GAMEDAY : Iowa Hawkeyes at Minnesota Golden Gophers

For Starters, we'll be kicking off my bachelor party today with a game watch at Fat Tony's Sports Tap on the southside of Prinicpal Park. Feel free to stop on by as the Hawks take on Minnesota at 2:30 PM cst.

Now, on to the Gameday video:



Here are Gameday links,

Game Day: Television, Radio and More
Big Ten game day weather: Week 13
Sash, others get ‘the early NFL question’ as season ends
Hawkeye offensive line strong for 2011, other questions remain
Adam Weber To Be Presented With Empty Trophy Case on Senior Day
Trophy Tells a Tale of Rivalry and Race
NFL 2011 Consensus Mock Draft Round 1
Floyd beginning to feel like greased pig
Podcast: ‘On Iowa’ discusses Iowa-Minnesota, gives all-Big Ten football selections
The Big Analysis — Minnesota
Binns not disappointed in ’10
Out of the dome, into the cold
From the Twin Cities: It isn’t snowing here, but it has snowed. How delightful.
PREDICTIONS on Iowa-Minnesota (with bonus picks) from Kennebunkport to Key West
Minnesota’s Weber would enjoy going out with big win against rival Hawks
Hawkeyes’ road to redemption starts at Minnesota
Hawks need to finish strong
Iowa at Minnesota (What to expect)
Who thought Iowa football would be average?
Did you know?: Week 13
Trophy hunting: Minnesota out to end skid vs. Iowa
Hawkeye Recruit Roundup: Week 13


Hoops got a win over a terrible team last night. Still, it was fun to watch the young team keep the pressure on and rack up 111 points.

Playing through Payne
Cully Payne out up to 8 weeks
Cartwright steps in, leads Hawks
Iowa runs away for easy victory
11/26/2010: Iowa 111, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 50 (Links)
Coach McCaffery Postgame SIU-Edwardsville


Hawkeye wrestling put together another dominating performance.

Hawks blank both on Black Friday
Hawkeyes wrestle Cornell and UTC

Game Week (MIN) | 1,111 Days Since the Gophers Scored Against Iowa

It has been 1111 days since the Minnesota football program was able to break the goal line or kick a field goal to put points on the board against the Iowa Hawkeyes. That's three years and 15 days. That's over 95,000,000 seconds, or 158 weeks, or close to 160,000 minutes.

Iowa won 55-0 in 2008 and 12-0 in 2009. While Iowa went on to victory in 2007, the Gophers were able to score, losing 21-16.

Here are some things that have happened since Minnesota last scored  against Iowa.

You may or may not have purchased a Moon and Three Wolf T-shirt.

Brett Favre retired from football after his playing for the Packers but then left retirement to join the Jets. He retired from football again after one season with the Jets to join the Minnesota Vikings. He retired, ah forget it.

Tom Brands has won three National Championships as the head wrestling coach at Iowa.

Tim Lickliter was only 38-57 as Iowa's basketball coach and was fired and replaced by Fran McCaffery.

Epic Beard Man went apeshit on an Oakland public bus.



The Jake Christensen era ended after a loss to Pitt and the Ricky Stanzi era began.





Hawkeye fans enjoyed Shonn Greene's 307 carries for 1850 yards and 20 TD's.






The Harold Dalton era ended as the Tyler Sash era began.






The Twitter handle Play4brew was created and provided endless comedy.






Iowa has gone 27-11 since while Minnesota has gone 15-23. Tim Brewster was fired after a 15-30 record as the coach at Minnesota.


TCF Bank Stadium was built in Minneapolis and the Iowa will play there for the first time this Saturday.

Iowa lost to Western Michigan. Seriously, WTF?

The world was introduced to Trololo man.



Iowa's other rivals Iowa State and Purdue* have combined to go 27-45.

Speaking of Iowa State, after 2008 and a stellar 2-10 season, head coach Gene Chizik left like a thief in the night to take the job at Auburn. He was replaced by current head coach Paul Rhoads who has a record of 12-10 and an Insight Bowl win against who else? The Minnesota Golden Gophers. Chizik currently has the number one team in the nation at Auburn.





The Big Ten expanded and added Nebraska. The Cornhuskers, Hawkeyes, and Gophers will all be in the same division in 2011 in the new Big Ten alignment.

And obviously much, much more. I mean it's been 1111 days! That's all I can think of on an empty stomach. I'm skipping breakfast to save room for a Thanksgiving feast.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and give thanks that you weren't born a Gopher fan, or Cyclone, or Boilermaker.

Game Week (Minn) | Kirk Ferentz Call-in Show Notes

Before we get to @bvak's tweets and my paraphrased Kirk Ferentz comments we must get to today's hottest topic. It appears Iowa may be losing a verbal commit from running back Melvin Gordon. The story from a Wisconsin writer cites Gordon as claiming a fight broke out in the Hawkeye locker room and he didn't like what he saw.

