Game Week (NW) | Northwestern at Iowa Game Day Primer

If you haven't heard, this is spirit day in Kinnick. Here's the map:

Before I move on, some awesome news:

Ex-Iowa player Greenwood out of coma, family says

Woot!

Now, to game day links:

Honorary Captains:

Kid Captain: Isaac Arguello

DeVries named honorary captain for Hawkeyes

General Links:

Gameday Live From Kinnick Stadium

10/13/2011: Talkin’ Hawks podcast (Iowa vs. Northwestern)
NU hates Iowa. When will Iowa hate back?
Iowa wary of Northwestern QB Dan Persa
Iowa vs. Northwestern (What to expect)
6 Things to Watch Against… Northwestern
The Wreck of the Patrick Fitzgerald
Iowa-Northwestern: By the numbers
The Breakdown: Northwestern
Persa, Wildcats a pain in Iowa’s … heel
Saturday at Kinnick: Exercise in exorcism?
Why Northwestern has owned Iowa
Reason #178 to hate Northwestern: Purple Sucks
Five things to know about Northwestern
Dan Persa tries to make it four in a row against Iowa
Purple in the head
The Big Analysis — Northwestern (Part I)
The Big Analysis — Northwestern (Part II)
The Big Analysis — Northwestern (Part III)
Northwestern’s Brian Peters comes up with plays
PersaStrong, especially against the Hawkeyes
Revenge factor dresses with Iowa this week
Stopping Northwestern on third down pivotal for Hawkeyes
The Top Ten Reasons Why Iowa Will Lose To Northwestern!
Northwestern travels to Iowa in bid to end three-game losing streak
Video: NU Football Roundtable: Game 6 at Iowa


Player Stuff:

Iowa kicker Trent Mossbrucker turns in passing grade at Penn State
Brad Rogers all heart in Iowa return
Iowa receivers try to catch a break
Lineman Gettis pledges top Hawkeye effort against Wildcats
No matter the role, the field is the thing for true freshmen


 Recruit stuff:

Hawkeye Recruit Roundup: Week 7
Key recruits expected at Kinnick

PSD's Twitter Top 25 | A Look at the Key Match-Ups For Week 6

First, if you missed it, here is the link to this week's Twitter Top 25. Now, let's look at the games that have the most impact on next week's Top 25.

October 15, 2011 11:00 AM (ESPN)

#10 Michigan at #21 Michigan State
Spread: MSU -2.5

Michigan arrives in East Lansing undefeated but hasn't beaten this set of Michigan State seniors.  Mark Dantonio's Spartans are the slight favorite here at home. It's a match-up of one of the nation's best defenses versus one of the most dynamic players in college football (Denard Robinson). Michigan State still has Wisconsin on the schedule while Michigan does not. Both teams are battling for the right to represent the Legends division in the inaugural Big Ten Championship game. This could be a must win for the Spartans if they want to have a serious chance at winning the division title.

October 15, 2011 11:00 AM (FX)

#20 Baylor at #24 Texas A&M
Spread: A&M -8.5

The current Top 25 has six teams from the Big 12, or 60% of the league. That will change next week as one of these teams will lose and most likely drop out. Texas A&M has blown leads to Arkansas and Oklahoma State, their two losses on the season. Baylor is coming off a 49-26 drubbing of Iowa State and look to continue to climb back up the poll after losing to now ranked #16 Kansas State. The schedules don't get easier for either team as the Big 12 season carries on. Vegas loves A&M here but Robert Griffin might have other things to say.


October 15, 2011 2:30 CST (ABC)

#6 Oklahoma State at #23 Texas
Spread: Okie State -7

The Longhorns are still a young team and perhaps had their bubble burst last week at the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma. It's a tough turn around getting back-to-back top 10 teams. Okie State has been lighting up the scoreboard and could have put 100 on Kansas last week. If Texas can't rebound and gets rolled again they'll have a tough time getting back in the Top 25. Oklahoma State, despite how tough the Big 12 is, may begin looking ahead to Oklahoma on December 3rd.


October 15, 2011 9:15 PM CST (ESPN)
#18 Arizona State at #9 Oregon
Spread: Oregon -14.5

Arizona's early season loss to Illinois isn't looking so bad now that the Illini are 6-0. Oregon has also rebounded nicely since opening the season with a loss to LSU. It's possible that these two teams could face each other again in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship game. Oregon would have to defeat Stanford to get there, ASU doesn't have the Cardinal on their regular season schedule. In fact, the season sets up nicely for ASU. They are the heavy underdog against an Oregon team that will be without leading rusher LaMichael James. Autzen is a tough place to play and the crowd will be primed for another terrific Pac-12 game.


