Fiesta Bowl????

I am telling you right now, Fiesta has been waiting a long time to be in a position to select the Hawkeyes!!! The last time Iowa went to a BCS game was the Orange. Let me tell ya, there were Hawk fans everywhere! The Dolphin Stadium was packed 90% with Hawk fans. Fiesta wants a sell out crowd and they know picking the Hawks it would be sold out in minutes. Big fan-base in Arizona and a BCS bid will make a lot more travel that usually don't. I went to the ASU game a few years back and I was shocked how many Hawk fans were at that game... The only thing keep Iowa out of the Fiesta is the BCS poll. Iowa needs to be in the top 14 in order to be selected for a BCS game. It would help by cheering against the following teams and of course a convincing win by the Hawks vs the Goophers!

8) LSU - The SEC already have their 2 BCS teams in but LSU is ranked ahead of the Hawks.

9) Pittsburgh - They still have to play Cincy. Only one Big East team will get in so might as well as make in Cincy and knock Pitt out of the Top 14.

10) Ohio State - It would help us get a share of the Big Ten!

11) Oregon - It seems their luster has worn off but we need Arizona to win. AZ lost last week to Cal really stung!

12) Oklahoma State - This might be the biggest. Boone has deep pockets and connections. One more loss to either CO or OK would keep the Cowgirls out of the BCS!

13) Iowa - Just WIN baby! We need another big win like last years 55-0 win. We have two big prospects visiting this weekend in #1 overall ranked prospect OL Seantrel Henderson and #5 ranked TE C.J. Fiedorowicz. I think CJ will commit to the Hawks but I give Seantrel a 5% chance...

14) Penn State - A lot of talk of Fiesta taking PSU over the Hawks but I just don't buy it. Even though head-2-head doesn't matter much just look at how they got crushed at home vs OSU and we almost beat OSU in the Shoe. Enough said there but a loss to MSU this weekend would take them out of the BCS for sure!

15) Virginia Tech - They have no chance...

16) Wisconsin - OK they beat up on Michigan that has been spiraling out of control. Big Deal. PSU would be taken ahead of Wisky. Still a loss at NW would definitely take them out of the BCS.

The other thing Iowa has going for them is their recent Bowl record. Last year they were the only Big Ten team to win a Bowl game. And they won convincingly over South Carolina who most analysts thought was too fast for the Hawks. Blah Blah Blah. We hear that every year yet since the Orange Bowl:

- Crushed Ron Zook and his Florida Gators in the Outback
- Was taking it to LSU in Cap1 before they inserted Jamarcus Russell and took the lead at the end of the game. Last second TD from Tate to Holloway for the win!
- Got screwed by the refs throughout the rematch with Florida in the Outback. We battled through it all and had a chance with an onside kick at the end. Hawks recover the kick yet are called miraculously offside. Video showed it was yet another bogus call.
- Took it to Texas in there own backyard at the Alamo. Another controversial call took away a TD pass and Texas took the lead at the end of the game.
- Outback yet again vs South Carolina. It was nothing but a slaughter by the Hawks.

January 1, 2004 Outback Bowl W Florida 37 17
January 1, 2005 Capital One Bowl W LSU 30 25
January 2, 2006 Outback Bowl L Florida 24 31
December 29, 2006 Alamo Bowl L Texas 24 26
January 1, 2009 Outback Bowl W South Carolina 31 10

Iowa Sports Information Department has had enough...

This was sent out today by the Iowa Sports Information Department to the media outlets:

GET THE CORRECT FACTS ON IOWA FOOTBALL

It seems popular for national pundits to criticize the University of Iowa football team these days. Many have said Iowa doesn’t belong on the same board with Florida, Texas, Alabama, Cincinnati, TCU, Oregon or Boise State. Iowa’s schedule has been rated the seventh toughest in the nation. Only one team in Big Ten history has beaten Penn State, Michigan State and Wisconsin on the road in the same season (Michigan did it in 1997). The two schools Iowa does not play in the Big Ten this year have the worst overall records (Purdue and Illinois) in the league. To say Iowa hasn’t played a strong enough schedule is to be totally misinformed. Please look at the facts below.



