Hawkeye Football | Iowa Loses to Penn State

Something like 13-3? I think (rubs eyes, stands up and looks for shoe).

Hawkeye Football Links | Iowa at Penn State Game Day Primer

Here should be a collection of links that will take you up to kick off. I'm trying to think of everything I did when Iowa played Iowa State. I know there was a chat, maybe Cheerios. Whatever I did, I'm not doing it again (wink).

Enjoy the links, see you on the Twitter:

GAMEDAY: Iowa at Penn State (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
Playmakers to focus on in Iowa’s showdown vs. Penn State
Hawkeye fans in State College want to see no-huddle offense
Iowa at Penn State (What to expect)
Can high-octane Hawkeyes keep it up?
Storylines for Penn St.-Iowa game
5 things to know about Penn State
Here's the Thing: Penn State
The Big Analysis — Penn State
Coker good with potential 1-2 punch

Player Stories:

UI’s Prater plays big
Just another ‘quiet, walk-on, 235-pound future defensive tackle from 16 hours away
After 4-year apprenticeship, Guthrie off to brilliant start
McNutt has been quite a catch
Daniels, McNutt Trade Interviews on SI.com

PSD's Twitter Top 25 | A Look at the Key Match-Ups For Week 5

Once again, if you missed this week's Twitter Top 25 here it is. Now, let's look at the key games for this week.

October 8, 2011 11:00 AM CST

#3 Oklahoma vs. #11 Texas
Spread: Oklahoma -10.5

The Sooners have slipped from number one just three weeks ago to number three in the Twitter Top 25 poll. They've been passed after strong performances from LSU and Alabama despite winning big last week versus Ball State. Texas has risen from being unranked in the preseason to #11 after a strong 4-0 start to the season. The Sooners are heavy favorites against the Longhorns. A big win could gain Oklahoma back those votes that are now going to LSU, Alabama and Wisconsin.

October 8, 2011 2:30 PM CST

Iowa at Penn State
Spread: Penn State -3.5

A battle of unranked conference foes that are both receiving votes. The Lions are 4-1 (1-0) heading into the weekend while Iowa is 3-1 (0-0). The winner could move to the edge of the Top 25. The Hawks are coming off a bye and looking for conference win number one. Penn State still has question marks about the offense after barely getting a win over Indiana to open conference play. The Hawkeyes have owned Penn State the past decade but the Lions will certainly look to end that dominance with a win Saturday.

October 8, 2011 2:30 PM CST

#15 Florida at #1 LSU
Spread: LSU -13.4

The Gators are coming off a loss to #2 Alabama and now have to face #1 LSU. The Gators will have to face the Tigers without starting quarterback John Brantley. LSU had a bit of a breather last week taking on struggling Kentucky but are right back to taking on ranked teams. This will serve as a barometer for those still undecided between Alabama and LSU being the better team. The Gators will want to keep this one close so that they don't drop from the Top 25 with a loss.

October 8, 2011 6:00 PM CST

#19 Auburn at #13 Arkansas
Spread: Arkansas -10

Auburn is that team that won't go away. They have been in-and-out of the polls and after defeating previously ranked #8 South Carolina find themselves back in the Top 20. Arkansas rebounded nicely with a win against Texas A&M and hope to get back in the hunt for an SEC title. Vegas loves Arkansas here in what should be an entertaining shoot-out.



Other games of note:

Friday October 7, 2011 8:00 PM CST
#8 Boise State at Fresno State

The Broncos continue to slide in the polls despite winning games. They head to a tough place to play and will need to start winning by big numbers to catch the eye of pollsters.

October 8, 2011 11:20 AM CST
Kentucky at #17 South Carolina

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier says he's benching starting quarterback Stephen Garcia. Kentucky is a pushover but the Gamecock offense needs to get right and fast.

October 8, 2011 11:30 AM CST
Wake Forest at Florida State

Florida State fell from the polls despite a bye week last Saturday. The Seminoles have an easy opponent in Wake Forest and get quarterback EJ Manuel back. This will be a game to watch to see if FSU will be a factor late this season.

