hoping they'd say - A loss is a loss, and no matter the margin, it hurts.
Now I'm not trying to contradict here when I say this because like I said earlier, every game should be considered a must-win. But if the Hawkeyes are going to have a good 2008 and end up in a decent enough bowl game, they need to jump out right away and just take Northwestern to the woodshed. Iowa cannot afford to lose this game.
Forget the fact it's Homecoming. Forget the fact that Kirk Ferentz has been heavily criticized this past week about his "gut feeling." Forget about the QB deal. Forget that this is the first conference game.
We in the media have a tendency to always look ahead while the teams we cover strictly focus on the here and now. If you look at Iowa's upcoming schedule, the next two games are on the road in the Big Ten against a darn good Michigan State team, and an Indiana squad that has given the Hawkeyes fits the last two years. If Iowa enters that road stretch on a two-game losing streak and at 0-1 in the Big Ten, things have the potential to flatout go downhill.
Northwestern is not going to be a cupcake, even though the Wildcats have played a bigger cupcake non-conference schedule than Iowa. Right now, there's so much parody in the Big Ten that all 11 teams - yes, this includes Michigan - have the potential to be bowl-eligible. Everyone except Minnesota last year was, and this season, the Gophers are already 4-0.
These games are going to matter more than ever, and you could make the argument that if this is an easy game, it's the easiest one Iowa has. After those two road games, you have Wisconsin, who at the moment is a Top 10 team, at Illinois, Penn State and Purdue both come to Kinnick and both are legit - especially Penn State - and then that last game at Minnesota.
If the Hawkeyes win tomorrow, some of these games are going to appear easier, and the amazing thing about Iowa this season is that I believe they're capable of winning every game left on their schedule. That said, I can just as easily see the Hawkeyes LOSING every game left. That's how close the Big Ten really is right now. Just about every conference game is going to feel unpredictable.
This is just one of the biggest reasons as to why the Hawkeyes need to win on Saturday.
- Brendan
Sooner than expected
Right before the USC-Ohio State game, I made the comment that I believed neither the Trojans nor Buckeyes would run the table after winning that game.
To no one's surprise, everyone began to jump on the USC bandwagon and buy into Mark May's talk about the Trojans being the greatest thing since sliced bread. After that 35-3 beatdown of Ohio State, USC was the bully of college football.
Some bully.
USC's loss to Oregon State last night came exactly one month BEFORE the date I had circled as when I thought the Trojans would be conquered by an inferior Pac-10 opponent, so as far as I'm concerned, this loss came ahead of schedule.
First, you got to give credit where credit's due to the Beavers. Just like in 2006, Oregon State jumped out to a big enough lead that USC would simply run out of time to catch up. That's the key to beating a team like the Trojans. You have to establish your gameplan early and often because as I've said before, Pete Carroll might be the best coach in all of college football in terms of making halftime adjustments, something that the Trojans did do. At the start of the third quarter, USC came out full of energy that was missing in the entire first half.
By the way, I love how Oregon State went for the touchdown right before the half, contrary to what Chris Fowler, Craig James, and Jesse Palmer were all saying. Granted, that TD should've been picked off, possibly a pick-six, but nonetheless, I love how they had the guts to stick it to USC, and luckily for them, they did.
Now here's the bigger question from a Big Ten perspective: Is Penn State better than we all think, or is Ohio State highly overrated? The Nittany Lions clobbered Oregon State earlier this month, and we all know what happened to the Buckeyes. But it brings up an interesting topic of discussion. This is something I'd like to see people chime opinions on if they so desire.
For now, though, I'm sticking to my guns about Georgia and Oklahoma being the two best teams in the country and how I think they're BOTH destined for Miami on Jan. 8. As for USC, let's just hope someone other than Ohio State wins the Big Ten, otherwise, it could be another bad Rose Bowl this year.
- Brendan
To no one's surprise, everyone began to jump on the USC bandwagon and buy into Mark May's talk about the Trojans being the greatest thing since sliced bread. After that 35-3 beatdown of Ohio State, USC was the bully of college football.
Some bully.
USC's loss to Oregon State last night came exactly one month BEFORE the date I had circled as when I thought the Trojans would be conquered by an inferior Pac-10 opponent, so as far as I'm concerned, this loss came ahead of schedule.
First, you got to give credit where credit's due to the Beavers. Just like in 2006, Oregon State jumped out to a big enough lead that USC would simply run out of time to catch up. That's the key to beating a team like the Trojans. You have to establish your gameplan early and often because as I've said before, Pete Carroll might be the best coach in all of college football in terms of making halftime adjustments, something that the Trojans did do. At the start of the third quarter, USC came out full of energy that was missing in the entire first half.
By the way, I love how Oregon State went for the touchdown right before the half, contrary to what Chris Fowler, Craig James, and Jesse Palmer were all saying. Granted, that TD should've been picked off, possibly a pick-six, but nonetheless, I love how they had the guts to stick it to USC, and luckily for them, they did.
Now here's the bigger question from a Big Ten perspective: Is Penn State better than we all think, or is Ohio State highly overrated? The Nittany Lions clobbered Oregon State earlier this month, and we all know what happened to the Buckeyes. But it brings up an interesting topic of discussion. This is something I'd like to see people chime opinions on if they so desire.
For now, though, I'm sticking to my guns about Georgia and Oklahoma being the two best teams in the country and how I think they're BOTH destined for Miami on Jan. 8. As for USC, let's just hope someone other than Ohio State wins the Big Ten, otherwise, it could be another bad Rose Bowl this year.
- Brendan
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
My 10 Most Memorable Sports Moments
I wasn't sure exactly what was in mind, so I decided to countdown 10 of the most memorable sports moments for me personally over the past decade. Too bad this can only be between Sept. 1998 and now, otherwise I would automatically list off six Chicago Bulls championships during my childhood. But I digress...
10. North Carolina winning the 2005 national title in college hoops.
- Never had I felt more vindicated about a prediction in my lifetime.
9. The 2001 Chicago Bears' season.
- It ended wrong unfortunately with a playoff loss to the Eagles, but the wins over the 49ers and Browns that year were incredible, as well as the fake field goal touchdown to Urlacher against Washington, or Martin Gramatica's kick hitting the upright, or Keith Traylor's interception.
8. Cubs winning the 1998 Wild Card.
- I thought they blew it for sure after choking a lead against Milwaukee (damn you, Brant Brown), but the playoff victory over San Francisco capped off a fun summer.
7. My first White Sox game.
- Against Cleveland in 1998, Robin Ventura hit a walk-off home run at old Comiskey Park on the very first pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning.
6. Cubs beat Cards in 14
- This was in 2006 at the new Busch Stadium, with the Cubs scoring two in the ninth on a Scott Rolen error, and then Juan Pierre scored the winning run in the top of the 14th.
5. Cubs beat Cards in 11
- This was last August, the game where Jim Edmonds hit two solo shots for the Cubs, and then Henry Blanco came through with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th.
4. Iowa winning four games in four days at the Big Ten Tournament
- I was in Chicago from start to finish with my dad back in 2001 when the Hawkeye basketball team pulled off one of the most miraculous four days stretches I've ever seen in sports.