So it goes...

Here are tweets and KF from tonight's show:

RT @bvak: Dolph said he backs Delany's decision to play games after Thanksgiving.

RT @bvak: Dolph: December 6 is first Hawk Talk with Fran.  Buy your Red Bull early.

RT @bvak: Dolph: Rambling about the youth on defense

KF: Practiced inside today.

KF: OSU took it and drove it, story of the game. Both teams competed hard. Special teams sticks out. Not as good as in the past.

KF: 3rd Down conversion was okay, not so much in the fourth quarter.

KF: Pryor is a tremendous athlete. Have to keep him contained. His play (fourth down run) was the play of the game.

KF: BBall team has been stranded, hope they make it home tonight. I haven't been able to follow them closely yet. Sounds like they've had an excellent start. Sounds like they had a great opportunity with this tournament.

Caller: Stanzi seems more reserved this year?

KF: Think he has been playing really well. His interception rate is down this year.

Dolph: He's #1 or #2 in the Big Ten in passing efficiency all season. Top 5 nationally. (went on to read stats)

Dolph: How much has the injuries at the running back position affected Stanzi?

KF: It's a reality. We look different in the backfield than in camp. They've been capable but it's about being in sync with the offense.

Caller: How about those seniors? Been a good year, not as many wins as last year. Really feel for Tarp.

KF: Been a great class on the field and in the classroom. We've had close losses this year, close wins last year, each in 08. We're hoping to close it out strong. Excited about this week. Hate to have injuries your senior year like with Tarp. Signs pointed to him having a great year. Keeping the fingers crossed hoping he can make it to a bowl and finish a great career.

Tommy from DSM: Thanks for being our coach! I remember 17 years of losing. How does Mary (Ferentz) cope with you and your son losing this last weekend.

KF: She handles the lows very well, not a great week for the men in our house. Thanks for calling every week Tommy.

KF: Weber has had a tremendous career. Had great poise and awareness when he first started. Seems like he's been steady his entire career.

KF: They have good size at the WR position including the TE. Weber has good targets to work with.

KF: (On Horton) They look similar offensively to the last couple years. Horton has done a good job in tough circumstances. Coming off a big win against Illinois.

KF: It's football in the Big Ten. Teams look different from week to week. Illinois was playing well until they made a couple of mistakes and didn't get points. Minnesota got some confidence and rolled with it. Weber was a big part of that win.

Caller: Thoughts on Stanzenbacher catch?

KF: We see that (play) a couple of times a game. Their execution was excellent there and ours wasn't.

my radio feed went out...

Dolph: Was there a fight in the locker room after the game?

KF: If there was I wasn't aware of it. The guys were disappointed about the outcome. It's not impossible but if there was I am not aware of it.

KF: About all you can do is mix your coverages a little bit. We try to avoid the big plays. We gave up a couple last week and that was disappointing. The 5 yard passes don't kill you but there are times you can't allow that.

Caller: How much time do you get to watch other CFB games? If you had to pick two teams in the top 5 BCS which two should play in the NC game.

KF: I don't get to watch too much. Watched PSU and OSU on the bus. We've had a lot of late kickoffs. I watch a little when I get home. I'm one of the worst authorities on the national scene.

KF: Saw the TV today. Sounds like the politicking season has begun. Nobody knows who the best team is at this point. We'll play it out and see.

Caller: I'm a former player (Will Lack) and I'm calling to thank Kirk Ferentz. I had an interview today and I am who I am because of coach.

KF: Thanks Will. I appreciate all you did for our team and your comments. You distinguished yourself in many ways.

Will: A lot of other players I've talked to say the same thing.

KF: All he did was go to Harvard Medical School and now he's back here. The 2002 class was an exceptional senior class and Will was part of it.

KF: I asked him one time why he did it. His main job was to block Colin Cole. It was important to him to be part of the team. He did all the training our guys did and all worked at the hospital. It's like the stories you hear about the guys at the service academies. Not only are they competing at the highest level on the football field, they compete in many other areas as well.

Dolph: How about that flyover Saturday?

KF: Whoa! That was special.

Dolph: They gave them special permission to fly at 500 feet.

KF: Once again our fans were tremendous and we appreciate that. In the spirit of Thanksgiving I just want to say thanks. They've been great on the road too and we expect a great contingent in Minnesota on Saturday.

Caller: We've been to a lot of bowl games in the last 10 years and a lot of schools would trade places with us. Of all the teams you've had, the second group (that finished 3-9) is one of my all-time favorites. I don't remember watching a team improve like that one did. Do you ever thing about that team at all?

