If the 2009 Iowa football season was "special" the 2010 season could be deemed "un-special". Kirk Ferentz prides himself on building teams with strong offensive and defensive lines and amazing special teams. Iowa's special teams struggled with kickoff coverage against Iowa St and the special teams struggled again at Arizona.
I was sitting at the south Des Moines Bennigans on Saturday night waiting for the Iowa game to start. Clemson and Auburn couldn't figure out who wanted to win their game so they wanted to play a little extra. Thankfully Auburn made their FG and Clemson missed theirs. Then came the epic ESPN failure of not switching to the game that was in progress. Instead they interviewed Auburn coaches and players. Oh wait, I forgot that ESPN loves the SEC. I have no idea if they would have interviewed Clemson people if Clemson won but I doubt they would have.
As the Iowa game was going on, but not televised, I was checking my Twitter feed and I saw that Iowa went 3-and-out (with a missed pass that would have been a touch down) and then had a punt blocked and recovered by Arizona at the Iowa 8. Soon enough it was 7-0 Arizona. A short time later my feed blew up with a Rick Stanzi pick-6. Looking at the replay Marvin McNutt tipped a pass and it went right to an Arizona defender. McNutt should have come up with the catch; if your hands are on the ball it's catchable. Just like that Arizona had scored 14 points before Auburn and Clemson could score 3, combined.
Iowa was able to start coming back with some offense and put the ball in the endzone just to be deflated by an Arizona kick return TD. Arizona added 2 field goals and led 27-7 at half. During halftime I switched chairs at the table hoping some good luck would finally come to the Hawks.
Iowa started to get it going in the 2nd half, thanks in part to Arizona self-destructing with penalties. After a bad punt and an Arizona personal foul Iowa was able to put another 7 on the board, putting the score at 27-14. It stayed that way until the 4th quarter. Iowa capitalized off a muffed punt and got the ball back on the Arizona 18. Stanzi hit McNutt on a beautiful fly route for the TD, 27-21. The three or four of us left at Bennigan's started celebrating and we agreed something good was about to happen. Two plays into Arizona's drive, Broderick Binns intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards for an Iowa TD (PAT was blocked) to tie the score at 27. This had us celebrating even more, so much to the point that the words "I think one of the high-fives hurt my wrist" were said.
Sadly Iowa couldn't muster any 2009 magic this time as Arizona marched down the field for the game-winning TD with just under 4 minutes left. Iowa got the ball back and then quickly gave up 4 sacks in 4 plays and Arizona pretty much ran out the clock. Iowa had one shot left with 3 seconds to go but didn't make it. Final score 34-27 Arizona.
A blocked punt, kick return for a TD, blocked PAT. Not too good on special teams. At least Iowa recovered a muffed punt and made Arizona pay. There were a lot of problems in other areas for Iowa too. The receivers were dropping passes, the defense left a lot of holes in their zone, the offensive line was porous, and the defensive line didn't get much pressure (this may have been by design for containment but it's hard to say). On top of that, Jewell Hampton hurt his left knee and was unable to return; an MRI was done on Sunday and the results aren't known right now.
After that performance I'm glad that Ball St comes to Iowa City this weekend rather than Iowa starting Big 10 play. The national championship may be a lost cause now but the Rose Bowl is still in play.
On a side note, there was also a radio show being broadcast from Bennigans during part of the game. The Saturday Night Sports Special on 98.3 WOW FM was on location. I have been in contact with the show's hosts, the Des Monies Sports Freaks (Joseph Earp and Blake DeRouchey), on Twitter and we were able to meet in person. If you are into sports you should really check out their work.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
And So It Begins
The 2010 Iowa football season is out of the gates and the Hawkeyes look like a team ready to build on their 2009 success. The off season was shorter than normal as the Hawks played later in January than they normally would yet it seemed like the season wasn't coming soon. Thankfully the 2010 season didn't start as rough as 2009 did. A 30 point win over Eastern Illinois is a great way to start the season. Even better that there were no injuries during the game except for Ricky Stanzi's knee scare. Part of me thinks the injury was somewhat staged so that the Hawks could have some experience with the QB going down and the backup coming in. Whether or not it was planned Iowa didn't miss a beat with James Vandenberg taking over. Adam Robinson got to handle the full load of carries, as Jewell Hampton was suspended and Brandon Wegher is taking some time off for personal reasons, and did a very good job with over 100 yards. Paki O'Meara, who I've said is a great special teams player, got some carries in garbage time but also made the special teams play of the game by blocking a punt and returning it for a touch down. The Iowa defense was stellar except for one drive. EIU faked a punt and gained close to 40 yards on the play. They then finished the drive in the end zone. Over half of EIU's total yards came on that one drive. The defense was without Broderick Binns and Shaun Prater; with them in the lineup I doubt EIU would have scored.
