The Hawk Spot

PURDUE vs IOWA - live blog second half

2012-11-10T12:29:00.002-08:00

Purdue kicker can't hit from 20 yards out but he can from 36.

Now that Purdue is up by 10 this is officially an IOWA BLOWOUT.

Those "combat" uniforms for the Hawkeyes look more like "surrender" uniforms as this game continues.

The announcers calling out James Ferentz for letting people get to Vandenfail. Didn't one of the local Iowa (Pharty?) media call JF the season MVP so far?

Oh my someone informed the coaches CJF is a tight end they can use in games and not just in practice.

Hey, Purdue reacts to out blitz perfectly. 21 yards on 3rd and ll. Even when we blitz we help our rival.

Fans have been too hard on Micah Hyde his entire career. Hyde is the only one on this team who might stick in the NFL.

I'll say this for Kirk and company. Each week they help at least one player make it to the NFL. Only problem is that player usually plays for our opponent.

Podolak: "You got to throw the ball past the first down marker." Kirk doesn't speak your language Ed.

Missed tackles and Bolden makes a 56 yard run.

Hey everyone. Kirk is starting to blame the refs. See, us rank amateurs CAN teach an old dog new tricks.

Hyde scores a TD on defense. See what I mean about Hyde being ridden too hard by the fans!

Man does this program need Weisman.

Kirk sounds asleep even when he is the "talent" for an ANF radio advertisement. LOL.

Akeen Shavers needs to add the Hawkeye defense to his Christmas card list.

Ed nails it again when he says, "It's like Purdue knows what we are going to do on defense."

Hey Ed. It's not just Purdue who knows what we are going to do. But what's really amazing is that they also know what our offense is going to do even though our offense doesn't know what it's going to do.

Oh my Purdue beats our blitz AGAIN!

Purdue 9/13 on third down conversions.

Dolphin just called Marve "Bret Favre" LOL.

Thank goodness our special teams has decided not to embarrass the other units by playing well.

Can't wait for Kirk to show his support for Vandenbear after the game.

Dolphin: "This is painful to watch."

WHAT'S THE LESSON FOR THIS SEASON?! Don't ever play a QB who is proud he can kill a defenseless animal.

Micah Hyde is channeling Weisman by single-handedly winning this game!!

Hawkeyes got screwed on that bogus call to deny Hyde the fumble recovery.

Phil Parker is playing some backups to send a message to his team. Good for him. Too bad KF and Greg Davis aren't that smart.

Bullock is now Weisman.

If this game goes to overtime Iowa will lose since KF plays "not to win" in every quarter of the game.

Having a "field position" head coach may help you in the first 4 quarters (I said "may") but it hurts you in over time. For the proof look up Iowa's record under Kirk when they go into over-time.

Purdue turnovers plus penalties should equal IOWA UP BY 2 TOUCHDOWNS at the minimum.

4th and 13. If Purdue wins this game in regulation then God hates the Hawkeyes.

Kirk is now officially an albatross around the neck of the Hawkeye football program.

Kirk's famous quote: "You usually get what you deserve in life."

Really? You deserve 4 mil$ for your fail?

Mike Hlas is wrong . . .

2012-11-04T18:51:00.002-08:00

. . . and stupid if this quote of his means what I think it means.

This Iowa team isn’t 4-5 because of one questionable in-game decision here or there. The Hawkeyes probably don’t have the playmakers on either side of the ball to be anything other than what they are, and that’s the truth, Ruth.

It appears Mike believes Iowa was destined to be 4-5 at this juncture no matter who was coaching the 120 or so athletes who call themselves HAWKEYES.

Bull shit.

At the start of this season Rob Howe

Jon Miller

Tom Kakert

ESPN

CFN

yours truly

and a few others predicted Iowa would take advantage of an easy schedule to start the year 5-0.

Hlas implies that no one, not even Bill Snyder, could do any better than 4-5 in the first 9 games. Iowa has the horses to beat CMU; Iowa State and Indiana. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the coaching. Many people are engaging in revisionist history claiming everyone knew that Iowa would be this bad in 2012.

That's ridiculous. Iowa had the B1G's lone 3000 yard passer returning and was playing in a down conference with a schedule full of cupcakes. Iowa also has a 4-star WR; a couple 4-star TEs; a couple of prep All-American RBs; the coaches son leading a respectable offensive line and a senior Quarterback who threw 25 touchdowns last season. Everything pointed to Iowa winning as many games as last year AT THE VERY WORST. At the very best they had a shot at a nice bowl game.

IOWA WASN'T DESTINED TO FALL THIS FAR THIS FAST. Unless you believe that the head coach's contract guaranteed this result because it guaranteed the head coach wouldn't have to worry about negative consequences if he lost his fear of losing football games.

Live blog: Iowa vs Indiana (second half)

2012-11-03T16:58:00.001-07:00

Well the commentators at half summed it up nicely.

"Iowa had the momentum and gave it away, . . . again."

Give Bill Snyder this Hawkeye team and Iowa is at least 6-2 on the season. With a real shot at being 7-1.