KF: Thanks for your comments. I agree with you totally that was a significant year for us. Nobody thought we could beat PSU. We came back and beat NW. The next year we went to the Alamo bowl and I felt that that team had a big hand in getting us there. Every year you have ups and downs. We'll evaluate this season when it is over. These guys have worked hard, there are still two games left. Hopefully, after our bowl game, we'll look back and say this year was a success.

Dolph: Who were the captains in 99?

KF: Matt Bowen was one...don't do that.

Dolph: Randy Reiners, Travis Centers, Rob Thein, and Scott.

KF: Talk about great stories, Scott was a walk-on here. His senior year he played great football. Some say he was undersized but he had three near misses with the San Diego Chargers.

KF: If Thien wants to help out this weekend we'd be glad to have him.

KF then mentions LeVarr Woods, Kevin Kasper, and Anthony Herron.

Caller: Everyone of the 26 seniors is going to graduate, that is National Championship academics right there.

KF: That was the culture at Iowa when I got here in the 80's. The Big Ten probably leads the country in graduation rates. All the guys understand we want them to be great football players but we also want them to get degrees they can use way past football is done.

Caller: Are you guys doing different preparation with the new stadium( TCF)?

KF: We haven't had class conflicts this week. The players are able to sleep in and watch film on their own. Tomorrow we moved everything up and were going to do a team meal but the guys that aren't from local homes are going with local guys or with coaches for a meal.

Dolph: You push back recruiting a week?

KF: We'll meet Sunday and sort out awards for our banquet and hit the road Monday. Everyone in the league has the same schedule so it's fine.

KF: If I were the commissioner of the world I'd have the guys go home for this week and play the game next week.

Dolph: Minnesota can score points, defensively they been better than expected.

KF: They've been excellent when we've played them. This year they have big guys up front, couple safeties that are veteran players. Maybe the best kick returner in the conference. They are a balanced team.

KF: I want to wish everyone a great holiday weekend and thanks for the support all year long.


Hawkeye Links,

Gordon may renege on Iowa commitment
Report: Gordon Expected to Switch Commitment
The Omegas and the Jugdishes
11/24/2010: Talkin’ Hawks podcast (Iowa at Minnesota)
As Minnesota knows, only winning makes a new stadium feel like a home
Gopher offense not so golden vs. Iowa
Experts pick Hawks’ recruiting wish lists
Refreshed Gophers to face slumping Iowa
Brady Hoke meets with Minnesota
The Top Ten Reasons Why Iowa Will Lose to Minnesota!
Big Ten awards race update: Week 13
What to watch in the Big Ten: Week 13
Big Ten predictions: Week 13
Coker the man once again
UI Accepting Ticket Orders for Bowl Game
BLACK HEART GOLD PODCAST 45: HATE HATE RAGE HATE
11/23/2010: Iowa football notebook
Robinson learning football is violent sport
Campbell, Morehouse, Hlas on Iowa, Minnesota, Cranberries
Minnesota’s Weber battles despite adversity


Basketball Links,

Hoops snapshot: Iowa men’s basketball after 5 games
Hawkeyes to Host "Black Friday" Events
Hawkeyes to Host SIU-Edwardsville Friday
Iowa vs. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Game Notes, starting lineup

Game Week (Minn) | Tuesday Hawkeye Football Plus Hoops Links

Just links, enjoy...

Football,

Clayborn still attractive to the NFL
Iowa football: Robinson out, Coker to start
Iowa football: Hawks are just football players this week
Iowa football: Hawkeyes taking late November game in stride
Hawkeyes Prepare for Final Contest at Minnesota
Rewind: Iowa Class of 2006
The Quickest Slant (with Ferentz transcript)
Tuesday video — Players
A game-week, yes. But Thankgiving is still a holiday for Hawkeyes.
Coker building trust account
Iowa notes: Minnesota’s Stoudermire a focus on special teams
Hawkeyes Feeling Like Pros This Week
Police: New Kinnick tailgating rules successful
WELCOME TO HATE WEEK: HATE SPRINGS ETERNAL
2010-11 Bowl Projections
In Heaven, There Is No Beer*
Iowa faces tough game against Minnesota
Big Ten football TV schedule: Week Thirteen
Wha Happened? Week Twelve Around The Big Ten
Big Ten Week 12 rewind/Week 13 preview
An History of Iowa Football PART VIII: Captain Kirk, 1999-Present
Hawk recruits experience varied success in high school playoffs
Donahue and Stanzi Named Finalists
Robinson not on depth chart
Awards updates: Mackey, Unitas
Iowa at Minnesota Game Notes, 2-deep
Hawkeyes cling to spot in both polls
Lack of finishing touch dooms Iowa yet again
Big Ten bowl projections: Week 12
Big Ten power rankings: Week 13
Hawkeyes know getting a victory at Minnesota would ease some pain
Ohio State loss feels like déjà vu for Hawks
Harty: Iowa rarely stays at an elite level
Iowa No. 24 in AP, USA Today and BCS Lists
8-4 sounded better in 2008
Robinson will sit against Gophers
Hawkeyes spending Thanksgiving on the grid iron
Meet Kid Captain Andrew Niles


