SB Nation - Amari Spievey

Demaryius Thomas vs. Amari Spievey

BirdGT — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:06:40 -0000

More photos » by Sara D. Davis - AP

Beasted. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis)

Note: This was supposed to publish at 8AM but it seems there has been some issues with the scheduling of posts. Either way, here you go.

Two guys. One catches all of our passes. One hits guys that catch passes. I'm not familiar with the Hawkeyes' defensive backfield philosophy (boundary/strong side/man-man) but based on talent alone I'm assuming Amari Spievey will be assigned to defend Demaryius Thomas a majority of the time. Black Heart Gold Pants said this of Spievey:

We haven't seen Spievey get "beaten" very much; usually, if someone completes a throw on him, it's a pass to the flat, and it ends with Amari putting his helmet through the player's femur and ending the play.

The match up is not the first this season for Thomas against talented players in the secondary. Thomas' statistically worst game was against the Tarheels. Two All-ACC performers in Deunta Williams and Kendric Burney were assigned to Bay Bay but in limiting Thomas, the Tarheels couldn't slow down the rushing attack. They sacrificed run support for stopping Thomas and his big plays. UNC didn't win but they limited our deep passing game.

Wake Forest limited Thomas, as well. Wake defended the edge and the pass with great discipline but sacrificed the dive. Jonathan Dwyer racked up 200 yards because of it. Wake limited the QB and A-Backs to 5.4 yards per carry but gave up a whopping 8.7 yards per carry to Dwyer and Preston Lyons. (averaged between the two)

The problem presented to defensive coordinators is that wide receivers in Paul Johnson's offense are expected to block. Thomas is a big dude and he enjoys leveling unsuspecting defensive backs - particularly safeties on the triple option. Because of his excellent blocking ability, we typically run to Demaryius' side of the field. Corners have to keep their eyes in the backfield in case it's play action or an option-pass. The worst place to be on defense when playing against a Paul Johnson offense is at the point of attack. For the most part, we'll be lead blocking all of our edge plays with Demaryius Thomas and the corner matched up with him will be catching Hell all night. If Thomas isn't picking up the corner, then a tackle or slot back will. The corner's gotta be able to take a beating and just be prepared to force the slot backs back inside or beat the block and make a tackle. If Spievey can't make 5-6 solo tackles in this game, I don't see Iowa's defense having much success at all

Outside the realm of blocking, Bay Bay has become a pretty refined wide receiver in Johnson's offense. He has an excellent ability to fake corners. He beats guys on jump balls with regularity and is fast enough to beat safeties in single coverage. Norm Parker's guys have got their hands full.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Demaryius in one on one at first just so Norm can see how the talent lines up. It would take a nasty turnover for Paul Johnson to stop going to Demaryius Thomas deep. Even then, if it were a poorly thrown ball, I wouldn't be surprised if we kept going his way. Seeing as Iowa's defense relies on the front seven, we should probably expect an unusual mix of passing to start the game. Like BHGP said, this battle could be an important part in determining the winner of the looming Iowa-GT War.

Hawkeyes vs Yellow Jackets coverage

Is Amari Spievey the X-Factor in Orange Bowl?

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:30:19 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Neibergall - AP

Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber, center, fumbles the ball as he is hit by Iowa's Amari Spievey, left, and Troy Johnson, rear. LOL, "rear." That can mean butt sometimes. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Browse more photos »

We're still three full weeks away from Iowa's date in Miami, which kinda sucks for everybody not named Ricky Stanzi or Dace Richardson. Nonetheless, we're already thinking obsessively about the game and all the potentially new and different matchups it creates.

Obviously, everyone's going to want to watch the Georgia Tech offense against the Iowa defense. GT's modern interpretation of the option has confounded basically everyone who's had to face it, and Iowa's vaunted defense has looked a little suspect at times against power running attacks. Then again, they bitchmade Arizona, so who knows.

Overall, the matchup isn't too bad for Iowa. This is probably the fastest defense Iowa has ever fielded, especially among the front seven. All three linebackers can fly, and Adrian Clayborn and Broderick Binns may be athletic enough to cause problems at the point of attack if . If Georgia Tech's going to bust big runs, it'll have to be with superior blocking; they won't be able to simply outrun the Hawkeye defense to the corner with any regularity.

Further, on that corner (Iowa's right, Georgia Tech's left, specifically) is one Amari Spievey. And how he factors into this game may end up determining who wins the game.

Spievey will likely be tested in pass coverage often. We haven't seen Spievey get "beaten" very much; usually, if someone completes a throw on him, it's a pass to the flat, and it ends with Amari putting his helmet through the player's femur and ending the play. But of the last three times we've seen a deep bomb work on the Iowa secondary, two--specifically Illinois 2008 and Penn State 2009--involved Spievey chasing ineffectually after a wideout who was about 10 yards in front of him on a fly route. Otherwise, he's such a lockdown corner that it doesn't even make sense to throw toward him.

The message, then, seems to be "If you want to beat Spievey, you have to beat him deep." Slight problem for Iowa: THAT'S THE ONLY ROUTE GEORGIA TECH RUNS.

Seriously: this is their entire passing offense. And it works.

So it'll be up to Norm Parker to get Brett Greenwood over to help as a centerfielder on those plays--last year, that would have been a scary proposition, but he's been just fine in that role this season.

On run plays, however, is where Amari Spievey will have the most impact. Amari is, basically, the most physical cornerback in the country; anyone who claims otherwise has never watched him play. He doesn't miss tackles (well, he might miss one or two against Jonathan Dwyer, but c'mon, that's totally unfair). Thus, against a team that runs outside the tackles most of the time, his ability to affect the run of play will be paramount.

We don't expect Spievey to be flying into the backfield on every play or anything, but it sure would be nice to see him blitz and throw the timing off of the option with a little regularity. Granted, it's not like he can run free at will all the time or anything; Georgia Tech has large, menacing receivers and swift offensive linemen who don't much cotton to Spievey's ill intents. But if he can get past his receiver's block (or bypass it entirely with a blitz from inside position), that one blocker who's now urgently re-assigned to stop #19 isn't blocking someone else on the defense, and that's how 2nd and 9 happens.

On the other hand, if Spievey spends his entire afternoon handfighting with Bey Bey Thomas or in a nine-yard "is this enough space for you to get a blocker on me?" cushion--or worse yet, lets a go route run him out of the play by never watching the backfield--well, it'll probably be a long game for the Hawkeyes and their fans.

All-Big Ten Awards Announced, Swept Once Again By Toto

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:45 -0000

by Charlie Neibergall - AP

about 1 month ago: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Northwestern, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in Iowa City, Iowa. Northwestern won 17-10. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

View full size photo »

Good news, everyone!* The Big Ten announced its picks for the all-conference teams. Naturally, the offensive and defensive player of the year are both Terrelle Pryor. Okay, not true; he's not even honorable mention.

But there's plenty of actual good news. First, the devil media named Kirk Ferentz coach of the year, and here he is reminding them that they can go suck it and he hasn't forgiven them for the slights of the regular season.

Such language, Kirk!

As for the players, here's the link to the voting results. The media named Bryan Bulaga to the first team on offense, while the second team featured four of his friends from the line: Rafael Eubanks, Dace Richardson, Kyle Calloway, and Tony Moeaki.

