Iowa Football and Institutional Racism

Over the weekend, there was big time news for the Iowa football program. Any sports news is great news, right? Unfortunately, that was not the case as James Daniels talked about racial disparity when it comes to the treatment of Iowa football players. It quickly became apparent that this was not an isolated incident but a pattern of poor treatment for black players in the Iowa football program.

 

Even the players who said they had a good experience at Iowa let their voices known that there was plenty of room for improvement. And I’ll admit, when I first heard about it, I tried to justify things in my mind, not that the actions were justified, but that this happens all over college football. But just because something is widespread does not make it right. And Iowa needs to be better.

 

To start, Chris Doyle has to go. He has had an incredible impact on the Iowa program, and I have no doubt that he is one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the nation and a huge reason for Iowa’s success. But let’s face it, this guy should have been fired after the rhabdo issue where he sent multiple players to the hospital for working them out so hard that their kidneys were bleeding. That’s about as bad as you can mess up as a strength and conditioning coach and if a single one of these allegations are true (which seems likely since there are at least a dozen), it’s time to move on from Doyle. 

 

Kirk Ferentz is an absolute control freak (just about every college coach is), so I don’t really believe his claim of ignorance. I believe Kirk knew about just about all of these things, but to give him the benefit of the doubt, I don’t know if he understood how much it was affecting those players. 

 

I think Kirk is pretty outward on wanting folks to conform, but it’s also pretty obvious that his version of conformity is conforming to traditional white standards. He wants to restrict any behavior outside of his norms, and it’s pretty easy to see how this would make black players uncomfortable and also afraid to speak out about their issues. I hope Kirk Ferentz, and the entire Iowa program, can use this chance to grow as leaders, and it leads to a more positive experience for the black athletes in the Hawkeye program.

Noah Fant - 2019 NFL Draft Scouting Report

With the Chicago Bears eliminated a couple weeks ago, it is officially NFL Draft season. Since the Bears (smartly) don't have any of their picks for this draft, I'm not sure how interested I will be in the top names, and ultimately, this quarterback class isn't all that inspiring at first glance either, so for right now, I only know that I am going to focus on one thing: The Iowa Hawkeyes. I am starting with the guy that seems to be the consensus top guy coming out of Iowa this year, Tight End, although not the Tight End that won the Mackey Award, Noah Fant. I checked out his games against Penn State in 2018, and then his 2017 games against Ohio State and Iowa State.

I should start that even though there was the dig about the Mackey Award, I do not blame Fant for that as Iowa GREATLY underutilized Fant this season. They called him a specialist, but his specialty is being a large super athletic target for the quarterback who is also at least good enough at blocking in the run game.

Check out the way he clears out the linebacker on this run play. He does have some misses in blocking, but I do think he is at least average and just gets underrated due to how good of a blocker Hockenson is, because it is nearly impossible to separate the two.

Is Noah Fant athletic?

Yes, Noah Fant is athletic. He not only blows by the safety because of a bad angle, he was only building distance as he got further down field. Also, watching 2017 film reminded me that Nate Stanley could not complete a deep ball to save his life that year.

If Stanley waits another beat and keeps his eyes open, Fant is wide open down the middle of the field for an easy touchdown here.

The key is that Fant accelerates so quickly that linebackers are going to have absolute hell trying to keep up with him, especially on a double move.

In fact, it is not going to be easy for anybody to keep up with Fant if he has the chance to accelerate in the open field.

Check out the acceleration as he crosses the field. First, he outruns a safety who tries to dive at his feet, and then he EASILY gets the corner on a linebacker who is also in pursuit.

One thing that didn't show up in the games I watched but was something that was a concern of mine were easy drops from Fant. Matt Waldman does a great job of breaking it down in this video.

I do think some of his technique needs to be refined to make more consistent catches, but at the same time, the guy made some pretty impressive catches as well.

Still, the most frustrating part of watching Iowa this season was not how few times they threw to Fant, but how few times they even looked his way. It is a massive coaching blunder to not design more plays for their most dangerous weapon.

I always supported Noah Fant, but seeing how effective Hockenson was in comparison to Fant did make me lose sight of how good he really was when Iowa actually targeted him. Basically all of their best performances coincided with Fant actually getting thrown the ball. He's really freaking good. Also, everybody is expecting him to blow up the combine with ridiculous athletic testing scores.

There are two names that come to mind when looking at Fant. The first is arguably the best tight end in football, Travis Kelce. Fant does have that kind of upside. At the same time, the name that really clicks with me is Eric Ebron. The fun thing about that comparison is I don't know if it's a compliment or not. If you ask Lions fans, it's a horrific diss, because drops and inconsistency marred his time with them despite his incredible athletic gifts. But if you ask Colts fan, he's a top-five tight end who can stress defenses down the middle of the field. I think the latter is a very likely outcome for Fant, but his raw talent gives him a chance to be the best tight end in football.

4 Takeaways from the Iowa / Illinois Game

63-0 is a nice score. Yes, six more points would have been nicer, but let's just take this totally stress free and awesome win and enjoy the moment. 

In Your Face, Hawkeye Fans

Clearly, the Iowa coaching staff heard the complaints about a lack of usage for Noah Fant and Toren Young, so in the third drive, they decided to shove those two down our throat, and it proved the fans are all stupid idiots when Iowa easily scored a touchdown. Take that, Hawkeye fans. I think the latter is overblown as even though Young has the best yards per carry, I still think Mekhi Sargent is the best back. But not having Fant on the field in that loss to Northwestern was a crime. Not throwing to Fant is one thing, but just him being on the field will make it easier for other guys to get open. It appears the coaching staff has come to their senses, and it sets them up to smash Nebraska to end the season next week.

OMG, AJ Epenesa

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD (deep breath) OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD. AJ Epenesa is pretty good, right? He ended with eight tackles, 3.5 for loss, and 1.5 counting as sacks. He also had a pass defensed, a fumble recovery, and a touchdown. I've gotta say, it's pretty cool having a five-star recruit on the team. Physically, he is absolutely incredible, and he's starting to get more refined in his technique. He has the ability to take over a game, and he does it as a part-time player. For funsies, I decided to see what people thought of him for the 2020 NFL Draft, and it turns out he is not flying under the radar since he is already projected as the seventh overall pick, but at least we still have a year plus with him on our side. I plan on enjoying every snap of this experience.

Amani Hooker Is a Football Player

Amani Hooker had three tackles, one was for a loss, and one pass defensed. And even with that stat line, it jumped out that there is nobody that is more of a football player than Amani Hooker on this Iowa team. Epenesa and Fant are the most talented on their respective sides of the ball, but when it comes to instincts and always making the right decision and being in the right spot, there is nobody that touches Amani Hooker on this team. He is the guy that most reminds me of Desmond King in his incredible instincts out there. His stats don't jump off the page, and it appears he isn't considered much of a prospect as the only real projection I saw for him was the 13th best strong safety for the 2020 NFL Draft. Thank God people don't realize how good he is, because Hooker is what makes this defense so potent. It's easier to enjoy Epenesa, but watching Hooker is just as satisfying.

New Kirk Is The Hot Chick

New Kirk is great. He goes for it on fourth down, he doesn't punt when he is on his opponent's side of the field, and he even embraces trick plays. But New Kirk doesn't totally understand this new change. Basically, he's the teenage girl that switches bodies with an adult in a movie. Old Kirk is like, oh neato, not punting can be pretty exciting. Going for it on fourth and short is neato. But the child always runs into adult body problems that they did not expect. I mean, we all remember the cinematic classic, The Hot Chick. It was very jarring for Rachel McAdams to have Rob Schneider's body. This is New Kirk. He will often call timeouts at the end of the first half, even though he still won't have enough time to get the ball back. And then, when he was about to enter halftime up 35-0, he called a fake victory formation fumblerooski play just because he could. It was totally pointless, absolutely hilarious, and it's just New Kirk's version of how weird it is to have body hair. 

Come back next week to learn how Dalton Ferguson is actually a lot like Deuce Bigalow, European Gigolo (obviously Parker Hesse would be the original Deuce Bigalow). 