The announcers have a graphic on Iowa's first half possessions. BRUTAL.

Those same announcers are talking up Bullock which sounds more like pity than an honest appraisal. Bullock is a huge step down from Weisman.

How come Iowa has to enter "struggle" mode before they play like they are capable of?

Inside Indiana's 10 yard line and our impotent offense makes its predictable showing.

Vandencruelty strikes again. An interception in the end zone to switch the momentum back to the Hoosiers.

Well the offense doesn't have to worry about taking all the blame. Still, they've only scored as many points as the defense.

The goal line defense is trying really hard, I'll give that to them.

Iowa is now officially behind.

I doubt Iowa can recover from a 3 point deficit.

I'll say this for the coaches. I was wrong when I said they weren't "creative". No two losses are exactly alike. They have creatively figured out how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Reading the message boards the Hawkeye fans have found a way to get their joy-needs fulfilled by watching Notre Dame lose. Oh boy that is sad. Especially since ND is probably going to win the game.

"Up 14 points in the first quarter means you ride out the clock." If Kirk would say that in the post-game interview thousands of Hawkeyes could die with a smile on their face.

Iowa goes up 21-17 and then Indiana comes right back with a play that Kirk would never dream of attempting. It's called a LONG OVER THE SHOULDER PASS!

Quick, someone tell me who made the following quote: "31 points should be enough for a win."

Iowa recovers the ball and then punts to give the game away to Indiana. Hey if you had a bizarre contract that rewarded laziness and pomposity you'd make the same decision.

Kirk Ferentz has turned his legacy into a COPY of Forest Evashevski's legacy. Two men who did awesome things and then because of their hubris undid all their good works.

A pathetic ending to a pathetic game coached by someone with a loser's mentality. The only thing left is for Kirk to go and cast his vote for Obama. Idiots need to stick together.

Live blog: Iowa vs Indiana - 1st half

2012-11-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

First off, I've taken some time off to examine why my passion for Hawkeye football has taken a major nose-dive. I've been saying for months I will create an article about Kirk's time as head coach. I think this endeavor has revealed itself as a depressing pursuit. I'll explain that comment sometime this month in a full length article.

Now, off to the LIVE BLOG portion of this posting.

Iowa has started strong, but as usual Kirk's ability to manage with a lead is the same as his ability manage the clock.

Iowa clearly has more talent than Indiana. Whether you're measuring the success of the program's vis-a-vis recruiting, or wins, over the last decade Iowa is obviously superior. But Iowa rarely plays as if it understands that it is the superior program. Now there are several programs that the Hawkeyes are not superior to, but the majority of teams they play year in and year out have proven themselves less successful, yet when they play Iowa they are almost always in the game right up until the end. And if they aren't, they are usually winning the game.

Let me say that if Hayden was coaching this Hawkeye team the final score in this game would be 48-14. As it stands Kirk will keep Indiana in this game until the very end. The reason for this is due to the fact that Kirk goes into turtle-conservative mode immediately after Iowa goes up by 10 points against any opponent. Witness the 3 and 1 call where he ran the ball into the teeth of Indiana a little while ago.

Iowa stops Indiana on fourth down near the goal line and their offense starts off with a run play that everyone knew was coming. In a nutshell this is why Kirk is an average coach at best. He basically telegraphs his game plan before either team takes the field.

Another horrible throw by Iowa. Vandenberg has been the greatest disappointment this season by far.

I'm enjoying the political advertisements at least.

This will make the 14th straight year the defense has to carry the Hawkeyes. Is it fair that one unit has that burden every year?

Indiana missed a FG. A gift that Kirk will now likely squander. Just like we squandered the earlier 4th down stop.

It is amazing Iowa has a punter/QB named Wienke and Kirk has failed to use this talent in an "exotic" situation. Most coaches would use him in trick-play situations to add to their advantage.

James and Brian Ferentz get way more credit than they deserve. Both have the "avg" DNA strand that their father possesses.

Could Vandenbear telegraph that play anymore pathetically? He sure couldn't have thrown it any more pathetically.

Indiana is going to score right before the half and take that momentum into the third quarter. Kirk's field position game tactics are going to bit him in the rear for what seems like the thousandth time.

Kirk is going to give up all the dink and dunks until Indiana scores. You would think after 13 years he would see the folly in his timid game-planning. His stubbornness ensures he never will become a great coach.

"After further review TOUCHDOWN!"

Told ya.

Here's where we take a knee because a 4 point lead is insurmountable.

First half = feckless Iowa offense as usual.

Can't wait to see the deflated Hawkeyes give away the second half.

Hey Hawkeyes who are pissed with 3 and 2, this video hits the Mark (Weisman)

2012-10-03T01:11:00.001-07:00

Now dammit get healthy and get some revenge against the SPARTANS on October 13th!!!

LIVE BLOG: Iowa vs Minnesota

2012-09-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

Iowa just scored their 24th point. My question, where the hell was all this trickery and immovable objects and irresistible force in the first 4 games?