On defense, the first team had a little more Iowa representation; Adrian Clayborn, Pat Angerer, and Tyler Sash all received their no-brainer merits. On the second team, Brett Greenwood and Amari Spievey. Iowa put eight players on the media's honorable mention team: Ryan Donahue, Broderick Binns, A.J. Edds, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Karl Klug, Daniel Murray, Adam Robinson, and Ricky Stanzi.

Not surprisingly, the coaches had a slightly higher opinion of the Hawkeyes; here's the link to their voting results. Bryan Bulaga was named their offensive lineman of the year(!!!), an award the media doesn't give out. Bulaga is joined on the first team by Moeaki and Richardson, both of which are worthy selections. Calloway and Eubanks didn't make the second team--not sure why on Calloway--but Derrell Johnson-Koulianos snuck in on a three-player tie for second-team WR.

On defense, the coaches agreed with the media in putting Sash, Clayborn, and Angerer on the first team roster. They also added Amari Spievey; as coaches, they're more likely to know that the reason Spievey didn't have a ton of picks wasn't that he's not good at football, but that there's just no hope in throwing at him; Spievey was a machine this season, and we're starting to lose hope that he's got more than one game left in an Iowa uniform. A.J. Edds is the lone Hawkeye on the defensive second team.

For honorable mention, it's as follows:Christian Ballard, Kyle Calloway, Ryan Donahue, Brent Greenwood, Karl Klug, and Adam Robinson.

Full All-BXI teams and a few thoughts are after the break.

MEDIA

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	Daryll Clark, Penn State	Mike Kafka, Northwestern
RB	Evan Royster, Penn State	Brandon Saine, Ohio State
RB	JOHN CLAY, Wisconsin	Ralph Bolden, Purdue
WR	Tandon Doss, Indiana	Blair White, Michigan State
WR	Keith Smith, Purdue	Zeke Markshausen, Northwestern
C	Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State	Rafael Eubanks, Iowa
G	Justin Boren, Ohio State	Jon Asamoah, Illinois
G	John Moffitt, Wisconsin	Dace Richardson, Iowa
T	Bryan Bulaga, Iowa	Kyle Calloway, Iowa
T	Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin	Dennis Landolt, Penn State
TE	Garrett Graham, Wisconsin	Tony Moeaki, Iowa
PK	Brett Swenson, Michigan State	Stefan Demos, Northwestern

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
DL	Adrian Clayborn, Iowa	Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
DL	Brandon Graham, Michigan	Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State
DL	Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue	Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
DL	O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin	Jared Odrick, Penn State
LB	Pat Angerer, Iowa	Ross Homan, Ohio State
LB	GREG JONES, Michigan State	Josh Hull, Penn State
LB	Navorro Bowman, Penn State	Sean Lee, Penn State
DB	Tyler Sash, Iowa	Brent Greenwood, Iowa
DB	Donovan Warren, Michigan	Amari Spievey, Iowa
DB	Sherrick McManis, Northwestern	Brad Phillips, Northwestern
DB	Kurt Coleman, Ohio State	David Pender, Purdue
P	Zoltan Mesko, Michigan	Jeremy Boone, Penn State

COACHES

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	Daryll Clark, Penn State	Mike Kafka, Northwestern
RB	Evan Royster, Penn State	Brandon Saine, Ohio State
RB	John Clay, Wisconsin	Ralph Bolden, Purdue
WR	Eric Decker, Minnesota	Tandon Doss, Indiana*
WR	Blair White, Michigan State	Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Iowa* Keith Smith, Purdue*
C	Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State	Rafael Eubanks, Iowa* Joel Nitchman, Michigan State*
G	Dace Richardson, Iowa	Jon Asamoah, Illinois
G	John Moffitt, Wisconsin	Justin Boren, Ohio State
T	Bryan Bulaga, Iowa	Rodger Saffold, Indiana
T	Dennis Landolt, Penn State	Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin
TE	Tony Moeaki, Iowa	Garrett Graham, Wisconsin
PK	Brett Swenson, Michigan	Stefan Demos, Northwestern

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
DL	Adrian Clayborn, Iowa	Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
DL	Brandon Graham, Michigan	Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State
DL	Jared Odrick, Penn State	Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
DL	O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin	Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue
LB	Pat Angerer, Iowa Linebacker	A.J. Edds, Iowa
LB	Greg Jones, Michigan State	Ross Homan, Ohio State
LB	Navorro Bowman, Penn State	Sean Lee, Penn State
DB	Tyler Sash, Iowa	Donovan Warren, Michigan*
DB	Amari Spievey, Iowa	Sherrick McManis, Northwestern*
DB	Brad Phillips, Northwestern	Brandon King, Purdue*
DB	Kurt Coleman, Ohio State	David Pender, Purdue* Jay Valai, Wisconsin*
P	Zoltan Mesko, Michigan	Jeremy Boone, Penn State

Okay. While we're quite happy that Bulaga got such high accolades for the season, we can't be alone in thinking that he was hardly the best lineman in Iowa City, much less the Big Ten. He was either on the sidelines or out of sorts for the majority of the season, and we still haven't seen the elephant-tusk-covered road grader from last season on display. He totally would have deserved a preseason OL of the year, but his performance over 2009 didn't merit such superlatives.

This is hardly a new development from these postseason lists, however; generally, the lists are crafted off of the preseason lists, and anybody whose knee blew out with more than four games left was excised and replaced by someone else. After all, Bulaga was only a second-team All-BXI player last season, even though he was by far the best lineman on the team in 2008. Seth Olsen, meanwhile, had the good fortune to be a first-teamer to start the year, so he was on the first team after 2008, despite a relatively blah senior campaign; we'd have put him about fourth on the list of Iowa linemen for 2009, behind the two bookends at tackle and Rob Bruggeman at center.

Essentially, Bulaga won the award in 2009 for his play in 2008.

At the end of the day, this comes down to stats; there aren't any for linemen, despite the ill-fated attempt to get the "pancake" introduced about a decade ago (for this, we blame Orlando Pace). It's assumed that linemen are sure things, and that as long as they stay healthy, the narrative has stayed true. After all, without stats, most scribes have no time (or no idea) how to watch linemen individually.

Frankly, though it's a subjective stat, we'd love to see how linemen grade out per play (remember that Blake Larsen famously graded at 100% during his senior season at Atlantic; lord, had those knees survived...) Without having the means to undertake such an activity ourselves, we'd imagine that if you graded each Iowa offensive lineman, Kyle Calloway or Dace Richardson would probably be at the top.

If they're not, which is possible, then it would probably be the guy who didn't even get an honorable mention: Riley Reiff. He was stout in relief of Bulaga--hell, we're pretty sure O'Brien Schofield would not have batted Reiff around like a catnip mouse, unlike some Iowa linemen--and he basically forced his way into the starting lineup even before Big Dace went down. But since he wasn't even a projected starter, to say nothing of a preseason honoree, Reiff didn't have much of a chance for postseason mention. Shame, really; dude is legit, and he hasn't even filled out his frame yet.

As for the skill players, it's a little disappointing that Stanzi only made one honorable mention team. But we get how that can happen. Spievey only making second team in the media is flatly ridiculous. If he'd put together that same season in an Ohio State uniform, he'd be getting All-American talk.