Number of opponents defeated that currently have winning records:

1. Iowa 6

2. Cincinnati 4

TCU 4

4. Oregon 3

5. Boise State 2



Total won-lost records (and winning %) of defeated opponents:

1. Iowa 44-31 .586

2. Oregon 29-28 .508

3. TCU 34-33 .507

4. Cincinnati 30-36 .454

5. Boise State 27-37 .421



Total won-lost records of opponents defeated in their home stadiums (i.e. road wins)

1. Iowa 23-12 .657

2. TCU 19-14 .575

3. Cincinnati 21-20 .512

4. Boise State 14-18 .437

5. Oregon 6-10 .375



Number of defeated opponents ranked in current BCS Top 25:

1. Iowa 3 (Penn State, Arizona, Wisconsin)

Oregon 3 (USC, Utah, California)

3. Boise State 1 (Oregon)

4. Cincinnati 1 (South Florida)

5. TCU 0



Won-lost records of remaining teams left on schedule:

1. Iowa 17-10 .629

2. Oregon 19-12 .612

3. Cincinnnati 19-13 .593

4. Boise State 20-22 .476

5. TCU 15-17 .468

AZ 2 Deep Changes

Bulaga is back at LT. Welcome back big guy!!! Vandervelde might be full time at RG after playing a lot against ISU. Vandervelde was projected to play limited vs ISU but with Bulaga being out that changed things. Richardson at LG makes that left side very tough. This is an outstanding OLine now!

LT - Bulaga, Reiff
LG - Richardson
C- Eubanks
RG - Vandervelde
RT - Calloway

Eubanks came out some plays due to dehydrated and Koeppel played very well in his spot. Robinson and Wegher will be sharing the RB duties. I expect Wegher to get more carries in the 1H than what he did last week. They are a nice 1-2 punch!

Again not much has changed on Defense. Lowe started for Castillo at LC last week as Castillo was a little banged up during the week. Lowe played a fantastic game and gets the start again at LC. Prater is back off suspension so he might take over for Lowe. If not I expect Prater to get a lot of playing time.

A look at the OLine for Week 2

Calloway is back from suspension which is huge! That makes both Tackles are back from last year. Julian Vandervelde is cleared to play. It sounds highly unlikely he will start or play a lot. So we are looking at the following OLine on Saturday:

LT Bulaga
LG Gettis
C Eubanks
RG Richardson
RT Calloway

I am thinking Gettis gets the nod over Doering this week. Doering was a top OL coming out of HS in 2005 class. Iowa fans have had big hopes for him but he has been hampered by injuries every year. Coach has stated he has been impressed with Doering in spring and summer but he looked awful at times at RG. It could change in practice this week but this is how I see it.

Then when Julian is ready to go in to play, this is where the Oline gets to be stout!!!!

LT Bulaga
LG Vandervelde
C Eubanks
RG Richardson
RT Calloway

Barring injury, I expect this to be the starting lineup for some time. Some don't like Eubanks at center but I thought he did an alright job. They just need more practice and game time together to work out the kinks that caused a couple sacks last Saturday.

Latest 2 Deep vs ISU

Only changes are on Offense where Calloway makes it back at Right Tackle. This moves Richardson back to his normal Guard spot but they don't know whether it will be RG or LG. So either Gettis or Doering will be benched this week. The only other change is at RB where Adam Robinson gets the start ahead of Paki O'Meara. Adam had a solid game after a slow start. It seemed he was hitting the line to fast and not allowing the holes to open up. After a couple series, he finally slowed it down and got some nice runs out there. Paki didn't do a whole lot on the day but he did have one huge mistake. After Iowa gets a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half, he fights for some extra yards and gets stripped of the ball. That cost Iowa at least a FG as it would have been 3rd and 10.

In other news, Vandervelde sounds like he might have a chance to play this week as he was dressed for the UNI game but didn't play. Ferentz is back also but he is down the 2 deeps a ways. Prater is still on suspension this week but will be back for the Arizona game. We definitely need him back as UNI picked on our CBs playing opposite of Speivey.