Goddammit Kirk, why do you always have to dig a hole before you get motivated enough to win games? THIS TEAM SHOULD NOT BE 2-2!

Micah catch the damn punt! Now it's at the 5 yard line!

K-Mart doesn't catch the ball and then the predictable run by Weisman.

Garmon will never be as good as Weisman.

Typical Kirk runs out the first-half clock even though he is in the perfect position to throw a hail mary as time runs out. WTF is his problem?!? Iowa has all the mojo and as usual he just wants his team to run into the tunnel like a scared child. GO FOR THE POINTS!! Kirk thinks 24 points are insurmountable which proves that he doesn't know as much as he should about college football. His own team came back from a 21 point deficit late in the 3rd quarter against Pitt last year.

I love the fact that the announcers keep quoting Kirk's statement that 31 points should be enough to beat CMU. While I agree, what's wrong with scoring 50 on a weak MAC team? Because Kirk doesn't want to hurt their damn feelings. KIRK, FIND A WAY TO TURN INTO A MAN!

Oh my Jerry Kill took a page out of KFs playbook and said he has a very young team!

Shortell is a better passer than Vandenbear.

Vandy = Jake-Christensen-lite!

Typical play under KF. Get up by 24 and think the game is over. Iowa has officially become the Cyclones. KF should be ashamed, but he doesn't have the introspective powers to be so.

Kirk could do a fake punt here but he's not that smart. Him and his QB don't understand what it means to have a killer instinct.

Called a timeout so we could get a false start.

KF has been riding out the clock since the end of the 2nd quarter. Seriously, what elite coach does that? Oh that's right we don't have an elite coach, just an elite contract.

Can we get Kirk's agent to be our head coach, cuz he is more effective at closing than KF.

Vandebear needs to sit in favor of Rudock for the rest of the season.

And Keenan Davis looks to be joining DJK as a busboy after he gets his college degree.

IOWA IS GOING TO LOSE THIS GAME! The last 2 years Minnesota has come back from behind in the fourth quarter. MAKE THAT 3 YEARS IN A ROW.

The defense finally scores a TD. Of course they had to because our offense is offensive (to watch).

Where the hell was this team in the first 4 games? Oh that's right, KF only knows how to coach as an underdog.

It was telling when the announcer said that KF thinks "trophys" are silly when referring to Iowa's multiple trophy games. They did say that he "got it" when it comes to these games but I think his core self has little knowledge of how playing for trophies impacts the psyche of players.

Time out "Illinois". I think the refs need to take their Alzheimer's medication.

What a sloppy end to this game.

Iowa won but played uninspired in the second half.

This team will win 6 games this season and Kirk will get another raise and extension by a guy with a very low standard of excellence known as Gary Barta.

If Kirk isn't gonna try, then I'm not gonna try.

2012-09-28T03:40:00.002-07:00

Here's you damn video while I enjoy another tall boy.

A rare moment of love for the Cyclones

2012-09-26T23:59:00.001-07:00

"Central Michigan, what can I say. They could probably beat Alabama."

2012-09-26T14:00:00.003-07:00

LIVE BLOG 1st half: Iowa versus CMU

2012-09-22T10:33:00.002-07:00

I can't take it anymore. Kirk's strategy seldom plays to Iowa's strengths.

For example, giving Vandy all the snaps. He has proven himself to be the most over-hyped QB in recent Hawkeye history. And the hype was all based on his game against Ohio State when he was a red-shirt freshman. A GAME HE LOST! There is something wrong with a cyber-fanbase when a loss gets them excited for Stanzi's replacement.

Our bend then break defense is a real disappointment this week. The Chippewas are on track to score more against Iowa than any other team so far this season. I'll remind you that CMU is the SECOND Mid-American conference team Iowa has played in this young season. And the second MAC team Iowa has struggled against.

Kirk really does need to "retire" (Tom Davis style) after this season. I'm still planning on posting an article covering all of Kirk's career as head coach at Iowa.

WE ARE GOING TO FUCKING LOSE THIS GAME!

This is embarrassing. CMU's athletes are more disciplined and want this game more. That doesn't mean they are better. In fact Iowa has more talent but the coaches don't know how to maximize their advantage in manpower and athleticism. Both offense and defense under Kirk play scared. I think it's a reflection of Kirk's inner voice. He really doesn't believe in himself; his coaches or his players. All his strategies are based on Iowa holding on to a 4 point lead and riding out the game.

What's really sad is that Weisman is going to be required to bail Kirk's ass out a second week in a row. Of course Kirk will never share his incredible riches with the "Weisman's" who really are responsible for all those successful contract renegotiations that Kirk's agent orchestrated.

Near the end of the half and I expect a feckless 2 minute offense from Iowa. YEP! The usual end-of-half Hawkeye implosion.

80 yards to go and ANOTHER SCREEN ATTEMPT! Pathetic.

Vandenbear needs to sit in the second half. He may be able to vanquish a bear, but he can't vanquish 5 yards when Iowa needs it.

