Notre Dame

Today in his end of the season press conference, Kirk basically said that he had no interest in the Notre Dame job and is happy here at Iowa. He was also asked about the health of the injured Hawkeyes:
Adam Robinson, Ricky Stanzi, Jermiah Hunter, and Jeff Tarpanian will all be back to full speed when practice resumes this weekend. Dace Richardson is still iffy and Ferentz said that he will meet with him this week to discuss seeking a 6th year of eligibility. If he could get the 6th year, it would be a huge boost for the Iowa offensive line, especially if Bulaga jumps to the NFL.

BCS Bowl

So in the last week there has been a lot of talk about what bowl Iowa will end up in. Most of the speculation points to either the Fiesta or the Capital One. I did a little bit of research to see what the actual procedure for BCS bowl selections is. Here is what I came up with. There are the following ties to bowls:

Big Ten Champ: Rose
Pac 10 Champ: Rose
SEC Champ: Sugar
Big 12 Champ: Fiesta

The rule goes that if one of your automatic qualifiers goes to the National Championship game, that bowl will be allowed to select a team from the qualifiers. If two different bowls lose their automatic qualifiers then the team that loses the #1 team gets first choice.

So if Texas beats Nebraska in the Big 12 title game, the National Championship game would probably be Texas vs the SEC champion. In that scenario, the Sugar Bowl would get the first pick since the SEC champion would be the #1 team, I think that they would choose the loser of the SEC Championship game. Then the Fiesta bowl would get the next selection and I think that Iowa would be their #1 choice. In this scenario, Boise State would probably be the opponent of the Hawks.

If Nebraska beats Texas, they would be the Big 12 champion and go to the Fiesta Bowl. If that is the case, the selections go this way for the bowls filling their slots: Orange, Fiesta, Sugar. In this scenario it would then be up to the Orange bowl to select between Iowa and Penn State and I think they choose Penn State. Iowa would then go to the Capital One bowl, which is not the worst thing that could happen.

Bottom line, cheer for the Longhorns as a win by them gives Iowa the best chance to make the Fiesta Bowl.

Minnesota Predictions Recap

Score prediction:
Iowa - 37 12
Minnesota - 13 0

Predictions:
Iowa's defense causes three TO's, 2 fumbles and 1 INT 3 (2 fumbles, 1 INT)
Iowa's defense has 5 sacks, Clayborn collecting 2 of them 5 - Clayborn - 1
Vandenberg completes 70% of his passes for 250+ 45.8% 117 yards
DJK has 5 catches for 125+ 7 catches 63 yards
McNutt has 3 for 90+ 1 catch for 28 yards
Moeaki has four catches and a TD 0
Hawks get a big gain out of a screen pass No, but would have been nice with the blitzes
Iowa gets a big kick return and starts in MN territory Touchback
Robinson rushes for over 100 yards 74 yards (all in first half)
Minnesota commits 7 or more penalties 4
MN backup QB Grey has a big run Long of 8
Weinke gets snaps in mop up duty Nope

Started out good with the predictions, but then trailed off

Hawks in the NFL

Babineaux, Jonathan Atlanta Falcons -DT- 26 tackles 4 sacks
Baker, Jason Carolina Panthers - P - 45.3 average
Betts, Ladell Washington Redskins - RB - 52 carries 205 yards 2 TD 17 Rec 179 yards
Clark, Dallas Indianapolis Colts - TE - 64 Rec 768 yards 3 TD
Cole, Colin Seattle Seahawks -DT - 26 tackles
Considine, Sean Jacksonville Jaguars - S - 20 tackles
DeVries, Jared Detroit Lions - DT - 29 tackles 2 sacks
Fletcher, Bradley St. Louis Rams - DB - 23 tackles
Gallery, Robert Oakland Raiders - OL - Starting guard, missed some time with injury
Godfrey, Charles Carolina Panthers - DB - 21 tackles 1 forced fumble
Goff, Mike Kansas City Chiefs - OL - Starting guard
Greene, Shonn New York Jets - RB - 44 att 217 yards 2 TD
Greenway, Chad Minnesota Vikings - LB - 61 tackles 1 FF 2 Int
Hodge, Abdul Cincinnati Bengals - LB - 10 tackles 1 FF
Iwebema, Kenny Arizona Cardinals - DE - 6 tackles 1 sack
Kaeding, Nate San Diego Chargers - K - 20/23 FG 29/30 PAT
Kampman, Aaron Green Bay Packers - LB - 42 tackles 3.5 sacks 1 FF
Myers, Brandon Oakland Raiders - TE - 2 rec 7 yards 4 tackles 1 FF
Olsen, Seth Denver Broncos - OL - Listed as #2
Roth, Matt Miami Dolphins - DE - 4 tackles (Released on 11/24)
Sanders, Bob Indianapolis Colts - 3 tackles 1 Int (Only played in two games because of injury)
Steinbach, Eric Cleveland Browns - OL - Starting guard
Wiegmann, Casey Denver Broncos - OL - Starting Center
Yanda, Marshal Baltimore Ravens - OL - listed as #2, missed some time with injury
Young, Albert Minnesota Vikings - RB - No stats on the season listed #3 on the depth chart

Minnesota Pre-Game

The battle for the brass pig. A series that in recent history has been dominated by Iowa, winning 7 of the last 8.

When Iowa has the ball-
Once again this week James Vandenberg will get the start under center for the Hawks, a week after looking superb against a tough Ohio State defense. Imagine how good his stats would have been had he not had circa 2006 Iowa wide receivers with a case of the drops. For a redshirt freshman he showed some serious poise and will look to take advantage of a poor Gopher defense. Minnesota is dead last in the Big Ten in sacks and Iowa's offensive line should be able to keep Vandy upright and create a good pocket for him to throw in. Minnesota's defense is 8th in the Big Ten in overall defense, but look for them to bring several blitzes to make James make quick decisions with the ball. Robinson should find the yards will come easier this week than last and he looked very good for missing two weeks with an ankle injury. Statistical oddity: Minnesota has a grand total of 6 punt returns all year.

When Minnesota has the ball-
To start the season any defense playing Minnesota had to worry about Eric Decker. Now that his season and career is over they have had to rely on other players and their offense hasn't been near as good. They will play a more traditional pro-style offense, which bodes well for Iowa's defense. Their quarterback, Weber, reminds me of Christiansen, doesn't throw many interceptions, but also doesn't throw for many yards or have a good completion percentage. Look for them to bring in their backup QB, Grey, as a running threat.

What will happen-
Powered by the right arm of Vandenberg, the Hawks will jump out to a 14-0 first quarter lead and the defense will begin to suffocate the Gopher offense. Look for Iowa to have to throw quick passes and screens to loosen up the Minnesota defense that will be bringing pressure. On the defensive side, Iowa will be able to get pressure on the Gophers, who have given up a Big Ten worst 34 sacks this season.

Score prediction:
Iowa - 37
Minnesota - 13

Predictions:
Iowa's defense causes three TO's, 2 fumbles and 1 INT
Iowa's defense has 5 sacks, Clayborn collecting 2 of them
Vandenberg completes 70% of his passes for 250+
DJK has 5 catches for 125+
McNutt has 3 for 90+
Moeaki has four catches and a TD
Hawks get a big gain out of a screen pass
Iowa gets a big kick return and starts in MN territory
Robinson rushes for over 100 yards
Minnesota commits 7 or more penalties
MN backup QB Grey has a big run
Weinke gets snaps in mop up duty

Iowa vs Northwestern Preview

Will the magical season that Iowa is having continue against Northwestern? If so, Iowa will have to snap the Wildcats two game winning streak at Kinnick Stadium.