This weekend it was the annual battle against Iowa State. It was another good start for the offense as Iowa scored 35 unanswered points (equating to a 70-0 run over the last 2 years). Robinson ran the ball extremely well (over 150 yards) and Jewell Hampton made his return from an ACL tear and looked faster than ever. He even had over 80 yards. The passing game was on fire as well as Ricky Stanzi had tons of time in the pocket and was able to hit his receivers in stride on almost every pass. Iowa State looked very unprepared; their coaching staff needs to step it up a notch in every aspect of the game, especially tackling. The Cyclone defense was trying to arm tackle and wrap-up way too high. You won't win at any level if you can't tackle! Speaking of defense, Iowa's defensive line seemed to be in the backfield all day long. The very first offensive play for ISU was a run in which Adrian Clayborn demolished Alexander Robinson in the backfield. Iowa St had the ball for 3 plays in the first quarter and gained 3 yards. The only way they got offense was through the air and a lot of it came after the first string Iowa defense was off the field (yet ISU's first string offense played the whole game). There were three straight drives in the 3rd quarter for Iowa State that looked good but ended with interceptions; none by Tyler Sash oddly enough, although he did make a great play by breaking up a deep pass. Another thing that stood out to me was the hard hitting done by Iowa on both sides of the ball. The defense was delivering punishing hit after punishing hit and even the offense got in on the act. Hampton and Robinson were running over defenders for extra yards; the offensive line was plowing defenders over; even the wide receivers were doing a great job of blocking. On Friday I predicted the score would be 38-9 Iowa, with ISU getting a TD in garbage time against the 3rd string defense but miss the extra point. I wasn't too far off at 35-7, even got the garbage TD called.
I'm really looking forward to the game this coming weekend at Arizona. I need to find a place to watch since we recently dumped the dish to save some cash. This will be the first real test for the 2010 team and it could really prove that Iowa are contenders not only for the Big 10 championship but also the national championship.
Another game coming up that I'm looking forward to is the Penn St game. There is a really cool promotion going on dealing with the colors of clothes the fans attending the game should wear. More on that in a couple of weeks!
This weekend it was the annual battle against Iowa State. It was another good start for the offense as Iowa scored 35 unanswered points (equating to a 70-0 run over the last 2 years). Robinson ran the ball extremely well (over 150 yards) and Jewell Hampton made his return from an ACL tear and looked faster than ever. He even had over 80 yards. The passing game was on fire as well as Ricky Stanzi had tons of time in the pocket and was able to hit his receivers in stride on almost every pass. Iowa State looked very unprepared; their coaching staff needs to step it up a notch in every aspect of the game, especially tackling. The Cyclone defense was trying to arm tackle and wrap-up way too high. You won't win at any level if you can't tackle! Speaking of defense, Iowa's defensive line seemed to be in the backfield all day long. The very first offensive play for ISU was a run in which Adrian Clayborn demolished Alexander Robinson in the backfield. Iowa St had the ball for 3 plays in the first quarter and gained 3 yards. The only way they got offense was through the air and a lot of it came after the first string Iowa defense was off the field (yet ISU's first string offense played the whole game). There were three straight drives in the 3rd quarter for Iowa State that looked good but ended with interceptions; none by Tyler Sash oddly enough, although he did make a great play by breaking up a deep pass. Another thing that stood out to me was the hard hitting done by Iowa on both sides of the ball. The defense was delivering punishing hit after punishing hit and even the offense got in on the act. Hampton and Robinson were running over defenders for extra yards; the offensive line was plowing defenders over; even the wide receivers were doing a great job of blocking. On Friday I predicted the score would be 38-9 Iowa, with ISU getting a TD in garbage time against the 3rd string defense but miss the extra point. I wasn't too far off at 35-7, even got the garbage TD called.