Will CMU extend their lead right before the half? Will Kirk use his strategic advantage in the second half by employing more mismatches with C.J. Fiedorowicz? Will the fans start to boo the head coach instead of the players?

Iowa is the only team in the B1G that perfectly knows how to help their opponent run a 2 minute offense.

Wow, Kirk called a time out. Obviously a brain scan is in order to see if he is suffering from a tumor.

CONFUSION CONFUSION. Why should the Hawkeye players be any different than their coaches?

Kirk: "23-14, we've got them right where we want them Danan!"

Jesus, WTF is Kirk writing on his notepad? "Note to self. Renegotiate contract during half time."

Vandy may kill bears, but Weisman killed 65 Panthers Saturday

2012-09-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

Ba Boom!

Weisman is quickly becoming a legend. He's leading a walk-on save-the-season revolution at Iowa this season.

Donatell leads the team in interceptions.

Tobin leads the O-line in badassery.

Derby is motivating the fans with "where the hell is Hamilton?" exclamations.

Just to recap. Against the Panthers Mark Weisman had more receiving yards than 4-star C.J. Fiedorowicz. He had more rushing yards than 4-star Greg Garmon. He had more "wow!" moments than 4-star Keenan Davis. In short, on Saturday Weisman was a 5-star athlete working very hard to save Captain Coward's Caboose.

If Iowa is to overcome the ridiculously conservative coaching that has hindered them since 2005, it will take an entire team of Weisman's to get to a January bowl game this year. Fortunately for us Hawkfans, I think Weisman lit a fuse Saturday. Something our coach and QB have failed to do ever since last season's inspiring win over Pitt.

If you think Weisman is getting too much credit. Well, this CFN header sums it up nicely: Iowa saved by Weisman in win over UNI.

Iowa wins ugly

2012-09-15T18:34:00.001-07:00

This team has won 2 of 3 despite its coaches.

Kirk actually tried to run out the clock starting in the third quarter.

Kirk has been coaching scared for several seasons now and he has infected his charges with this cowardly approach.

If Kirk isn't telling Mark Weisman right now that he has earned himself a scholarship then Kirk should be suspended for the rest of the season. It's not just that MW rushed for over 100 yards and scored 3 touchdowns, BUT HE HAD MORE RECEIVING YARDS THAN C.J. Fiedorowicz! Could Iowa have used the mismatch that is C.J.F down at the goal line? Yes. Did they? No. On the last goal line drive Iowa dove straight into the middle of a bottleneck. Did Kirk really think it was smart to hand off to a back 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage when he was on the one-foot line? Yes. QB sneak, no. Pass to C.J.F, no. Chuck Long bootleg play, no.

The curse of the wild animals continues to follow Vandenbear. Two years ago cyber-fans were orgasmic over the prospect of Vandy replacing that terrible QB known as Stanzi. Now they know. Stanzi was a legend and Vandy is a pretender. Our WR's are getting better but they are still struggling.

The one bright spot continues to be our defense. Coming into this season everyone was worried about our defense and felt an offense lead by a senior QB; a senior WR; a senior Center and an all-world Junior TE would be the strength of this team. It has turned out to be the opposite.

Special teams were less than special. Meyer continues with his Nate Kaeding impression but the other sub-units took a step backward today.

My score predictions for the first 3 games were as follows:

24-23

21-20 (Fail on my part)

28-25

I knew the margin for the first 3 games would be razor thin, and it has been. Despite the 27-16 score Iowa was behind early and never had full control of this game till the very end. Kirk continues to coach down to his competition.

Take a look at these scores from around the B1G.

Ohio State 35 points against FBS competition.

Minnesota 28 points against FBS competition.

Nebraska 42 points against FBS competition.

Purdue 54 points against FBS competition.

Penn State 34 points against FBS competition.

Michigan 63 points against FBS competition.

Illinois 44 points against FBS competition.

Iowa 27 points against FCS competition.

Only Northwestern has scored fewer points today, and they were playing against a member of an AQ conference.

By the way, 3 other B1G teams haven't finished their games yet.

MINNESOTA has a better offense than Iowa!

I'm going to keep saying it: Kirk Ferentz is not earning his paycheck.

What the hell was that?!?

2012-09-08T23:12:00.000-07:00

Heads up, this article is going to piss you off.

Hawkeyes 6 - Cyclones 9.

Kirk Ferentz 6-8 versus Iowa State.

Kirk likes to cry when we win. Maybe he needs to start crying when we lose. On Saturday he was quoted as saying he didn't want his charges to succumb to their emotions. Maybe Kirk needs to get as emotional on game day as he does during contract negotiations. It's pretty clear now that Iowa's offensive struggles over the years had less to do with Ken O'Keefe and more to do with Kirk's lack of creativity and refusal to strategically gamble at opportune times.

Even though the Hawkeyes have had some great seasons under Kirk Ferentz they have never had a "killer instinct" during his tenure. Even during their "bullies of the B1G" years the offense was always reigned in whenever Iowa was up by 20 or more points. As if 20 points is insurmountable in college football. I know Iowa beat Minnesota 55-0, but KF seems apologetic whenever Iowa pulls out that type of victory. Why? Kirk seems genuinely embarrassed whenever his offense dominates. That is not a good quality for a head coach to have.