Basketball links,

Hawkeye Hoops: Paradise Postscript
Iowa Falls In Paradise Jam Finale
Long Beach State downs Hawkeyes 78-72
Hawkeyes finish sixth at Paradise Jam
Big Ten men’s basketball TV schedule: Nov. 22-28
The McCafferys: Family time in paradise
Hawkeye men are riding wave of confidence in Virgin Islands
Brown: Greetings from St. Thomas (keep it left, buddy)
Basabe’s oops moment highlights snorkeling trip

Game Week (OSU) | What Happened? Hawkeye Post Game Links

Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor rolled to his right on fourth down and 10. The Hawkeye defense kept him from getting the edge and just as it appeared he had no where to throw or run he cut it back across the field and found the first down marker. That was it for Iowa and the season, in a nutshell.

So close, but not enough. Ohio State would go on to score the game winning touchdown. The Hawkeyes would get the ball and a shot, but just like Arizona, Wisconsin, and Northwestern, the Hawkeyes couldn't drive to put the game tying or winning points on the board.

It was Ohio State's lowest points scored (20) in a win since 2008. It was Iowa's second loss at home this season and fourth overall. The Hawkeyes (7-4) have one game remaining, a 2:30 kickoff against Minnesota on the road next Saturday.

This season feels more like 2008 than 2009. The four losses have come by a total of 15 points. But unlike 2008 the Hawkeyes won't have momentum to carry into the bowl season. That year they knocked off #3 Penn State at home, beat Purdue, and then routed Minnesota 55-0. This season the Hawks will limp into Minnesota and with a win hope for an invitation to the Outback Bowl.

If you look at the beginning of the season many fans, myself included, predicted 10-2, or 11-1 for the Hawkeyes this year. With 19 seniors in the two-deeps and a victory over Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl that wasn't out of the realm of possibility. But those predictions were before Iowa lost two running backs with game experience (Jewel Hampton and Brandon Wegher). They were also before James Morris, the true freshman, had even broke the two-deeps at the linebacker positions. Injuries aren't an excuse, every team deals with them for the most part.

The Hawkeyes will end the regular season 3-3 against ranked opponents. My dad asked me what I thought had happened. I thought about it for a minute and said "sometimes the other team is just better than you."

Post game links,

Video: Ferentz update on Adam Robinson
Video: Stanzi, McNutt, Sash, Vandervelde, Greenwood
Video: Ferentz OSU post-game remarks
Hawkeyes lose another heartbreaker to Buckeyes
Coach Kirk Ferentz Postgame Press Conference Transcript
Ferentz: ARob might be out next week
11/20/2010: Ohio State 20, Iowa 17 (Links)
No. 8 Ohio State rallies to top Iowa 20-17
Hawkeyes continue to walk a tightrope … and fall off
Hawks face woes in all phases
Hawkeye woes more than just lost personnel
Hawkeye playback: Ohio State 20, Iowa 17
Buckeyes rally for win behind Pryor, D-line
Iowa vs. Ohio State game pix
Iowa-Ohio State tailgating
PHOTOS: Close game ends with Hawkeye loss
What we learned in the Big Ten: Week 12
More Coker for Iowa next week
What Might Have Been
It’s been a failed 2-minute drill of a season for the Hawkeyes
Game Report: Iowa vs. Ohio State
Ohio State postgame — Players video
Buckeyes’ pressure unravels Iowa’s final drive
VIDEO: Kirk Ferentz, postgame Ohio State-Iowa
Buckeyes dodge black-and-gold bullet
Simple, 8-4 better than 7-5 (+ Ferentz transcript, box score, season stats)


But wait a minute, it's not all sad news from yesterday! Less than 24 hours after battling back in a game that appeared to be blowout city against Xavier the Hawkeye Men's Hoops took on Alabama. Yeah, that Alabama. You know, from the SEC. The game that tipped just as Terrelle Pryor and company were preparing for a game winning drive got little attention. But, the Hawkeye's prevailed in Virgin Islands and will play Long Beach State on Monday in the final of three games in the tournament.

Here are the links:

Iowa men beat Alabama
Iowa Wins Heading Into Off Day
Paradise gets the nod over Kinnick
Hawkeyes down Crimson Tide after loss day before
Iowa men beat Alabama in Virgin Islands