Other ranked teams and games of note (All games October 15th):

11:20 AM CST (ESPN Gameplan)

#14 South Carolina at Mississippi State
Spread: S Carolina -3

The Gamecocks ended the Steven Garcia era by dismissing the quarterback from the team this week. Mississippi State was a popular choice for a Top 15 team over the summer.

2:30 PM CST (CBS)

#1 LSU at Tennessee
Spread: LSU -17

LSU has held the #1 spot for three weeks. Tennessee needs a quarterback.

2:30 PM CST (ABC)

Ohio State at #13 Illinois
Spread: Illinois -3.5

If the Illini want respect they can get it by defeating the Buckeyes. Sure, these are the Buckeyes of old but they've had Zook's number.

5:30 PM CST

#17 Virginia Tech at Wake Forest
Spread: V Tech -6.5

Is Wake for real? How about V Tech? One of them has to win this.

6:00 PM CST (ESPN)

#25 Florida at Auburn
Spread: Florida -2

Auburn is technically #26 in the Top 25 poll. Both teams have been in-and-out and up-and-down in the polls. Perhaps the game decides who stays and who goes.

6:00 PM CST (FSN)

#16 Kansas State at Texas Tech
Spread: T Tech -3.5

Texas Tech almost had A&M last week, almost. Bill Snyder knows how to win at K-State.

Hawkeye Rumor Time | Will the Hawkeyes Unleash the Magical Powers of the Famed Water Tower?

Hawkeye fans have been informed to be in their seats extra early for this Saturday night's match-up with the Northwestern Wildcats. Fans will received cards with specific instructions on when to hold up to display a large image to the night sky. There are also rumors of "surprises" that will also be part of Saturday night's activities.

I just got off the phone with a source that will remain nameless. This unnamed source confirmed Internet rumors that the Hawkeyes are in fact planning on including the famed UofI Hospital water tower in Saturday night's show.

Per this source, the water tower is actually an alien space ship that arrived in Iowa City around the construction of the UIHC (estimated 1930's). In exchange for information and through a partnership, the aliens and administration at the hospital have been working together for the past 70 years. Some accomplishments of the group include (per wikipedia):

• First hospital in the U.S. to implant a multichannel cochlear implant that helps deaf patients hear sounds that can be interpreted as speech
• First hospital in the world to implant a multichannel cochlear implant in a congenitally deaf child
• First research center to discover the gene for open-angle glaucoma
• Fixing of Ricky Stanzi's demolished ankle in three weeks

Again, per a source, the plans for the space craft are as follows:

Upon the first Hawkeye touchdown the craft will deploy from within the body of the ship its eight rocket boosters. The ship will then leave its docking station and hover immediately over Kinnick Stadium. From the center of the ship a bright light will emerge from the lower section of the craft.

The remaining details are still unclear. An important part of the ship's sendoff will be the proper display from fans of the cards issued for the "card stunt." The red, white and blue cards the fans will display will serve as markers (similar to airport taxi lights) for the aliens in their spaceship.

Sounds pretty cool huh? I've read that the ship has laser beams and what-not. You know, to fight off intergalactic pirates.

Could be a neat night in Kinnick. If other rumors are true and Iowa simply uses the water tower as a backdrop for some sort of Hawkeye projection, that would be cool too. Stay tuned and go Hawks.

Hawkeye Links | Iowa Men's Hoops Media Day Linkapalooza

Can you believe basketball season is here already? The Hawkeye men's team kicked off their season yesterday with media day. This post is a collection of the stories that emerged from Iowa's media.