Who is out for the Hawks tomorrow???

CB Prater, OL Calloway, and OL Ferentz are all suspended due to off-season arrests. RB Hampton and CB Bernstine are out for the season. OL Vandervelde is back practicing but missed most of camp. Coach made it sound like he will not play this week and probably not next week. WR Sandeman has been injured a lot of camp also and sounds doubtful.

UNI is missing their #1 and #3 RB plus their best WR...

The RB Situation

Lets start by stating the obvious, Jewel Hampton is out for the year. That leaves us with Paki O'Meara as the only RB with experience. Paki wasn't a big time recruit. He was a walk-on that worked his tail off to get where he is today. Kind of like Dallas Clark did and we all know how that turned out. Paki hasn't shown a lot of flash the past two years but he has shown two things... He takes care of the ball and runs North-n-South. Word in camp though is he has shown a lot more this year. So we will see what kind of Paki went get on Saturday. I am believing it is the new and improved Paki with over 100yds rushing.

Second Team is redshirt freshman Adam Robinson out of Des Moines. Adam had back to back 1,000yds rushing seasons at Lincoln High School but Iowa was the only major to offer him. It looks like we might have found another diamond in the rough. Adam has really impressed the coaching staff this camp. I have a feeling if it wasn't for Paki's experience that Adam might be starting on Saturday. But who cares who starts this weekend, Adam will be getting a good share of snaps on Saturday.

Third Team is a mix of redshirt freshman Jeff Brinson and true freshman Brandon Wegher. If Jeff wouldn't have missed a lot of camp due to an ankle injury, he might have been the starter. I have heard over the pass two years that he is the closest to Shonn Greene that we have. He is a punishing back and has delivered some vicious hits running scout team against our first team Defense. Jeff might not see much action this weekend due to missing so much of camp but we should at least see some glimpse of what he has. Brandon was a four star, highly recruited last year with 3,200yds rushing last year. He is supposedly quick and fast and is supposed to be a damn good return man for both punts and kick offs. As of Tuesday, Coach stated that Paki would still be the kick return man if they played today. I see that changing on Saturday since Coach stated that Brandon will play and not redshirt. Coach doesn't like having his starting RB as a KR man. I suspect Brandon will be the third man in on Saturday and get a decent look with maybe 10 or so carries.

The rest, we have two true freshman in Brad Rogers out of OH and Josh Brown out of FL. Brad is just a huge true freshamn RB close to the 230lb mark. Josh moved from CB/S to RB during camp. Many believe with the depth we have at the Freshman mark and with Jewel having 3 more years of eligibility going into 2010 that he might move back to CB/S. It will be very interesting to see if either of these two play this year or redshirt.

Even without Jewel, our running game will be just fine. It wasn't all Shonn last year! He had some big holes to run through by those OLinemen. This could be the best OL that we have ever had at Iowa when they all get healthy and off suspension. It will be interesting to see how they do against UNI without Vandervelde (due to injury) and Kuempel (OWI suspension). When these two get back in action, look out!!!

2 Deep vs UNI

OFFENSE
WR - McNutt, Johnson-Koulianos
LT - Bulaga, Reiff
LG - Gettis, Haganman
C - Eubanks, Koeppel
RG - Doering, Kuempel
RT - Richardson, Zusevics
TE - Moeaki, Reisner
QB - Stanzi, Vandenberg/Wienke
RB - O'Meara, Robinson
FB - Morse, Leppert
WR - Stross, Chaney

DEFENSE
DE - Clayborn, Daniel
DT - Klug, Meade
DT - Ballard, Daniels
DE - Binns, Hundertmark
OLB - Edds, Nielsen
MLB - Angerer, Johnson
WLB - Hunter, Tarpinian
CB - Castillo/Lowe
CB - Spievey, Lowe/Castillo
FS - Greenwood, Conklin
SS - Sash, Cato

SPECIAL TEAMS
P - Donahue, Guthrie
K - Murray/Mossbrucker
LS - Schulze, Koeppel
H - Donahue
PR - Spievey
KR - O'Meara, Spievey

Interesting to note on O that injuries to Julian Vanderveldeat LG (he is just now starting to practice again) and DUI suspension for Kyle Calloway at RT. DJK was trying to regain his starting spot but it looks like his injuries and missed practices keeps him at #2. With Jewel still out with a sore knee, Paki gets the start with Adam right behind him.

