Early Schedule Look

The 2011 schedule is out and here is an early look at it:


9/3 – Tennessee Tech
9/10 - @ Iowa State
9/17 – Pittsburgh
9/24 – Louisiana Monroe
10/1 – BYE
10/8 - @ Penn State
10/15 – Northwestern
10/22 – Indiana
10/29 - @ Minnesota
11/5 – Michigan
11/12 – Michigan State
11/19 - @ Purdue
11/26 - @ Nebraska



Key Non-Conference Game-
While the annual Iowa State game is huge for the fans and players from the state, I think that the Pittsburgh game is bigger this year. First off, with all the lumps that the Big Ten has taken in BCS bowls the last several years, the conference as a whole needs to win all the out of conference games against fellow BCS conference teams. Three years ago, Iowa let the game at Pittsburgh slip through their fingertips, they need to redeem themselves for that game. And the last reason this game is bigger than the Iowa State game is exposure and recruiting. This will be one of two games that Iowa will play against teams from the east coast. Iowa has a history of great players from the area and getting some extra exposure certainly helps their chances.

Key Stretch-
There are several key stretches for this Iowa squad, but the most important stretch would be the first two Big Ten clashes of the season, at Penn State and hosting Northwestern. Now you may wonder why these two teams when Iowa has a trip to Nebraska and home games against both Michigan schools, and the reason is that those games don’t mean a thing if they can’t get through these two games. Of late, Iowa has been able to handle Penn State, but this will be the first visit to Happy Valley for many of players on this young Hawkeye team. If they can go into an environment like that and win, it could mean great things for the rest of the season. After their visit to Happy Valley, the Hawkeyes will entertain the Northwestern Wildcats, a team that is quickly becoming their Achilles heel. The Wildcats have beaten the Hawks five of the last 6 games even though they have been decided underdogs in all of those games. This season looks to have the same pre-game prognostication and the Hawks need to right the ship and get back to winning the games they are supposed to win.

Trap Game-
The Hawkeyes play host to both Michigan teams in Legends division matchups and end the season play at Nebraska, which could decide the Legends division. In between the Michigan State and Nebraska game is a trip to Lafayette to play Purdue. Iowa will undoubtedly be licking their wounds after two inter division games and possibly looking forward to the trip to play big red. Purdue is a team that has been down of late, but has shown signs of life under coach Danny Hope. It will be senior day at Ross-Ade Stadium and the Boilermakers could be in the hunt for bowl eligibility.

Penn State Stat Comparison and Notes

• Iowa has won 7 of 8 against Penn State
• 6 of the last 10 matchups between PSU and Iowa have been decided by a touchdown or less
• Paterno is the longest tenured Big Ten coach at 45 years, Ferentz is second with 12
• Iowa has only allowed 3 teams score on their opening drive out of the last 30
• DJK needs 130 yards receiving and 13 catches to become the career leader in each category
• Iowa's roster includes 36 players that achieved at least a 3.0 GPA last semester
• Iowa is 1 of 11 teams nationally to have the same full time coaching staff for the last three seasons
• Iowa has outscored their opponents 60-14 in the second half this season
• Iowa is averaging 7.7 yards on 1st down this season
• Iowa's heaviest player is 310 pounds

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

Keenan Davis

If you had any doubt about Davis' athletic ability, check out this video at the 37 second mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypzxh2jjWF4&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmarcmwm%2Ewordpress%2Ecom%2F2009%2F04%2F10%2F37%2Dseconds%2Dthats%2Dkeenan%2Ddavis%2F&feature=player_embedded

Night Games

In a recent interview with ESPN.com Kirk Ferentz let it out that Iowa will have three night Big Ten games this year, the only problem is that two of those will be away. Their first contest underneath the lights will be on September 26th at Happy Valley against the Penn State Nittany Lions. They then have a home night game against Michigan on October 10th. The final night Big Ten contest of the season will be in East Lansing against Michigan State. There is also a possibility that the Arizona home game on September 19th will be at the very least an afternoon game as they probably won't make Arizona start a game at 9 AM their time. Stay tuned for more details about night games played by the Hawks. Also don't look for the matchup against Ohio State to be a true night game as there is a rule in the Big Ten that doesn't allow night games in November. The latest that game could start is 2:30, but that probably depends on how both teams start the season.