October 8, 2011 2:30 PM CST
Miami at #21 Virginia Tech

Clemson came to Virginia Tech and took the Hookies to the woodshed. If the Hookies want to stick around the Top 20 they will need to beat Miami at home.

October 8, 2011 7:00 PM CST
Iowa State at #24 Baylor

Baylor suffered their first loss of the season at Kansas State last week. They will have a chance to get their first conference win against Iowa State which was exposed at home last week against Texas.

October 8, 2011 7:00 PM CST
Ohio State at #18 Nebraska

Ohio State will be the first ever Big Ten opponent to play a conference game at Nebraska. The Huskers got a rude welcoming last week at Wisconsin. The Buckeyes are struggling on offense but still have talent on the team. Lincoln will be crazy for this one as Nebraska looks for Big Ten win number one.

Hawkeye Links | Penn State Week | Ferentz, Paterno and More

For starters, you can read the full transcript from coach Ferentz from Tuesday's press conference. You can also read the full transcript of Joe Paterno's press conference too.

 

If you don't want to read those here are the bullets:

 

From Ferentz:

• Defense is progressing
• Lowery still out, hopefully back next week
• There is potential for more 3-4 and nickel when Lowery gets back
• Penn State has a lot of size at WR
• Derby is still practicing with the scout team, Wienke is #2
• Iowa's been lucky against Penn State in the past
• Ferentz doesn't know how to operate a TV remote

 

From JoPa:

 

• Stephon Greene is back, working with the 2's and 3's
• Stephon Morris should be okay to play
• He doesn't think McGloin is frustrated with the rotation at QB
• He doesn't like what some of the media has written about the QB situation
• The Oline is making progress
• Chima Okoli will start at RT
• Lots of QB questions

 

Ferentz sat down and answered some questions for Sports Illustrated too. He talks about the no-huddle, JV and Coker, among other topics.

 

James Vandenberg has put up some impressive numbers in Iowa's first four games this season. Are they good enough for James to be considered Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year? ESPN.com's Big Ten Blog rankes JV third on their list.

 

The recent success of the Hawkeye passing game is due to some surprises among the wide receiving corps. Hawk Central tells us that KMM was a late bargain for Iowa. And how about Keenan Davis? High Porch Picnic has the anatomy of a breakout season: Keenan Davis.

 

What about running back? Hawk Central's Ryan Suchomel believes Canzeri's role may expand within Iowa's offense.

 

What and how that is unclear. Maybe because Iowa's offensive strategy is still unclear. Marc Morehouse, of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, writes that the no-huddle spreads it's wings.

 

On the defensive side of the ball there are a couple of other breakout stories. Hawk Central writes that Christian Kirksey is becoming one of Iowa's reliable tacklers.

 

Penn State's Glenn Carson lit a little fire yesterday when he called Iowa a "wrestling school." Surely this little jab will be on a bulletin board in Iowa's locker room.

 

Still not sure what to make of AJ Derby's arrest last weekend? Mike Hlas, of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, has a well written piece asking fans not to throw AJ under the bus.

 

Here are some Penn State links if you care to read their point of view:

 

Joe Paterno: 'I'm A Cheerleader' Says Penn State Football Coach (VIDEO)
Penn State vs. Iowa: The Objective Primer and Rankings Roundup
Could we see repeat of 2004's 6-4 Penn State-Iowa game on Satuday?
Penn State comments: Nittany Lion defense among college football's best
Penn State hopes swagger returns against Iowa
Giddy Paterno gets the Lions ready for Iowa

 

Other Iowa related links:

 

Iowa FB notes: Shaun Prater analyzes opponents on open weekend
100 percent for the Greenwoods
Hawkeye Recruit Roundup: Week 6
Hawks hoping defense ready for Big Ten play
Tuesday video — Rude introduction at Happy Valley
To paraphrase, what is Penn State?