Having said all this, Saturday wasn't all on Kirk. Everyone failed on this day. Greg Davis spent a lot of the off-season talking about the mismatch between CJ and our opponents. Then why is Derby in the game? If Derby is number 2 then why did Kirk burn Hamilton's red-shirt last year? Why isn't Vandenbear directed to seek out CJ? Speaking of Vandy, he needs to share time with one of the other QBs as he is obviously struggling this year. Of course it would help if the receivers (including those out of the backfield) would stop dropping footballs. The coaches must really hate Staggs and Cotton as they have chosen Chumpert over Steven and Jordan for the remainder of the season it would seem.

The Hawkeye offense is putrid and the bad smell comes in equal portions from tepid play-calling and lousy execution.

The good news is that our defense and special teams are pretty good this year. But I don't think those 2 units can overcome the absolute fail that is our offense. In fact I think it is a hate crime for our coaches not to help out our D by trying new things on offense. Changes that include personnel as well as play-calling.

I almost wonder if Kirk wants Greg Davis to fail this year just so he'll have an excuse to promote Brian Ferentz to offensive coordinator next year. I personally think Corporal Kirk peaked in 2009 and is on an inexorable downward spiral that can only be stopped with his "retirement".

Obviously I'm disgusted with how this season has started and plan on writing an article soon that covers both sides of the Kirk Ferentz equation since he arrived in 1999.

Too many people give our head coach credit when we win and the players credit when we lose. I won't be that blind when I write my upcoming article.

I called it!

2012-09-04T10:50:00.003-07:00

Did I say we would win by one point? Yes!

Did I say it would be a low scoring affair? Yes!

Did I say Northern Illinois would lead most of the way? Yes!

Did I say Iowa would take the lead at the end of the game? Yes!

Am I God? No.

Am I a genius? Yes!

FOXSPORTS tells you about the Iowa vs. Northern Illinois game

2012-08-29T23:41:00.001-07:00

Let's break down the Hawkeye roster by state

2012-08-27T23:00:00.001-07:00

Iowa's roster represents 24 geographic regions.

IA = 39 players

INDIANA = 1

AUSTRALIA = 1

WEST VIRGINIA = 1

MONTANA = 1

MINNESOTA = 1

CANADA = 2

TENNESSEE = 1

FLORIDA = 4

NEW JERSEY = 2

GEORGIA = 2

ARIZONA = 1

TEXAS = 4

NEW YORK = 1

ILLINOIS = 12

NEBRASKA = 3

CONNECTICUT = 1

PENNSYLVANIA = 2

OHIO = 10

MISSOURI = 1

WISCONSIN = 2

WASHINGTON = 1

MARYLAND = 4

OKLAHOMA = 1

MICHIGAN = 5

The TWO DEEPS

2012-08-24T13:44:00.001-07:00

Four true freshmen on the depth chart: Garmon; Malloy; Buford; Kornbrath.

Redshirt freshmen on the depth chart: Marshall Koehn; Macon Plewa; Travis Perry; Darian Cooper; Melvin Spears; Jordan Walsh; Jake Rudock.

Sophomores: Lowdermilk; Law; Collins; Alston; Hillyer; Donnal; Hamilton; K-Mart; Bullock; Weisman; Hardy.

This is a YOUNG team, with lots of talent. By the way, Iowa is 7-0 against Northern Illinois. I'm sure those young men are aware of that.

2012 predictions

2012-08-23T14:36:00.001-07:00

Okay, I promised I would do it yesterday but things got busy. So a day late and a dollar short, here I go.

SEPTEMBER 1st) IA 24 Northern Illinois 23.

It won't be pretty but the Hawkeyes will win. NIU will lead 17-14 at the half. They will extend their lead to 20-14 early in the third quarter. Iowa will take the lead 21-20 early in the 4th quarter. Midway through the 4th NIU will take the lead back 23-21. Iowa will kick a field goal with time expiring to win 24-23. This game will have a positive effect in 2 ways. First, it will let the team know they can't take anyone for granted. Secondly, they will have reached down inside themselves and learned how to "WIN"!

SEPTEMBER 8th) IA 21 Iowa State 20

Do you see a theme emerging? Cyclones will hold a 10-7 advantage at the half. They will go up 17-7 midway thru the 3rd quarter. The cyber-Hawk-fans will go wild on message boards with "I told you so". Iowa will score a TD at the end of the 3rd quarter. Iowa State will kick another field goal midway thru the 4th quarter. Iowa will run a near-perfect 2 minute drill and score its 3rd touchdown with 25 seconds remaining. Iowa State will attempt a long field goal as time expires. They will miss.