When Iowa has the ball-
Northwestern's defense is a very talented and fundamentally sound unit. That being said, they have been bit by the injury bug in their secondary and haven't had the same starters for several weeks. They have a talented DE in Cory Wooten, but he has been contained this season compared to last season. His season doesn't get any easier this week going against the skilled tackles of Iowa. Look for Northwestern to play the same sort of defense as Indiana and load the box, forcing Iowa to pass to win. On paper, Iowa has superior talent to Northwestern, however, Northwestern feeds off of the emotion of their head coach. The way that Iowa has come out of the gate the last several weeks that could pose some problems in the area of momentum. Northwestern's secondary isn't very good and as previously mentioned, they are banged up. Look for Iowa to have the same sort of offense they did last week, run the ball and then go to a play action passing attack.

When Northwestern has the ball-
Northwestern is yet another spread offense team that Iowa will play this season. They have a very talented QB in Kafka, however he left last week's game against Penn State early with a hamstring injury. Part of his effectiveness is his ability to move in and outside of the pocket. When Northwestern gets into the red zone, they rely a lot of their quarterback as their running backs aren't the most skilled. If Kafka can't go, it is a huge advantage for the Hawks. You probably will see some nickel and dime defense out of Iowa this week as the Wildcats will deploy 4 and 5 wide sets quite often.

What will happen-
Northwestern will start of strong and more than likely score on their first possession. The Iowa defense will begin to impose their will on a young offensive line. Iowa fans will again become impatient with the Hawkeye offense in the first half as O'Keefe will be setting things up for the second half. In the end the Iowa team will prove to be too physical on both sides of the line for Northwestern and eventually wear them down.

Score Prediction:
Iowa 31
Northwestern 20

Predictions:
Stanzi will throw for 250+ yards
Rick will throw 3 TD's and 1 INT
Wegher will go for 80+ yards and a score
DJK will have a big game with 100+ yards and a touch
Stross will have the other TD and 3 catches
Moeaki will once again be bottled up with 2 catches for 25 yards
Reisner will catch a TD
The defense allows less than 80 yards rushing
Iowa forces 4 TO's
Kafka doesn't finish the game
The defensive line gets three sacks and a fumble recovery
Sash, Prater, and Lowe get INT's
Iowa finishes with 375 yards of total offense

Iowa vs Northwestern a few stats

Iowa's nine opponents this season have a winning percentage of .586
Northwestern's nine opponents have a winning percentage of .375
Northwestern has only made three road trips this season and they are 1-2 on the road
NW and Iowa are tied in scoring offenses at 25.7 points per game
NW Qb Kafka leads the Big Ten in passing yards per game at 243.9
NW WR Zeke Markshausen leads the Big Ten in receptions with 67
Pat Angerer is 3rd in the conference in tackles, Jeremiah Hunter is 7th
Tyler Sash leads the league in interceptions with 6
Adrian Clayborn is 2nd in the league with 6.5 sacks
Iowa has outscored their opponents 148-54 in the second half this season including 100-38 in the 4th quarter alone
Iowa's last three opponents have rushed for 87, 85, and 79 yards respectively
DJK is up to 12th in career receiving yards, a mere 660 yards from being the all-time leader
Tyler Sash is up to #6 in career INT's with 11

Indiana Game Recap

So since it was Halloween the Hawkeyes took Trick or Treat to the extreme by tricking everyone in Kinnick for three quarters only to give them a treat in the fourth quarter.

For a team that was 8-0 and coming off of two tough road victories, you hoped that they would come out with a little bit more emotion than they did. They came out flat a took a punch in the mouth from Indiana as the Hoosiers marched down the field and made it 7-0. On the drive, Iowa was gouged in the run game by Indiana spreading the field and taking advantage of Iowa's linebacker's being out of the box. Outside of that drive I can't recall any running plays that Indiana ran the rest of the game that had much success. The rest of the first half the Iowa defense really played lights out, they gave up 14 more points, but Indiana also had short fields on both of the touchdowns. Iowa's offense in the first half could be summed up in one word, pathetic. Take away the one deep ball to DJK that the Indiana corner just missed knocking down. On the Touchdown run by Wegher, Eubanks pulled out and led up the hole getting a key block on an Indiana defender. One of several key blocks that he had in what I would call his best game as a Hawkeye. The defense came up with a huge play in the third quarter as Indiana was knocking on the door to add to their 14 point lead, off of a ricochet Tyler Sash picked off the pass and took it the house. The third quarter would be something that Stanzi would like to forget as he threw 4 int's in the quarter alone. In the game Stanzi had 5 picks and in re-watching the game you have to think that the wind had something to do with a couple of them. He made a couple of good throws and ended up having a career high yardage wise. It took awhile for the Hawks to get going, but the poured it on with 28 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to end up looking like they actually won convincingly. A lot of fans have called out O'Keefe's play calling, but if the two deep ball int's hadn't hung in the air so long and were caught for TD's, the score would look a lot worse than it did.
In their first 9 games of the season, Iowa has trailed in 8 of them. This season is starting to have a strange Ohio State 2002 fell to it, all Iowa does is win games by any means necessary.

Predictions recap

Score Prediction:
Iowa 42 42
Indiana 13 24

Predictions:
Stanzi will throw for 300+ yards 337
Keenan Davis and DJK will have 4+ catches Davis-0 DJK-3
Moeaki will have a TD 0
The defense will cause 5 turnovers, 3 INT, 2 fumbles 3 INT
Brandon Wegher goes for 125+ rushing 118
Iowa finishes with 5 sacks, Clayborn with 2 1
Iowa scores on its first possession of the game No

Not a bad week of predictions.

Indiana Preview

For the first time ever the Iowa Hawkeyes will take the field on Saturday 8-0. While Iowa is still lacking the national media respect, if they keep winning the rankings will take care of themselves.
When Iowa has the ball-
Iowa will once again be a patchwork offense, Dace Richardson will be out until the bowl game, Colin Sandeman will probably miss the game after getting his bell run last week, and Adam Robinson will be shut down for the rest of the regular season. Iowa will look to get on track against the 10th overall defense in the Big Ten. In Big Ten play, Indiana is giving up 177 yards per game on the ground and 240 yards through the air. Watch the match up between Jamie Kirlew/Greg Middleton and Bulaga/Calloway. If the Iowa offensive lineman can control the talented Indiana ends, then Stanzi will have time to pick the poor Indiana defensive backfield apart. Reiff, Eubanks, and Vandevelde need to control the middle, including Mayberry, the Hoosiers best linebacker, in order for the Hawks to be successful with the run.

When Indiana has the ball-
Indiana runs what is called the "pistol" offense. The quarterback will line up about 4 yards behind the center, with the tailback right behind him. They are averaging over 25 points per game in league play, so they have the ability to put points on the board. They are a balanced attack the are in the middle of the league in both passing and rushing yards. They protect the ball as well, only giving the ball away 5 times in league play. Their offensive line will have problems with Iowa's defensive line and look for Indiana to have a lot of trouble running between the tackles.

What will happen-
Iowa will be fed by a raucous crowd and get out to a 14 point led after the first quarter. Look for Iowa to have a good mix of both the run and pass. The defense will continue with their boa constrictor like game, they won't dominate from start to finish, but they will squeeze the life out of you and make it tough to do anything late in the game.

