Georgia Tech Prediction

I am done with my hibernation and am ready to watch the black and gold take the field against Georgia Tech.

Overview-

Last time Iowa was in a BCS game, they got their doors blown off by USC, that was Kirk's first time leading a team to a bowl of that magnitude and after the game he said that he did a poor job preparing the team for the game. Since that bowl game, Iowa has taken more or a business trip approach to their bowl game trips. The weather at game time will be cold, not Iowa cold, but cold for Florida. That is something that Iowa will be a little bit more used to than Georgia Tech and could be an advantage.

When Iowa has the ball-
Georgia Tech is by no means a good defensive team, they give up over 6 yards per play and the only reason that they aren't worse than the 52nd ranked national defense is that their offense controls the ball for most of the game. The Iowa offense should be able to move the ball and score points as well as they did at any point of the season. It will also be the first game in a long time that Iowa will be at 100% health wise. Dace Richardson will be healthy along the line and Robinson and Wegher are both at full go in the backfield. Look for Iowa to have a balanced attach of both running and passing the ball. Stanzi will be back under center for the Hawks and should be ready to set the groundwork for a 2010 senior season. The match up to watch will be Bryan Bulaga and GT defensive end Derrick Morgan. Both players are juniors and have a decision to make after this game and if they both come out, they will probably both be 1st round picks.

When Georgia Tech has the ball-
Think back to the glory days of Oklahoma in the 60's or Nebraska in the 90's and that is what you will see with the Ramblin Wreck offense Tuesday night. They will roll out with a 3:1 run pass ratio. Their most prominent offensive set is double wing single back, running the triple option out of this set. Their quarterback, Nesbitt, is very good at running the option and isn't a great passer, but is effective with it due to the play action. Their fullback, Dwyer, is averaging over 6 yards per carry and resembles Shonn Greene in his ability to run people over. If they do pass the ball, Demaryius Thomas has 46 of their 76 pass receptions on the year. If GT goes to the pass they basically run three go routes and rely on the defensive backs biting on the play action. The match up to watch on this side of the ball is Pat Angerer vs Jonathon Dwyer, Angerer will probably be assigned to take away the dive part of the option and controlling that play, could really help out the rest of the Iowa defense to control the quarterback and pitch man on the option.

What will happen-
Look for GT to score on their first drive, no matter how good the Iowa scout team ran the GT offense in practice, there is not way they ran it at the same speed and it will take some adjusting for the Iowa defense. After the first drive though, look for the Iowa defense to control their offense, Norm Parker has shown over the years that he is great at taking away what a team wants to do and will show us all again, why he is one of the best defensive coordinators in the nation. Iowa's offense will have no problem moving the ball, but will have problems with GT's athletesism.

Score prediction:
Iowa - 27
GT - 17

Predictions-
Iowa defense causes 3 to's (2 fumbles, 1 int)
GT defense causes 2 to's (1 fumble, 1 int)
Tyler Sash will be defensive player of the game (8 tackles, 1 FF, 1 Int)
Ricky Stanzi will be the offensive player of the game (250 yards passing 2 td's)
The Iowa defense will hold GT to less than 200 yards rushing (more than 100 off their average)
Marvin McNutt will have 5 catches for 95 yards a 1 TD
Adam Robinson will have 125+ yards rushing
Wegher will rush for 45 yards and a TD
Iowa will hold GT to 3 second half points
Game will be over by 10:15, including halftime

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