4 Takeaways from the Iowa / Maryland Game

Another week, and another impressive performance from the Hawkeyes. The offense has had the chance to shine the last couple weeks, but today, it was all about the defense in a 23-0 shutout of the Maryland Terrapins. This is the type of win that Kirk Ferentz truly loves, dominance on defense, dominance in the kicking game, and less than 100 yards passing. BIG TEN FOOTBALL. Here are my four takeaways from the game.

Parker Hesse Is Always There
I know I give a tremendous amount of love to AJ Epenesa, and yes, Epenesa is, by far, the most talented guy on the defensive line, but nobody maximizes their impact quite like Parker Hesse. This is a guy who is nonstop hustle and knows how to be in the right place at the right time. He blew up Maryland's jet sweep on multiple occasions and added a sack late in the third quarter on a third down play that had Maryland converted, they may have actually had a chance to score on the Iowa defense. It's rarely flashy, but Hesse has been starting for what feels like a decade, and I am going to miss that constant next season.

Chauncey Golston Deserves Some Love
As I stated above, AJ Epenesa is the freak; Parker Hesse has started forever, and both Nelsons are massive human beings, starters, and yet somehow not related. Iowa has eight defensive linemen rotating in, and I feel like Golston is the least talked about, but damn, that dude is legit. Every game, there is a split second where I ask myself who linebacker #57 is and why he's tearing it up in an opponents' backfield, but then I realize it's Golston who makes plays every game. His stat line of three tackles with one tackle for loss isn't going to jump off the page, but watching him play in and play out is impressive. Hell, his most impressive play was stopping an outside run in the backfield, the runner was able to jump out of Golston's grasp, but the rest of the defense, led by Epenesa cleaned up the mess. Still, it was Golston that made that play happen, and even with the turnover up front, the future of the defensive line is still bright for the foreseeable future.

Kirk Ferentz Loves Field Position
Although Iowa is more dynamic and aggressive on offense, Kirk probably hasn't noticed at all. He's just staring at the flags at the top of the stadium to judge that wind. When he's not lost in those flags, the man is only thinking about punting and gaining all of the slightest edges. We all know that punting is winning, but Kirk puts his kickers and punters in the best position possible by calling timeouts at the end of the first and third quarters in order to ensure that Iowa would have the wind, and Maryland would be fighting against it in the kicking game. This man doesn't care about a seven point advantage, but a seven yard advantage? That's why Kirk Ferentz got into coaching.

Where Is The Weakness?
Iowa just keeps kicking ass. They had almost no passing game today, and it didn't matter as there were enough other parts that stepped up to make this a stress-free victory. So outside of Iowa biffing multiple punt returns, how does this team lose? The passing game has an improved Nate Stanley throwing to great tight ends and a receiving corps that seems to make incremental improvements every week. The running game looks better and better as there is are usually two running backs delivering, and the offensive line has dominated the past couple weeks. On defense, the defensive line is phenomenal, the linebackers fill the role, and Amani Hooker being able to step up in the box against spread formations really helps with the defense's versatility. At corner, nobody is challenging Julius Brents which is a pretty damn good sign that he will never see the bench again in his Iowa career, and Riley Moss has improved each week, although I think I still feel more comfortable with Hankins if he is able to get healthy.

There are only two things that could sidetrack this team, and they both revolve around the quarterback. The first is Nate Stanley dropping from nine to seven hours of sleep, so hopefully things don't get too tough on him during the second half of the semester. The second is what we saw late in the game yesterday where not one but two backup quarterbacks were put in the game with Peyton Mansell and Spencer Petras. WHO IS THE TRUE #2? Will this divide the Iowa locker room?

If Stanley sleeps and no backup quarterback peeps, this will be a season with memories we will keep.

Are The Iowa Hawkeyes Any Good At Football In 2017?

The Iowa Hawkeye football team sits at 4-3. That is not good. It's not terrible, but it's not wowing anybody. Sometimes they look pretty good, yet other times they look pretty bad. So it's time to dig in and figure out if this team is any good.

Offense
Quarterback
Overall, I would say the quarterback position has been a pleasant surprise. Is Nate Stanley good? Eh, I wouldn't go that far, but he is competent, and considering that this is his first real experience, that's a pretty good start. His biggest issue is the deep ball, which has caused my dog much grief as she gets scared when I scream profanities at my television, but even those are getting better. He's not a world beater, but I don't think much more can really be expected from the guy.

Running Back
Akrum Wadley is a super good running back who is badly misused as a bellcow back that is trying to run between the tackles. The outside zone is where he makes his money, as he can stretch a play out, make a hard cut and get up field. Grinding between the tackles, especially with nine guys charging through the line is not a recipe for success. The backup running backs have all looked good as well. It's one of those situations where the guys have played well, but they haven't always been put in a  position to succeed.

Receivers
I'm going to group the wide receivers and tight ends together here. The tight ends have been the stars of the show as both Noah Fant and TJ Hockenson have played very well this year. Yes, there have been some drops, but these are the guys who are finding ways to get open consistently, and I'd like to see more designed plays for both of them.

As for the actual Wide Receivers, I don't think anyone can be anything but ecstatic over the performance of Nick Easley. There were rumors that he looked good in practice, but the fact that he has risen to be Stanley's go-to receiver is pretty incredible. He hasn't been perfect, but let's not get nitpicky. Matt VandeBerg has been fine. I feel like he's still ramping up, and the chemistry that he had with Beathard has not been repeated with Stanley. He's still shown flashes, and I do expect him to play a larger role during the final handful of games. Outside of that, nobody has really stepped up. ISM had his moments, but Brandon Smith has not. Is there anyone else really worth mentioning? These guys are performing well, but Iowa flat out doesn't have a talented enough receiving corps for them to have a big time pass game. That is why teams can continue to stack the box to stop the run, as none of these receivers, nor the quarterback throwing to them are really terrifying.

Offensive Line
Since expectations were fairly low for every position but running back, the offensive line is probably the most disappointing unit from the first half. A major factor in that is injuries. Losing Cole Croston for the year really put a wrench in Iowa's plans, and I'm not sure if Boone Myers has been completely healthy all year long. I think they have done a good job in pass protection as Nate Stanley has had a decent pocket most of the time. The big issue has been the running game where Iowa has not found any way to create consistent holes.

Defense
Defensive Line
The best of Iowa's three defensive units. This is the one area where Iowa has almost too much depth as I constantly want more AJ Epensesa, but like, Parker Hesse is pretty good too. Nelson & Nelson have both been solid on the line, and Bazata continues to be very important without having many flash plays. I was expecting a little more impact from Cedric Lattimore, but this is where we get nitpicky. Iowa has so many guys who flash special traits, but we still see everybody stuffed at the lines. I thought they would have more of an impact in the pass game, but Iowa style dictates that they stay their lane as opposed to always trying to make impact plays.

Linebackers
The linebackers are exactly who we thought they were. Josey Jewell is Iowa's best defender, and my only complaint with him is that he got injured and had to miss a game. Ben Niemann and Bo Bower have both been good, although I am going to be slightly terrified when Ohio State spreads out the field and makes them play in space. Iowa fans had high hopes going into the season, and I think the linebackers have lived up to those expectations.

Secondary
Josh Jackson is probably the most pleasant surprise of any Hawkeye this season, even more than Nick Easley. He has been running amok in the secondary, and he is close to getting crunk ON the field, something only Jovon Johnson and Desmond King have officially done as Iowa players. I think hopes were a little too high for Manny Rugamba, since it was almost entirely based on the single play of him yanking a ball away from a Michigan receiver for an interception. Ojemudia has been solid, but he was more thought of as a third cornerback going into the year, who got bumped up to number two due to Rugamba being hurt.

As for the safeties. Holy shit, Brandon Snyder. I know he is already hurt again, which, uh, yeah, he did just tear his ACL six months ago, but man, when he was in, I felt so much better about the Iowa secondary. Also, Amani Hooker is learning on the fly, but you can already see the improvement. Poor Miles Taylor and Jake Gervase. Together they could make a good safety, but Taylor's instincts just aren't there, and Gervase's athleticism just isn't there. But when Iowa's safeties are healthy, there isn't a huge weakness in this defense.