Score Prediction:
Iowa 42
Indiana 13

Predictions:
Stanzi will throw for 300+ yards
Keenan Davis and DJK will have 4+ catches
Moeaki will have a TD
The defense will cause 5 turnovers, 3 INT, 2 fumbles
Brandon Wegher goes for 125+ rushing
Iowa finishes with 5 sacks, Clayborn with 2
Iowa scores on its first possession of the game

Michigan State Aftermath

Well the Hawks did it again. By no means did they dominate any facet of the game, but they played well enough to win the game.


Offense-


Thought that for the most part they looked bad on the offensive side of the ball. The running game seemed to gain some yards when they ran to the offensive left behind Bulaga and Reiff. In the third quarter, Iowa had first and goal at the 1 and were unable to punch it in. My question is, where was Wegher? Has he not proven that he is pretty good at the goalline dive? All it took however was the last drive for Iowa to start playing offense. With 1:37 left the Hawks had the daunting task of going 70 yards with only 1 timeout and having to get a touchdown to win. Stanzi looked like John Elway on "the drive," he was making most of the calls from the line of scrimmage and hitting his recievers when they were open and when nobody was open, instead of taking a sack or throwing one up, he ran and got what he could. With two seconds left O'Keefe dialed up a great play call. When Moeaki went in motion and the linebacker went with him and left McNutt one on one on the outside. Upon seeing this and knowing what the play call was, Stanzi had to be thinking, "Is this really happening?" In watching the play several times, both McNutt and Stross were open on the slant patterns. Stanzi chose to hit McNutt and the cardiac kids did it once again. The win did not come without some losses though, Dace Richardson went down early with an ankle injury, Colin Sandeman went down in the third after being the victim of a head to head hit, and Adam Robinson injured his ankle.



Defense-

While they only allowed 13 points, the defense really missed a lot of oppertunities to make big plays. Hunter dropped a probable pick 6 interception, Clayborn somehow missed a fumble recovery deep in Spartan territory, and they allowed a couple 3 down and more than 10 yard conversions. It was a little bit concerning that MSU went 90+ plus yards to get the lead. For the first game this season Iowa was unable to cause a turnover. Overall it was a pretty good game by the defense including a goal line stand when MSU had a first and goal at the 1.

New practice facility?

I know that there has been a lot of talk about a new indoor practice facility. The bubble was great when it was new 20 years ago, but lots of things have changed and lets be honest, when your team is 8-0 on the season, getting donors to donate money is a lot easier. Above is an image of a possible location and look of a new facility. Currently there is a parking lot where this facility would sit.

Iowa vs Michigan State stats

Iowa is the least penalized team in the Big 10, MSU is the second highest
MSU has only given up 6 sacks all season
MSU has the best passing attack in the Big 10
Iowa has the second best passing defense in the Big 10
Iowa has only given 1 opening drive scores in the last 20 games
Iowa is just the second school to ever win at Penn State and Wisconsin in the same season
Iowa has outscored its opponents 101-41 in the second half this season
Iowa has not allowed a second half point on the road this season
Iowa leads the nation with 15 INT's
MSU is -6 in TO's, Iowa is +11
DJK is now 17th in receptions and 19th in yards in the all-time Iowa receiving rankings
Iowa has not converted a fourth down all season
Iowa's opponents have been unsuccessful on all 4 onside kick attempts this season

Wisconsin Game Analysis

Well so much for Beilema being 15-0 in 11 AM starts at Madison. The game last week was very much a tale of two halves. In the first half Iowa was all but dominated, but only down 7 points. In the second half Iowa controlled all aspects of the game, offense, defense, and special teams.

Offense-
In the first half, Iowa's offense was less than stellar. Wisconsin was loading the box to stop the run and aside from the first drive and the deep ball to DJK, Iowa mustered very few yards. At halftime, the Iowa coaches must have seen something and really started to gouge the Badgers with the run. One of the things that Iowa did was something that I have been calling for all season, spread the defense out. A couple times Iowa went with no backs and a couple of running plays were single back. With Robinson and Wegher's ability to catch the ball, going empty is an advantage for Iowa as the defense can't go nickle or dime defense against Iowa's personnel. One thing that I noticed on Robinson's TD run was the block by Reisner, he cleared the way for Robinson a couple of times on that drive. His blocking has become so much better this season than it was last year. It also appeared in the game that Stanzi has developed a trust in DJK, he looked for him several times on the day and DJK started, which hopefully means he is out of the doghouse.

Defense-
First half was a tape that you want to throw away if you are Norm Parker. The front seven had awful gap assignments and nobody was getting off blocks. Hunter over-pursued several times opening up the cut back and John Clay looked like a beast in the first half. Once Wisconisin had the run established, it really opened up their play-action passing attack. But just like the offensive coaches, the defensive coaches made half-time adjustments that stymied the Badgers in the second half. Iowa turned the Badgers over three times in the second half and had Tolzein completely confused about where they were coming from. The turning point of the game was in the third quarter when Stanzi fumbled deep in Iowa territory and the defense stiffened and forced Wisconsin into a FG attempt that was missed. Spievey finally got a couple of balls thrown his way and had two interceptions. The first INT was a good play by him coming off the deep man, but an even better play by Edds to get in the throwing land and forcing the wide throw. The second INT was an incredible athletic play by Spievey.

Wisconsin Game Prediction Results

Score Prediction:
Iowa - 24 20
Wisconsin - 21 10

Predictions:
Stanzi throws yet another pick 6 No Int's
Robinson goes over 100 yards 91
DJK has over 100 yards receiving and a TD 113 Yards 0 TD
The Iowa defense forces 4 TO's 3
Iowa holds Clay to under 100 yards 75
Wisconsin's kicker misses 1 FG 1/2
1 Defensive or Special Teams TD 0

Pretty solid week of predictions.

Wisconsin Game Prediction

When Wisconsin has the ball-
Jim Williams would be thrilled, Wisconsin is a three yards and a cloud of dust kind of team. Look for a lot of power running, which will be the first time that Iowa will have faced this kind of offense this season. They boast a big and talented offensive line and like to get after it in the run game. Unlike most seasons, this Wisconsin team has a decent quarterback in Tolzien. He is a pretty accurate thrower, completing close to 65% of his passes. Much like Iowa, Wisconsin utilizes their TE, Graham, who has 27 catches on the season. In the backfield is John Clay, a big and powerful back that also possesses break away speed. On the season he has already racked up 641 yards at almost a 5 ypc clip. Besides Graham, Tolzien looks to Nick Toon, who has 26 grabs. One area to watch is the Badger kicker, Welch, who is only 6/11 beyond 30 yards.

When Iowa has the ball-
The Wisconsin defense is solid, every bit as solid at Michigan or Penn State. They are very much like Iowa in that they get a lot tougher inside the 20 and create turnovers, Wisconsin is +4 on the season. Iowa needs to get an early lead in this game as Wisconsin is 24-3 under Bielema when scoring first. Look for Iowa to come out and try to exploit the secondary that isn't very experienced, starting two sophomores at corner.

Wisconsin will win if-
They run the ball with success and keep the Iowa offense off the field. If the Badgers can control they pace of the game, it gives their defense time to rest and fatigues an Iowa defense that has done little substitution the last couple of weeks. Wisconsin needs to win the turnover battle and they need to finish drives with TD's and not rely on the kicker. Look for the Badger defense to load the box just like Michigan did and force Stanzi to beat them. If Stanzi isn't able to connect with his receivers, the Badgers will be tough to beat.