SEPTEMBER 15th) IA 28 Northern Iowa 25

Northern Iowa will take the lead early in the first quarter on a safety. Iowa will then go on a tear and score 3 touchdowns before the half. 1 on a pass to Keenan Davis. 1 on a Fleming punt return. 1 on a Micah Hyde interception return. The Panthers will score a TD to end the half on a Hail Mary pass. At the beginning of the 3rd quarter UNI will kick a FG and shortly thereafter score another touchdown on a long Carlos Anderson run. To end the 3rd quarter the Hawkeyes will score on a pass from Vandy to CJ. The Panthers will score another TD in the 4th quarter and fail with their 2-point conversion attempt. Iowa will go on a 5-minute drive and run out the clock by taking a knee near the Panther's goal line.

SEPTEMEBER 22nd) IA 35 Central Michigan 13

After three nail-biters to open the season Iowa will dominate from beginning to end. As usual for a Kirk Ferentz team Iowa will be poised to score over 40 points but Kirk will reign in the offense once Iowa goes over the 30-point threshold. Fans like me will gnash their teeth at this decision to go conservative. The score at halftime will be 21-6. Central Michigan with 2 field goals and Iowa with 3 passing touchdowns. In the third quarter Iowa will score a pair of rushing touchdowns and Central Michigan will answer with a garbage-time touchdown in the 4th quarter.

SEPTEMBER 29th) IA 31 Minnesota 21

By this time Iowa will have learned the mental toughness required to win football games. Iowa will take the field possessing a team that collectively has better talent. More importantly, they will be playing at home with confidence. The Gophers will quickly take the lead 7-0 shortly after coming out of the tunnel. Iowa will be stunned throughout the first quarter but then pull it together and score a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter. 14-7 at the start of the 3rd quarter and Minnesota quickly ties the score at 14-14 after a long kick return. Iowa quickly answers with two more touchdowns making it 28-14. The Gophers pull within 7 midway thru the 4th quarter making it 28-21, Iowa. The Hawkeyes kick a field goal at the 2 minute mark and then hold on to win 31-21.

OCTOBER 13th) Michigan State 30 Iowa 14

Iowa will have two weeks to heal and prepare for a tough Spartan squad. For some reason, this extra time never seems to help Kirk Ferentz during the regular season. In fact it seems to hurt Iowa. And this will be the case on this Saturday. Iowa will have created nice momentum in September, but when the rhythm is interrupted with a bye week Iowa will take a step back. The Spartans will control this game from start to finish. Iowa will score a garbage touchdown to make the score look closer than it really is. The message board cyber-Hawks will orgasm on themselves making excuses for Iowa's poor play.

OCTOBER 20th) IA 17 Penn State 14

If this game had been played earlier in the season Iowa would have lost. By this point in the season Penn State will start to feel the effects of the NCAA. With the score tied 14-14 in the 4th quarter Penn State will go up 21-14 only to have the touchdown overturned on a controversial call by the officials. Iowa will go on heart-stopping 2-minute-drill march and kick a field goal, leaving the Nittany Lions with only 44 seconds to answer. Nico Law makes an interception to end the game.

OCTOBER 27th) Northwestern 28 Iowa 18

Northwestern goes up 7-0 in the second quarter and Iowa answers with a touchdown and a tricky 2-point conversion. It looks like Kirk finally gets what is needed to own Pat Fitzgerald. Iowa leads 8-7 going into halftime. The second half is all Wildcats with Kain Colter and Kyle Prater hosting a clinic. It's 28-8 before Iowa wakes up and scores 10 meaningless points in the 4th quarter.

NOVEMBER 3rd) IA 24 Indiana 21

Sloppy play from both sides defines this game. Iowa scores 14 points off defensive turnovers but The Hoosiers are in the lead 21-17 halfway through the 4th quarter. Vandy scores a rushing touchdown inside the 2-minute mark and Iowa holds on for the win.

NOVEMBER 10th) IA 35 Purdue 28

The Hawkeyes put it all together on this day and deal their hated rival a devastating blow. This game may cost Danny Hope his job. Purdue and Iowa will be tied 10-10 at the half. Iowa will score 22 points in the third quarter, with the 22nd point coming off a botched point-after-attempt that miraculously becomes a successful 2-point conversion! Late in the 4th quarter Purdue has closed the gap with a 32-28 score when they fumble the ball. Iowa recovers and kicks a field goal and then keeps Purdue off the scoreboard for the final 2 minutes of the game.

NOVEMBER 17th) Michigan 38 Iowa 17

It's 14-0 after the first quarter with Michigan in the lead. The Wolverines control the game 28-7 at the half. Both teams score 10 points in the second half but the outcome is never in doubt. Michigan gets its revenge and the Hawkeyes get another lesson in the power of football and emotion.

NOVEMBER 23rd) Nebraska 21 Iowa 14

Iowa lays another egg on prime-time Thanksgiving television as Bo Pelini continues his ownership of Corporal Kirk. Nebraska takes a 14-0 lead into halftime. Nebraska makes it 21-0 near the end of the third quarter and the Hawkeyes answer with 2 touchdowns. But it's too little, too late. Another senior day ruined and the HEROES trophy remains in Lincoln, NE. PHIL PARKER AND GREG DAVIS are visibly pissed after the game.