Other than that, we don't have a ton of beef; Stanzi killed himself by leading the conference in interceptions when he went down to injury, and the rest of the offensive skill players were far too inconsistent or hurt to merit much consideration. Jeremiha Hunter not getting any honorable mention love is a little disconcerting, but the BXI was lo-ho-hoaded at linebacker this season; we're not quite sure whom we'd place him above. He'll get some love in 2010 if he stays healthy. Also--given the play of Jeff Tarpinian in relief--if Hunter stays healthy between now and next September, there's no position battle at weakside backer next season, right?

So, all in all, a fair list, even if the voting on offensive linemen is basically a year behind schedule. It's a year behind for everyone else, after all. Anybody else that you folks think got shafted? Did Marvin McNutt deserve a nod, or is he still a year away from recognition?

*/Farnsworth'd

The Last Gopher Friday Preview Until Pizza Pizza? Minnesota at Iowa, November 21, 2009

JG2112 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:15:14 -0000

by Charlie Neibergall - AP

I knew life wouldn't be good once I got kicked out of the Institute of Technology.

View full size photo »

Give me or Tressel the Patriots. We would have punted on third down. 10:06 AM Nov 17th from TweetDeck
- from the "Not Kirk Ferentz" Twitter stream - http://twitter.com/NotKirkFerentz

Saturday is the end of the college football year, for all intents and purposes. outside of some rivalry games and conference title games. Then onto the bowls. Really, other than Florida/Alabama and Texas (or maybe TCU?) , the 66 or so bowl participants will be taking part in exhibition games in late December and early January in mostly warm climates, of which the most impressive part of the experience is usually the gifts given to the student-athletes that somehow are allowed under NCAA rules (example: last year each Gopher got a Vizio 26-inch LCD HDTV, a Bulova watch, and a Hat at the Insight Bowl.) Besides the gifts, ask Corey Wootton, Willis McGahee or Glen Mason: only bad things really happen in bowl games for the participants.

But back to tomorrow, when Tim Brewster will try for a significant milestone - his first rivalry game win. Last week Brew got his first win in November as a college coach. This week, a Big Ten win in November will increase his record in rivalry games to a robust 1-7. This comes on the heels of Maturi's weird comments to Sid in Thursday's Star Tribune, which indicated an endorsement of the program's direction but a peculiar non-endorsement of the coach. And while we can be literal and say that the only way that Brewster's job comes under fire is if they lose the next two games by 100 in the aggregate, the fact it's even being suggested is foolish in my opinion, but could be suggestive of things going on at Fort Bierman.

Iowa enters this game having endured a rough November thus far. First off, Northwestern put paid to Iowa's national championship hopes in Kinnick, and then Kirk Ferentz's lack of backbone gave away the outright Big Ten Title to Ohio State (pending their beatdown of Michigan). Oh yeah, Minnesota won't be the beneficiary of any Stanzi-balls on Saturday, either.

That really is unfortunate, because the backup QB, freshman James Vandenberg, played rather well in the Horseshoe, completing 20/33 for 233 yards, 2 TDs and 3 INTs (one at the end of the 1st half, one in OT). Playing in front of friendly fans may make him more relaxed. Then again, the pressure of Senior Day and the Pig may make him channel his inner Stanzi and get acquainted with BIG PLAYE TRAYE.

Looking at the rest of the offense, you know what you're getting with Iowa. The big hogs up front are interchangeable and generally awesome. LT Brian Bulaga is the standout. The Hawkeyes like running stretch plays where a TE (normally Tony Moeaki) will go in motion to Bulaga's side, and whichever RB is in the game (Adam Robinson, Brandon Wegher, Paki O'Meara) will plow behind those two for big chunks of yardage. As has been the case this year, Minnesota's DTs need to keep Iowa's line occupied so Campbell, Triplett, Lawrence and/or Cooper can flow to the ball, attack the lead blocker, and cut the play back for the help to arrive. If the D-line is pushed around and Iowa's line can get to the second level, this game will get ugly.

That's without mentioning Iowa's passing game, which as mentioned above, went for over 230 yards on Ohio State last week. Marvin McNutt is a former QB with significant height (please grow six inches Carter kthx) and superb speed, and I think every Minnesota fan knows about Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. Simmons (who returned to practice Wednesday after recovering from a leg ailment) and Marcus Sherels are carrying injuries which may make them vulnerable in pass coverage.

As for Iowa's defense, yikes. On the line, meet 2007 Cretin Derham Hall grad Broderick Binns (7 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks), along with Adrian Clayborn (8.5 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss and THAT punt block against Penn State) and Karl Klug. The linebackers include A.J. Edds (65 tackles), Pat Angerer (119 tackles) and Jeremiah Hunter (83 tackles), and if you look to the secondary, meet Tyler Sash (6 INTs, 76 tackles), Amari Spievey, and Brett Greenwood.

This is the kind of defense that will give the Gopher offense fits (namely, competent and well-drilled). Iowa rarely sends its linebackers on blitzes because the front four can get pressure by itself. In almost every Gopher game this year we've watched this happen, so I'm even more concerned about tomorrow's game. Other than against Sparty, the Gophers, since the Penn State game, have had horrific pass protection which has led to Adam Weber looking like a true freshman in the pocket.

And sorry everyone, but this isn't the game to fully let MarQueis Gray loose on the football world. Brewster had his chance last week and decided not to, which suggests either coaching stubbornness or player incapabilities at this point. Gray, at this point in his development, would have been most effective against a team with slower defensive players who were frequently blitzing him and leaving him wide open running lanes, such as on November 14th at TCF. The last place you want Gray deciphering coverages is against a Norm Parker-drilled defense of veteran players, whose LBs don't even need to blitz you to get pressure.

So tomorrow you can expect Weber to be in the pocket, with lots of max protect (TEs and RBs) to provide support for Alford, Wills and Carufel in the hopes that Weber is given more than 3 seconds to wait for his WRs to break free from what are excellent Herkeye defensive backs. Once again, Hoese and Tow-Arnett will likely be utilized extensively in the passing game, trying to break the tackles of those excellent LBs. Blergh.

Oh, and have I mentioned that Brandon Green missed practice Wednesday with a knee injury and is questionable for Saturday? Calling Messrs. McKnight, Stoudermire, and yes, Carpenter, please be ready for action.

Anything else? Yeah. The forecast Saturday: around 55 and sunny.

Also, an aside: yeah, I recognize this is a conspiracy theory, BUT. The slate of games on Saturday is one of the least attractive collection of games I can ever remember this late in the season (thanks Florida and Alabama, among others, for scheduling soup cans this weekend). One of ESPN/ABC's featured games is Kansas at Texas.

Anyone else find it uniquely coincidental that ESPN is releasing an amazing slow drip of information from multiple sources (where have these former players been since August?) about Kansas HC Mark Mangino's bad temper and abuse at practice the same week it needs to drum up interest in a rather lackluster prime time game? At all?

Okay.

So what about Saturday? Minnesota has a chance here. It needs to attack Iowa's defense straight-on, because it can be run on. Weber cannot expect to spend much time, if any, looking in the pocket, and Fisch should not abandon the running game and put Weber into obvious passing situations.

As for Minnesota on defense, they need to roll support over to whoever is guarding the tall McNutt. Of course, this leaves the Gophers susceptible to either Johnson-Koulianos or Moeaki, but, you've got to try something.