Iowa will win if-
They don't turn the ball over. If they play their kind of game, they will be fine. They will have to force Tolzien to beat them and stop Clay. If they can convert on 50%+ on third downs they will win.

Score Prediction:
Iowa - 24
Wisconsin - 21

Predictions:
Stanzi throws yet another pick 6
Robinson goes over 100 yards
DJK has over 100 yards receiving and a TD
The Iowa defense forces 4 TO's
Iowa holds Clay to under 100 yards
Wisconsin's kicker misses 1 FG
1 Defensive or Special Teams TD

Wisconsin vs Iowa Stats

Comparing the Stats
WISC IOWA
Record 5-1, 2-1 6-0, 2-0
Scoring Avg. 31.3 25.7
Scoring Defense 25.7 15.8
Rushing Yards 200.7 130.2
Passing Yards 222.1 232.8
Total Off ense 422.3 363.0
Rushing Defense 122.8 134.3
Passing Defense 210.3 171.0
Total Defense 333.2 305.3
Punt Return Avg. 6.8 9.6
KO Return Avg. 17.4 20.2
Turnover Margin +4 +9

Season statistics

Iowa has caused 13 fumbles on the season recovering 7 of them
Iowa has converted 43% of their third downs this season, while not converting a single 4th down
Iowa's opponents are 5/7 on fourth down
Iowa has outscored their opponents 84-41 in the second half
Iowa has 13 players that have caught a pass this season 5 players with 10+ catches
Donahue has 15 punts inside the 20, Iowa's opponents have 5
Iowa's opponents have only made 4/10 FG attempts this season
Iowa has not lost a fumble since the first game of the season and not put it on the turf since the ISU game
Iowa has had a Big Ten Player of the week 5 times this season

Tyler Sash has 5 INT's this season and 10 career, the Iowa records are 8 and 18 respectively
Amari Spivey is the only Hawk in the back 7 of the defense without an INT
DJK is only 64 receptions and 949 yards to set new career marks for Iowa
Stanzi ranks 8th in career passing yards and 7th in career passing TD's

Michigan game recap

Talk about an atmosphere, the crowd was well lubricated and there was electricity in the air. I wish that Iowa had more night games.
Offense-
Stanzi played another average game last Saturday, starting off with a pick six on his first attempt. In looking back at it, it looks like Chaney stopped his route short, but Michigan game planned for that route as their corner was already moving forward before Stanzi threw the ball. To his credit Ricky bounced back and played a decent game after that. He made a nice audible to Moeaki's first TD, yes that is right Iowa audibled to a pass, that never happens. He did however make some poor decisions that didn't hurt the team because Michigan didn't catch the ball. I thought that the running backs played an okay game, until Stanzi proves to teams that he can beat them with the deep ball, they are going to keep loading the box and make it difficult for our running game to get going. The receivers played a good game, aside from Chaney cutting his route short, no disastrous drops, and on both of Moeaki's TD's there was great down the field blocking from the wide receivers that allowed him to jog into the end zone. For having a crowded box, the line played an above average game, Reiff got the nod over Vandevelde, don't know if that was an experiment or if Reiff has looked that good in practice. He certainly has earned some playing time with his performances on Saturday's.
On the defensive side of the ball, although they turned Michigan over 5 times, I thought that the defense gave their worst effort of the season. They were gouged in the run game, which never happens against an Iowa team. The good news is that they have a couple more weeks until they play another spread offense. I thought that the linebackers played a solid game, with Hunter leading the charge.

Michigan Game recap

Score prediction:
Iowa - 24 30
Michigan - 10 28

Predictions:
Iowa has 200+ yards rushing 83
Stanzi has 300+ yards passing 284
Stanzi throws 0 Int's 1
The Iowa defense comes up with 3 TO's 5
There will be 1 defensive/special teams TD Correct
Iowa knocks Forcier out of the game Don't know if he was injured or not, but he didn't finish

Solid week of predictions

Iowa vs Michigan Preview

When Iowa has the ball-
Look for Iowa to come out running the ball. The weather forecast is calling for cold and chances of showers/snow. Iowa should be able to move the ball on the ground as well as in the air, Michigan has the 91st ranked defense, giving up an average of 392 yards per game. Ricky Stanzi looked much better last week, but will have to erase the two awful decisions that led to interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. The offensive line should look better than last week as they will have had two weeks of practice and games working as a unit. Last week the Wolverines gave up 400+ total offensive yards to Michigan State.

When Michigan has the ball-
They want to run the ball, they are 28th in the nation averaging just short of 200 yards per game. The good news is that Iowa is only allowing 122 per game, so their strength is also Iowa's strength. Michigan will once again be without their starting center Molk, so look for Iowa to bring more line stunts and try to disrupt the line calls. Last week against Michigan State, the Wolverines were only able to manage 28 yards rushing. So either MSU's defense is that good or Michigan got a lot of yards against sub-par defenses.

Michigan will win if-
They can run the ball against Iowa, if they can establish the run it could be a long day for Iowa. Their freshman quarterback had his first road game last week and lost, this week he will come in to a much more hostile environment at night. They want to allow him to run to set up the pass. If they can get him out of the pocket and give him the run/pass option, they will be successful as Forcier is more athletic than most of Iowa's defenders. Michigan will have to stop the Iowa running game, which is something that they haven't done this season, giving up 153 yards per game this season. If they can create some turnovers and give their offense a short field, they have a chance.

Iowa will win if-
Iowa needs to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. If they can do this and force Michigan to play from behind with the pass, they will win. Iowa needs to stay away from the turnovers, something they have yet to do this season. If Iowa can establish the run, it will force them to have their safeties start to cheat up to help the run, and their corner backs aren't good enough to cover our wide outs one on one. On the season, Michigan has given up 392 yards per game, so Iowa should be able to move the ball, so long as they don't shoot themselves in the foot. If the Iowa defense can put pressure on the young Wolverines and give them a proverbial punch in the mouth, they will be able to dominate the game. If Forcier is forced to be a pocket passer, it is advantage Iowa.

Score prediction:
Iowa - 24
Michigan - 10

Predictions:
Iowa has 200+ yards rushing
Stanzi has 300+ yards passing
Stanzi throws 0 Int's
The Iowa defense comes up with 3 TO's
There will be 1 defensive/special teams TD
Iowa knocks Forcier out of the game

Michigan vs Iowa NCAA rankings

Michigan:
Passing Offense - 80th 190/ypg
Rushing Offense - 28th 197/ypg
Total Offense - 47th 388/ypg
Scoring Offense - 24th 34/ppg
Passing Defense - 88th 239/ypg
Rushing Defense - 81st 153/ypg
Total Defense - 91st 392/ypg
Scoring Defense - 55th 23/ppg

Iowa:
Passing Offense - 55th 222/ypg
Rushing Offense - 62nd 139/ypg
Total Offense - 74th 362/ypg
Scoring Offense - 82nd 24/ppg
Passing Defense - 31st 180/ypg
Rushing Defense - 50th 122/ypg
Total Defense - 32nd 302/ypg
Scoring Defense - 10th 13/ppg

Iowa vs Arkansas St. Review

Score prediction:
Iowa- 42 24
Ark. St.- 10 21

Predictions:
Iowa forces 4+ turnovers (3 Int's, 1 fumble) 2 (1 Int, 1 fumble)
Wegher and Robinson are 100+ rushers Wegher-54 Robinson-39
Stanzi throws for less than 200 yards 296
Iowa has 0 sacks 2

Wrong on all predictions

Iowa vs Arkansas State Preview

Some would consider this a let down game possibility for Iowa, but I think that they got their non-conference scare opening weekend against UNI. The weather looks to be a factor in this game as it will be cold and rainy. This will be tough for Arkansas State as they are probably used to warmer weather down south and probably rarely have to play in the rain. Iowa has practiced in this and played in a rain game last week.