 

 

PSD's Twitter Top 25 College Football Poll | Week 5

The ballots are in and the votes have been counted. First, some notes on the latest poll:

• LSU retains the number one ranking for the second consecutive week
• Alabama moves ahead of Oklahoma to claim the #2 spot
• Wisconsin moves up one past Stanford and earned first place votes
• Clemson has moved from not ranked to #7 in three weeks
• Boise continues to slide down the poll
• Michigan makes a huge jump from #17 to #10
• Texas is close behind moving from #18 to #11
• Auburn, K-State, Michigan State and Houston are the newest additions to the Top 25
• TCU, South Florida, Texas A&M and Florida State drop out of the poll

Here is the link to view the ballots submitted with the Twitter accounts for each voter.



Here is the latest Twitter Top 25:

(note: Arkansas was previously #19, not 20 as noted in the image)

Others Receiving Votes:

Florida State (98), Texas A&M (72), Washington (35), Texas Tech (29), USC (29), South Florida (14), Iowa (12), Penn State (9), Iowa State (8), SMU (8), Notre Dame (5), Cincinnati (3), Tennessee (3), Georgia (1), North Carolina (1)

It's Penn State Week | So Many Fond Memories

How can you not love playing Penn State?

Hawkeye Links | Derby, Penn State Two Deeps and the Gator Bowl?

First, more on AJ Derby. According to a press release, Kirk Ferentz has suspended the redshirt freshman for two games.

The Hawkeyes have released their two-deeps for this week's Penn State game. Derby is now absent and Wienke listed at #2 QB. There aren't a lot of other big changes. Carl Davis is listed as #2 DT now. Also, freshman Quinton Alston becomes the first true frosh to crack the two-deeps at MLB. Alston saw his first game action against ULM following the departure of Bruce Davis.

From the links I've ignored file, ESPN has updated a weekly power poll and bowl predictions. I tend to think these things are irrelevant until conference play starts. And it has started, so...

The Hawkeyes come in at #6 on ESPN's Big Ten Power poll. Iowa had fallen to #8 after losing to in-state rival ISU. They moved up this week by default. The Big Ten is struggling right now folks.

Even with a down year for the Big Ten, ESPN is predicting Iowa will do no better than the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. Iowa has also been picked to participate at the Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl in Florida. The Car Care Bowl matches up with a Big 12 team, the Gator Bowl plays a team from the SEC.

There are some interesting notes over at the Quad-City Times in their 10@10 piece. We are finally talking Penn State and a little conference talk too. The forecast for Saturday's game is also noted to be 71 and sunny in Happy Valley.

Kirk Ferentz and his coaching staff can play the underdog card this week. Penn State was installed as a 2.5 point favorite over the Hawkeyes in Vegas. The folks in Pennsylvania admit they are a little confused by being the favorite.

Has JoPa wore out his welcome at Penn State? I believe he has the right to do what he wants, but we are in that part of the cycle again where people are questioning his staying around. Here, the Crystal Ball Run says "Penn State has an 84-year old problem."

And finally, if you didn't watch Penn State at Indiana last week, here is a nice recap from PennLive.com.

Hawkeye Football | So AJ Derby Goes and Gets Arrested

Second string quarterback AJ Derby has gone and got himself in trouble with the law. According to Hawk Central, Derby was arrested for fourth-degree criminal mischief and public intox. Hawk Central also describes Derby's condition and potential fines for his debauchery. I just got home from Vegas and probably saw more crimes committed in my hotel hallway but it is what it is.

Which reminds me, my wife and I were sitting at a slot machine when a guy walks by and whispered "party favors, party favors." I then said back in a voice a lot of people could hear, "you mean like hats and stuff?"

Little Derby is just following in his brother's footsteps. Zach was part of a group that included James Ferentz that had their own run in with Johnny law. Big brother Zach had a blood alcohol level of over .200 when he was arrested. AJ's .120 leaves room for improvement there. Okay, maybe not the best place for a joke but c'mon. It should be noted that AJ has yet to turn 21.

Derby will miss the Big Ten season opener at Penn State this Saturday. He'll probably get to know some stadium stairs and a tractor tire real well too. The Hawkeyes will have junior John Wienke as the second option at quarterback. Wienke is already the holder for extra points and field goals.