Bottom line: games this year in Iowa City have been close. Northern Iowa, Arkansas State, Michigan, Indiana and NW were really all very tense, close games. Saturday SHOULD be no different. If the Gophers are not competitive, however, I guess Maturi will be having a discussion with Mr. Brewster about what is expected when the Gophers get their new TVs in Arizona. I don't see it happening.

Iowa 27 - Minnesota 20.

Two Years Ago Today...

RossWB — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:07:59 -0000

Worst. Senior Day. Ever.

Funny how much can change in just two years. Two years ago today the Iowa football team suffered arguably its worst -- or most humiliating, at least -- defeat of the last decade. Oh, there have been more lopsided defeats and there have probably even been defeats to teams worse than the 2007 Western Michigan Broncos (who were a pretty middling outfit). Many of those defeats happened during the formative years of Kirk Ferentz's tenure, when his Iowa teams played hard but frequently lacked talent and/or experience. Or they happened against bitter in-state rivals or hyper-motivated conference rivals, so it was easy to rationalize the loss by saying "they wanted it more."

But the November 17, 2007 loss to Western Michigan didn't fit any of those easy categories. It was far from the most talented or most experienced squads of the Ferentz Era, but it wasn't completely lacking in those departments, either. It featured Albert Young and Damian Sims, who had been a dynamite combination in years past. The defensive front seven was pretty well-stocked with talent and experience, too, between Kenny Iwebema, Mitch King, Matt Kroul, Bryan Mattison, Mike Klinkenborg, and Mike Humpal. It wasn't as if the team had nothing to play for, either -- beyond the standard pride of Senior Day, they needed one more win to ensure themselves a trip to a bowl game (Western Michigan didn't even have that to play for; they were just acting as spoilers).

Defeat and misery that week wasn't exclusive to the action on the field, either. The week of November 17, 2007 also saw the first news reports of a sexual assault involving Cedric Everson and Abe Satterfield. Eight months later those reports would explode into a nightmarish scandal that threatened to paint Kirk Ferentz, the athletic department, and the University of Iowa administration as badly negligent and aloof at best and guilty of conspiracy and obstruction of justice at worst; it made Iowa football the leading example of "Programs Gone Wild." That was two years ago.

Today, it seems like a lifetime ago. On the field, Iowa went from a team that was pushed around by Western Michigan to a team that was a play or two away from beating Ohio State in Columbus, winning the Big Ten title, and going to the Rose Bowl for the first time in nearly two decades. That's a pretty remarkable transformation. (The fact that they did it with a team that was ravaged by injuries and missing most of its offensive leaders is even more astounding.) Could you have ever envisioned such a quick turnaround? Many of the guys who have emerged as leaders and key performers on this team were blooded in the painful slog of 2007, like Adrian Clayborn, Christian Ballard, A.J. Edds, and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. The transformation of DJK is a great example of Iowa's turnaround in general. My enduring memory of him from the Western Michigan game is of him seemingly quitting on a play and talking to some fans in the end zone while a Bronco defensive back was running back an interception. My enduring memories of him from the Ohio State game will be of multiple clutch catches and, of course, of the rally-igniting 99-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter when hope was slipping away. He's gone from a talented but raw and sometimes immature talent to an extremely reliable target in the passing game and an explosive playmaker in general.

Yes, he's totally checking out his runback on the Jumbotron.

But many of the top performers in 2009 would have never been predicted back in 2007. Pat Angerer, arguably the heart and soul of the 2009 defense, nearly quit football in 2007 after dealing with a serious of injuries and illnesses. Amari Spievey, one of the best cornerbacks in the conference in 2009, had washed out of Iowa in 2007 thanks to an inability to go to class. Brett Greenwood was, well, EPIC GREENWOOD back then; now he's a guy everyone was relieved to see take the field against the Buckeyes. The other defensive secondary spots were manned by the much-maligned Harold Dalton and the combination of Adam Shada (victim of the third indignity suffered by the Iowa football team that day/week, which was the betrayal of the Iowa fanbase as expressed through the boos directed at him) and Bradley Fletcher (who was burned more than a charcoal briquette back then) and there didn't seem to be much hope of better players in the program if they were the best we could send out there. (A year later, of course, Dalton was quickly replaced by Tyler "Motherfucking" Sash and Fletcher transformed himself into an NFL draft pick.)

Offensively, Iowa went from having one of the worst offenses in football in 2007 to having... well, a more timely offense, at least. Statistically, it's still not very good in most respects, but the ability of the 2009 Iowa team to come through in the clutch is almost unprecedented among other Ferentz Era teams. The 2007 team lost a pair of games in the fourth quarter (at Wisconsin and at Iowa State); the 2009 team has come from behind in the fourth quarter in four of its wins this year (and came from behind to send the game OT last weekend). A few of the faces remain the same from 2007 -- DJK, Tony Moeaki, Bryan Bulaga, Rafael Eubanks (to name a few) -- but experience and maturity have improved their performances tremendously.

Marvin McNutt owns the slant route and don't you ever forget it.

Since that loss to Western Michigan, Iowa has gone 18-6. That run has included a pair of upset wins over top-five teams (Penn State, twice), a program-best 9-0 start this year, wins over every Big Ten team but three (Ohio State, Illinois, and -ugh- Northwestern), a rare win over Iowa State in Ames, a 55-0 demolition of Minnesota in the final Gopher game ever played in the Metrodome, a dominant Outback Bowl victory, and perhaps more come-from-behind wins than in all the other years of the Ferentz Era combined. And while all six of those losses have been painful in their own way, there's something to be said of the competitive spirit that's been on display in all of them as well. The 2007 Western Michigan game was the fourth game that year that Iowa lost by nine or more points -- none of the six subsequent losses have been by more than seven points.

The journey of 2009 is far from over -- a 10-win season is still in our grasp, there's some Gophers to destroy, a big bronze pig to keep, and a bowl game somewhere warm to win -- but on this day, the anniversary of one of the darkest and most depressing moments in recent Iowa football history, it's worth taking a moment to stop and think about how far we've already come in such a short period of time. The pain of losing the de facto Big Ten Championship Game to Ohio State stings, but it feels a hell of a lot better than the ache of losing to Western Michigan and being lost in the college football wilderness.

Kenny bled to get that pig back, man. Floyd is ours, dammit.

There's A Game On Saturday?: Sparty Till You Puke

Oops Pow Surprise — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:13:11 -0000

The pinnacle of musical accomplishment? In a word: YES.

Big game today, to put it mildly. Should Iowa pull off another win, they've essentially--depending on what happens to the Boys From Columbus between now--removed the second-most difficult roadblock to running the table. Tut and moan all you want about looking ahead, but the remaining opponents are a road test against OSU and three home games against teams with a combined 5-9 record against BCS conference competition. Not that it's ever safe to coast or anything, but those are becoming games where a loss is plainly inexcusable. No pressure

That all said, there is a game on Saturday, and it's hardly a lock that Iowa wins--Michigan State's favored by a point or two, depending on who you ask. But for just about the first time all season, we're feeling good about Iowa's chances. So good we're a little worried.

With Iowa on offense

Greg Jones. Greg Jones. Greg Jones Greg Jones Greg Jones. The driving force of this MSU defense, Jones is put into position to make plays time and time again, and he usually delivers; the linebacker boasts nearly 10 tackles a game, 7.5 TFL, and five sacks. If he gets into the backfield against Iowa's wishes very often, Iowa's offense will probably stall out often.