***********************

Iowa finishes up their 2012 campaign by winning another January Bowl game and giving themselves a 9-win season. They sneak into the final rankings at 24th.

WEEK 3 (all inclusive)

2012-08-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

Why 2012 will exceed your expectations

2012-08-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

Most of you are looking at the changes over the last 9 months as reason to predict a 7-win season, at best.

Actually, the changes are why Iowa will win 9 games in 2012.

Iowa will be better on offense for 2 reasons. First, Greg Davis is better than Ken O'Keefe. Second, for the first time in 13 seasons Iowa's B1G rivals won't know in advance what plays Iowa will be calling during the game.

Stop me if you've heard this before. Iowa will be better on defense for two reasons. First, new Parker will be an improvement over Classic Parker. Primarily because he will adapt to game circumstances rather than remain rigid in the face of creative offenses. Secondly, B1G offenses won't be able to game-plan against Iowa knowing that zero adjustments will be made by the Hawkeyes despite the game's trajectory.

The uncertainty the Hawkeye fanbase feels about Iowa will be shared by our rivals, and that uncertainty will give Iowa an edge.

Iowa also has the league's best passer returning. Now in the past that wouldn't have counted for much. Witness 2010 when Iowa had a senior QB and the Hawkeyes went backwards. You can say the same thing about 2006. This year we have an offensive coordinator who knows what to do with an exceptional passer. In addition to that Keenan Davis; K-Mart; C.J.; Zach Derby; Brad Rogers and Damon Bullock give Vandenbear a variety of game-changing targets. In short, Iowa's passing game has the right architect combined with the right building materials. The Hawks will be the best passing team in the conference.

Of course that leads to the natural question: What about our running game? It will be strong enough to keep opposing defenses honest and that will allow Vandenbear to showcase his golden mixture of accuracy and leadership. The reason I'm certain the running game will work has more to do with our offensive line than it does with our running backs. Having said that, guys like Rogers; Garmon and Bullock are going to turn some heads. This fall don't be surprised if you keep saying to yourself, "You know, Vandy and Stanzi have a lot in common!"

Oh, I see your terrified that our defense is young and untested. More than that you're saying, "How can our D-line be as good as the last 2 senior-laden D-lines?" Easy, the coaches have recruited this area better than you think. Combine that with Chris Doyle's legendary "development" program and you have a defense hungrier and more motivated than you had in 2011. Alvis, Davis, Pasat and Bigach will give you plenty to cheer about as the season rolls along. But what you see from the fresh young back-ups on the defensive line will make you positively giddy for the future.

Linebackers! Morris and Kirksey will both be fighting for all B1G honors. Whoever holds down the 3rd linebacker spot will certainly be capable. Hitchens is a linebacker with defensive-back speed. That bodes well for an Iowa scheme that depends on the linebackers staying with receivers. There's depth also. Alston; Fisher; Collins and Perry have bright futures at Iowa.

The secondary. Raw talent combined with experience. Law, Hyde, Lowery, Miller, Donatell and Lowdermilk. Hyde is headed for the NFL and Law might be the best of the bunch. If you see the coaches sending Castillo into the game you may want to switch your bets and lay your money down on our opponent.

Special teams. Interestingly this unit has been downgraded by every sports media site out there. This, despite the fact that Kirk usually comes up with an above average unit. I would agree with the negative 2012 assessment but there is too much competition among the punters and kickers. Also, the precedent being set with the other units regarding "new-think" will also be true of special teams. With special-team talents like Kornbrath; Wienke and Fleming Iowa just may come up with a few surprises that our opponents haven't seen in a long time.

Tomorrow I'll give you a game-by-game breakdown to illuminate how the season will unfold.

Say it with me, AIRBHG is our friend!

2012-08-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

Since the end of last season Iowa has lost Coker to scandal; De'Andre Johnson to stupidity; Jason White and Mika'il McCall to ambition; as well as Canzeri and Barkley Hill to ACL injuries. Not to mention that AIRBHG took failed shots at Marcus Binns (he was no longer a Hawkeye) and Greg Garmon.

So how is AIRBHG our friend? Well we needed to stagger the current crop of talented RBs, as we didn't want them all bunched up in the same class. DONE. We needed openings for walk-ons like Malloy and Dawson. DONE. We needed a way to get Brad Rogers and Nate Meier back into the RB mix. DONE.

So let's look at our stable of RBs as it currently stands. BTW, APB = all-purpose back; RB = running back; RFB = running-fullback hybrid.

Texas stud and APB Damon Bullock.

Former Iowa high school 4-star RB Andre Dawson.

4-star Pennsylvania APB Greg Garmon.

Former prep track-star RB Michael Malloy.

Shonn Greene clone and Ohio RFB Brad Rogers.

James Morris clone and local hero RFB Nate Meier. (Morris rushed for 2247 yards and 40TDs as a prep senior. Meier rushed for 2494 yards and 57 TDs as a senior. Meier is basically a bigger version of Morris.)

That is 6 very talented ball carriers.