When Iowa has the ball- Iowa will be back to full strength along its offensive line with Bryan Bulaga returning to man the left tackle spot. Look for Iowa to come out early and impose their will on the Arkansas State defense. However, Arkansas State does rank in at 25th nationally against the run only allowing 100 yards per game. They held Nebraska to 136 yards in week two at Lincoln. On the other hand, look for Rick Stanzi to get on track against the nation's 102nd ranked pass defense that is allowing 256 yards per game. In that same Nebraska game, they gave up 358, so they are very susceptible to the pass. Don't be surprised if Iowa comes out guns a blazing and tries to take advantage of the weak Red Wolves secondary.
Match up to watch: Alex Carrington, DE vs Calloway and Bulaga Carrington was named the Sun Belt's pre-season defensive player of the year, but he will be going up against the strength of Iowa's offensive line in Calloway and Bulaga.

When Arkansas State has the ball- Look for Iowa to remain in base defense all game long. Arkansas State will have an offense much like that of ISU, only they throw the ball even less. They are in the spread, but their first option is to run the ball. On the season the are 37th nationally averaging 190 yards per game on the ground. Their main running back is Reggie Arnold, who averages over 6 yards per carry. When they are in the red zone, they will run the ball, having 11 rushing touchdowns and only 2 passing. Look for Iowa to counter this with their base defense and possibly leaving the corners in man coverage with the possibility of loading the box with a safety. The Red Wolves quarterback will run, but he is more likely to hand the ball off.
Match up to watch: Reggie Arnold vs Hunter and Edds If Arnold is allowed to get the corner it could spell trouble for the Hawks. If they can contain him and force the Red Wolves into passing, it becomes a huge advantage for the Hawks.

Score prediction:
Iowa- 42
Ark. St.- 10

Predictions:
Iowa forces 4+ turnovers (3 Int's, 1 fumble)
Wegher and Robinson are 100+ rushers
Stanzi throws for less than 200 yards
Iowa has 0 sacks

Penn State Game recap Offense

QB- Stanzi still didn't have a great game, but he wasn't missing receivers like he has in the past. He was putting the ball where his receivers should have come down with the ball. His one interception was off of his receiver's hands and then kicked into the air. He managed the game really well and towards the end of the game his clock management was great, he was constantly taking the play clock inside five seconds before snapping the ball. Overall grade B

RB- Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher have really come on as running backs. As fans we all wondered how they would perform against better competition. They were able to find holes in the Nittany Lion defense and more importantly they were able to pick up the blitzers. I thought that as the game went on, the running backs seemed to be running harder and taking advantage of a worn down defense. One thing that both of the running backs does is the run hard and finish runs going forward. Overall grade A-

WR/TE- Over the first three weeks the receiving unit played well. However they played an average game against Penn State. There were several drops and in the big games, like this one was, you can't have those. They did do a very good job of blocking and you have to give them the benefit of the doubt when Moeaki didn't play and DJK and McNutt both played sparingly. Overall grade B

OL- This unit continues to impress me. They played against a defensive line that was supposed to be better than them. They were opening up big holes all night for the running backs and aside from a few blitzes, they really gave Stanzi time to find his receivers. In my opinion, Riley Reiff has outperformed what anyone thought that he would do. The level of his play opposed to Bulaga's is not that big of a drop. Overall grade A-

Penn State Prediction Review

Penn State wins if- They force turnovers. If they can turn Iowa over a couple times and get a lead it will force Iowa to abandon their run game and if they abandon their run game, they also lose the ability to run play action passes. Penn State needs to get Evan Royster going in the game, whether it is running the ball or catching the ball out of the backfield. Penn State's defense needs to apply pressure to Ricky Stanzi, who hasn't been pressured that much yet this season.

Iowa wins if- Second half Ricky Stanzi plays the whole game. Here are Ricky's stats so far this season by half:

1st half: 27 of 55 for 281 yards, 3 iNT 2 TD completion % of 49.2% Effic Rating of 93.09
2nd half: 33-45 for 363 yards, 0 INT, 3 TD completion % of 73.3% Effic Rating of 163.09

If Ricky can perform well and protect the ball, there will be plays to be made in the Penn State secondary. Iowa needs to dominate the line on both sides of the ball, like they have done all season so far. If the defense can keep Daryl Clark in the pocket and force him to make plays from there, it is a good thing. Ryan Donahue could play a huge factor in the game in changing field position.

Score Predictions:
Iowa 20 21
Penn State 17 10

Predictions:
Iowa forces 2+ turnovers 4
Penn State misses at least 1 FG 0
Lee doesn't play for Penn State He didn't
DJK and Moeaki play for Iowa DJK played and Moeaki suited up
Stanzi has 2+ TD's 0
Iowa is held to under 100 yards rushing 163
Stanzi throws for 250+ yards 135

Penn State Preview

When Penn State has the ball-
Daryl Clark will be the best quarterback that Iowa has seen so far this season. He has the threat of leaving the pocket and making plays with his feet, which isn't new to Iowa, but he is an experienced quarterback that probably won't make mistakes. Their wide receivers are young, but talented and fast, the question will be what they can do against an experienced Iowa secondary. Royster is a very talented running back, but has been underutilized so far this season. Where he can really hurt Iowa in the passing game, where he is very talented as a pass catcher. Their offensive line is extremely young, they will have their hands full with the Iowa defensive line.

When Iowa has the ball-
It will be strength against strength, Iowa's running game against Penn State's front 7. Iowa will be without Bryan Bulaga, but will have the same starting offensive line as they had last week. Penn State might have the best linebacker corps in the nation, but may be without Sean Lee, who has a knee injury. They will have Bowman back in the lineup for the first time since opening weekend, but he probably won't be 100%. IF both of these players are out, it is a huge advantage to Iowa. Penn State's secondary is young and untested, so it will be interesting to see how the do against an above average passing game of Iowa.

Penn State wins if-
They force turnovers. If they can turn Iowa over a couple times and get a lead it will force Iowa to abandon their run game and if they abandon their run game, they also lose the ability to run play action passes. Penn State needs to get Evan Royster going in the game, whether it is running the ball or catching the ball out of the backfield. Penn State's defense needs to apply pressure to Ricky Stanzi, who hasn't been pressured that much yet this season.

Iowa wins if-
Second half Ricky Stanzi plays the whole game. Here are Ricky's stats so far this season by half:

1st half: 27 of 55 for 281 yards, 3 iNT 2 TD completion % of 49.2% Effic Rating of 93.09
2nd half: 33-45 for 363 yards, 0 INT, 3 TD completion % of 73.3% Effic Rating of 163.09

If Ricky can perform well and protect the ball, there will be plays to be made in the Penn State secondary. Iowa needs to dominate the line on both sides of the ball, like they have done all season so far. If the defense can keep Daryl Clark in the pocket and force him to make plays from there, it is a good thing. Ryan Donahue could play a huge factor in the game in changing field position.