The reason, though, that we stress Iowa's intent on this one is that last week's halftime adjustments against O'Brien Schofield were a clinic in Coaching Adjustment Judo. So Schofield likes to crash the line? Okay, let's let him run himself out of a play then. Part of Stanzi's second-half success (11-13 passing) was that Schofield was too busy not running at Stanzi, instead doing what he--and the Iowa coaching staff--wanted to do. We'll see if Greg Jones falls into the same schematic traps or if his sheer force of talent will overcome. Probably a mix of the two.

The good news is, as Herr Doctor mentioned, MSU's pass defense against actual quarterbacks (sorry, Juice and Montana State Guy) is a little dodgy, to say the least. Okay fine--they're miserable, and this is about the best shape that Iowa's receiving corps has been in all season. Chaney's gone for the year, but Iowa has four capable wideouts and two tight ends playing out of their minds right now. If Stanzi doesn't end up with at least 240 and 2 TDs, something may have gone quite wrong. That or we pulled an OSU-Wisconsin and just scored on a bunch of returns instead, but that's totally implausible.

With Michigan State on offense

Kirk Cousins, he of the Iowa fandom, seems to be entrenched under center (though, whoopee! Keith Nichol plans to play through his injury, and that's when the MSU offensive momentum dies!), and he's a fine quarterback in his own right with a bevy of fine receivers. Blair White, who you'd never guess is white even though it's right there in his name, is the main target and someone jNW was hapless in trying to stop. Then again, they're just Northwestern. If MSU wants to have any success getting White the ball, they're going to have to do one of two things against Amari Spievey:

Throw to White over the top;
Get White lined up on the other side of the field.

That's about it, really; only the most masochistic of offensive coordinators would try to throw a hitch or curl at Spievey, and an in route over the middle is begging for a linebacker's helmet buried in White's sternum. This is all not to say that White will be completely shut down, mind you; he's a good receiver and he'll get his targets and catches. He won't really be effective, though, unless the MSU coaching staff get creative--and confusion over week-to-week creativity is what usually spawns game-day disasters.

As for the Michigan State rushing attack, it figures to suffer as badly as (maybe worse than) Iowa's will. With a torn ACL performing aggravated assault on Glenn Winston's season, the Spartans' top two tailbacks are true freshmen. Lead man is Larry Caper, who has yet to break 100 yards (hell, he's topped 63 once, a 95-yard effort against those poor, poor Illini) and who has not carried the ball more than 16 times in a game. If he tops 15 carries and 50 yards, A, we'll be surprised, and B, barring a big run, it won't be by much.

Also in the mix is Edwin Baker, who's taken snaps in precisely two games and has a decent amount of talent. Neither seem like the types who can gash Iowa and move the chains.

Special Teams

MSU might have the best kicker in the conference in Brett Swenson, but Daniel Murray isn't far behind. Punters Aaron Bates and Ryan Donahue are a wash on statistics, though Donahue has more ability to flip field position on a punt, so a slight edge there but nothing major unless Donahue uncorks a 65-yarder or three. Returners... ehh. Unlikely that they decide a game. All square here, really.

Prediction

So this game's probably going to come down to sustaining drives, limiting turnovers, and good coaching adjustments. Both teams should struggle with the first--though we like Stanzi against the MSU pass defense more than Cousins against the Iowa pass defense; MSU's likely to have problems with the second (Iowa's average turnover margin is about 2 per game higher than the Spartans'); last, a slight edge to Ferentz and the Hawkeyes on the third facet, not out of any disrespect to Dantonio, but just because this has been the staple of the Iowa season thus far. We're calling this one 23-10, maybe 14 or 17 points for the Spartans depending on how they perform in the red zone. This really should be an Iowa win, Vegas be damned, and we don't see a good matchup for MSU outside of rush defense. Should be close, should be fun. Hope the Spartans are ready for sixty minutes of hell, six seconds at a time.

Preview: Michigan State vs. Iowa

LVS — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:32:02 -0000

[Given the time constraints, shorter than usual. --LVS.]

Your MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS vs. the IOWA HAWKEYES

SPARTAN STADIUM, EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN

7:05 PM ET, BIG TEN NETWORK

WEATHER: 42 DEGREES, 30% CHANCE OF RAIN

Operation "make the season respectable" has largely succeeded following wins in the last three weeks. The opportunity to make the season special begins this week, as a win on Saturday would essentially put MSU in command of the Big Ten title race. The first two years under Mark Dantonio have yielded little grist for complaints; one of the legitimate gripes, however, is that we haven't played well in "big" games -- namely, those in which we're less talented but not absolutely overmatched. (Last season's debacles against Ohio State and Penn State being examples 1 and 1A, of course.) Well, the biggest opportunity of all has arrived. Iowa is undefeated but not unbeatable, and has historically struggled in East Lansing. A win on Saturday would not merely confirm a complete 180 in the season's fortunes -- not unlike what Iowa did last year, by the way -- but also signify a giant step forward for the program as a whole. Can we do it? I'm not wholly optimistic, but a big result isn't out of our reach.

WHEN MICHIGAN STATE IS ON DEFENSE: . . . they're playing a offense whose statistical mediocrity perhaps belies an ability to get things done when it's most needed. Iowa is currently sixth in the conference in both passing offense (47th nationally) and efficiency 58th nationally), and ninth in the league (93rd nationally) in rushing. But, 2 things: having a great defense certainly can make up for mediocre offensive play, and when Rick Stanzi is on, this isn't a terrible offense after all.

And unfortunately for us, Stanzi's coming off probably his most consistent game of the year: a 17/23, 218 yard performance against Wisconsin which included an absolutely gorgeous touchdown throw to Tony Moeaki. The STANZIBALL meme is justified; just ask BHGP:

But holy smokes, is Ricky Stanzi ever trying to raise peoples' blood pressure. For the second straight week, Stanzi threw what we considered his worst, most definitive, Stanziest of the STANZIBALLs, this one a game-opener to Donovan Warren who, with a different set of rules, could have crawled into the end zone unmolested. [ . . . ]

Stanzi's antics have now directly cost the Hawkeyes a touchdown in three of the last four games, a Jarrett Lee-like display that ended a whole lot worse for LSU last season than it has for Iowa thus far. In those three games, each of whom was an unranked opponent now and at kickoff, the average margin of victory has been five points. Obviously, you can't take points off the board in the middle of the game and expect the rest of it to play out exactly the same, but if Iowa wins all three of those games by an average of 12 points instead, we've got a much better comfort level and maaaaybe a better ranking thus far. Probably a moot point unless Iowa wins in Columbus, but something worth pointing out all the same.

That was following the Michigan game, in which Stanzi hit the STANZIBALL nadir by throwing an absolute gift to Donovan Warren; our defense hasn't been the greatest at forcing turnovers, but if one comes gift-wrapped, that could make a big difference in the game.

Stanzi's primary receivers are WR Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and TE Tony Moeaki, both of whom had big games against Wisconsin: DJK (easier this way) had 8 catches for 134 yards, while Moeaki had 3 catches for 55 yards. Moeaki, in particular worries me; we've had all kinds of trouble defending good pass-catching tight ends this season (Kyle Rudolph and Garrett Graham, in particular) and Moeaki is probably better than either--he's finally showing the potential that's been wasted by injuries during the past few seasons, and in 4 games this season, he has 20 catches (to lead the team!) for 247 yards and four touchdowns. He's a very difficult matchup for our linebackers and safeties (6'5", 250); hopefully we have some sort of scheme to slow him down.