Coaching Staff
Soooooooooooooooooooooo the coaching staff. Let's start out by saying that Phil Parker has put his defense in a position to succeed, so he's fairly clean on all of this. My only issue is that Iowa has A TON of defensive line talent, but too often on pass plays, we just see four  or more guys charging into offensive linemen without a real plan to get to the quarterback. That really bothers me, but again, it's really tough to give any fault to the defense.

Which brings us to the offense. The good news is that it is better to watch this year than last year. They throw the ball in the middle of the field which is the most hallelujah thing I can imagine after the Greg Davis era. Unfortunately, although the receivers are doing their best, their just isn't enough talent to really depend on them to get open for big plays. This is causing an issue as teams are definitely keying in on the run and blowing up Akrum Wadley before he has a chance to make anything happen. I'd like to see Iowa send some non-wide receivers deep. Get Fant going deep, or put Wadley in the slot and send him deep. Worst case scenario is they protect against Wadley and that opens up a little space for Toren Young. But nobody's going to stop stacking the box until Iowa makes them pay for it.

Before last week's game, Iowa has consistently struggled in the first half, and then put things together in the second half. The good news is that Iowa has been good at halftime adjustments. The bad news is the game planning during the week has not been getting the job done. Iowa moved the ball well to start off last week's game, so hopefully that continues against Minnesota, and I don't know, maybe Iowa will play two good halves of football on offense. It could happen, right?

Luck
You will notice that I didn't bring up Kirk Ferentz in the section above. That's because he more belongs in this section. Because, really, what this Iowa season has come down to so far is just luck. Despite all of the issues they have had, it's not like Iowa is that far off from being 7-0. If Amani Hooker tips the ball against Penn State, if Iowa flips the turnover situation against Michigan State, if Iowa scores early on drives where they dominated to start the game, Iowa is 7-0, and they look just as good as the team that went to the Rose Bowl.

But although they got a bit of luck in the Iowa State game, the ball has not been bouncing their way this season, and that is one of the biggest factors in this season seeming more disappointing than it really is. Overall, the team is playing well, but it's Iowa; they're never going to blow the roof off the place. They're going to fight; they're going to grind. Sometimes they'll have amazing wins, but they are also going to have maddening losses.

So is Iowa any good this year? Yes, they are somewhere between "not very" and "quite" good this year. If their luck continues, it'll be closer to the former, but if it reverses, it might end up closer to the latter. Either way: In Kirk We Trust

Talking to Yourself about Iowa

Iowa is 12-0 and going to the B1G Championship with a shot to go the College Football Playoff. I know this sentence is 100% true, and yet, I still can't totally fathom it. I mean, I'm flying up to Indy to go to the game (scalpers willing) this weekend, and it still hasn't totally sunk in. I've watched every minute of every game, and it still doesn't feel totally right that Iowa is here. This season is too good, and my brain can't fully comprehend what is happening.

It's not that I've been influenced by the pundits either. I barely watch ESPN, so I really only hear about most of it secondhand. I remember hearing a throwaway joke on the Solid Verbal about talking to your kids about Iowa, laughed, moved on, and then watched it take off a become a thing. That's still funny to me, and shockingly fitting, because I can't totally explain Iowa to a child; I can't even fully explain Iowa to myself.

Don't get me wrong. This is fun. This is really, really, fun.

Think about this season for Iowa, and try to name players who performed below expectations. The only ones are, through no fault of their own, Drew Ott and Jake Duzey. Ott played with a robo arm for a few weeks and was still causing havoc before having season ending knee surgery. Duzey got hurt before the season, and because the other two tight ends were playing great, hasn't really had a chance to put himself back in the rotation.

Who has even only played to expectations? I guess I'd go with Tevaun Smith, who has been a weapon in the passing game but has not set the world on fire. Greg Mabin, who continues to show flashes of greatness but still hasn't quite gotten the consistency that would make him an absolute monster as a corner. That's basically it. Those guys just did as good as we expected them to.

Everyone else has exceeded expectations, and there are some guys who exceeded past my wildest fantasies. The one that stands out is Desmond King, who I was excited about when Iowa got him right before National Signing Day. He just sounded like a guy who just made plays, and wouldn't you know it? Making plays in football is a pretty damn valuable skill. Still, this is beyond even my wildest expectations. He probably deserves the Thorpe Award, as he has legitimately been the best corner in the league. It's been incredible.

Probably the most surprising success story is the entire offensive line. Sure, Austin Blythe was good, but he's become dominant, and everyone has far exceeded my expectations. I thought it would be their achilles heel on the way to a 4-8 season, and instead, they have become a huge strength in keeping the quarterback upright while opening up huge holes for a bevvy of running backs.

And speaking of running backs, holy shit, how did Mark Weisman start for this team? Nothing against Weisman, who always worked hard and did his best, but Jordan Canzeri is the truth, Wadley has moves on moves, Derrick Mitchell is somehow just a great pass blocker for third down situations, and when LeShun Daniels is on, he's the most unstoppable runner of the bunch. The running backs have taken a huge step forward, and it's been fun to watch.

But don't think I forgot about defenders outside of King Crunk, as it has been a great year for guys with double J initials. Jaleel Johnson has emerged as a monster in the middle of the line, destroying run games and collapsing pockets on the quarterback, he has helped make everyone else's job easier. Right behind him is Josey Jewell who has gone from looking lost last year to having nearly flawless instincts as he flies around and tackles everything in sight. With Jeff Jarrett starting Global Force Wrestling, it has been a great year for Double Js.

Somehow even crazier, I have talked about a ton of important factors about Iowa, and I haven't even mentioned that Kirk Ferentz has altered his offensive playbook, and all CJ Beathard does is win. There's simply too much wild shit happening this year to get to everything.

And here's the thing with not wrapping my head around this team. As the season has gone on, a part of me has hoped for a single loss and a Rose Bowl berth, because how cool would the Rose Bowl be (although a loss likely knocks them out of that at this point)? And that was seriously as high as my brain can dream up. Like, all they do is win, so who's to say they couldn't win the damn College Football Playoff? It's unlikely, but this season took nearly everything going right in the first place, why should that stop now? I don't know if my heart could take it.

Nearly everything has gone right this year, and I'm a very logical person, so I always assume if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. This season definitely seems too good to be true, so it almost doesn't feel real. The question I keep asking is when is that other shoe going to drop? I don't know, and I'm going to do my best to turn my brain off to not care either. I'm going to the B1G Championship next week, and who knows where I could be headed next to support the Hawkeyes?

This season has already been an incredible triumph, but it's not over yet, so it's time to say fuck logic and just enjoy the ride.

Go Hawks!

Iowa Hawkeye Fans - Relax

The Iowa Hawkeyes are undefeated at 8-0. Iowa fans are understandably excited about this development since expectations had eight wins as more of a season-long ceiling as opposed to a way to start the season. As an Iowa fan, I am incredibly happy right now with my football team and will actually have positive thoughts during the rest of the regular season.

However, the big bad Internet is not as excited about the Iowa Hawkeyes. They think they are lucky, and they haven't played anybody, so they're not a legitimate national title contender. The leader of this charge is a podcast, The Solid Verbal, which I subscribe to and have listened to every episode for the last four or five years. They started the meme of "Talking to Your Kids About Iowa," something that has taken the world by storm since a couple writers from Tosh.0 got in on the action and made a video about it.

Iowa fans are NOT happy about this. How dare the internet besmirch the great name of Hawkeye Nation and our infallible leader, Kirk Ferentz (a leader who 90% of the fan base wanted fired coming into the season). Iowa fans do not find these videos funny, because their Hawkeyes ARE a good football team, and they have beaten legitimate competition. They will quote the victories over Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, and Northwestern, but come on guys. We can't really brag about beating Northwestern, right? They're Northwestern. And Pitt? Sorry, but Pitt is...they're not bad, they're just fine. I will say that Wisconsin is good, but only good, as Alabama blew them off the field in their opening game.