Score Predictions:
Iowa 20
Penn State 17

Predictions:
Iowa forces 2+ turnovers
Penn State misses at least 1 FG
Lee doesn't play for Penn State
DJK and Moeaki play for Iowa
Stanzi has 2+ TD's
Iowa is held to under 100 yards rushing
Stanzi throws for 250+ yards

Arizona Game Recap

DL- Domination, that is the word that describes the performance of the defensive line last weekend. The individual stats won't jump off of the paper at you, but as a unit, they do what they have to do. They only got two sacks, but the number of QB pressures and QB hits also takes its toll. Adrian Clayborn had a great game tallying 6 tackles and a sack, with two great tackles where he ran down the back from the backside. Overall grade: A

LB- There is nothing bad to say about the linebacker corps of Iowa. They know their assignments and execute them almost flawlessly. Jerimiah Hunter made a huge play on a fake field goal in the 3rd quarter. The unit as a whole could still button up their tackling. Overall grade: B+

DB- The best DB's in the Ferentz era? I think that they could be. I would be willing to say that Prater and Spievey are the best CB duo for sure. They are good enough that you Norm could have the ability to put both of them on an island and still have the two deep zone. Tyler Sash is just a ball hawk, seems to play the cover two zone to a T. He has 7 INT's in his last five games and just missed his second multi-interception game in as many weeks. Overall grade: A

Defensive Notes-
Iowa gave up three big running plays, 75, 39, & 34 outside of those plays they had 22 rushes for 50 yards

ST- Murray will be the kicker for the rest of the season barring injury. He looks good and is getting good height on his kickoffs and allowing his coverage time to get down field. Donahue is a stud, averaging 51 yards per punt in the game with two getting downed inside the 20.

Arizona game- Offensive analysis

QB- For the third straight game it was a tale of two halves for Ricky Stanzi. He started out hot on the first drive taking the Hawks on their opening drive for a touchdown. He ended the drive 2-5 with one of the completions being a great one handed catch by Marvin McNutt on a ball that was behind him. On the second drive he threw the pick six on an out pattern that seemed to be late and in the air forever. There was also a play when Stanzi missed a wide open Reisner, who turned to the outside and the ball was thrown to the inside. We don't know who made the wrong move, but it looks like Stanzi made the bad throw. Ricky redeemed himself in the second half with a great throw to Reisner over the middle for a long gain. In the second half he calmed down and made the throws that he had to make, converting several key third day throws. He finished 20-32 for 205 yards and the 1 INT. Overall grade B-

RB- Adam Robinson started at tailback and has gotten better each week. He runs the ball hard, catches the ball out of the backfield and blocks. He had a huge third down run on a draw play when Iowa was probably just setting up the punt. He is getting much better with running the zone play, which is a staple in the Iowa offense. Adam finished the game with 18 carries for 101 yards. Brandon Wegher also carried the ball on Saturday and like most true freshman he is having his growing pains. He does look very good in goaline situations leaping over the pile. Overall grade: B+

WR/TE- Colin Sandeman had his official coming out party last week, he got the start opposite Trey Stross. Iowa's depth at this position is something that we haven't seen for several years. 7 different players caught a pass from Stanzi, with Sandeman leading the way with 5 grabs. Paul Chaney saw his speed utilized with three different rushing attempts in the game. Reisner filled in admirably for Moeaki, but his blocking isn't even in the same realm. The problem that plagued the Hawks for several years and that seems to be corrected this season. Overall grade: B+

OL- For the first time this season Iowa had the same starting lineup from one week to the next and it showed. The line fought a losing battle all day due to the fact that Arizona was stacking the box and out-numbering the blockers. Despite that fact, they were still able to pave the way for near 150 yards rushing and Rick Stanzi had plenty of time to throw all day long. Iowa may not play a faster defense all season than they did against Arizona. Riley Reiff's progression has been remarkable and the gap between him and Bryan Bulaga is not as great as some people thought. Dace Richardson continues to look good coming off of missing the majority of the last two seasons. Eubanks had a poor game, getting beat a few times and also having a holding call. Overall grade: B+

Arizona Prediction recap

Predictions:
Iowa forces 3+ turnovers 1
Stanzi has at least one pass completion for 40+ yards Long of 34
Iowa running game is held to under 150 yards, but Stanzi throws for more than 200 133 rushing 205 passing
Arizona will have a big defensive or special teams play, possibly a TD Pick 6 in the first quarter
Murray kicks 3 FG’s 2/2 FG's
Binns racks up 2+ sacks 0

Score prediction: 23-10 Actual 27-17

Iowa vs Arizona prediction

When Arizona has the ball-
Their offense will be more like Iowa’s than the first two of Iowa’s opponents. They would have had an All American caliber TE playing, but he is injured and not playing. They will deploy more of a power running style as the main RB, Grigsby, is one of the top rushers in the nation so far this season. This will be an excellent test for the Hawkeye defense that matches up much better against Arizona than they have against UNI and ISU. The defensive line will finally be matched up against an offense that won’t have so much mis-direction and wide open alignments. One thing to note is that Arizona’s QB will be starting his first road game in college and this week was quoted as saying that he wasn’t worried about it because he played against some big crowds in college. I think that he is underestimating the 70,000 that will pack Kinnick Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

When Iowa has the ball-
Iowa will probably be without Bulaga and Moeaki this week as both are going to be game time decisions. If that is the case it really hurts Iowa’s running game. Reiff can fill in for Bulaga at an all right level, but the run blocking drops off significantly from Moeaki to Reisner. Look for Iowa to run a lot away from the TE and possibly employ more three and four wide sets to run out of. Arizona’s defense is fast, but they don’t have a whole lot of size up front, look for Iowa to start with the running game to set up the play action pass.

Score Prediction: Iowa 23 Arizona 10

Predictions:
Iowa forces 3+ turnovers
Stanzi has at least one pass completion for 40+ yards
Iowa running game is held to under 150 yards, but Stanzi throws for more than 200
Arizona will have a big defensive or special teams play, possibly a TD
Murray kicks 3 FG’s
Binns racks up 2+ sacks

ISU game analysis- Special Teams/Coaching

K- It looks more and more like Murray will keep this job all season and Mossbrucker will red shirt. Nothing to speak of here, he made his PAT's and had no FG attempts.

P- Donahue is a weapon for this defense. He only averaged 39 yards per punt, but 3 of his 4 were downed inside the 20 and that leaves a long field for the opposing offense.

Returns- Chaney had a long punt return snuffed out by a block in the back and his other one was for only 2 yards. He brings some explosiveness to the return game and hopefully we will see him get into the open soon. Kick return wise Spievey got the only return of the day for 20 yards, if the defense keeps playing like it did last week we won't see too many of these again this season.

Coverage- Iowa kept the dangerous Leonard Johnson in check, holding him to an average return of 17 yards. The punt coverage unit only allowed three return yards, so once again last week they did a great job of covering kicks. Shout out here for Bruce Davis who covered the ill-advised onside kick attempt by Iowa State in the first quarter. Who needs a hands team?