General Links:

Transcript: Fran McCaffery press conference
It's GO TIME!
Basketball foundation set at Iowa
Iowa men pin hopes on talented sophomores
2011 Men’s Basketball Media Day (Pictures)
Warmer winter for Hawkeye hoops may be nigh
Midday Madness tips off Iowa basketball practice
10/13/2011: Iowa Media Day notebook
Iowa Practice Footage (Video)
McCaffery Building Depth
Francis Talks Recruiting (Video)

Player Stories:

Gatens ready for final season
Gatens closing in on all-time scoring list
Gatens deals with 3 Iowa coaches
Bryce Cartwright’s half-court shot, bobblehead nights and Devon Archie’s misses
Brommer hopes to make most of his senior year
Cartwright is a point of interest
Hawkeyes expecting big things from Basabe
Hawkeyes Add 2 Walk-Ons


Interesting Tweets:

RT @IowaHoops: #Hawkeyes to host open practice Saturday at CHA. Door prizes, music start at 12:30 followed by intros, dunks and more

RT @jordangarretson: Fran says to expect more of a zone D mix this year

RT @jordangarretson: Oglesby and Aaron White will play. Redshirt not likely for Olaseni

RT @jordangarretson: Iowa bobbleheads: Brommer (Nov 14), Cartwright (Nov 29), Archie (dec 19), Fran (feb 1), Gatens (feb 23). Important stuff.

RT @jordangarretson: Fran: anticipates Marble playing some backup PG again.

RT @VoiceoftheHawks: Gatens in great shape. Had great summer in PTL. Excited for Matt to have senior year he wants.

RT @VoiceoftheHawks: Team had a little more size, depth. You need that to play faster, change defenses. I'd like to play faster than last year.

RT @VoiceoftheHawks: Fran says Basabe is player capable of averaging double-double.

RT @VoiceoftheHawks: Marble had terrific summer. Put on some weight. Sounds like several players put on some good weight, including McCabe.

Hawkeye Links | Hey! The Hawks are Playing Northwestern

Northwestern, or just Northwestern. Here are some stories for Iowa's upcoming game:

Sure the loss at Penn State stings but Marcus Coker is confident the Hawkeyes have no place "to go but up." Coker, along with several Hawkeye players take the blame for the tough loss but promise improvement in the upcoming weeks.

Coach Ferentz held his weekly press conference on Tuesday. Here is the transcript and some highlights:

• Ferentz expects Persa to be a huge challenge
• BJ Lowery is back and will add depth to the secondary
• Ferentz talks about Iowa being a developmental program
• Ferentz talks about handling the loss

If you prefer to watch the video of the press conference you can at the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

You can also see what the players had to say on Tuesday, again thanks to the Gazette.

Iowa released the two-deeps for Northwestern on Monday. No giant changes. Derby is listed as the first team tight end. Jack Swanson cracks the two-deeps as a back-up safety.

Black Heart Gold Pants offers up a couple of stories for our enjoyment this week. First, we get an inside look at a Northwestern football practice. BHGP also takes a walk down memory lane. And finally, we get a look at the numbers and learn that the game hinges on the Iowa offense.

The High Porch Picnic also takes a deeper look into the numbers of Iowa vs. Northwestern. Lot's of stuff here.

Over at Northwestern blog, Lake the Posts, Phillip Rossman-Reich writes that this game is a season saver.

Lake the Posts also explores Kinnick Stadium's mystique and discusses the Wildcat's successes in Kinnick.

Over at SBNation's Sippin on Purple blog there is a post attempting to explain head coach Pat Fitzgerald's dominance over the Hawkeyes.

I'll have more links tomorrow in a Game Day Primer post.

PSD's Twitter Top 25 College Football Poll | Week 6

Once again, the polls have been submitted and the votes counted. Here is the link to the poll sheet to see who voted for what/where. For previous poll results click here or the PSD Top 25 tab at the top of the page. Now, here are the notes:

• The number of pollsters dropped a little this week, down from 52-53 to 48 submitted
• LSU retains the number one spot for the third straight week
• Oklahoma jumps over Alabama for the #2 spot in the poll
• Boise State moves back ahead of Clemson
• Arkansas has climbed back to #11
• Kansas State leaps from #22 to #16
• Texas A&M is back in the Top 25 while Auburn again drops out
• For the first time neither Iowa or Iowa State received a vote

(note, the image has an error in the ranking #'s, Baylor is #20, Michigan State #21, Houston #22)

Others Receiving Votes:

Auburn (67), Notre Dame (52), Penn State (51), Washington (27), USC (23), SMU 17, Utah (16), Georgia (14), TCU (13), North Carolina (10), Cincinnati (9), South Florida (9), Wake Forest (6), Southern Miss (5), Texas Tech (4), Rutgers (2)

Hawkeye Football | Mika'il McCall Back to Practice Next Week?

If you're not an avid listener of the Cedar Rapids Gazette's On Iowa Podcast with Scott Dochterman and Marc Morehouse (you should be) you may have missed this nice little piece of news shared by the duo. Mika'il McCall's high school coach says he may be returning to practice as soon as next week. That could be potentially big news for the Hawkeyes as the toughest part of their schedule still looms in November.