Nothing new really on D except that Castillo/Lowe are still neck-n-neck for Bernstine's CB spot. Berstine is out for the year with his ankle in a cast and will RS.

Interesting on STs is Spievey at PR. He did very well in JUCO at PR and received National Honors. He is also back on KR with Paki. Kind of shocked Paki is back there since he is #1 RB. Usually they don't put the #1 RB back on KR. No Brandon Wegher on KR or PR is a shock. Maybe they are keeping his RS open just in case...

Practice Information

The 1st team OL this past week has been Bulaga, Reiff, Eubanks, Doering and Richardson from left to right. Calloway with the 2nd team for now, Richardson will slide over to LG once Calloway is back.

Stross and McNutt on 1st team, DJK and Davis working with the 2s.

Berstein is looking very good at corner.Binns is unblockable.

Hunter is really stepping it up.

Hall of Ferentz — Defensive end « On Iowa

Hall of Ferentz — Defensive end « On Iowa:
"Iowa's Matt Roth (31) celebrates after sacking Florida quarterback Chris Leak during the Outback Bowl Thursday January 1, 2004 in Tampa, Florida. Iowa won, 37-17. You could make a pretty good argument for Roth being the recruit the helped pump up Iowa's classes early in the Kirk Ferentz era. (Brian Ray/Gazette)

1) Matt Roth (2001-04)
One of the most singular personalities in the Ferentz era, I was lucky enough to be invited for a home visit to the Roths in OakBrook. They were hilarious. Unfortunately, these might have still been the days when The Gazette was still charging for internet access. If this scheduling thingie works, that story should be under this one."

Matt Roth was one of the best players I have watched from talent and antics. His Gatorchop after sacking Chris Leak in the first Outback was just hilarious! Gators and Ron Zooker thought they were going to roll all over the Hawks. But Roth and the rest of the Hawks put the ass whooping on them instead! Then comes the Cap1 Bowl and LSU. LSU coming off a National Championship playing Iowa was cocky as ever. I heard Tigerbait everywhere I went from Disney World to strolling down the street of Orlando. We go to the Hawkeye Huddle and Matt Roth was given the chance to speak. Matt goes, "I have two words for LSU!!!!" and flips them the bird with both hands stretched in the air. The crowd went nuts!!! Thanks for the memories Matt!!!!

Former Northeast star Jeff Brinson primed for bigger role at Iowa

Former Northeast star Jeff Brinson primed for bigger role at Iowa:

After sitting out last season, former Northeast standout Jeff Brinson has rocketed up the depth chart at Iowa, so much that he could be the Hawkeyes' starting running back for their season opener against Northern Iowa on Sept. 5. Brinson headed into this season as the No. 2 back behind Jules Hampton. But Hampton sustained a knee injury in non-contact drills two weeks ago. Hampton will not surgery, but will most likely miss time recovering before the season opener. “I know I’m definitely going to get a chance to see some playing time,” Brinson said."

Tampbay.com it is Jewel Hampton not Jules! LOL! Anyhow I am really excited to see Jeff in action. I have heard a lot of similarities with him and Shonn from practice. He is a powerful, downhill runner with good burst of speed. A Northeast High player posted the following about Jeff, "man thats good for him i saw him workin out while northeast was workin out he is fast and big he will run over people like nothing." If Jeff's 4.5 in the 40 is legit then he is faster than Shonn. Shonn weighed around the 230lb mark toward the end of last year. By all accounts, Jeff should be close to 225lbs by season start. They are exactly the same height. It will be very interesting to see Jeff on the field and how he compares to Shonn's sophmore year when I knew he would be a special RB.