This culminated in an Iowa fan making a reply video talking about the SEC Myth. It was well done and entertaining, but the argument of, "The SEC isn't even that good," only gets you so far. Yeah, the SEC's greatness is blown up a little, but it is still the best football conference, and yes, that does count for something.

I have bad news for the keyboard warriors who are defending the Kinnick Castle: People are going to continue to shit on Iowa, and there's nothing you can do to stop them.

But I also have good news for those valiant knights of internet justice: You don't have to care. You could just stop caring. Or, if you're like me, you could even laugh at some of it, because it is pretty funny. Nothing the internet says takes away from Iowa's victories. And if Iowa keeps winning, they will be in the College Football Playoff. Think about that. Somehow, that's not a totally implausible scenario right now, and I would have said you were insane had you told me that before the season.

But let's just relax, Hawkeye fans. This is an awesome season, and you should be standing and cheering for your team instead of standing in front of a computer repeatedly stating, "I'm not mad, I just think it's funny" while stripping down naked in your rage.

This undefeated journey could end in any of the next five Saturdays (well, Friday for Nebraska), but it could also keep going. Use your energy to live it up instead of worrying that other college football fans aren't impressed with your college football team. Their thoughts shouldn't be that important to you, but what Iowa is doing on the field is pretty damn cool, and I'd hate for you to miss it.

Go Hawks!

2015 Iowa Hawkeyes: What Do We Really Know?

After four weeks, Iowa is undefeated at 4-0. This is the most excited the fan base has been since Ricky Stanzi was professing his love for America. It feels like a really great time to be a Hawkeye. Still, even though 4-0 is ideal, I'm not totally sure what we really know about this Iowa team. Let's break it down and find out.

How good is CJ Beathard?
Everybody knows that without a quarterback, your team can only go so far. Beathard is definitely off to a better start than the former starter who's slinging the ball up in Ann Arbor (although Rudock has made this the first year that I can actually cheer for Michigan). But despite Beathard having big arm strength, he hasn't really been throwing too many deep balls. Where his arm strength has proven most valuable is on the quick passes out to the sideline as the ball gets there quicker and he gives his receivers time to make plays. Beathard has also been impressive with his legs, most notably against Iowa State, as he will take advantage of open space to make a play with his feet. I'm still left with the feeling that this offense hasn't changed as much as Hawkeye fans would like. I miss the deep post that was a simple concept brought on by a successful run game and play action that led to big plays half a dozen times a year. I think Beathard is good, but I would like to see him attack the middle of the field and air it out a little more before I can throw my full support behind Iowa being a legit contender to win the B1G West.

Answer: Better than Jake Rudock, not as good as Andrew Luck.

Does Iowa know how to utilize its skill players?
For running backs, the answer seems to be yes. Jordan Canzeri has become Iowa's version of Danny Woodhead. It's always ideal to use him as a change of pace guy, but if you need him to pound it between the tackles, he'll probably shock you with his success there too. He had four touchdowns this weekend, so that's pretty neat. LeShun Daniels has struggled with injuries early on, but having a back that you can pound between the tackles is going to be a necessity when playing against the B1G schedule.

As for the receiving options, Matt VandeBerg has seemed to find himself a nice niche in the system, but I don't think he is the biggest threat out of Iowa's receving corps. Tevaun Smith is averaging only three receptions a game, yet is still nearly the leader in yards for the team. Getting him more involved would be ideal, as he is the type of receiver where if you get the ball close, he has the ability to go up and make a play. Iowa is still waiting for Jake Duzey to come back from injury, but the tight ends still seem slightly underutilized since Iowa is still rarely using the middle of the field.

Answer: They are doing a great job of utilizing the running backs, but get the ball to Tevaun Smith more.

How good are Iowa's offensive tackles?
These guys may not be great, but they are the biggest surprise of the year for me. They have greatly exceeded my modest expectations. I really thought it would be a bloodbath, but so far, they have shown they will not hold the team back. This is the first time they've really gotten a chance to play, so by the end of the season, their could be massive improvement. I don't think either one is going to be Bob Gallery within a season, but with how well the interior line has played, they don't have to.

Answer: Serviceable, and that's a really great surprise.

How dope is the defensive line?
They're stopping the run, collapsing the pocket, and making plays.

Answer: Pretty dope.

Does Desmond King get crunk on the field?
I miss the early days of social media, as Iowa players could do and say whatever they wanted, because Kirk had no idea what social media was. I don't really remember anything awful, but I do remember something awfully hilarious, and that came from the criminally underrated, Jovon Johnson. He started a fan group on Facebook called, "Jovon Johnson 'lockdown 26' Fan Club." The description gave you a glimpse into how awesome Jovon was off the field, as he stated, "If you love to see me gettin crunk on the field..returning punts...returning and picking off interceptions...making big hits..doing what I do best then join the club cause I love it too!!"

A buddy of mine and I bring this up every year, hoping that we have a new player that will get crunk on the field. Finally, after a decade of waiting, we have that man in Desmond King. He makes big hits, he picks off and returns interceptions, he returns punts, and when you combine all of those aspects together, you can only come to one conclusion: Desmond King gets crunk ON THE FIELD.

Answer: An emphatic YES!

How do you feel about the linebackers, the other three defensive backs, and special teams?
Marshall Koehn hit a 57-yard field goal to win a game, and they have punted well too, so good to go there. The other defensive backs aren't as good as Desmond King, but even though guys can find open spaces, they aren't getting beat by big plays like they have the last few years. The linebackers have made some alterations to help them in coverage, and the quicker, smaller linebackers are a better fit to go up against spread offenses. They're not Greenway and Hodge, but they ain't too shabby either.

Answer: Pretty good.

Has Kirk Ferentz actually changed?
The answer to this one is shocking, because the answer is yes. I'll admit that it sounded terrible when Kirk said that they probably needed to watch more tape in the offseason, but football coaches aren't always the smoothest talkers, and he meant it more in the way of altering the way of doing things than not properly preparing for opponents. The shield punt is the most noticeable change, but there have been some subtle changes to the run game, which is something that I never thought Kirk would change. Kirk is a very logical thinker, and when you're logical, you understand that staying the course is almost always the best option. It took a lot of bad outings before Kirk realized that staying the course would not deliver the results it has in the past. They went to the drawing board and have given new things a try. Good for them.

Answer: It may be shocking, but yes, Kirk Ferentz has changed.

Is this Iowa team actually good?
Aw, shoot; I was hoping you weren't going to ask this one. They're not great; I can tell you that much, but the B1G West is not great, so they don't really have to be. The only team that is probably better than them throughout the rest of their schedule is next week at Wisconsin, but even Wisconsin isn't great. The Hawkeyes have a small margin for error, so they likely won't go undefeated, but there is no team that should blow them out. I'll pick them to lose to Wisconsin, but just one other time outside of that to end up 10-2.

Answer: Good enough for the B1G West, which, luckily, is the division they are in.

Overreacting to Iowa's Win Over Illinois State

I'm not gonna lie, I was super low on Iowa coming into the season. I felt like the question marks that Iowa had were huge concerns that seemed to be downplayed. The offensive tackles were reportedly the hottest, stinkiest garbage that has ever been allowed to play college football. The guards weren't all that fantastic last year, so Iowa likely had their worst offensive line since Kirk Ferentz's first season. On top of that, they needed to replace both defensive tackles, and it's not like they were overflowing with amazing talent at linebacker. I liked the secondary, I liked Tevaun Smith, I was excited for CJ Beathard, and I figured the running backs couldn't be any worse.

So when Iowa took on last year's National Championship Runner-Up (don't worry about what level), Illinois State, I was shocked by how good Iowa looked. They ended up winning the game 31-14, but had Iowa kept in the starters, they probably would have scored once or twice more, and there's a good chance that Illinois State wouldn't have scored at all. It was an impressive performance all-around.

So of course I have done a 180 and am now all-in on Iowa this year. Is this irrational? Of course it is, but I can totally justify it. The tackles, whch were my biggest concern had no issues with Illiniois State's pass rush. Some of those guys were big recruits before transferring out to a smaller school? Does that mean they likely weren't all that good? Yes, but they at east have impressive physical attributes, and Iowa's tackles withstood that, which is more than I expected. I honestly expected a bloodbath in every game, but I am happy to say that I was very wrong.