McCall burned his redshirt in the opening week against Tennessee Tech. The freshman relieved starting running back Marcus Coker and rushed nine times for 61 yards before breaking an ankle. It was initially reported that McCall would miss the season and be eligible for a medical redshirt. In late September Ferentz then said "there's an outside chance" of McCall returning in November.

Morehouse speculates that a return to practice next week could mean McCall would be ready to play as soon as October 29th when Iowa travels to Minnesota. Even if McCall isn't ready by then he could prove to be a boost to the offense for the November slate that includes Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Nebraska.

Everyone heals differently and it should be noted that McCall's return at this point is still speculation. The Iowa coaching staff could keep McCall on the sideline and have him return next season as a redshirt freshman. Fellow true frosh Damon Bullock and Jordan Canzeri have also burned their redshirt. I would think you have to play for the now and if McCall is the best option (he was number two out of fall camp) you put him in the game.

Black and Gold Spirit Day | Plus a South Korean Style Card Stunt?

In addition to knowing your section and wearing the proper color for that assigned section you'll be given an assigned card to hold up at assigned times! Hey-o!

Sorta like the South Korean Human LCD!




Per Rick Klatt, via Hawkeye Sports, this " promises to be a great night for fans of the Hawkeyes to show their school spirit and their appreciation of America's -- and Iowa's -- farmers and, of course, to show the their support for the Hawkeyes."

Listen, I don't want to sound like Debbie Downer but where does it stop? I mean c'mon, they want everyone in their seats at 5:30 so we can all read our signs and understand the timing of this whole thing. This could potentially be cool but it could also potentially be really dumb. It's a 6pm kickoff in Kinnick people.

Hawkeye Football | Final Thoughts and Observations From Penn State

First, I guess I'm not overly upset or OUTRAGED about Iowa's loss on the road to Penn State. I had this game penciled in as a loss way back in July. That being said, I'll admit I was feeling better about Iowa's chances after watching Penn State take on Indiana. But, when I made my Iowa season prediction of 8-4 I thought teams like Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State would expose Iowa's weakness in their front seven on defense and that's what happened. Penn State used the running game to control the ball and time of possession. For as well as Iowa's defense played they wore out and Penn State was unstoppable in the fourth quarter.

So, where to begin? How about with the decision to punt the ball after the opening drive stalled? If you take the opening kick I think you have to try for the points. It took Penn State all but a few plays to pass the point of field position you would have surrendered with a missed field goal. Mike Meyer had already hit a 50 yarder on the road against Iowa State. Why punt there?

Well, the punt tipped the hat of Iowa's game plan. They obviously, at least to me, believed they had a defensive game plan to stop the Nittany Lions. And for the most part they did. The Penn State I observed against Indiana dropped passes and threw some terrible balls. Against Iowa those balls were better thrown, at least by McGloin, and those passes caught. Even the balls deflected off of umpires. Part of that is the difference between playing at home and on the road. That's life in the Big Ten.

I liked that Iowa went with the no-huddle offense in the beginning but I wonder how much the Penn State atmosphere had to do with Iowa getting away from it. You don't have the entire playbook in a no-huddle offense but you have to assume with two weeks off you expand it a little bit. It appeared if the offense was having trouble getting the calls at the line. More than once Derby had to check back with Vandenberg for the call. Penn State is a 110,000 plus seat stadium. That's a loud place.

It's hard to observe the defensive secondary watching the game on TV. I've seen people complain that Iowa didn't take enough shots deep. Especially with a freshman corner in the game for Penn State. Again, not being able to see the coverage, I still have to assume there was help deep. Iowa State sold out to stop McNutt and Davis. That gives Iowa better match-ups for the slot receiver or tight end. Kevonte Martin-Manley and Zach Derby just didn't make plays. That's youth, on the road, it happens.

When Iowa wanted to try the deep ball it was already too late. Just like Arizona in 2010 the coaching staff ignored the screen and went to the seven step drop and 10-15 yard routes when everyone in the stadium knew Iowa needed to pass. The offensive line has seen better days but with the team down 10 and three minutes to go a seven step drop for a 15 yard route is a defensive lineman's dream.

That's about all I'm going to invest in this. It's another loss, I've already moved on. The Hawks have Northwestern this week. Northwestern. Let's go.