3. White Sox winning the 2005 World Series.
- October 2005 was one of the best months of my life.
2. Devin Hester's opening kickoff in the Super Bowl
- The only reason this isn't No. 1 is because the Indianapolis Colts prevented me from referring to Feb. 4, 2007 as the happiest day of my entire life after the first 11 minutes of Super Bowl XLI.
1. Iowa: 30 LSU: 25
- I was at this game when Warren Holloway caught his first career touchdown reception, which just happened to be on the final play of the 2005 Capital One Bowl that resulted in Iowa downing the defending BCS national champions from the year before.
Hope these bring back good memories for some of you all as well.
- Brendan
10. North Carolina winning the 2005 national title in college hoops.
- Never had I felt more vindicated about a prediction in my lifetime.
9. The 2001 Chicago Bears' season.
- It ended wrong unfortunately with a playoff loss to the Eagles, but the wins over the 49ers and Browns that year were incredible, as well as the fake field goal touchdown to Urlacher against Washington, or Martin Gramatica's kick hitting the upright, or Keith Traylor's interception.
8. Cubs winning the 1998 Wild Card.
- I thought they blew it for sure after choking a lead against Milwaukee (damn you, Brant Brown), but the playoff victory over San Francisco capped off a fun summer.
7. My first White Sox game.
- Against Cleveland in 1998, Robin Ventura hit a walk-off home run at old Comiskey Park on the very first pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning.
6. Cubs beat Cards in 14
- This was in 2006 at the new Busch Stadium, with the Cubs scoring two in the ninth on a Scott Rolen error, and then Juan Pierre scored the winning run in the top of the 14th.
5. Cubs beat Cards in 11
- This was last August, the game where Jim Edmonds hit two solo shots for the Cubs, and then Henry Blanco came through with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th.
4. Iowa winning four games in four days at the Big Ten Tournament
- I was in Chicago from start to finish with my dad back in 2001 when the Hawkeye basketball team pulled off one of the most miraculous four days stretches I've ever seen in sports.
3. White Sox winning the 2005 World Series.
- October 2005 was one of the best months of my life.
2. Devin Hester's opening kickoff in the Super Bowl
- The only reason this isn't No. 1 is because the Indianapolis Colts prevented me from referring to Feb. 4, 2007 as the happiest day of my entire life after the first 11 minutes of Super Bowl XLI.
1. Iowa: 30 LSU: 25
- I was at this game when Warren Holloway caught his first career touchdown reception, which just happened to be on the final play of the 2005 Capital One Bowl that resulted in Iowa downing the defending BCS national champions from the year before.
Hope these bring back good memories for some of you all as well.
- Brendan
Friday, September 12, 2008
looking at Week Three
First off, it's a shame that Hurricane Ike is hitting the U.S. right now, because Arkansas vs. Texas was a game I was kind of looking forward to.
Obviously, all the hoopla is going to surround L.A. tomorrow, and it should. With two Top Five teams playing one another, it should be fun to watch (I'm glad I'll be able to). I'm going to make two bold predictions (and I don't care if Beanie Wells plays or not for Ohio State truthfully):
1. I see Ohio State jumping out to like a 7-0 or 10-0 lead early on, mainly because USC is coming off two weeks in between games and I just envision the Buckeyes wanting to make an immediate statement after the near-debacle in Columbus last week. But when it's all said and done, I ultimately see USC winning 35-17, because Pete Carroll is one of the best coaches when it comes to making halftime adjustments. The Trojans have always been a second-half team, and eventually, they're going to wear out the Buckeyes. Just give it time.
2. Mark my words, and hold me to this at the end of the season - neither Ohio State or USC is going undefeated or playing in the national title game. In fact, I bet there will be a rematch between these two in Pasadena on Jan. 1. I see both teams losing another game each between now and December. In the Buckeyes' case, the one game I'm not giving them (besides tomorrow's) is at Wisconsin because it's a night atmosphere at Camp Randall. I know Iowa City was crazy when the Buckeyes were here a couple of years ago, but in all seriousness, this is a game I think Wisconsin is going to try to make a statement to the rest of the Big Ten, and the rest of the nation. As for USC, the Trojans' recent tendency is to lose a road game to a high-or-middle tier team in the Pac-10 that doesn't get nearly the hype as other games (in other words, the game they lose will be on something like FSN or Versus and not when ESPN's around). Rule out Oregon State because the Beavers are bad right now and that's a Thursday ESPN game. Also rule out UCLA because of Rick Neuheisel's mouth, Stanford for obvious reasons, Washington State because they're also bad, and that leaves you with Oct. 25 when USC visits Arizona. Before you laugh, keep in mind the following: 1. Arizona has played them close in recent years. 2. Arizona in the Mike Stoops era, has beaten the following teams at home in recent years - UCLA in 2005 when the Bruins were undefeated, Cal in 2006 before the Golden Bears' showdown that year with USC, and Oregon last year when the Ducks were No. 2 and Dennis Dixon looked like the Hesiman front-runner. If the pattern continues, this is what I envision.
Now, for other games - Michigan and Notre Dame. Wow. I only chose Notre Dame to win BY DEFAULT. Both teams look bad right now, but I'll go with ND because at least the Irish made plays when it needed to last week and I think that Golden Tate kid could become something special for Charlie Weis. Oregon and Purdue is intriguing, but I go with the Ducks because I just don't see the Boilermakers' defense doing anything to keep Oregon's offense off the field.
Despite a bad trend of Big Ten teams struggling in California, I see Wisconsin (not Ohio State) leaving the Golden State with a win over Fresno State on Saturday. I don't think Wisconsin's as overrated as some say, and keep in mind that Fresno State's history of beating big-time programs is usually with road games. This game's in Fresno. Kudos to Bret Bielema for having the you-know-what to schedule this game.
Moving out of the Big Ten, I'm excited about Kansas and South Florida tonight. I see George Selvie being the difference and the Bulls should come out a winner over the Jayhawks at home. I also think Georgia is not overlooking an SEC opponent it lost at home to last year before its big showdown with Arizona State in Tempe, so I like the Bulldogs, the team I picked to beat Oklahoma in the BCS title game, to win at South Carolina. Speaking of Oklahoma, I got them winning in Seattle against Washington, and for the sake of both schools (remember OU-Oregon in 2006), I hope the game officials are from the Big XII, not the Pac-10.
Hopefully, this turns out to be as good a weekend as it appears.
- Brendan Stiles
Obviously, all the hoopla is going to surround L.A. tomorrow, and it should. With two Top Five teams playing one another, it should be fun to watch (I'm glad I'll be able to). I'm going to make two bold predictions (and I don't care if Beanie Wells plays or not for Ohio State truthfully):
1. I see Ohio State jumping out to like a 7-0 or 10-0 lead early on, mainly because USC is coming off two weeks in between games and I just envision the Buckeyes wanting to make an immediate statement after the near-debacle in Columbus last week. But when it's all said and done, I ultimately see USC winning 35-17, because Pete Carroll is one of the best coaches when it comes to making halftime adjustments. The Trojans have always been a second-half team, and eventually, they're going to wear out the Buckeyes. Just give it time.