The offense truly shocked me with how good they looked. Beathard definitely didn't disappoint as he made smart decisions and carved up a defense that was overmatched. The running backs were the true shining stars as LeShun Daniels tore it up on the ground, and Jordan Canzeri tore it up as a receiver. The offensive line took care of business in the running and passing games, which means the only mild concern so far is that the tight ends were a total non-factor, but that's being pretty nitpicky about things.

And defensively, the defensive line shined the brightest as Drew Ott was a monster and Jaleel Johnson showed that he is more than ready to make an impact as a starter. The secondary played very well, as Greg Mabin was making plays in both the running and passing games, while Desmond King is one of the best corners in the conference. And Josey Jewell led a solid effort from the linebackers as he was able to diagnose plays and attack the runners. Illinois State has some legitimate threats on offense, and Iowa absolutely overwhelmed them on that side of the ball.

And it's not like Iowa's schedule is all that difficult. To demonstrate how soft it is, let's just do a quick power rankings of Iowa's opponents from how they looked in week one.

1. Northwestern
2. Illinois
3. Maryland
4. Iowa State
5. Minnesota
6. Pitt
7. Indiana
8. Nebraska
9. Wisconsin
10. Texas State
11. Purdue

Yeah, that is seriously their schedule. I mean, judging by how these teams looked in week one, this might be the easiest schedule in the nation. I'm not sure what is most laughable about this, Northwestern at 1, Illinois at 2, or Iowa State at 4, but that's a pretty accurate portrayal of how these teams performed in their first game. It's not like Iowa couldn't beat any of these teams.

Every year, I go into the Iowa football season with way too much optimism, always seeing how things could break right. I inevitably end up disappointed. But this year, I was skeptical going into the year, so maybe this is the year that they shock me and the rest of the world and actually put together a great season.

Either that, or I just waited one week to get my hopes way too high only to see Iowa shit the bed against Iowa State. 

What If Kirk Ferentz Coached In The NFL?

I am a very calm and rational Iowa fan. With that being said, even I have finally reached the point where Kirk Ferentz drives me crazy. Nothing is going to change. He'll stick with his offense; he'll stick with his defense; he'll even stick with his special teams. They have worked in the past, and with execution, he believes they will work again.

Unfortunately, that is just simply not the case. The game has changed, and Ferentz's overall package will not lead to Iowa winning B1G titles. But this isn't because Kirk is a bad coach. In fact, I still think he's a great coach. He takes limited talent and develops those players to their maximum capabilities. He has had a great run of developing tight ends like Dallas Clark, Scott Chandler, Tony Moeaki, Brandon Myers, Allen Reisner, and CJ Fiedorowicz. Even better is his run of left tackles which included Robert Gallery, Marshall Yanda, Bryan Bulaga, Riley Reiff, and Brandon Scherff. He used to have a great run on cornerbacks as well (although many switched to safety in the NFL) with Charles Godfrey, Bradley Fletcher, Amari Spievey, Shaun Prater, and Micah Hyde. Almost all of those guys were 3 star recruits (or worse), and Kirk found a way to maximize their abilities. There is no denying that Kirk Ferentz is a very good coach.

The problem is the recruiting. Kirk used to be able to find those diamonds in the rough, but other coaches have gotten far better at recruiting, and the talent level that Iowa has brought in has not been good enough to consistently compete. That is why Iowa has struggled. The talent is simply not there, and Kirk Ferentz will not change to bring in that talent.

All of this made me realize one thing: Kirk Ferentz would have been a great NFL coach.

His problems are much more scheme than talent. He develops offensive linemen incredibly well, so his outside zone running scheme would have worked great in the NFL. Even a poor NFL running back is light years ahead of a guy like Mark Weisman in talent, so they would have the necessary skills to hit the hole at the right time. If he would have lucked into a good quarterback, then he would have a very potent offense at the next level.

On defense, his conservative scheme drives Hawkeye fans crazy, but there are a lot of very successful defenses that are fairly conservative in scheme. The Seattle Seahawks are an excellent example of this, as they do not do anything all that complicated, but they execute their Cover-3 incredibly well. His bend-don't-break defense may not get fans excited, but it has proven to be incredibly effective when he has the right talent on the field.

Plus, Kirk Ferentz has the demeanor to be an NFL head coach. He's not like Jim Harbaugh who wears out his welcome quickly and is perfect to only have players for 3-5 years. Kirk is even-keeled and players know what to expect from him. The only real knock on him is that he may be controlling and overbearing, but there aren't many great NFL coaches that couldn't be described in the same way.

Kirk Ferentz was an incredibly successful college coach, but the changing college game has left him in the dust. New schemes and large gaps in talent level has left the Hawkeyes in consistent mediocrity. But Kirk Ferentz was made to coach in the NFL. It accentuates his positives while limiting his negatives. He's always been great at developing talent, and although his scheme may be a tad antiquated, execution is far more important than a fancy scheme at the NFL level, because the talent gap is so small.

Although the opportunity has passed him by, Kirk Ferentz would have been a great NFL coach.

Tennessee vs. Iowa: My Experience at the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl

I'll admit this post is a little late, but the sort of game that Iowa played against Tennessee takes a little while to recover from, especially being there in person. But don't worry, Hawkeye fans, this post will not focus on the game as much as the experience surrounding it.

Since Iowa was playing in Jacksonville which is only about 3.5 hours away, I figured I had to make the jaunt up north to go to the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl. It was not the normal Iowa gameday experience. I think this is the first time I have gone to an Iowa game sober (I had one beer, but I'm a bit of a heavyweight so I know how to handle myself, no big deal), and it was also the first time I took my wife. These both proved to be wise decisions, as alcohol most certainly would not have added any fun to my experience.

Iowa did not have its usual representation as fans have become disenchanted with the team. Expectations were high, results were low, and it seems like Iowa goes to Florida every year, so there wasn't that much appeal to making the trip. Also, it's the TaxSlayer Bowl, so it would take an extremely desperate and dedicated fanbase to get excited for that.

Tennessee was that fanbase.

I was surrounded by orange. My wife and I were literally the only two people supporting the Hawkeyes in our section. There was another Iowa fan a section over and about ten rows back who kept spelling Fuck Kirk, so despite running into 100 Tennessee fans and 5 Iowa fans, Iowa produced the worst fans of the game. Congratulations, Hawkeyes. I would like to talk trash about Tennessee fans, but outside of them loving cigarettes, they were actually very pleasant people to be around.

I cannot stress this enough: Tennessee fans were SO PUMPED to be there. Their excitement was not sarcastic, it was as legit as it gets. They hadn't been to a bowl game in a while, and they are excited where Butch Jones is taking the team. One of my favorite things in this world is when middle-aged people where shirts designed for teenagers, so I was really happy to see a 50-year-old man wearing a "Butch Please" shirt for the game. Overall thought, they were just incredibly positive people. They have a chant where they just go, "It's great...to be...a Tennessee Vol." How pleasant and quaint of them.

As for the game, thank God I have other things that I care about in this world more than Iowa football (like my dog...and Iowa wrestling...oh yeah, and my wife too). Sports don't mean as much to me; there are still times where a heartbreaking loss will kill my mood, but ass kickings like the one Iowa received don't really matter as much to me. I can be angry at my team, or I can just laugh at how awful they are. I chose the latter and filled the game with pithy one liners that impressed the people around me.

The Hawkeyes lost 45-28, and the game was not nearly that close, yet I still had a good time. I spent some time with the old lady, hung out with some friendly people who cheered for the opposing side, and most importantly, I got to see a whole lot of CJ Beathard. It wasn't great, but having Beathard was enough for me to stay late to watch the final two touchdowns, both of which were really nice throws.

I am an eternal optimist. Beathard gives the Hawkeyes a look they need on offense to not be competent but actually be dangerous. If the Hawkeyes brought in a new offensive coordinator (Ken O'Keefe is available), it would give them the offense necessary to accentuate their strengths. Right now, everybody is down on Iowa football, and it's just a really negative atmosphere. I can understand it, but it's still way more fun to focus on the positives and just have a good time watching football...