MSU linebacker Greg Jones said the plan of attack is pretty straight forward for stopping a duel-threat like Moeaki.

"He can only do so many things at one time - he's (either) gonna block or go out for a pass," Jones said. "He's gonna use his size to his advantage, and if I was that big I would too, so it's gonna make it pretty simple."

Do your thing, Greg.

Meanwhile, in the wake of Shonn Greene's departure and Jewel Hampton's season-killing injury, Iowa has done a passable job in the run game -- led by freshmen Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher:

RUSHING	GP-GS	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Robinson, Adam	7-6	108	541	21	520	4.8	5	43	74.3
Wegher, Brandon	7-0	81	327	36	291	3.6	3	28	41.6

Robinson's statistics include a 91 yard, 1 TD performance against Wisconsin. Given the way that Jerel Worthy and Colin Neely have been playing the past few weeks, I definitely think we can stop Iowa's ground game. I'd just rather that we don't make the mistake Michigan did and sell out to get there:

Speaking of the rush, hello half of the state of Michigan: if Michigan's game plan was explicitly "Make Stanzi beat us," they went about it the correct way. Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher were effectively minimized as threats, combining for 91 yards on 23 carries. Worse, the two garnered only three first downs on the ground (all Robinson in the third quarter), with Stanzi registering three of his own. That's not exactly the type of production that usually leads to Iowa scoring 30 points.
Fortunately, with Michigan putting 11 players, 4 couches, 3 cheerleaders, and Sad Michigan Girl in the box, that left the secondary very susceptible to big plays, and Moeaki's delay routes as the receivers ran off coverage led to two easy, easy touchdowns, the second of which accounted for Iowa's last points of the day.

Given our relative strength on run defense and the secondary's previous troubles, I'd much rather we do the converse: focus on stopping the pass and make the two freshman running backs beat us. (Sounds a lot like Iowa's probable game plan.) Of course, the two aren't mutually exclusive: cranking up the pass rush has gone a long way toward helping the secondary do its job; getting pressure at the line of scrimmage will obviously be beneficial for the run defense as well.

Finally, it's worth noting that we have 21 sacks in 7 games, and Iowa has allowed 15. Bryan Bulaga, Iowa's huge offensive lineman, is beastly when healthy, but he hasn't been all season, and looks to be a shadow of his former self. Please, please, please, get pressure on Stanzi.

Not our offense, but who cares!

WHEN MICHIGAN STATE IS ON OFFENSE: Ugh:

Big Ten Pass Efficiency Defense:

Rank	Name	Gm	Patt	Pcomp	PaPct	Int	IntPct	Yds	Ydsatt	Tds	TdPct	Rating	Win	Loss	Ties	Natl Rank
1	Iowa	7	215	106	49.30	15	6.98	1169	5.44	5	2.33	88.69	7	0	0	5

Big Ten Turnovers Gained:

Rank	Name	Turnovers Gained
1	Iowa	22

Big Ten Passes Intercepted:

Rank	Name	Passes Intercepted
1	Iowa	15

. . . and that's my agita about this game distilled into three tables. Iowa's pass defense forces tons of turnovers and makes good quarterbacks look absolutely horrible.

Darryl Clark's statistics are particularly scary. This is a very, very, very good Iowa secondary. Amari Spievey is an NFL player, Shaun Prater is solid and is additionally some sort of talisman for the defense (he didn't play in the defense's worst outings of the year), and the two safeties -- Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood -- have combined for 8 interceptions. Combine that with two excellent linebackers (A.J. Edds and Pat Angerer) and a havoc-wreaking defensive end (Adrian Clayborn) and . . . uh, yeah, you'll understand my pessimism during the BHGP podcast.

Giving Cousins time will be absolutely key; 3 of his 4 interceptions this year have come when he's pressured. If he's hurried, he's going to make mistakes and Iowa will capitalize. If he has time . . . it's not going to be pretty but I have enough faith in Cousins to believe that he'll be able to move the ball. Iowa only has 13 team sacks on the year -- not an overwhelming number for a defense of this caliber -- and we'll need to minimize that number on Saturday night.

Iowa's defense, on the other hand, can probably be run upon:

OPPONENT	ATTEMPTS	YARDS	TOUCHDOWNS
Northern Iowa	32	84	0
Iowa State	34	190	0
Arizona	25	148	0
Penn State	33	109	0
Arkansas State	25	80	0
Michigan	45	195	3
Wisconsin	33	87	1

(N.B.: John Clay wasn't exactly himself for most of the game last week.) Those aren't horrible numbers by any means, but they aren't lights-out, either -- sixth in the conference. If there was one week where we'd massively benefit from a breakout game by Larry Caper -- yep, this is it. If we can start picking up some yards on the ground, we might be able to get Greenwood and Sash to cheat up and thereby take away their ability to snag Cousins' passes away. (Also a worry: the ability of our freshman RBs to hold onto the ball. Please, no fumbles.)

That, ultimately, is my key to the game: we have to get something done on the ground; we weren't great last week against Northwestern, and that isn't going to cut it this week. Our passing game is very good, but their pass defense is better, and if Cousins has to throw the ball 40 times, this game is not going to end well.

FINAL PREDICTION: A few weeks ago, before Michigan went to Iowa City, Brian wrote this:

The prediction below is weird: it builds in what appears to be a 50-50 shot at Iowa having one more game-crippling mistake than Michigan. I think if M gets that game crippling mistake they will be in it at the end with a chance to win, possibly attempting to defend and Iowa game-winning drive. If they don't I think they end up in a hole and threaten to break out of it from time to time but never actually do so, with the cold and the crowd and the Iowa defense finally reining in Forcier when the game's on the line.

Of course, Michigan did get that game-crippling mistake, and Iowa still won. Iowa's resiliency has been remarkable. They were down early to Wisconsin, Michigan, and Penn State, and yet, they didn't panic: they let their defense assert itself and chipped away until the other team, battered and broken, had nothing left. This is an awfully impressive team: by far the best we've played. They're not unbeatable, and we've been pretty resilient ourselves: we were 1-3, and now, if we win tomorrow, we're probably the favorites to win the conference. But to get there, we'll have to play much better than we have at any time this season -- a Michigan game-type effort, minus the 4th quarter collapse -- and we will have to be there to take pick up and take advantage of the giveaways that Iowa will almost inevitably make.

It's a night game, the team will be hyped, the atmosphere will be unbelievable, and we've got something BIG to play for. I wouldn't be at all surprised if we pulled this game off -- a la Wisconsin in ~~'05~~ '04 -- but to predict a win is just a step too far, I think. Iowa 24-23.

The Big Ten at the Midpoint (Part 2 of 3)

Bama Hawkeye — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:45:09 -0000

We've made it through six weeks of the college football season. For everyone but Illinois (who moved a non-conference game to the end of their schedule), we're halfway home. Here at The Rivalry, Esq., it's a perfect time to step back and assess what we have seen so far. So, in 11 questions, let's analyze what we know about the Big Ten.

Here's Part I and Part III of the midpoint assessment.

The Rivalry, Esq. Asks:

Who is the offensive player of the year in the Big Ten at the halfway point?

