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
Friday, September 12, 2008
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
Sunday, August 31, 2008
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
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
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