2. Mark my words, and hold me to this at the end of the season - neither Ohio State or USC is going undefeated or playing in the national title game. In fact, I bet there will be a rematch between these two in Pasadena on Jan. 1. I see both teams losing another game each between now and December. In the Buckeyes' case, the one game I'm not giving them (besides tomorrow's) is at Wisconsin because it's a night atmosphere at Camp Randall. I know Iowa City was crazy when the Buckeyes were here a couple of years ago, but in all seriousness, this is a game I think Wisconsin is going to try to make a statement to the rest of the Big Ten, and the rest of the nation. As for USC, the Trojans' recent tendency is to lose a road game to a high-or-middle tier team in the Pac-10 that doesn't get nearly the hype as other games (in other words, the game they lose will be on something like FSN or Versus and not when ESPN's around). Rule out Oregon State because the Beavers are bad right now and that's a Thursday ESPN game. Also rule out UCLA because of Rick Neuheisel's mouth, Stanford for obvious reasons, Washington State because they're also bad, and that leaves you with Oct. 25 when USC visits Arizona. Before you laugh, keep in mind the following: 1. Arizona has played them close in recent years. 2. Arizona in the Mike Stoops era, has beaten the following teams at home in recent years - UCLA in 2005 when the Bruins were undefeated, Cal in 2006 before the Golden Bears' showdown that year with USC, and Oregon last year when the Ducks were No. 2 and Dennis Dixon looked like the Hesiman front-runner. If the pattern continues, this is what I envision.
Now, for other games - Michigan and Notre Dame. Wow. I only chose Notre Dame to win BY DEFAULT. Both teams look bad right now, but I'll go with ND because at least the Irish made plays when it needed to last week and I think that Golden Tate kid could become something special for Charlie Weis. Oregon and Purdue is intriguing, but I go with the Ducks because I just don't see the Boilermakers' defense doing anything to keep Oregon's offense off the field.
Despite a bad trend of Big Ten teams struggling in California, I see Wisconsin (not Ohio State) leaving the Golden State with a win over Fresno State on Saturday. I don't think Wisconsin's as overrated as some say, and keep in mind that Fresno State's history of beating big-time programs is usually with road games. This game's in Fresno. Kudos to Bret Bielema for having the you-know-what to schedule this game.
Moving out of the Big Ten, I'm excited about Kansas and South Florida tonight. I see George Selvie being the difference and the Bulls should come out a winner over the Jayhawks at home. I also think Georgia is not overlooking an SEC opponent it lost at home to last year before its big showdown with Arizona State in Tempe, so I like the Bulldogs, the team I picked to beat Oklahoma in the BCS title game, to win at South Carolina. Speaking of Oklahoma, I got them winning in Seattle against Washington, and for the sake of both schools (remember OU-Oregon in 2006), I hope the game officials are from the Big XII, not the Pac-10.
Hopefully, this turns out to be as good a weekend as it appears.
- Brendan Stiles
What I'm expecting from Iowa-Iowa State
Normally, I don't think weather plays an enormous role unless the conditions are extreme.
But considering how it's more than likely to be raining tomorrow at kickoff, this could be significant.
Plain and simple - Iowa looks like the better team coming in, and the biggest key to this game from what I've seen with the Hawkeyes and heard about the Cyclones is that turnovers. The Hawkeyes' game plan should be to run the ball as much as possible on Saturday. I mean, give the Iowa State defense heavy doses of Shonn Greene, Paki O'Meara, and even sprinkle in a little Jewel Hampton here and there.
The Hawkeyes will win if they are more physical, can run the ball with ease, and maintain a good grip on the football considering how Iowa State has absolutely thrived off turnovers thus far. The more Iowa pounds the ball on this defense, the better it will be for Stanzi whenever the Hawkeyes do decide to attack the Cyclones through the air. More importantly, it's going to keep the Cyclones' offense on the sidelines. When the Iowa defense is well-rested, it can play absolutely lights out.
Unlike some people, I actually see this game being real tight. I'm going to say Iowa wins 30-13, but I feel this score will probably not do this game justice, especially if it's raining, because I'll be absolutely amazed if either team managed to crack 40 points this week.
I also hope the crowd of Hawkeyes clad in black is loud, boisterous, and makes Kinnick Stadium an intimidating environment on Saturday morning when this game kicks off.
- Brendan Stiles
But considering how it's more than likely to be raining tomorrow at kickoff, this could be significant.
Plain and simple - Iowa looks like the better team coming in, and the biggest key to this game from what I've seen with the Hawkeyes and heard about the Cyclones is that turnovers. The Hawkeyes' game plan should be to run the ball as much as possible on Saturday. I mean, give the Iowa State defense heavy doses of Shonn Greene, Paki O'Meara, and even sprinkle in a little Jewel Hampton here and there.
The Hawkeyes will win if they are more physical, can run the ball with ease, and maintain a good grip on the football considering how Iowa State has absolutely thrived off turnovers thus far. The more Iowa pounds the ball on this defense, the better it will be for Stanzi whenever the Hawkeyes do decide to attack the Cyclones through the air. More importantly, it's going to keep the Cyclones' offense on the sidelines. When the Iowa defense is well-rested, it can play absolutely lights out.
Unlike some people, I actually see this game being real tight. I'm going to say Iowa wins 30-13, but I feel this score will probably not do this game justice, especially if it's raining, because I'll be absolutely amazed if either team managed to crack 40 points this week.
I also hope the crowd of Hawkeyes clad in black is loud, boisterous, and makes Kinnick Stadium an intimidating environment on Saturday morning when this game kicks off.
- Brendan Stiles
Monday, September 8, 2008
Kirk vs. ISU
You wouldn't know from talking to people around Iowa City that the Hawkeyes have actually won three of their last five contests against Iowa State.
This is mainly because Iowa's record against the Cyclones since Kirk Ferentz succeeded the legendary Hayden Fry is 3-6, including last year's crushing 15-13 defeat in Ames.
Before Ferentz arrived on the scene, there was a time when this rivalry was so one-sided, it almost wouldn't be considered a rivalry. It didn't matter if the games were in Iowa City or Ames - Iowa always had the upper-hand on Iowa State.
But that all began to change in 1998, Fry's final season as the head Hawk. I was 11 at the time and being the first Iowa-Iowa State I ever attended, I remember this all too well. The Cyclones came in as heavy underdogs and absolutely laid into the Hawkeyes, leaving Kinnick Stadium with a 27-9 win, its first over Iowa since 1982.
At that time, the Hawkeyes were beginning a decline, and when Ferentz first arrived, Iowa was literally the scrap heap of the Big Ten. Meanwhile, Iowa State was starting to get better under Dan McCarney, and once it reached the point when the Cyclones were winning the head-to-head games in this rivalry, Iowa State was also going to bowl games while the Hawkeyes were in a rebuilding mode.