Law Buckeye Answers:

Although there's no clear standout, my vote goes to running back John Clay at Wisconsin. Clay leads a league defined by ground gains in rushing. Halfway through the season he's amassed 641 yards (4.8 yards a carry, 106.83 yards a game), meaning he'll easily be a 1,000 yard plus rusher this season. At 6-2, 247 pounds, Clay's plodding, brutal presence between the tackles has opened up the passing lanes for quarterback Scott Tolzien, resulting in the most balanced offense in the Big Ten (1204 yards rushing, 1130 yards passing).

Counterpoint: Clay struggled last week at Ohio State, managing just 59 yards on 20 carries.

Honorable Mentions: Daryll Clark (QB, Penn State), Joey Elliott (QB, Purdue), Mike Kafka (QB, Northwestern), Evan Royster (RB, Penn State).

The Rivalry, Esq. Asks:

Who is the defensive player of the year in the Big Ten at the halfway point?

Graham Filler Answers:

Brian Rolle (LB) Ohio State.

After the USC game, I called Law Buckeye and asked him who #36 was. "Oh that's Brian Rolle," I was told, "he's fast." This Florida product is the leader of the Big Ten's best defense. His speed and instincts have helped slow the power run games of Wisconsin and USC.

Honorable Mentions: Josh Hull, LB, Penn State. Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa. Christian Ballard, DE, Iowa. Pat Angerer, LB, Iowa. Amari Spievey, CB, Iowa. Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan. O'Brien Schofield, DE, Wisconsin.

The Rivalry, Esq. Asks:

What is the status of the Penn State offensive line at the halfway point of the season?

Bama Hawkeye Answers:

It's a work in progress, but I definitely emphasize the progress. Look, through the first six weeks of the season, Penn State has faced one legitimate defense. Part of that was the design of Penn State's non-conference schedule. Part of that was the luck of facing the dysfunctional Zook family early in the season. But if you look at the line's play from each cupcake to the next, progress was made. Yes, I think they'll have trouble with the Ohio State front seven. That doesn't mean they're a bad line - everyone had/will have trouble with Ohio State's defense.

The real test begin this week with Minnesota. Minnesota has an average Big Ten defense with an average Big Ten defensive line. If Penn State can run the ball with success, if Darryl Clark can have time to set his feet and throw, if the line can take over the fourth quarter of the game, we'll know that they're coming back.

This offseason when I wrote about the danger of an inexperienced offensive line, I didn't mention one important factor. It's this: if that line has the talent and the coaching, they will be substantially better by the end of the season than they will at the beginning. I think we're going to see that from Penn State.

The Rivalry, Esq. Asks:

What is a realistic expectation for Northwestern's final record?

Hmlee Answers:

Taking off my lavender glasses, I'm going to put Northwestern's final record at 7-5 going into the bowls. To some, that may still seem overly optimistic, as they really only have two likely wins left on their schedule, in tangos with the queso portion of the conference, Indiana and Illinois. Two weeks ago my realistic expectations would have agreed with that assessment. Lately, though, I have seen the defense play like the 2008 edition I thought we were going to be getting this season. Yes, it was against Purdue and Miami of OH (who, were they in the Big 10, wouldn't even qualify for the queso bowl... take that Graham and Jon). If the defense continues to play like that, they could easily catch one of the better teams in the conference napping. There's also always schizophrenic Sparty who, though they look to be improving, could very easily drop this week's game in East Lansing. 7-5 is still deeply disappointing to me as a fan. I set 8 wins as my rock bottom threshold for happiness, so, barring extraordinary circumstances, this bowl season will not be a fun one for my NU side.

The Rivalry, Esq. Asks:

After four games, do you think that TCF Bank Stadium has provided the Gophers with a greater homefield advantage than the Metrodome did?

Jerdogg1 Answers:

My opinion is that it's a bit premature to say that The Bank gives the Gophers a homefield advantage because the team is just 2-2 playing there so far. Having said that, however, I do think it gives them a greater advantage than the Dome did. I think it certainly is an advantage to the team because the fans are more excited, there is an actual college atmosphere, and I would think that has to carry over to the players. I certainly don't think that there is anything shameful in our two losses (Cal and Wisky), but I do believe that Wisconsin was a very beatable team and that we did a lot to hand the Badgers that win. That would not have happened if we had a true homefield advantage. Of course, some might argue that the way we played we shouldn't even have kept it as close as it was (on the scoreboard), and that the homefield advantage helped. I can see that, but I'm nowhere near being ready to say that The Bank is a difficult place for other teams to play... which is what a true homefield advantage is.

Tougher Than the Rest

Bama Hawkeye — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:50:29 -0000

In 2003, after losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes for the second straight season, one of the defensive linemen for the Michigan Wolverines (and it kills me that I can't find the man's name) made a fantastic statement about the Hawks. "I hate playing them, " he said. "They're the bullies of the Big Ten."

All that I could think as I watched Iowa's front seven push around Penn St. for the last three quarters of Saturday Night's game, was that the Bullies were back. As Kirk Herbstreit correctly noted during the broadcast, when Coach Ferentz has had his best teams, it's been seasons when the line play has been dominant. It's beginning to look like this is one of those years.

What follows is a look at some of the pretty amazing things that these Bullies of the Big Ten have been doing.

Here are five fun stats for you:

Only one team in college football has defeated a Top 5 ranked opponent in each of the last two seasons. The Iowa Hawkeyes.
Only one team in college football has won three games (with two of them on the road) against BCS conference opponents this season. The Iowa Hawkeyes.
Penn State, Arizona, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa - the four teams that Iowa has defeated this season - have a combined record of 12-4. That's right; the only team that each has lost to has been the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Penn State scored the last rushing touchdown against Iowa - in the third quarter of their game last year. That equates to more than 7 games (435 minutes and 29 seconds to be precise) without allowing a rushing touchdown.
Penn State dominated the first quarter of the game, holding the ball for more than 11 minutes and scoring in the two most excruciating ways. Long bomb? Check. Long drive? Check. However, over the last three quarters of the game, Iowa had the ball for 27:45. Penn State had it for only 17:15.

The defense has been awesome. Amari Spievey has developed into the best corner of the Ferentz era. The safeties, especially Tyler Sash, can ballhawk with the best of them. The linebackers seem to be in on every play. And the defensive line...do you remember that coming into the season, this was the question mark on the Iowa defense? As OPS noted at Black Heart Gold Pants:

There isn't a single starter on the line that didn't affect the game in a big way. Broderick Binns? 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, and consecutive ownings of DeOn'tae Pannell that led to an Iowa safety (this sealed Pannell's fate; he was benched shortly thereafter).Christian Ballard? Probably the most consistent resident of the PSU backfield, and he tipped the last INT to A.J. Edds, effectively ending Penn State's hopes. Karl Klug? Multiple big plays, not the least of which was recovering a Penn State fumble in Iowa territory in the fourth quarter... a good 30-40 yards or so from his spot on the field at the snap. And Adrian Clayborn? Oh, only two tackles and O HAI GAME WINNING TOUCHDOWN K THANX. Among the four, they badgered their linemen, the PSU backs, and Daryll Clark into enough miscues that when it came time to reclaim the lead, the Penn State offense really had no chance down the stretch.

Further--not that removing data is a great way to bolster your point, but bear with us for one second--excepting the 79-yard bomb to Chaz Powell, and combining lost fumbles and INTs into a generic turnover stat, here's an average of what the last 3 starting QBs have accomplished against the Iowa defense: 8-22, 83 yards, 0 TD, 3 TO.