Maybe I should have gone to Tennessee.

7 Thoughts on Iowa vs. Wisconsin

Spoiler alert: Iowa lost to Wisconsin. Just like always, they hung around for three quarters before clearly not having enough in the tank to compete in the fourth. Even though there were a lot of negatives, there were still some positives mixed in there.

1. The biggest thing that stood out from the first quarter was Kirk Ferentz's decisions on fourth down. He went for one but punted on two occasions where they definitely should have gone for it. It's frustrating, but it's Iowa, and it's always been Iowa. He has shown more willingness to go for it as time has gone on, but it's still frustrating how often he punts, especially, because Iowa's plodding offense puts them in 4th and 4 or less more than most teams.

2. Iowa trusted their secondary a lot more than they have in past games. This is an area where I wish I had the All-22 tape, because everything with receiving and secondary work is near impossible to judge from what you see on television. I haven't watched enough of Wisconsin to know how their passing game operates, but Iowa felt comfortable trusting their secondary and sending blitzes, and it really paid off. 

3. With that being said, Stave is not a real dangerous quarterback, and the Hawkeyes were also able to do that due to the great job they did on first and second downs by stopping the run and forcing them into 3rd and long situations.

4. Wisconsin's first touchdown was on Tanner Miller. It looked like Cover-3 (Corners take deep outside thirds, with a safety taking the deep middle third of the field), and Desmond King plays the outside third, so his job is to filter him to the middle and let his safety take care of things. Miller got fooled by Stave's eyes and committed to one side of the field, Stave looked back and put a nice throw out to Pederson for the touchdown. 

5. Impressive thing about CJ Beathard is that he has excellent pocket presence. He can wait until the very last second to throw the ball. Bad things about CJ Beathard is he throws the ball too low which caused some issues. The bigger problem that I see is that he seemed to stare down his receivers before throwing the ball. Some deceptive eye movement could treat him very well down the line.

6. The big run by James White near the end was caused by John Lowdermilk just being late to close up that hole. That's the problem with Iowa's roster, they have to be perfect on technique, because they are not the most athletic guys in the world. 

7. It's the same old story with Iowa. Although I feel the offense is leaps and bounds better than last year. There is still the gigantic issue of them not involving their most talented group of players which is tight end. Why not just keep three tight ends, put them in a trips formation and mess people's worlds up. Not only would it be a dominant run formation, but you can vary their routes enough to confuse coverage and get the ball out to your best receivers. 

Iowa needs to understand that they can recruit/develop tight ends. The only great athletes that they get are going to come from the island of misfit toys. Damond Powell is a great athlete, but they got him from a JUCO, and he can apparently only run two routes. They're not getting game breaking tight ends, so Greg Davis needs to adjust his scheme to fit his personnel, because the personnel is clearly not going to fit his scheme.

11 Thoughts on Iowa vs. Northwestern

1. I'm going into this game with high hopes, and if there is one thing Northwestern is known for, it is destroying Iowa's hopes with stupid luck and chicanery.

2. I love when Iowa plays at a fast pace, because it is unlike anything any other team does. They don't spread teams out; they keep things even tighter and just pound the ball to help set up their play action. It is aesthetically pleasing for somebody who loves watching a good run game.

3. Rudock is very good at running the sneak. If they don't stack the middle, he shoots in right behind his center. If they do stack the middle, he just takes his time and goes behind his guard or tackle depending on where he can find some space. A guy like Cam Newton will always be great at sneaks with his athleticism and leg power, but being patient works for less athletic quarterbacks. Tom Brady is an excellent example of this, but I promise this will be the only Brady/Rudock comparison I make today.

4. Iowa used James Morris as a spy this week, which is a way better use of a fourth rusher considering the lack of rush they have been able to generate with their defensive line. Learning lessons from last week is a very positive step forward. It also doesn't hurt that he made a great play on a delayed rush with a sack on Colter.

5. Northwestern showed that although Iowa can handle power running, speed running with misdirection can pick up yardage, especially if the quarterback is a key part of the running game.

6. It is very tough for me to be critical of Iowa's strategies, because it's never poor; it's just often not good enough. That is why it seems as though any time an offense gets a penalty, they can never recover to get that first down. Teams can get ten yards on Iowa, but they'd shut teams down if they changed the rules to go 12 yards.

7. Meyer missed the kick against Northwestern, because these things always happen against Northwestern. He never had a chance.

8. I am glad that even Kirk pointed out that Rudock made the right call on his interception at the end of the game. Trying to thread the needle there is well worth the risk, as an interception did not put Iowa in any danger, and if he is able to complete it, they are set up to try a field goal as time expires in regulation. It's a situation where stats can be deceiving.

9. The touchdown pass to Fiedorowicz was a well designed play. In man coverage, you know the man in coverage has to protect on inside breaking routes, so all he had to do was loft it out there  and count on his tight end having a step on his man.

10. Desmond King makes plays. I am super excited about his future, as he may be the first cornerback since Jovon Johnson who will get crunk on the field.

11. 5-3 is very solid. This team plays everybody tough, and nobody is claiming that Ferentz should be fired. It's a good time to be a Hawkeye.

My Reaction to the Non-Firing of Greg Davis

Earlier this week, Kirk Ferentz said that Greg Davis would be back with Iowa next year as far as he knew. Although this does leave the door open for Davis to quit, it's probably not going to happen, since he is visiting a recruit this weekend. This basically eliminates all hope for the 2013 Iowa football season. Instead of being sad about this, it has just made me extremely cynical. A friend of mine who went to Iowa State immediately texted me to talk about the great news:

Iowa State Friend: Greg Davis needs this second year to get the horizontal offense completely built in.
Me: Watch out world. He is becoming a BETTER coach.
ISF: Imagine his skill level during the 2018 season. It's going to be poetry in motion.
Me: It will be so horizontal that there will be a replay of every dropped pass to see if it was incomplete or a fumble.
ISF: Greg Davis's crowning achievement will be the first time that his football team covers 400 actual yards with only gaining 10 offensive yards in a game. It will be glorious.
Me: He hasn't done that yet?
ISF: Got close at Texas, but one of his insane athletes screwed it up and actually busted a two yard hook for an actual gain.
Me: Idiot. Don't have to worry about that with Iowa players.
ISF: And that is why Iowa is perfect for him; it's not like Ferentz is ever going to fire anyone.
Me: We really need Greg Davis to get caught smoking weed. Kirk hates weed smokers.
ISF: Those damn weed heads ruin programs, not awful clock management.
Me: There is no such thing as clock management. There is a clock, but it's not like Kirk is some sort of god who can stop time.
ISF: Not a time stopping god? that is your opinion, but I doubt Kirk shares it. You'd be amazed what that wall of protection money can buy.
Me: Kirk spends all of his money on gum.
ISF: Explains the impressive jaw line.
Me: It's definitely money well spent.

So the two big takeaways here are that Kirk has a very good jaw line, and I am probably not going to be super pumped for this season unless Greg Davis starts hanging out with Afroman. Go Hawkeyes!

Who Has It Worse: Iowa or Michigan State Fans?

As I sat through another shockingly bad Iowa Hawkeye effort today against Michigan, I couldn't help but laugh. I'm past the depressing part of the season. I'm past being even bummed out about things. It's just comical at this point. Iowa is not good at football. They are not good on offense; they are not good on defense, and I guess they're kinda okay on special teams. Right now, I'm just hanging on to the fact that Greg Davis only got a one year deal, because of a technicality, so maybe Barta will put the pressure on Ferentz to give him the boot, because that offense is really depressing (Note: It did not seem as depressing today. I think that this is because it was fun to see Weisman back and I love seeing tight ends utilized. Still, the stats are proof that it was still quite awful).

But that's where I'm at now with the Hawkeyes: Indifference. I just don't care. Now if you want a really depressing situation, just look to another team in the Legends division in Michigan State. Now THAT is a depressing situation. They were one of the favorites to win the Legends division this year and instead have just one more win than Iowa. Outside of losing 20-3 to a Notre Dame team that is still undefeated, they have been right in every game. Look at these other losses:

Going into the game at 3-1, they lost to Ohio State by one point, 17-16. Ohio State, much like Notre Dame is still undefeated.