1999 and 2000 were both years that the Cyclones were good, and the Hawkeyes were bad. In 2001, the Hawkeyes made it back to a bowl game, but in a game that was moved back to the end of the season because of 9/11, Iowa State left its home field escaping with yet another win.
The worst of this came in 2002, a year that Iowa was a co-Big Ten champion and finished 11-2 if you include the Orange Bowl loss to USC. In this contest at Kinnick Stadium (another game I attended I might add), the Hawkeyes went into the half with a 24-7 lead before Seneca Wallace and his crew turned the tables on Iowa in the second half and left Kinnick with a 36-31 victory that still stings me and many other Hawkeye fans today, especially considering it was the only regular-season loss Iowa would have all year.
The following year in Ames, the Hawkeyes turned the table, beating the Cyclones 40-21 and giving Ferentz his first victory in this rivalry. This is also around the time that Iowa State began to decline during the McCarney era. Since that game in '03, the home team has won the last four meetings.
As you can see, in recent years, this hasn't been the best of rivalries for the Hawkeyes, and more specifically, for Ferentz. The losses are painful and wear on everyone that bleeds black and gold. But if you put this in its proper context, it has only been recently that you see the Hawkeyes losing to Iowa State when the Cyclones are considered inferior to Iowa. In the early stages of the Ferentz era, Iowa State was a better program than Iowa and won the majority of the time when it would be favored.
All that said, if the Hawkeyes were to lose this coming Saturday at home, things will not sit well here in Iowa City.
- Brendan
This is mainly because Iowa's record against the Cyclones since Kirk Ferentz succeeded the legendary Hayden Fry is 3-6, including last year's crushing 15-13 defeat in Ames.
Before Ferentz arrived on the scene, there was a time when this rivalry was so one-sided, it almost wouldn't be considered a rivalry. It didn't matter if the games were in Iowa City or Ames - Iowa always had the upper-hand on Iowa State.
But that all began to change in 1998, Fry's final season as the head Hawk. I was 11 at the time and being the first Iowa-Iowa State I ever attended, I remember this all too well. The Cyclones came in as heavy underdogs and absolutely laid into the Hawkeyes, leaving Kinnick Stadium with a 27-9 win, its first over Iowa since 1982.
At that time, the Hawkeyes were beginning a decline, and when Ferentz first arrived, Iowa was literally the scrap heap of the Big Ten. Meanwhile, Iowa State was starting to get better under Dan McCarney, and once it reached the point when the Cyclones were winning the head-to-head games in this rivalry, Iowa State was also going to bowl games while the Hawkeyes were in a rebuilding mode.
1999 and 2000 were both years that the Cyclones were good, and the Hawkeyes were bad. In 2001, the Hawkeyes made it back to a bowl game, but in a game that was moved back to the end of the season because of 9/11, Iowa State left its home field escaping with yet another win.
The worst of this came in 2002, a year that Iowa was a co-Big Ten champion and finished 11-2 if you include the Orange Bowl loss to USC. In this contest at Kinnick Stadium (another game I attended I might add), the Hawkeyes went into the half with a 24-7 lead before Seneca Wallace and his crew turned the tables on Iowa in the second half and left Kinnick with a 36-31 victory that still stings me and many other Hawkeye fans today, especially considering it was the only regular-season loss Iowa would have all year.
The following year in Ames, the Hawkeyes turned the table, beating the Cyclones 40-21 and giving Ferentz his first victory in this rivalry. This is also around the time that Iowa State began to decline during the McCarney era. Since that game in '03, the home team has won the last four meetings.
As you can see, in recent years, this hasn't been the best of rivalries for the Hawkeyes, and more specifically, for Ferentz. The losses are painful and wear on everyone that bleeds black and gold. But if you put this in its proper context, it has only been recently that you see the Hawkeyes losing to Iowa State when the Cyclones are considered inferior to Iowa. In the early stages of the Ferentz era, Iowa State was a better program than Iowa and won the majority of the time when it would be favored.
All that said, if the Hawkeyes were to lose this coming Saturday at home, things will not sit well here in Iowa City.
- Brendan
Week Two observations
Before I dive into the Iowa-FIU game and my other thoughts surrounding college football, I want to briefly mention why college football is so enjoyable.
Coming into the weekend, I seriously thought that the majority of the games were going to be blowouts or just plain boring to watch (some still were). To my amusement, a lot of games were hung in the balance before some teams began to pull away, and that really made the day better for me as both a fan and as a sports writer.
Like always, I'll start with the Hawks and go from there.
1. Another convincing 'W'
To simply put it, the Hawkeyes could not have asked for a better start to the season given the caliber of competition they have faced. It isn't the 2-0 mark at the moment that is impressive because I, like many, expected Iowa to win both of these games. What is impressive is the business-like mentality that the Hawkeyes have demonstrated, coming out again with two touchdowns on the first two drives. It brings back shades of 2002 for me when opening statements by Iowa looked routine. That makes this exciting thus far.
2. The quarterbacks
Throughout the week, the plan for Saturday's game with FIU was similar to that of the previous game with Maine - Jake Christensen was going to start, but Ricky Stanzi would get as equal an amount of playing time as possible. Both got plenty of reps, but Stanzi was the surprise starter when the offense took the field for its opening possession. Based on Stanzi's performance, I don't know how he couldn't be the starting quarterback against Iowa State next week, but as of now, this is still up in the air, and unfortunately, it will remain up in the air when the team addresses the media on Tuesday. 8-of-10 for 162 yards and three touchdowns though is quite an argument for why Stanzi should start, but we'll have to wait and see.
3. Another point on the QB's
I'm only going to say this once (hopefully). The booing of Christensen was completely out of line, not just because there were students doing this, but also regular spectators of all ages booing as well. I'll say right now that I believe based on the two performances this season, Stanzi should be the starter. But I will also tell you as a member of the media and having interviewed Christensen as well as be around other media outlets who have interviewed him, that Christensen is a stand-up guy when talking to us. He has always taken responsibility for any poor play on his part and I know for a fact that the guy is a competitor. He always tells you how he feels about things, and all of us in the media after the game could tell that the scrutiny had gotten to him. To give you a quick idea, Christensen was the FIRST PLAYER to walk into the players' interview room after the game and the way he handled himself under the circumstances is admirable, to say the least. I can't blame Ferentz for wanting to see what he could do in a back-up role, especially when he said that both guys would play against FIU. If Christensen does start, or even play on Saturday against the Cyclones, I hope he receives much better treatment from the Hawkeye faithful.
4. Had a good feeling about a shutout
For those of you who did read my post from late Friday night (yeah, I'm aware of the time), I said that I had a good feeling that the Hawkeye defense would pitch a shutout against a bad FIU squad. All you need to know about why I had this feeling is that after the Maine game (keep in mind Iowa won 46-3, so it wasn't a nailbiter by any means), some of the defensive players were real mad because they had allowed a running back to run for 100 yards, and that they had a lot of areas they wanted to correct. Against Maine, the Hawkeyes only recorded one sack (A.J. Edds' safety). On Saturday, the Hawkeyes got six sacks. Huge difference in terms of getting to the quarterback. That type of progress was noticeable and good to see.
