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