Two weeks later, they lose in double overtime, 19-16. They lost that game to IOWA. That loss is looking worse and worse as the season goes on. How did they lose that game? I watched it and still had trouble figuring it out. But, sure enough, they lost to Iowa. That alone is enough for fans to start cutting themselves just so they can feel again.

The next week, they played their in-state rival, Michigan, and lost 12-10. They were up 10-9 with two minutes to go before Michigan drove 41 yards before kicking a field goal with five seconds left. That's a pretty depressing way to lose a football game.

Two weeks later, after an inspiring win over Wisconsin in overtime, they lose to Nebraska 28-24, because Taylor Martinez who is as good at throwing footballs as I am at having babies, threw a touchdown pass with six seconds left in the fourth quarter to give them the lead.

And now today, they lose to Northwestern. As Michigan State was trying to get the ball back, they forced an incomplete pass from Northwestern on third down. Unfortunately, Johnny Adams, their best cornerback, committed a stupid pass interference penalty. They gained some more yards, and took some more time off the clock. MSU finally gets the ball back, gets to fourth down where Andrew Maxwell nails Sims down the middle before he loses the football. They ended up calling it an incomplete, but Northwestern recovered it even it was a fumble, so there was no point in challenging the call. They lost 23-20 either way.

Outside of Andrew Maxwell, Michigan State seems like a good team, yet they only have one more win than Iowa team that is most certainly not a good team. So, yeah, it's awful to be a Hawkeye fan, but it's far less heartbreaking than cheering for Michigan State.

In Defense of Ferentz

So, I wanted to give my two cents on the state of the Iowa Hawkeye football program (maybe only 1.5 cents, but it's something). It's that time of the year when everyone is calling for Kirk Ferentz to be fired. First off, it's not gonna happen, so you can give up on that notion, because Iowa is not going to pay him $20 million to sit on the couch at home.

Next, and more importantly, it shouldn't happen. Kirk Ferentz is a hell of a football coach. Is he the best coach in the country? Probably not. Is he overpaid? Probably, but I hope to God that I one day can get people complaining that I am overpaid. I can't blame a guy for being overpaid, that's a good job by him and his agent.

And, really, had Iowa recovered an onside kick, they would be 5-2 right now, and although we had dreams of 6-1 or 7-0, Iowa State is a pretty good football team, and most people thought Michigan State's offense would be good enough to win a home game against Iowa before the season started. We got a good win over Michigan State and took an absolute beating against Penn State. It's only the surprise of how those things turned out that anger Iowa fans. Oh, and back to that onside kick. Yeah, that was really bad. I'm trying to come up with a positive, but it was really awful and frustrating. Still, I'm not going to put a freak play (that admittedly has happened over and over) as enough to get a guy fired.

On top of that, this year was predestined to suck. Iowa's best years are when they have experienced offensive and defensive lines. They returned two starters between those two lines. They have had young guys step up and show they can play this year, which means the future is looking bright. I know everybody remembers the glory boy quarterbacks, Brad Banks, Drew Tate, and Ricky Stanzi, who I loved too, but they are not the same type of talent that has been on our offensive and defensive lines. Even a guy like Matt Roth, who never had a huge impact in the NFL, was an AWESOME college football player. Meanwhile, you have guys like Jonathan Babineaux who got overlooked a lot of times at Iowa, who has been a great defensive tackle in the NFL (feel free to substitute Robert Gallery and Marshall Yanda if you want an example of offensive linemen). That's what makes the Hawkeyes great.

Now onto that elephant in the room, Greg Davis. I'm as frustrated as everyone else with the offense. I have trouble giving Davis a whole lot of credit for the running game, since it is based on a zone blocking scheme that has been around as long as Ferentz. Maybe that's unfair. Maybe he should get credit, but we judge offensive coordinators on the passing game more than the running game, and the passing game has been hot garbage.

Is Greg Davis completely to blame? Not completely, but this horizontal offense is bad. People wanted to anoint Vandenberg as the greatest quarterback since Chuck Long, but there were warning signs going into this season. He struggled badly against good defenses. He has also been awful at handling pressure. And those problems have continued and possibly gotten worse. I think teams have game planned for him better this year. Still, all of you Ken O'Keefe haters are being awfully quiet right now, because he actually fit Kirk's offensive philosophies pretty damn well.

So, where are we? Well, the good news is that we lack experience and our offensive and defensive lines have played better than expected (we'll see how they deal with the injuries, but at least it gets more experience for guys). The other good news is that the defense has played pretty well for the most part. I know our worst games seem to stand out, but the front and back end (safeties) are inexperienced, so we're going to have those problems.

The bad news is that Greg Davis's offense has not shown us much. It's worrisome. They do have an easy out at the end of this season. But Kirk is a fiercely loyal guy who has never bent to criticism, and that's an admirable trait. Whether Davis's one year on staff has built up that loyalty remains to be seen. Kirk's not going to call out his offensive coordinator in the middle of the season. Actually, he's never going to call out any coach, ever.

There's worse things than going to bowl games every year and winning double-digit games every three or four years. There are worse things in the world than winning seven games. Just take a look at Auburn. Kirk's done more than enough to earn our trust, and I, personally, am happy that he is the Iowa Hawkeyes Head Football Coach.

I Have Lost My Sports Hate

I hate the St. Louis Cardinals. I say that, because it is something that, as a Cubs fan, I have believed in my entire life. But, being honest with myself, I really don't hate the Cardinals. I'm 28 years old, and at this point in my life, I have to be pretty selective with my sports hatred.

I no longer hate the Cardinals, I'm just tired of them. I just want them to go away. I don't really care about the Tigers, but I'm kind of semi-rooting for them on the rare occasions that I accidentally turn on baseball. The Cubs suck, and fantasy baseball is over, so I have no reason to give two shits about the baseball season.

This is only partially because I am a much bigger college sports fan than I am of professional sports. As a fan of Iowa, I don't care at all about baseball, because Big Ten baseball is as relevant as the Jamaican hockey team. Even with the teams that do matter, I can't quite build up hatred for their opponents.

Iowa basketball has been bad for a while, so it's not like they can really create a rivalry. I think I probably hate Illinois basketball the most, but it certainly doesn't keep me up at night.

Iowa football matters, but I've gotten past the rage at how things are run to just kind of laugh when things get horribly fucked up. I was actually a Ken O'Keefe supporter. He did a solid job. He was conservative, but Kirk wants to run a conservative gameplan. People really hated the guy, but almost everyone just complained about a play call after it failed instead of having a viable solution. I also don't hate Kirk, because ten wins every few years is pretty cool. Maybe he'll never make it to the Rose Bowl, maybe he'll make it this year. He's still a really good coach, and yes, I realize he is overpaid, but I can't blame him for that. As for football rivalries, it really irritates me when Iowa loses to Northwestern, but it is just Northwestern. Wisconsin would be a rivalry, but Iowa no longer plays them every year, and I have had some great times in Madison, so it is tough to build up too much hatred. Maybe I could hate Nebraska, but the rivalry started one year ago, so I'm going to need some time to build up hate for them.

And then there's Iowa Wrestling, but hating another team in wrestling would be a real asshole move considering my favorite team always finishes in the top-5 nationally. I would say that I hate the fan bases of places like Penn State for having an awesome wrestling team and not giving a shit about it.

So, that's where I'm at. I no longer have that blind hatred of sports teams. I used to hate teams like the Packers and Cardinals. Now I'd still rather see them lose than win, but I don't have that chlamydia feeling burning inside of me anymore. Now it's more like a zit on my ballsack. Yeah, it's annoying, but it's pretty easy to make it go away.

DJK And The Hawkeyes

Something weird is going on at Iowa, and no, I am not talking about the awful loss they received at the hands of Iowa State this past weekend, but something far more interesting happened yesterday during Kirk Ferentz's press conference.