I promise you AIRBHG will be weeping as Iowa's offense shines this fall.

Iowa is ranked number 2 in the pre-season by a national publication!

2012-08-21T07:25:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when a legendary program falls from grace.

2012-08-20T19:47:00.004-07:00

"We're just little ol' Iowa" (sheepish frown) I think not Hawk shepherds!

2012-08-20T14:46:00.003-07:00

From CFN:

Since the AP poll is the only consistent ranking system from 1936 through today, CFN came up with a scoring system to compare and contrast how the programs finished over the decades. Every time a team finished No. 1 in the final poll, it got 25 points. The No. 2 team got 24 points, No. 3 got 23 points, and so on with the No. 25 team getting one point. Through the decades, the AP ranked the top ten teams for a few years before going back to the top 20 rankings, and eventually, it went to the top 25 system it's at now.

According to the scoring system, consistent production isn't necessarily rewarded. For example, if a team finished 17th for four straight years, it would get a total of 36 points (No. 17 gets 9 points). A team that finished the beginning of the decade No. 2 (24 points) and the end of the decade ranked tenth (16 points), but wasn't ranked any year in between, would get a total 40 points.

One fascinating thing to note: all the club teams that played during World War II. Notice the rankings of the all-star teams like the Iowa Pre-Flight juggernaut and the Bainbridge NTS powerhouse. In the end, though, the big-name programs you'd think would rock, did. There's a reason the superpowers of today got their reputations - they won.

However, things can change in a big hurry. When we did this in 2000, Notre Dame was on top of the world by a huge margin. Over a decade later and a following down period, things have changed up a bit.

So here we go - here are the greatest college football programs since 1936 according to the AP rankings.

RANK	TEAM	POINTS
1	Oklahoma	946.5
2	Michigan	919
3	Ohio State	908
4	Alabama	874
5	Notre Dame	872.5
6	USC	757
7	Texas	750.5
8	Nebraska	701
9	Tennessee	678
10	Penn State	645
11	LSU	530
12	Auburn	517
13	Georgia	517
14	Miami	511
15	UCLA	503
16	Florida	469
17	Florida State	446
18	Arkansas	414
19	Michigan State	364
20	Texas A&M	337
21	Washington	330
22	Georgia Tech	317.5
23	Wisconsin	305
24	Pittsburgh	293
25	Iowa	291
26	Ole Miss	284.5
27	Clemson	284
28	Colorado	258
29	Army	239
30	TCU	230
31	Minnesota	229
32	Maryland	225.5
33	Arizona State	223
34	Virginia Tech	222
35	Missouri	217.5
36	Duke	210
37	Navy	207.5
38	California	207
39	North Carolina	198
40	Purdue	195.5
41	Syracuse	190.5
42	West Virginia	194
43	Stanford	186
44	BYU	180
45	Illinois	177
46	SMU	168
47	Oregon	185
48	Houston	164
49	Boston College	150
50	Kansas State	154
51	Oklahoma State	137
52	Baylor	131.5
53	Boise State	128
54	Northwestern	127
55	Oregon State	124
56	Washington State	123
57	Mississippi State	105
58	Texas Tech	104
59	Kansas	96
60	Penn	95
T61	Fordham	88
T61	Kentucky	88
T61	Rice	88
64	Santa Clara	85.5
65	NC State	85
66	Tulane	80.5
67	Tulsa	79
68	Louisville	78
69	Arizona	76
T70	Air Force	75
T70	Utah	75
72	Cornell	68
73	Nevada	66
74	Indiana	63
75	Dartmouth	60
T76	Miami, Ohio	57
T76	South Carolina	57
78	Virginia	56
79	Princeton	55
80	Yale	54
81	Holy Cross	49.8
T82	Wyoming	48
T82	Duquesne	46
84	Iowa Pre-Flight	45
85	Villanova	41
86	Rutgers	38
87	Cincinnati	37
88	William & Mary	33
T89	Colorado State	31
T89	Toledo	31
T91	Bainbridge NTS	30
T91	Great Lakes	30
93	Wake Forest	24
T94	East Carolina	23
T94	Pacific	23
T94	Randolph Field	23
97	Carnegie-Mellon	20
98	Southern Miss	19
T99	Del Monte PF	18
T99	Marshall	18
101	Utah State	16
T102	Saint Mary's (Cal.)	14
T102	Vanderbilt	14
T104	Georgetown	13
T104	Hawaii	13
106	Norman Pre-Flight	12.5
107	Columbia	12
T108	El Toro Marines	10
T108	San Diego State	10
T110	Fresno State	9
T110	Hardin-Simmons	9
T110	Iowa State	9
T110	New Mexico St	9
T110	Temple	9
T115	Colorado College	8
T115	Fort Pierce	8
T117	Delaware	7
T117	Lafayette	7
T119	2nd Air Force	6
T119	Marquette	6
T119	Ohio	6
122	UCF	5
T123	Bowling Green	3
T123	Central Michigan	3

THE JOURNEY

2012-08-19T23:36:00.003-07:00