5. A performance that maybe went unnoticed
He scored the last two touchdowns of a 42-0 blowout, but I would still like to give props to sophomore wide receiver Colin Sandeman. The guy only caught two balls on Saturday, but both of his catches resulted in the first two touchdowns of his Hawkeye career. Even more intriguing was that one touchdown came from Stanzi and the other from Christensen. The best part about this is that there is depth on the offensive side of the ball, especially at both the receiver and tight end positions, which is great to see considering the amount of injuries at those positions a year ago.
6. The balance
Perhaps the most satisfying part of what the Hawkeyes have demonstrated thus far is the balance they've shown on offense. Against the Golden Panthers, Iowa had 241 yards on the ground and 271 through the air. The 512 yards of total offense was the most it had in almost two years. When the Hawkeyes can play like this with the ball, they're going to be a tough team to beat, whether they're playing cupcakes or not.
"The PAT": Now here comes Iowa State
I'll elaborate further on this later in the week, but what I do want to say real quickly about the upcoming game with the Cyclones is that I actually think it will be a good battle. Both teams are 2-0 coming in, and both have put up a minimum of 42 points in each of its first two contests. However, I think the Hawkeyes come in with a better defense, and perhaps more importantly, the attitude I'm seeing right now whenever Iowa State is brought up is truly a contrast from last year. Now I'm not going to suggest that any of the Iowa players didn't take the Cyclones seriously last year because they're competitors that want to win every game, and that's true of anybody. All I'm saying now is that last year's defeat I think woke the Hawkeyes up a bit and the demeanor this team will have in Kinnick Stadium this coming weekend will be significantly better.
Now for the rest of college football...
1. The letter of the law needs to be changed
When I returned from Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, I watched the last five minutes of the game between BYU and Washington, and while I had no rooting interest in the final outcome, I found myself cursing at the TV after Jake Locker scored a Huskies touchdown that following a successful PAT would have tied the game and sent it to overtime. I will say one (and only one) thing in the officials' defense - that based on the new letter of the law (which I remember being emphasized to the media when I was covering the Big Ten Media Days in Chicago), Locker shouldn't have thrown the ball in the air. That said, let's be realistic. When you just made a huge play for your team, you're in a whole different frame of mind as an athlete and what Locker did should never be an unsportsmanlike conduct. This doesn't mean BYU wouldn't have still blocked the PAT or that Washington would've won the game in overtime, but the fact that this penalty essentially determined the outcome of the game is absurd, and the only thing anyone can do about it is change the letter of the law recently established this year.
2. Ohio State eeking out a 'W'
I'll elude back to being in Chicago last July and having the chance to talk to James Laurinaitis about the Buckeyes. He talked about how his team needed to stay "in the here and now" and take everything on a day-by-day basis, including focusing on one opponent at a time. I'm not going to suggest that he didn't take Ohio seriously, but it's pretty obvious that some of the guys on the Buckeyes were looking ahead to USC because special teams had to save the day in Columbus last Saturday. 26-14 over Ohio shouldn't be accepted truthfully, and hearing one of the Buckeye players call their performance "pathetic" is actually good to hear as opposed to the "a win is a win" mantra. I just hope Ohio State is truly ready to play - with or without Beanie Wells - against USC because I want that game to live up to the hype it will get all week.
3. South Florida is extremely lucky
This might get a bit overlooked since USF ended up winning its game over Central Florida in overtime, 31-24, but towards the end, the Bulls had an opportunity to win the game on a last-second field goal. What I thought they were going to do with one timeout remaining and under a minute left was run the ball into the middle of the hashmarks since the Golden Knights didn't have any timeouts left, call the last timeout with say four seconds left, and just ask the kicker to make a direct field goal as time expired. Instead, they tried to get off a kick on 2nd-and-10 from the near hashmark, got called for a delay of game, tried to kick it again, and the kicker ended up kicking the ball direct and it went to the left of the left upright. Bad clock management, but the Bulls get a pass because they did win the game.
4. Arkansas might be the worst 2-0 team in all of college football
To Bobby Petrino's credit, his Razorbacks have found ways to win games after two weeks. But a final minute 28-24 win over Western Illinois last week coupled with a 28-27 win over UL-Monroe thanks to a final minute touchdown and a missed FG try by the WarHawks, and you got an ugly 2-0 mark for Arkansas. Based on what I've seen from the Razorbacks these first couple of weeks, I just do not see them hanging with No. 8 Texas in Austin on Saturday, and it could be a long season in Fayetteville once Arkansas gets into SEC play.
5. Don't let the score fool you
Yes, Florida beat Miami 26-3, and if you didn't see the game, you would probably consider this a blowout. However, I give the 'Canes a lot of credit for applying pressure to Tim Tebow early and often on defense, and if Miami had any sort of offense to speak of, it might have pulled the upset and continued its awkward-like dominance in this rivalry. But eventually Florida figured it out, and what I feel helped the Gators from the parts of the game I did watch on Saturday was that the battle of field position worked in Florida's favor tremendously. I'm normally not a huge fan of Brent Musberger, but I have to commend him for recognizing this during the game and giving the Gators' punt coverage a tremendous amount of credit for being a difference in the contest.
6. East Carolina is for real
A week after feeling like a genius for picking the Pirates to upset Virginia Tech, I have to now eat crow because I did not give them any chance of beating West Virginia on Saturday. Not only did East Carolina beat the Mountaineers, but the game wasn't even close. 24-3, against that West Virginia offense? Skip Holtz and his program deserve all the praise they're getting right now because they have easily been the most impressive college football team thus far in 2008.
"Going for Two": This week, I want to touch on two storied programs - one that had a great outing on Saturday, and one that lucked out, no pun intended.
First with Penn State, if it weren't for East Carolina's storybook two weeks, the Nittany Lions may be the most impressive team in the land after two weeks. I'm not saying they're better than Ohio State or that Penn State will win the Big Ten, but beating down, in my opinion, a decent Oregon State team by 31 points has to be an eyebrow raiser. Granted, a 66-10 win over Coastal Carolina might not intrigue you, but considering all the suspensions and injuries on the defensive side of the ball Joe Paterno has to deal with at the moment, this is really remarkable. Also, Evan Royster has come on strong as the Nittany Lions' running back and I feel he complements quarterback Darryl Clark well in the backfield. If this continues, look out for Penn State down the line.
And finally, there's Notre Dame. Yes, the Fighting Irish beat San Diego State 21-13 on Saturday in South Bend, but two points that need to be made: 1. San Diego State came less than a yard away from laying a beatdown of its own on Notre Dame (a fumble at the goalline saved the Irish), and 2. Considering that the Aztecs lost to Cal-Poly a week ago, Notre Dame had no business struggling with them and should have laid the wood to San Diego State from the get-go. The Irish have one thing going for them, that they might be picked to beat Michigan on Saturday by default (never thought I'd write those words in my lifetime) because both teams have so many question marks, but there's no way that team I saw on Saturday against San Diego State can win 11 games like "Dr. Lou" suggests every day on ESPN it will.
I hope you enjoyed this week's post. I'll be back later this week to preview the upcoming weekend's slate of games, and there are some good ones to discuss.