Derrell Johnson-Koulianos was one of the greatest receivers in the history of the Iowa Hawkeyes. He set numerous records while at Iowa, and on the field, you couldn't have asked for much more from a player. Unfortunately, that is not the whole story with DJK. During his time with the Hawkeyes, there was always some sort of problem going on between him and the coaching staff. Despite clearly being a top receiver, DJK was benched for a lot of his career for reasons that had nothing to do with his effort on the field. Still, he was never even charged with a crime until the very end of his time at Iowa.

That is when it all came to a head, and DJK had multiple drug charges against him in December. He was immediately kicked off the Iowa team, and was not even allowed to wear a Hawkeye helmet when going to the Texas vs. USA game designed for NFL scouts to get a look at senior football prospects. Despite the charges leading only to probation for him, and being being seen as a mid-round prospect by just about everyone out there, when NFL teams got their 90-man rosters together, nobody came calling for DJK. It seemed a little curious to anyone who had watched DJK play the game, because the talent is definitely there.

Recently, rumors have been floating around that Ferentz may have "buried" Derrell Johnson-Koulianos to NFL personnel to ensure that he would not make a pro roster this season. Finally, somebody publicly asked Ferentz about the rumors, and here was his response.

This is not the normal, calm-as-can-be Kirk Ferentz that we are used to seeing. He is visibly upset by the line of questioning and vehemently denies ever saying anything bad about any player for as long as he's been there.  So why did he get so worked up by it? The simple explanation is that there was an implication with the question that was not about DJK, but questioned Ferentz's character. Kirk is a guy who is known to sell himself and the Iowa program based on character and turning boys into men; I can understand that this could get him worked up.

But at the same time, Kirk claims nobody asked him about DJK. That seems a little...odd. Andrew Schulze, the Hawkeyes long-snapper made an NFL camp this offseason, yet nobody asked about DJK? Really? NFL scouts will overlook far worse transgressions than the ones made by DJK if the talent is there, and I find it incredibly hard to believe that not one team thought there was enough talent to make a 90-man roster.

I don't want to attack Kirk Ferentz's character, because during his entire time at Iowa, he hasn't given anyone a reason to do so. But this is definitely not the whole story with DJK.

It just doesn't make sense.

-Joe

P.S. I know I seem like a neanderthal for the most part, but this was a really good article about the emergence of gay athletes in professional sports.

The 2011 Iowa Hawkeyes

Last year, I wrote a post entitled, "Why Not?" in reference to the 2010 Iowa Hawkeye football team. As far as predictions went, it couldn't have gone much more horribly. I predicted a 12-0 regular season, and Iowa instead turned in a 7-5 regular season. Whoops. So this year, I figured I would give it another try, because it's not like I can do much worse than last year's epic failure. Let's break it down game by game and see where the Hawks will end up this year.

9/3 - Tennesse Tech @ Iowa
This is going to be a slaughter. Just look forward to our first glimpse of AJ Derby in the fourth quarter of this game. This may also be the game where Jason White loses the #2 running back job to Mika'il McCall.

9/10 Iowa @ Iowa State
There is one name that keeps coming up from Iowa State fans when I talk to them about this game: Steele Jantz. Quarterbacks have to be good decision makers, so it's really tough for me to be worried about a guy who decided this was a good haircut:

Nice 'do bro.

On a slightly more serious note, Iowa State is a team that I see on the upswing. I wouldn't be shocked if they were in the conference championship game in five years. Sure, that conference will be the MAC, but a conference championship is a conference championship. Congratulations Cyclones. So although I don't see it being quite as bad of a beating as the last couple years, Iowa wins by double digits. My gut told me 24-13, but that would require Iowa State getting in the end zone, so my brain tells me 24-6.

9/17 - Pittsburgh @ Iowa
Pittsburgh has a new coach that is installing the high-powered spread offense that he had at Tulsa. If this game was next year, I'd be worried, but three games into the season, I think the Hawkeye defense does enough on offense and the defense forces some turnovers. 3-0.

9/24 University of Louisiana Monroe @ Iowa
Hooray, more AJ Derby. 4-0.

10/1 BYE
Ladies, set up your lovemaking sessions for this weekend, because without any Iowa football to distract me, I'll actually focus on you.

10/8 Iowa @ Penn State
Matt McGloin or Rob Bolden? Bolden's got no heart, and McGloin's got no soul. Oh yeah, and Joe Paterno's coaching against Kirk Ferentz. History repeats itself and Iowa cruises to 5-0.

10/15 Northwestern @ Iowa
This is Iowa's one night game, and there is no worse opponent than Northwestern. Somehow, these guys have Iowa's number and upset them every damn year. Northwestern are just awful people. Two years ago, they took an illegal shot on America's favorite son, Ricky Stanzi. Last year, Dan Persa made a deal with the devil that he would rupture his achilles tendon if the devil would guarantee them victory. Northwestern also thinks this is a rivalry; it's not. Iowa doesn't psych themselves up for Northwestern, although Northwestern takes the Iowa State mentality and thinks this is their entire season.

So what's going to happen? I hate to say it, but the streak continues...Iowa's winning streak that is. James Vandenberg makes the necessary plays in the fourth quarter, because as we all know, Mox is a Fox (Varsity Blues joke, because that's topical). Hawkeyes go to 6-0.

10/22 Indiana @ Iowa
Iowa will win this game. Wait, hold on a second...just looking up something...and...yep, James Hardy has not petitioned for another year of eligibility, so Iowa will win this game, 7-0.

10/29 Iowa @ Minnesota
There won't be ice covering the field at the end of October, and Iowa also won't shit the bed this year. Floyd comes home, and Iowa goes to 8-0.

11/5 Michigan @ Iowa
Yes, Michigan's defense should be somewhat better. But Denard Robinson isn't going to be as good. Say what you want about Rich Rodriguez, the guy knows offense, and Michigan no longer has any offensive mind anywhere near RichRod's. I like Brady Hoke, but it'll take a few years for him to get the personnel to excel in his system. If it was at Michigan, I'd be concerned. It's not, so Iowa takes care of business, 9-0.

11/12 Michigan State @ Iowa
I'm not sure if anyone's ever seen Kirk Cousins throw a football. Dude's got intangibles coming out of his ass, but that doesn't mean he's a good quarterback. I am intangibly great, but I'm not a very good darts player. Things happen that way sometimes. The media would have you believe that Kirk Cousins is the next Peyton Brady. He's not. And just like last year, him and his boys will get smoked by the 10-0 Hawkeyes.

11/19 Iowa @ Purdue
RIVALRY GAME! That's right, West Lafeyetters, you're going to have to deal with the Hawkeyes every year. Purdue and Iowa have a storied past. I'll never forget Drew Brees, Kyle Orton, and...other Purdue football player. But suck on this, Boilermakers.

Purdue? More like Purdon't. Yeah, expect burns like that as we deny your pathetic request for a trophy for this game. Iowa uses their long-standing hatred of Purdue to go 11-0.

11/25 - Iowa @ Nebraska
The inaugural Heroes Game. An Iowa hero is Nile Kinnick. A Nebraska hero is Lawrence Phillips. Nebraskans seriously can't tell the difference in heroism between those two. Nebraska has T-Magic on offense, so if they put up a touchdown before Mike Daniels uses him to floss his teeth; I'll be shocked. Jared Crick will be manhandled by Big Ten offensive linemen. Lavonte David is pretty good, and Alfonzo Dennard is off the chain. I don't expect a ton of scoring in this game, but there is no doubt that Iowa will come out on top after a late touchdown pass from Moxon (James Vandenberg) to Tweeder (Keenan Davis) for the victory. Iowa goes to 12-0 before heading to the Big Ten Title game.

So, as you can see, I learned from my lessons last yea...aw, crap. I did it again. But the B1G sucks this year, so it's not like Iowa couldn't run the table on these fools. A man has the choice to be optimistic or pessimistic about his favorite college football team. Yet again, I am choosing the former and predicting another undefeated regular season for the Hawkeyes.

I mean, why not?

-Joe

P.S. Here are two of the greatest athletes ever hanging out together. You would think they have nothing in common, but people can always come together against Shawn Michaels:

Yeah, if football hadn't gotten in the way, Walter Payton definitely could have been a world heavyweight champion.