Ranking my favorite Big Ten stadiums - ESPN

Ranking my favorite Big Ten stadiums - Big Ten - ESPN:

"4. Kinnick Stadium -- I loved my trip to Kinnick last November for the Penn State game, and the stadium is quickly becoming one of my favorites. No Big Ten venue has better sightlines for fans, who are right on top of the field. Unlike the larger venues in the league, there really aren't many lousy seats at Kinnick. Iowa fans always sell out the place, and the recent renovation brought some good upgrades."

I take it Adam didn't sit in the Club Seats where they serve alcohol!!! The seats are freaking awesome!!! I sit up there every time I go to a game! It just rocks! I have been to Camp R and it sucked bad! Only good thing about it is the bars that surround it but it is impossible to get a beer. I would prefer a tailgater over a bar scene before a game!!! I was at the OSU game in the Club Seats and it was just awesome. I was going to go back for the PSU game but after Iowa blew the game against Illinois, the wife said no go...

Consistency the next step for Iowa's Stanzi - ESPN

Consistency the next step for Iowa's Stanzi - Big Ten - ESPN: "Kirk Ferentz calls them Ricky Stanzi's Kodak moments, and Stanzi had an album full of them last season for Iowa. Stanzi made his share of mistakes in his first year as the Hawkeyes' starting quarterback, but he also showed impressive poise to bounce back virtually every time."

In Ricky's defense, he didn't get a lot of PT in the first four games as Jake got most of the snaps. It had to be difficult coming off the bench in those first four games then going into NW as the starter. He threw the ball well against NW just his TOs killed the Hawks. Inexperience has a lot to do with that. Hawks were up 17-10 at half but didn't score in the 2H. Would the Hawks have won if Ricky started and played all of the first four games. I would have to say very much so, YES! Sure Jake didn't turn the ball over often but he also couldn't throw the ball close to our WRs no longer their DBs.

I heard from a very good source that Ricky was practicing with the 1st string in bowl preparation after the 2007 season (which Jake was just horrid). Ricky was going to be named the starter if Iowa made a bowl game. Unfortunately, the Hawks didn't get a bowl invite because I think Ricky would have lit it up and the experience would have carried well into the 2008 season. Instead, he had to go back to sharing time with Jake.

Now to the present, Ricky is the clear cut starter and working full time during the spring and summer with the 1st string. He played extremely well against Minny last year and then again against SC in the Outback Bowl (except the two INTs but they weren't both his fault). If Ricky can cut down his TOs especially the Fumbles, I look for him to have an outstanding Junior year.

His backups: Ricky isn't sitting really comfortable as the starter. I have heard many good reports about his two redshirt freshmen backups in Vandenberg/Wienke. Wienke was an Elite 11 QB (but so was Jake) and has a very strong, accurate arm. He was initially committed to Michigan until Rod took over the HC job. Vandy by all accounts has taken the #2 role. With how good Wienke is, Vandy is a little bit more accurate and possesses an even stronger arm. Even though both are very inexperienced, I feel confident either one could come in and get the job done. They are the reason the Hawks are only looking to take 1 QB in the 2010 class!!!

Best Shonn Greene Run!!!

Best run of the year!!! And before this, he made #3 wiff for a long TD run. I wonder if he is still hurting from lowering his shoulder against Shonn???

Big Ten forks in the road for 2009 - ESPN

Big Ten forks in the road for 2009 - Big Ten - ESPN: "IOWA
Fork in the road: Sept. 26 at Penn State
One of the nation's toughest road schedules has been well-documented, and it all begins in Happy Valley. The Hawkeyes will get a huge boost from a victory at night in front of Penn State's white-out -- never easy to do -- and can validate themselves as a serious league title contender. A loss would reinforce Iowa's recent struggles on the road (the Hawkeyes went 2-3 last year) with more challenges ahead."

I would have to agree with Adam here. PSU is the first game of the Big Ten season and Hawks need to start it off with a bang. A win on the road, at night, and against PSU would be a huge statement!

Coach Ferentz statement on Ed Thomas' tragic death

Iowa Football Coach Kirk Ferentz:

"This is a tragic loss for everyone that knew Coach Thomas and our entire state. He was a highly respected educator, coach, mentor and a strong leader in the community, as well as the coaching community throughout Iowa. Ed loved his family and his work, and was an outstanding, selfless person who has impacted countless lives in a very positive way.