- Brendan Stiles
Coming into the weekend, I seriously thought that the majority of the games were going to be blowouts or just plain boring to watch (some still were). To my amusement, a lot of games were hung in the balance before some teams began to pull away, and that really made the day better for me as both a fan and as a sports writer.
Like always, I'll start with the Hawks and go from there.
1. Another convincing 'W'
To simply put it, the Hawkeyes could not have asked for a better start to the season given the caliber of competition they have faced. It isn't the 2-0 mark at the moment that is impressive because I, like many, expected Iowa to win both of these games. What is impressive is the business-like mentality that the Hawkeyes have demonstrated, coming out again with two touchdowns on the first two drives. It brings back shades of 2002 for me when opening statements by Iowa looked routine. That makes this exciting thus far.
2. The quarterbacks
Throughout the week, the plan for Saturday's game with FIU was similar to that of the previous game with Maine - Jake Christensen was going to start, but Ricky Stanzi would get as equal an amount of playing time as possible. Both got plenty of reps, but Stanzi was the surprise starter when the offense took the field for its opening possession. Based on Stanzi's performance, I don't know how he couldn't be the starting quarterback against Iowa State next week, but as of now, this is still up in the air, and unfortunately, it will remain up in the air when the team addresses the media on Tuesday. 8-of-10 for 162 yards and three touchdowns though is quite an argument for why Stanzi should start, but we'll have to wait and see.
3. Another point on the QB's
I'm only going to say this once (hopefully). The booing of Christensen was completely out of line, not just because there were students doing this, but also regular spectators of all ages booing as well. I'll say right now that I believe based on the two performances this season, Stanzi should be the starter. But I will also tell you as a member of the media and having interviewed Christensen as well as be around other media outlets who have interviewed him, that Christensen is a stand-up guy when talking to us. He has always taken responsibility for any poor play on his part and I know for a fact that the guy is a competitor. He always tells you how he feels about things, and all of us in the media after the game could tell that the scrutiny had gotten to him. To give you a quick idea, Christensen was the FIRST PLAYER to walk into the players' interview room after the game and the way he handled himself under the circumstances is admirable, to say the least. I can't blame Ferentz for wanting to see what he could do in a back-up role, especially when he said that both guys would play against FIU. If Christensen does start, or even play on Saturday against the Cyclones, I hope he receives much better treatment from the Hawkeye faithful.
4. Had a good feeling about a shutout
For those of you who did read my post from late Friday night (yeah, I'm aware of the time), I said that I had a good feeling that the Hawkeye defense would pitch a shutout against a bad FIU squad. All you need to know about why I had this feeling is that after the Maine game (keep in mind Iowa won 46-3, so it wasn't a nailbiter by any means), some of the defensive players were real mad because they had allowed a running back to run for 100 yards, and that they had a lot of areas they wanted to correct. Against Maine, the Hawkeyes only recorded one sack (A.J. Edds' safety). On Saturday, the Hawkeyes got six sacks. Huge difference in terms of getting to the quarterback. That type of progress was noticeable and good to see.
5. A performance that maybe went unnoticed
He scored the last two touchdowns of a 42-0 blowout, but I would still like to give props to sophomore wide receiver Colin Sandeman. The guy only caught two balls on Saturday, but both of his catches resulted in the first two touchdowns of his Hawkeye career. Even more intriguing was that one touchdown came from Stanzi and the other from Christensen. The best part about this is that there is depth on the offensive side of the ball, especially at both the receiver and tight end positions, which is great to see considering the amount of injuries at those positions a year ago.
6. The balance
Perhaps the most satisfying part of what the Hawkeyes have demonstrated thus far is the balance they've shown on offense. Against the Golden Panthers, Iowa had 241 yards on the ground and 271 through the air. The 512 yards of total offense was the most it had in almost two years. When the Hawkeyes can play like this with the ball, they're going to be a tough team to beat, whether they're playing cupcakes or not.
"The PAT": Now here comes Iowa State
I'll elaborate further on this later in the week, but what I do want to say real quickly about the upcoming game with the Cyclones is that I actually think it will be a good battle. Both teams are 2-0 coming in, and both have put up a minimum of 42 points in each of its first two contests. However, I think the Hawkeyes come in with a better defense, and perhaps more importantly, the attitude I'm seeing right now whenever Iowa State is brought up is truly a contrast from last year. Now I'm not going to suggest that any of the Iowa players didn't take the Cyclones seriously last year because they're competitors that want to win every game, and that's true of anybody. All I'm saying now is that last year's defeat I think woke the Hawkeyes up a bit and the demeanor this team will have in Kinnick Stadium this coming weekend will be significantly better.
Now for the rest of college football...
1. The letter of the law needs to be changed
When I returned from Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, I watched the last five minutes of the game between BYU and Washington, and while I had no rooting interest in the final outcome, I found myself cursing at the TV after Jake Locker scored a Huskies touchdown that following a successful PAT would have tied the game and sent it to overtime. I will say one (and only one) thing in the officials' defense - that based on the new letter of the law (which I remember being emphasized to the media when I was covering the Big Ten Media Days in Chicago), Locker shouldn't have thrown the ball in the air. That said, let's be realistic. When you just made a huge play for your team, you're in a whole different frame of mind as an athlete and what Locker did should never be an unsportsmanlike conduct. This doesn't mean BYU wouldn't have still blocked the PAT or that Washington would've won the game in overtime, but the fact that this penalty essentially determined the outcome of the game is absurd, and the only thing anyone can do about it is change the letter of the law recently established this year.
2. Ohio State eeking out a 'W'
I'll elude back to being in Chicago last July and having the chance to talk to James Laurinaitis about the Buckeyes. He talked about how his team needed to stay "in the here and now" and take everything on a day-by-day basis, including focusing on one opponent at a time. I'm not going to suggest that he didn't take Ohio seriously, but it's pretty obvious that some of the guys on the Buckeyes were looking ahead to USC because special teams had to save the day in Columbus last Saturday. 26-14 over Ohio shouldn't be accepted truthfully, and hearing one of the Buckeye players call their performance "pathetic" is actually good to hear as opposed to the "a win is a win" mantra. I just hope Ohio State is truly ready to play - with or without Beanie Wells - against USC because I want that game to live up to the hype it will get all week.
3. South Florida is extremely lucky
This might get a bit overlooked since USF ended up winning its game over Central Florida in overtime, 31-24, but towards the end, the Bulls had an opportunity to win the game on a last-second field goal. What I thought they were going to do with one timeout remaining and under a minute left was run the ball into the middle of the hashmarks since the Golden Knights didn't have any timeouts left, call the last timeout with say four seconds left, and just ask the kicker to make a direct field goal as time expired. Instead, they tried to get off a kick on 2nd-and-10 from the near hashmark, got called for a delay of game, tried to kick it again, and the kicker ended up kicking the ball direct and it went to the left of the left upright. Bad clock management, but the Bulls get a pass because they did win the game.