So where can this Iowa team go from here? As every prognosticator and broadcaster has been contractually required to mention, Iowa faces the hardest road schedule in the Big Ten. They have to travel to Madison, where they'll meet a rejuvenated Badger squad. They have to travel to Michigan State, in a series where the home team has won every game since 1995. They have to travel to The Ohio State University, to face a team that they have beaten four times since LBJ became President. To put that in perspective, Iowa has more Big Ten titles than victories over Ohio State since 1963. The home schedule looks more manageable, which is more of a statement about the road trio awaiting than the home games against Michigan, Northwestern, Indiana, and Minnesota. So yes, the two-thirds of the road that remains looks difficult.

But if you think that Ricky Stanzi and his receivers can play better than they have, you could do worse than to think that Iowa may just win this thing. But if you see the running game starting to take shape, you could see the Hawks becoming more dangerous. But if you believe that defense wins championships, you could do worse than to believe in Iowa.

The Takeaway: Penn State

Oops Pow Surprise — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

2 months ago: In this photo taken Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, Penn State running back Evan Royster, left, is taken down by Iowa defenders Pat Angerer, center, and Karl Klug, right, during the first half of their NCAA football game in State College, Pa. Iowa's defense handed the Nittany Lions their first loss for the second-straight season. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Browse more photos »

Sure, Iowa just choked out Penn State, 21-10. But how much do we really know? What was really important about beating Penn State? What does it all mean, Basil? The Takeaway has the answer.

Goodbye, Kroul and Unusual Punishment; hello, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Good merciful heavens, the defensive line: There isn't a single starter on the line that didn't affect the game in a big way. Broderick Binns? 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, and consecutive ownings of DeOn'tae Pannell that led to an Iowa safety (this sealed Pannell's fate; he was benched shortly thereafter). Christian Ballard? Probably the most consistent resident of the PSU backfield, and he tipped the last INT to A.J. Edds, effectively ending Penn State's hopes. Karl Klug? Multiple big plays, not the least of which was recovering a Penn State fumble in Iowa territory in the fourth quarter... a good 30-40 yards or so from his spot on the field at the snap. And Adrian Clayborn? Oh, only two tackles and O HAI GAME WINNING TOUCHDOWN K THANX. Between the four, they badgered their linemen, the PSU backs, and Daryll Clark into enough miscues that when it came time to reclaim the lead, the Penn State offense really had no chance down the stretch.

This is, of course, to take nothing from the back 7. Where do you want to start? Amari Spievey atoning for his first-play scorching with more lights-out tackling and coverage? Shaun Prater for baiting Clark into a bad interception with the Nittany Lions in field goal range? Defensive player of the week Pat Angerer for his 14 tackles, pick--and its 38-yard return that set up Iowa's only offensive TD--and forced fumble? And didn't it seem like Jeremiha Hunter (12 tackles) was in on just about every play--especially those near the line of scrimmage? In fact...

Good merciful heavens, the entire defense: It's hard to think so after watching the UNI near-disaster, but might this defensive unit be even better than the epic 2002 and 2003 units? Not to overstate the obvious, but think of this: there's no good way to attack them.

Experts don't even recommend punting as a safe deterrent.

You want to pass? Great; here's the last three starting quarterbacks to challenge the Iowa secondary: 26-68, 1 TD, 327 yards, 8 INT. Further--not that removing data is a great way to bolster your point, but bear with us for one second--excepting the 79-yard bomb to Powell, and combining lost fumbles and INTs into a generic turnover stat, here's an average of what the last 3 starting QBs have accomplished against the Iowa defense: 8-22, 83 yards, 0 TD, 3 TO. You can add decimals if you need to, but whatever.

Then there's the run game. As Bellanca has noted multiple times, the game that started this win streak--last year's win over PSU--is also the last game in which Iowa has given up a rushing touchdown. Often, as with Minnesota and ISU, teams never come close. This game was no exception.

The reason? Defensive tenacity, and that absolutely must be a product of good, hard practicing. It's why even as Royster had gotten to the corner on a stretch play for a first down, the Iowa defenders didn't panic, instead poking the ball away and fielding it cleanly (not to put too fine a point on it, but the distance between Klug's spot at the snap and where he recovered the ball is about a 40-yard run away; that he was right there to be the first man to make the play is no accident). Yes, they gave up a 20-play drive in the first quarter, but look at it another way; PSU had to run 20 plays just to get 68 yards, and they only got three points for that effort. It was their last drive of over 40 yards for the game. In fact, one would think this Iowa team is unstoppable, except...

Good grief, the offense: Look, Ricky Stanzi did go 11-26 with two picks, but that included only about 1 1/5 Stanziballs and about 8 instances of receivers going Full Herb Grigsby. You never go Full Herb Grigsby. We can bitch about Paul Chaney Jr. dropping a 3rd down slant route or balls sailing off other receivers' hands, but what good does it do? Hell, Colin Sandeman literally kicked a dropped pass over to a Penn State player. How does that even happen?! In fact, you'd rarely think this when looking at a 11-26, 2 INT stat line in a crucial road game, but Ricky Stanzi actually took a big step forward in maintaining his discipline and composure. We wouldn't believe it if we didn't see it, either.

No offense, Mr. Robinson, but you're only in these pictures by accident.

That said, though, it's really obvious this offense hasn't had much cohesion thus far. If we were to ask you at the beginning of June what Iowa's record would be coming out of Happy Valley if the rocks of consistency thus far on the offensive line were Dace Richardson and Rafael Eubanks, you'd probably say 2-2, 3-1 with some luck. Then you'd shoot us in the face for the crimes of witchcraft and aggravated pessimism. Then let's toss in injuries to DJK, Jewel Hampton, Jeff Brinson, and Tony Moeaki. Y'know, just for good measure. It's downright miraculous that Stanzi hasn't bought a sword for decorative purposes; at that point, you may as well have written James Vandenberg in with a ballpoint pen.

Our point is this: the offense was pretty bad against Penn State. The problem wasn't three-and-outs, mind you; there was only one of those, and it came on that dropped slant route we mentioned earlier. In fact, a full five drives ended in Penn State territory in the first half alone; Iowa had three offensive points to show for them. That is wasted opportunity, and a situation that an average defense usually cannot rectify.

The solution, then, is health and/or consistency. Either Iowa gets back the guys it expected to start during summer practice, or the second-stringers become part of the first unit just so the same 11 guys can start practicing together. Give credit to Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher for combining for over 200 yards from scrimmage, but without a more productive offense as a whole, Iowa could in major trouble against tough defenses.

That all said, this is one of the great post-Evashevski Iowa wins. While you only need to look back to that fateful night in Kinnick last season for the last time Iowa knocked off a top 5 team, you'll have to go back to 1990 to find a similar performance on the road; that was at #5 Illinois. There, Nick Bell demolished an entire team en route to a decidedly non-fluky victory. Here, it was the Iowa defense's front seven doing the trick. There, Iowa parlayed it into the team's last trip to Pasadena, touching off a nearly 20-year drought (yes, 2002 should have broken that, but... y'know). Here, can Iowa similarly parlay a big-time road win to big-time bowl glory? No pressure or anything.

The "I" stands for "Fuck You."

(All images credited to Matthew Holst of the Press-Citizen)