Our entire staff and team extend our deepest sympathies to the Thomas family and the community of Parkersburg."

ESPN - Ed Thomas shot, killed inside school

ESPN Ed Thomas shot, killed inside school -ESPN Rise FOOTBALL: "PARKERSBURG, Iowa -- Ed Thomas, who has produced four NFL linemen as the football coach at tiny Aplington-Parkersburg High, was shot and killed Wednesday inside the school's weight room, authorities said.

The gunman, identified by authorities as 24-year-old Mark Becker, shot Thomas multiple times just before 8 a.m. local time, authorities said. About 50 students were in the school, including several in the weight room, at the time. School was not in session, and no one else was injured in the attack.

Aplington-Parkersburg is the alma mater of four current NFL players -- Casey Wiegmann of the Denver Broncos; Jared DeVries of the Detroit Lions; Brad Meester of the Jacksonville Jaguars; and Aaron Kampman of the Green Bay Packers. All played for Thomas." And 3 of the 4 were Hawkeyes...

Unbelievable, horrible news for the Iowa community this morning!!! AP High School was hit by a tornado last year and this year another tragedy. ESPN did a special last year on Coach Thomas and the football team after the Tornado leveled Parkersburg. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Thomas family and the Parkersburg community!

I of the storm: Stanzi handles fame and pressure of starting in Big Ten with calm and cool (with video) - The News-Herald Sports : Breaking news coverage for Northern Ohio

I of the storm: Stanzi handles fame and pressure of starting in Big Ten with calm and cool (with video) - The News-Herald Sports : "Amid the hysteria and the mayhem, Ricky Stanzi took it all in stride.

His father couldn't believe it.

His coach had a difficult time believing as well.

Click to enlargeCharlie Neibergall/Associated Press After beating previously undefeated Penn State on Nov. 8, Ricky Stanzi and Iowa carried that momentum to an Outback Bowl win.
The date was Nov. 8, 2008, a day that changed Stanzi's life as the quarterback at the University of Iowa.

The Hawkeyes were a mediocre 5-4 team taking on then-No. 3 Penn State. Stanzi, who had emerged from a tough quarterback competition with teammate Jake Christensen earlier in the season to finally become the full-time starter, was still finding his way.

On this day, similar to when he was the QB at Lake Catholic, everything clicked for Stanzi in the fourth quarter. He found a way. A frantic fourth-quarter comeback from a 23-14 deficit ended with a game-winning field goal in the final seconds and a 24-23 upset victory."

Really good interview with Stanzi. The kid really impresses me with his interviews showing he has no ego whatsoever and is just enjoying his life being a Hawkeye!

Big Ten recruits shine in Big 33 Football Classic - Big Ten - ESPN

Big Ten recruits shine in Big 33 Football Classic - Big Ten - ESPN: "Iowa recruit Micah Hyde accounted for the game's biggest play, a 99-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter after Drake fumbled on the Ohio 1-yard line and Ohio State recruit Adam Bellamy recovered. It marked the longest touchdown in game history, and Hyde finished with five receptions for 138 yards."

I mentioned on 6/5 how Micah has a chance to get some PT this year and he didn't disappoint me with his performance at the Big 33 game! Congrats Micah and now get your butt to Iowa City for summer workouts!

Hawkeyes get commitment from huge in-state athlete Austin Vier

Hawkeyes get commitment from huge in-state athlete Austin Vier: Hawkeyes get commitment from huge in-state athlete Austin VierIowa has a commitment from 6-foot-7, 220-pound athlete Austin Vier of Ballard (Huxley, Iowa.) Expected to play tight end or quarterback, Vier is the sixth pledge for the Hawkeyes in the Class of 2010. He threw for 700 yards and seven touchdowns last fall. His high school coach, Al Christian, told the Des Moines Register, "He always wanted to be a Hawkeye. So it kind of worked out great for him."

Iowa has always like tall, athletic TEs. Vier really fits that mold even though he might get a look at QB. If Iowa lands their top QB recruits then he will be a TE all the way. Welcome aboard Vier!!!