Coaching- One of the better called games for both O'Keefe and Parker. Had Stanzi hit his open receivers there would have been a lot more points on the board. Parker was the puppet master of Austin Arnaud, you would have thought that he knew what plays were coming and he called defenses that baited Arnaud into throwing into coverage. Seemed that Kirk also had the team ready to play on Saturday, they came out and withstood the early ISU emotion unlike the past couple of trips to Jack Trice

ISU Game Analysis- Defense

DL- Once again the D-line played a solid game, against teams like UNI and ISU you aren't going to see a whole lot of stats from the line. I thought that they put good pressure on the Cyclone quarterbacks all game long and basically had their way with a larger offensive line. What concerned me was the amount of rushing yards ISU got in the game. Part of that was due to the scheme that ISU uses, that zone read running play coupled with the wider OL splits will cause the vanilla Iowa defense fits all season. Binns led the charge with 9 tackles and Klug had the only TFL for the DL. Overall grade: B

LB- After last weeks poor performance the linebackers stepped it up this last week. However they still missed too many tackles. Most of the time it was the basic fundamental of not wrapping up the ball carrier. The LB play on the option was for the most part good, I thought that their decision to make Arnaud carry the ball was well played by Edds most of the game. In pass coverage the LB's did all right against a bevy of crossing patterns, but still showed room for improvement. Overall grade: B

DB- Well after saying that the safeties played a sub-par game against UNI, they brought their A game against ISU. Sash and Greenwood both had multiple INT days with Sash being Arnaud's second favorite target with three grabs. The entire defensive backfield had a stellar game, William Lowe got the start at the corner opposite Spievey and was hardly picked on at all. It appeared that Iowa played more man coverage on Saturday than they normally do and they played it exceptionally well. Everyone wants to talk about the bad passes Arnaud made, but there was little room to get the ball to his receivers as they couldn't get any separation from the Iowa DB's. Overall grade: A

Defensive notes:
Team did a great job of gang tackling
Arnaud still does not know that Iowa plays a cover 2
Looked shaky against the run at times
6 TO's is going to win you a lot of games

ISU game analysis- Offense

QB- What would the score had been if Rick Stanzi had a good game? It would have been ridiculous. Stanzi missed a lot of open receivers almost all of them high. There have only been a couple of times this season that Stanzi has hit a receiver in stride and allowed the receiver make a play with the ball in his hands. Stanzi did throw 4 TD's, but he missed at least two other TD's. He threw two INT's that were poorly thrown. He needs to play better as Iowa gets into the meat of their schedule. James Vandenberg came in at the end of the game and showed his arm strength as he tried to drive the ball between the 1's on Nordeman's jersey. Overall grade: C

RB- Coming off of the performance last week against UNI the RB unit needed a big performance. Adam Robinson started the game and Brandon Wegher got his first significant carries as a Hawkeye. Both backs ran the ball well and more importantly blocked well. Wegher showed that he might be the featured back sooner rather than later. Both backs run the ball hard and never seem to be taken down by the defender that makes first contact. Wegher showed great field vision making cuts and moves that made him look like a seasoned veteran. Brett Morse had a great game blocking and showed that he can also be a receiving threat. Overall grade: A-

TE/WR- Another stellar game for the receivers of Iowa, you have to see the correlation between Erik Campbell coming on as a coach and the emergence of Iowa's receivers. They all run good routes. block well, and make the plays when they are called on. It was good to see DJK get some early reps and Keenan Davis pop his touchdown cherry. Moeaki is a stud, his blocking was awesome on Saturday, I saw several times that he made the key block on running plays. Overall grade: A

OL- With Bulaga out the Hawks were figured to have trouble with blocking, but they played light years better than they did the previous week. Riley Reiff filled in for Bulaga and will be a stud when he gets a chance to play. Look for him to be on an NFL roster in four years. Vandevelde and Calloway were both back in the starting lineup and it showed. There was a great pocket all day long around Stanzi, they only gave up one sack and that was on a well called blitz on a naked boot leg. The run blocking left some to be desired, but Iowa State had 8 players in the box all day long and were daring Iowa to throw it. Overall grade: B

Overall offensive observations:
Iowa wore down the ISU defense.
They score should have been a lot worse, Stanzi missed wide open targets
The running game looked a lot better in the second half.
The run blocking will get better with all the projected starters playing
This is the deepest passing game in the Ferentz era, hopefully they don't lose any players for not getting the ball very much.

Arizona 2-Deep Notes

The two-deeps are out for the Arizona game, here are some notes:

Bulaga listed back at LT, guess it wasn't a serious ailment
Wegher listed as the backup running back
No Keenan Davis
Spievey not listed as KR
Lowe listed ahead of Prater

Gut Check time in the Big Ten

So the Big Ten has gotten a bad rap the last couple of years and justifiably so. They haven't performed well in the big games and that is ultimately what matters in the eyes of the public. This weekend could do a lot to help the Big Ten's rep as they have some key out of conference games with other BCS schools:



USC @ Ohio State

Notre Dame @ Michigan

Fresno State @ Wisconsin

Iowa @ Iowa State

Purdue @ Oregon



Obviously the big game is USC @ Ohio State, but the other four are also important to the conferences overall rep. How do I think the games will turn out, I think the only Big Ten team to lose will be Purdue.



USC 24 Ohio State 32

Notre Dame 17 Michigan 24

Fresno State 10 Wisconsin 21

Iowa 28 Iowa State 16

Purdue 17 Oregon 28

Iowa State game preview

This is a rivalry game, so you might as well throw out all the trends, tendencies, and stats from last week. Both teams come in after non-impressive victories in their first games.

ISU on offense: How well do the Clones know this offense, the no-huddle semi-hurry up style? They looked good at times last week and bad at others. They have opened up their line splits which spreads the defense out more and gives the OL a better chance, I think they did this because they know they don't have a very good OL and needed to find an advantage. Robinson is a good back playing behind an average OL, so it really depends on their sets as to whether he has success against Iowa, if they spread out the Hawks he will have a better game than if they allow Iowa to keep 7 in the box. Arnaud will have a big game yardage wise, much like he did last year, so long as he takes what the Iowa defense gives him. Usually that means 8 yard outs and slants. Where he could really be a weapon is in the run game, if ISU goes 4-5 wide and then runs a QB draw they could have some success ala Brett Meyer a couple of years ago.

ISU on defense: The Cyclone defense was awful last year and at least in the first game this season didn't look much better. They are undersized up front and their back 7 missed a lot of tackles. They are opportunistic creating 2 turnovers, one of which was in their own end zone. They gave up over 200 yards rushing and almost that much passing against a inferior team. Johnson is a solid corner, but their defense has some work to do.

Iowa on offense: Last week was an awful performance for the Iowa offense, Stanzi was off on a majority of his throws and the line failed to open up many holes. Look for Iowa to stick with the run first pass second plan and hope that the OL gels more than it did last week.

Iowa on defense: The defense will be the key to this game, if Parker sticks to his base defense Arnaud will be licking his chops. Iowa showed more blitzes last week than any game in recent memory and could do that again, forcing Arnaud to make quick decisions. Look for the linebackers to perform better and the front seven to control the line of scrimmage.

ISU wins if: They stick to the wide open hurry up spread offense and not allow Iowa to substitute. Use the misdirection runs to help out the OL and give Robinson more running lanes. QB draw, Iowa has shown in past match ups that they don't defend it well. Their defense blitzes early and often, with Bulaga not playing, Iowa will have a makeshift OL that underperformed against UNI. If they can confuse the OL and Stanzi they have a chance to win this game. If ISU gets a lead early they force Iowa away from its bread and butter smash mouth clock eating style of football and it plays well for ISU.