I'm really looking forward to the game this coming weekend at Arizona. I need to find a place to watch since we recently dumped the dish to save some cash. This will be the first real test for the 2010 team and it could really prove that Iowa are contenders not only for the Big 10 championship but also the national championship.
Another game coming up that I'm looking forward to is the Penn St game. There is a really cool promotion going on dealing with the colors of clothes the fans attending the game should wear. More on that in a couple of weeks!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
DIVISIONS?!?!?!?!? (cue Jim Mora)
In June I ran a prediction of the possible Big 10 divisions if Nebraska were to join the conference, which did happen. Turns out I was off a little bit. I had Michigan and Michigan St in the same division but with Ohio St and Penn St rather than with Iowa and Nebraska, which they are. I really don't like how Michigan and Ohio St were separated but will still get to play each other to end the regular season. I don't think Michigan will be a sure-thing to enter the conference championship out of the "west" division (Iowa and Nebraska will prove to be good competition) but I also don't see why they should potentially play Ohio St in back-to-back games. To me the final game should be against a division rival (such as Iowa and Nebraska will be). I also am not too happy that Wisconsin and Iowa won't be playing every year. I'm not a Wisconsin fan at all but the game is always competitive and is usually a fun time. The "west" division should have included Wisconsin rather than Michigan or Michigan St. I'm also not too thrilled about the new "rivalry game" with Purdue. Seriously? They're not even close to being a rival of Iowa. Too bad that Nebraska got Penn St because PSU is the closest thing to a rival Iowa has from the other division. Maybe the Big 10 powers don't want Iowa to ruin another great PSU season.
Ok, I'm done with my "I don't like" rants. On to the stuff I'm looking forward to. Iowa won't play Illinois for a few more years. Will Ron Zook be coaching the next time we play? I doubt it. I'm also very thrilled that Iowa will close the season against Nebraska in 2011 and 2012. I'm bummed that we have to go to Lincoln in 2011 but that only means a possible road trip for me. I do like the conference championship game that will be in place. No more 2002 scenarios (I'm still convinced that Iowa would have beat Ohio St that year). The championship game adds a little more drama to the season. Last year's final week didn't mean much as far as the conference championship race since it was decided after Ohio St squeaked past Iowa the week before.
Of course the one thing I'm looking forward to more than anything else is THIS SATURDAY! College football finally returns to Iowa City! Looking ahead to 2011 is fun but we still have to get through 2010 first. I'm looking forward to the 2+ hour drive to Iowa City early Saturday morning. I'm ready to break out the tail gaiting supplies and have a good time before heading to Kinnick and watching some football. Hopefully this year's opener won't be as nerve racking as last year's. I don't want to see the starters after halftime (if you know what I mean).
Maybe the teams in the "east" division, other than Purdue, are thankful they won't be playing Iowa every year....
Ok, I'm done with my "I don't like" rants. On to the stuff I'm looking forward to. Iowa won't play Illinois for a few more years. Will Ron Zook be coaching the next time we play? I doubt it. I'm also very thrilled that Iowa will close the season against Nebraska in 2011 and 2012. I'm bummed that we have to go to Lincoln in 2011 but that only means a possible road trip for me. I do like the conference championship game that will be in place. No more 2002 scenarios (I'm still convinced that Iowa would have beat Ohio St that year). The championship game adds a little more drama to the season. Last year's final week didn't mean much as far as the conference championship race since it was decided after Ohio St squeaked past Iowa the week before.
Of course the one thing I'm looking forward to more than anything else is THIS SATURDAY! College football finally returns to Iowa City! Looking ahead to 2011 is fun but we still have to get through 2010 first. I'm looking forward to the 2+ hour drive to Iowa City early Saturday morning. I'm ready to break out the tail gaiting supplies and have a good time before heading to Kinnick and watching some football. Hopefully this year's opener won't be as nerve racking as last year's. I don't want to see the starters after halftime (if you know what I mean).
Maybe the teams in the "east" division, other than Purdue, are thankful they won't be playing Iowa every year....
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