4. Arkansas might be the worst 2-0 team in all of college football
To Bobby Petrino's credit, his Razorbacks have found ways to win games after two weeks. But a final minute 28-24 win over Western Illinois last week coupled with a 28-27 win over UL-Monroe thanks to a final minute touchdown and a missed FG try by the WarHawks, and you got an ugly 2-0 mark for Arkansas. Based on what I've seen from the Razorbacks these first couple of weeks, I just do not see them hanging with No. 8 Texas in Austin on Saturday, and it could be a long season in Fayetteville once Arkansas gets into SEC play.
5. Don't let the score fool you
Yes, Florida beat Miami 26-3, and if you didn't see the game, you would probably consider this a blowout. However, I give the 'Canes a lot of credit for applying pressure to Tim Tebow early and often on defense, and if Miami had any sort of offense to speak of, it might have pulled the upset and continued its awkward-like dominance in this rivalry. But eventually Florida figured it out, and what I feel helped the Gators from the parts of the game I did watch on Saturday was that the battle of field position worked in Florida's favor tremendously. I'm normally not a huge fan of Brent Musberger, but I have to commend him for recognizing this during the game and giving the Gators' punt coverage a tremendous amount of credit for being a difference in the contest.
6. East Carolina is for real
A week after feeling like a genius for picking the Pirates to upset Virginia Tech, I have to now eat crow because I did not give them any chance of beating West Virginia on Saturday. Not only did East Carolina beat the Mountaineers, but the game wasn't even close. 24-3, against that West Virginia offense? Skip Holtz and his program deserve all the praise they're getting right now because they have easily been the most impressive college football team thus far in 2008.
"Going for Two": This week, I want to touch on two storied programs - one that had a great outing on Saturday, and one that lucked out, no pun intended.
First with Penn State, if it weren't for East Carolina's storybook two weeks, the Nittany Lions may be the most impressive team in the land after two weeks. I'm not saying they're better than Ohio State or that Penn State will win the Big Ten, but beating down, in my opinion, a decent Oregon State team by 31 points has to be an eyebrow raiser. Granted, a 66-10 win over Coastal Carolina might not intrigue you, but considering all the suspensions and injuries on the defensive side of the ball Joe Paterno has to deal with at the moment, this is really remarkable. Also, Evan Royster has come on strong as the Nittany Lions' running back and I feel he complements quarterback Darryl Clark well in the backfield. If this continues, look out for Penn State down the line.
And finally, there's Notre Dame. Yes, the Fighting Irish beat San Diego State 21-13 on Saturday in South Bend, but two points that need to be made: 1. San Diego State came less than a yard away from laying a beatdown of its own on Notre Dame (a fumble at the goalline saved the Irish), and 2. Considering that the Aztecs lost to Cal-Poly a week ago, Notre Dame had no business struggling with them and should have laid the wood to San Diego State from the get-go. The Irish have one thing going for them, that they might be picked to beat Michigan on Saturday by default (never thought I'd write those words in my lifetime) because both teams have so many question marks, but there's no way that team I saw on Saturday against San Diego State can win 11 games like "Dr. Lou" suggests every day on ESPN it will.
I hope you enjoyed this week's post. I'll be back later this week to preview the upcoming weekend's slate of games, and there are some good ones to discuss.
- Brendan Stiles
Friday, September 5, 2008
Week Two - BORING!!!!!
This seriously could not be a crappier weekend of college football. Thank God Vanderbilt and South Carolina played an intriguing game on Thursday.
First of all, USC was bumped up to No. 1 in both polls, and the Trojans have a bye before the mega-showdown against Ohio State at the Coliseum next week, thus assuring them that they will be No. 1 in the country when that game takes place. No. 2 Georgia plays a good Central Michigan squad that features an exciting quarterback I'm really high on in Dan Lefevoure, but seriously, there's no way the Chippewas are going "Between the Hedges" and coming out of Athens with a win. Then you have the Buckeyes playing Ohio (I'll laugh the second all the Buckeye fans do the O-H-I-O chant this week), and the No. 3 team will be without Beanie Wells. I understand you want to have him ready for next week, but still, that leaves his status up for question until next Saturday when the Buckeyes head out to L.A.
While I think Cincinnati is a solid football team, there's NO WAY they're beating Oklahoma on the road. In fact, I'll argue right now that the Sooners will go undefeated and play in the national title game this year because when I look at their schedule, I can't name anyone beating them. As for the big Miami-Florida game (which is on ESPN because ABC has to show NASCAR on Saturday night for whatever reason), give me a break. We already established that the ACC is a joke, and anyone who thinks "The U" is going to shut down Tim Tebow on Saturday is out of their mind.
Then Gustav comes in, ravishes Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, which means that the LSU-Troy game originally set for Saturday has been pushed back to Nov. 15. Completely understandable reasons, but think about this for a second - as a result of this game being pushed to November, LSU now has FIVE STRAIGHT games on its schedule in Death Valley - Oct. 25 vs. Georgia, Nov. 1 vs. Tulane, Nov. 8 vs. Alabama (Oh, baby!), Nov. 15 vs. Troy, and Nov. 22 vs. Ole Miss. This could end up being pretty significant down the stretch, which is why I wanted to mention this now.
I give West Virginia credit for having the you-know-what to play AT East Carolina because in years past, the Pirates have given the Mountaineers some trouble, and East Carolina, should it pull this upset, could very well be on pace to run the table the rest of the way. This is really one of the few intriguing games this weekend.
Notre Dame starts its season against San Diego State. The Aztecs just lost to freaking Cal-Poly. NBC executives had to have wanted to throw up the second they noticed that, because if this was any other non-ranked team, no one would care at all about this contest.
Then look at the Big Ten for a minute - Illinois plays Eastern Illinois, Indiana plays Murray State, Iowa plays FIU, Michigan plays Miami (Ohio), Michigan State plays Eastern Michigan, Minnesota plays at Bowling Green, Northwestern plays at Duke, Ohio State plays Ohio, Penn State plays Oregon State, Purdue plays Northern Colorado, and Wisconsin plays Marshall. Other than Penn State vs. Oregon State (which lost some luster after the Beavers lost to Stanford last week), are any of these games really that intriguing? The Hawkeyes play a team that has lost 24 of its last 25 contests. The Boilermakers play a school that's only relevant because one of its punters stab the guy he was competing with. How lame is that? I'll give Minnesota and Northwestern some credit for going on the road, but keep in mind that Bowling Green beat Minnesota last year, and Northwestern lost to Duke a year ago. For the most part, we have some boring games.
Finally, I was looking at my TV guide on My Directv system to see what games I can watch when I return from Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. Among the options were Louisiana Tech at Kansas (I know La. Tech just beat Mississippi State, but seriously), Texas A&M at New Mexico, Texas at UTEP (which is a 9:15 p.m. kickoff for whatever reason), Buffalo at Pittsburgh, and the aformentioned Murray State at Indiana. I'll probably just watch the Hurricanes and Gators, but I just got a feeling has blowout written all over it.
If there's a silver lining, at least next week has some games worth talking about like Ohio State/USC, Wisconsin/Fresno State, Michigan/Notre Dame.