Iowa wins if: They punch ISU in the mouth early. ISU will come out with a lot of emotion, they saw Iowa almost lose last week and this is Coach Rhoades first time as a head coach against Iowa. If Iowa comes out and scores early and gets a defensive stop, they emotion will be gone and it could be a long game for ISU. The OL plays up to its potential, they will have the benefit of Robinson in the backfield, who plays better than Paki, and ISU looked shakey at best last week against the run. If Iowa can get the running game going, that opens up their play action pass attack which is one of the things Iowa always does well. Defensively, Iowa needs to stop the run, if they can make ISU one dimensional it allows Iowa to focus on shutting down the pass. Look for ISU to move the ball between the 20's but have to settle for FG attempts.

Predictions:
Arnaud will pass for over 300 yards, but have 2 INT's
Iowa will record 4+ sacks
Adam Robinson has 125+ yards rushing
McNutt will have 100+ yards as ISU will focus on Moeaki
Both teams will have 2+ turnovers
Iowa will take the ball first and put points on the board on their first possession
ISU will miss at least 1 FG
A special teams play will be the difference in the game

Iowa 24
ISU 13

UNI game recap- special teams and coaching

K- Murray looked okay, really hanging his kickoffs up in the air and allowing his coverage team to get down the field. Didn't get to see much FG wise, but if he keeps it up, look for Mossbrucker to red-shirt and save a year of eligibility.

P- Donahue was a star on Saturday, he won't get the accolades that he deserves because he doesn't go for yardage as much as he does height. It would be interesting how many punts he has returned this season. He only had one of his five punts returned on Saturday and that one went for -2 yards, four of his five punts were inside the 20

Coverage units were good on Saturday, the longest kick return was 19 yards with UNI averaging less than 14 yards per kick return. Bruce Davis did a nice job covering kicks as well as David Cato.

Coaching- I thought the defensive coaches called a good game for the most part. Saw more blitzes than I had seen in years from Iowa, even had a zone blitz with Clayborn defending a pass in the end zone. Thought that they needed to rotate more in the DL, could tell they were gassed on the last drive. Need to find a 5th DB so they can go to a nickle defense, I hate seeing LB's out on receivers all game long. Too many line stunts on run plays, really hurt the DL at times. Offensively there was no rhythm. In the first half it was the metaphoric bashing your head into the wall. O'Keefe basically said we are going to run the ball come hell or high water and it just didn't work. Without a big play back, you cannot have a TE, FB, and RB, that allows the defense to put too many players in the box. If he would go to a three wide set with a TE and single back, it would spread the defense out and open up running lanes, ie what opposing offenses do to Iowa. Clock management was horrible with Stanzi snapping the ball with more than 10 seconds on the play clock several times in the last couple minutes. Calling a pass on second down on their last drive and it being incomplete stopped the clock instead of 40 seconds rolling off or UNI using a TO if they had run it.

UNI game recap - Defense

DL- Considering that Iowa replaced two four year starters at defensive tackle, I thought that the line played a very good game. Playing against UNI is probably different than almost any other team Iowa plays this year, they run what some would call an unconventional offense. I noticed that the line really got a good push up front and for the most part controlled the line of scrimmage. They did get into trouble sometimes when they ran line stunts on running plays and on misdirections. Klug showed that he has a motor and is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. Ballard looked like a guy that was new to the DT position, he did well in 1 on 1 situations, but showed some struggles against double teams. The ends were solid and that was to be expected. Overall grade: B

LB- A unit that returns all of the starters from last season had a very sub-par game for the most part. Several missed tackles and just lacked play making on Saturday. Edds didn't look like the senior that he is, missing tackles and not taking good angles. Angerer played OK, but was beat in coverage for UNI's touchdown. Hunter played an average game, coming up with a huge FG block to end the game. Overall I expected more out of this group and hope this is a one game deal. Overall grade: C

DB- Returning three of four starters, the defensive backfield was though of as a strength for Iowa. Greenway seemed to be a step slow on every play, don't know what his problem was, but didn't perform well at all. Castillo looked like a freshman out there, playing the traditional Iowa CB position to a T, 15 yard cushion, make the tackle after they get a first down. He is just keeping the position warm until Prater is back. Sash showed some emotion and could be the emotional leader for the defense, he flew around and seemed to pick up the defensive intensity. Spievey is dominate, you won't see too many teams that throw his way, even when his guy made a catch, Amari was right there with him. Overall Grade B-

UNI Game Recap Offense

So since we had our second child last Thursday, I wasn't able to do a pre-game look at the Panthers. On top of that, the hospital didn't have the Iowa game on, so I had to wait until Sunday night to actually see the game. Now had the Hawks come through with one of the most improbable wins I have ever seen, I probably wouldn't have even watched the film, but here is my position by position breakdown.

QB- Stanzi came out with guns a blazing in the first half, he looked very sharp on the opening drive, but even on that drive his passes were in front or behind most of their targets. After that first drive Stanzi looked awful the rest of the first half, missing many open targets and making bad reads. In the second half he put a couple of drives together and started making better reads. Some of the positives that I saw were that he spread the ball around, hitting 7 different receivers with at least one pass, when it was crunch time he put the team on his shoulders and led them on a couple of scoring drives. Couple negatives, he tried to force the ball too much, showed a lack of maturity by not throwing the ball away when he was pressured outside the pocket. Overall grade C+

RB- Going into the game we knew that it would be a struggle going with what most fans considered the #3 and #4 options at the position. Paki O'Meara started the game and got the bulk of carries in the first half. He seemed to lack the burst that is needed to get through the hole on the zone play, a staple in the Iowa offense. He also fumbled on the first drive of the second half and wasn't heard from again in the game. O'Meara channeled his inner Marcus Schnoor getting tackled by the initial tackler several times, often the shoestring variety. Adam Robinson was second string and saw his first collegiate action for Iowa. He looked good at times, but other times looked like a freshman. He showed the burst that is needed by an Iowa running back (4.2 ypc) and also showed some strength, rarely going down on first contact. For only being a freshman Robinson showed that he could also take on defenders as a blocker. Overall grade: O'Meara D+ Robinson B

WR/TE- The one bright spot on the offensive side of the ball was the pass catchers. The wide receivers that started the game were McNutt and Stross with McNutt being Stanzi's favorite target early. Changing positions in the spring from QB to WR, McNutt looked like a seasoned veteran. Paul Chaney looked light years better than he has at any time at Iowa, his speed could be a weapon for the Hawks this season. Tony Moeaki looked like the player that Iowa thought they were getting four years ago. The leading receiver of the last two season barely even played, at some point we will find out what DJK has done to find his way into the doghouse. Overall grade A-

OL- Going into the season, all fans thought that the strength of the offense was going to be the line. The starting line for the UNI game was from L to R: Bulaga, Gettis, Eubanks, Doering, and Richardson. Normally, I would just break the line down as a whole, but in watching the game, the tackles played phenomenally. I don't even know if you heard the names of the two UNI defensive ends all game. The interior of the line on the other hand was the exact opposite. For being a 5th year senior, Doering looked like he was a freshman out there. The interior defensive line and linebackers owned the interior of the Iowa line and it was a problem the whole game. Gettis showed flashes of promise, but he is still young. Overall grade: T's- B+; G's and C- D

Coaching- There were times where you thought that Iowa was going to be different, opening with a pass and not a zone play. Even busting out a reverse early in the game. I liked how they brought in several different packages, however if they weren't able to get holes, I thought that they should have gone to a more spread out offense to keep the 8th defender out of the box. In the 4th quarter when Iowa was trying to run out the clock they went to a pass on second down and having an incomplete pass instead of running the ball and either taking up more time or forcing UNI to use a timeout. Overall grade: C+