Hopefully we have some games as exciting as Vandy and South Carolina was last night, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
- Brendan Stiles
First of all, USC was bumped up to No. 1 in both polls, and the Trojans have a bye before the mega-showdown against Ohio State at the Coliseum next week, thus assuring them that they will be No. 1 in the country when that game takes place. No. 2 Georgia plays a good Central Michigan squad that features an exciting quarterback I'm really high on in Dan Lefevoure, but seriously, there's no way the Chippewas are going "Between the Hedges" and coming out of Athens with a win. Then you have the Buckeyes playing Ohio (I'll laugh the second all the Buckeye fans do the O-H-I-O chant this week), and the No. 3 team will be without Beanie Wells. I understand you want to have him ready for next week, but still, that leaves his status up for question until next Saturday when the Buckeyes head out to L.A.
While I think Cincinnati is a solid football team, there's NO WAY they're beating Oklahoma on the road. In fact, I'll argue right now that the Sooners will go undefeated and play in the national title game this year because when I look at their schedule, I can't name anyone beating them. As for the big Miami-Florida game (which is on ESPN because ABC has to show NASCAR on Saturday night for whatever reason), give me a break. We already established that the ACC is a joke, and anyone who thinks "The U" is going to shut down Tim Tebow on Saturday is out of their mind.
Then Gustav comes in, ravishes Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, which means that the LSU-Troy game originally set for Saturday has been pushed back to Nov. 15. Completely understandable reasons, but think about this for a second - as a result of this game being pushed to November, LSU now has FIVE STRAIGHT games on its schedule in Death Valley - Oct. 25 vs. Georgia, Nov. 1 vs. Tulane, Nov. 8 vs. Alabama (Oh, baby!), Nov. 15 vs. Troy, and Nov. 22 vs. Ole Miss. This could end up being pretty significant down the stretch, which is why I wanted to mention this now.
I give West Virginia credit for having the you-know-what to play AT East Carolina because in years past, the Pirates have given the Mountaineers some trouble, and East Carolina, should it pull this upset, could very well be on pace to run the table the rest of the way. This is really one of the few intriguing games this weekend.
Notre Dame starts its season against San Diego State. The Aztecs just lost to freaking Cal-Poly. NBC executives had to have wanted to throw up the second they noticed that, because if this was any other non-ranked team, no one would care at all about this contest.
Then look at the Big Ten for a minute - Illinois plays Eastern Illinois, Indiana plays Murray State, Iowa plays FIU, Michigan plays Miami (Ohio), Michigan State plays Eastern Michigan, Minnesota plays at Bowling Green, Northwestern plays at Duke, Ohio State plays Ohio, Penn State plays Oregon State, Purdue plays Northern Colorado, and Wisconsin plays Marshall. Other than Penn State vs. Oregon State (which lost some luster after the Beavers lost to Stanford last week), are any of these games really that intriguing? The Hawkeyes play a team that has lost 24 of its last 25 contests. The Boilermakers play a school that's only relevant because one of its punters stab the guy he was competing with. How lame is that? I'll give Minnesota and Northwestern some credit for going on the road, but keep in mind that Bowling Green beat Minnesota last year, and Northwestern lost to Duke a year ago. For the most part, we have some boring games.
Finally, I was looking at my TV guide on My Directv system to see what games I can watch when I return from Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. Among the options were Louisiana Tech at Kansas (I know La. Tech just beat Mississippi State, but seriously), Texas A&M at New Mexico, Texas at UTEP (which is a 9:15 p.m. kickoff for whatever reason), Buffalo at Pittsburgh, and the aformentioned Murray State at Indiana. I'll probably just watch the Hurricanes and Gators, but I just got a feeling has blowout written all over it.
If there's a silver lining, at least next week has some games worth talking about like Ohio State/USC, Wisconsin/Fresno State, Michigan/Notre Dame.
Hopefully we have some games as exciting as Vandy and South Carolina was last night, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
- Brendan Stiles
Iowa vs. FIU - what I expect
I have to be honest. I'm not a fan of match-ups such as what will take place at Kinnick Stadium in a little less than 12 hours.
We had the discussion in class this week, and while I know fully well that this is all about the money, games such as Saturday's against FIU or last week against Maine are complete lose-lose situations. If Iowa wins, no one's going to really care except for the hardcore Hawkeye fan because the Hawkeyes are supposed to win this game. If they somehow lose, on the other hand, then everyone will act like the sky is falling here in Iowa City and the Hawkeyes would be doomed to finish worse than Minnesota.
I expect the Hawkeyes to win this game with ease. I don't see Iowa scoring 46 again like it did against the Black Bears, but I would not be surprised in the slightest if the defense ends up pitching a shutout against the Golden Panthers because NONE OF THEM were satisfied with the effort they had against Maine last week.
As for the whole quarterback situation, I fully expect exactly what Kirk Ferentz said at his press conference on Tuesday - that the pattern of game reps for both Jake Christensen and Ricky Stanzi will be similar to what it was a week ago, with Christensen starting both halves, and Stanzi coming in during the second and fourth quarters.
I also am hoping for more of the balance the Hawkeyes showed last week because the second an opponent figures out how to stop the running game and make Iowa one-dimensional is probably going to be when the Hawkeyes start playing more high-caliber opponents. Maybe Iowa State and Pittsburgh aren't what a typical fan would have in mind, but I feel you learn more playing games like those than you do against the likes of a Maine or FIU.
All I hope is that the coaching staff gets exactly what it wants out of these first two games because as far as I'm concerned, next week's game against the Cyclones is going to play a major role in dictating how the remainder of the 2008 season fares.
- Brendan Stiles
We had the discussion in class this week, and while I know fully well that this is all about the money, games such as Saturday's against FIU or last week against Maine are complete lose-lose situations. If Iowa wins, no one's going to really care except for the hardcore Hawkeye fan because the Hawkeyes are supposed to win this game. If they somehow lose, on the other hand, then everyone will act like the sky is falling here in Iowa City and the Hawkeyes would be doomed to finish worse than Minnesota.
I expect the Hawkeyes to win this game with ease. I don't see Iowa scoring 46 again like it did against the Black Bears, but I would not be surprised in the slightest if the defense ends up pitching a shutout against the Golden Panthers because NONE OF THEM were satisfied with the effort they had against Maine last week.
As for the whole quarterback situation, I fully expect exactly what Kirk Ferentz said at his press conference on Tuesday - that the pattern of game reps for both Jake Christensen and Ricky Stanzi will be similar to what it was a week ago, with Christensen starting both halves, and Stanzi coming in during the second and fourth quarters.
I also am hoping for more of the balance the Hawkeyes showed last week because the second an opponent figures out how to stop the running game and make Iowa one-dimensional is probably going to be when the Hawkeyes start playing more high-caliber opponents. Maybe Iowa State and Pittsburgh aren't what a typical fan would have in mind, but I feel you learn more playing games like those than you do against the likes of a Maine or FIU.
All I hope is that the coaching staff gets exactly what it wants out of these first two games because as far as I'm concerned, next week's game against the Cyclones is going to play a major role in dictating how the remainder of the 2008 season fares.
- Brendan Stiles
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