SB Nation - Ryan Donahue

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

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.

Iowa Plows Over Penn State - Bama Hawkeye Gets the Last Laugh

Law Buckeye — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 05:44:48 -0000

You knew this was coming. Three and a half months ago our feature instigator Bama Hawkeye outlined a case against Penn State. As he opined in his abstract "Most Pre-Season polls are showing Penn State as a Top 15 team. They're wrong..."

Not surprisingly, the article inspired its fair share of controversy. But the bottom line is this: Bama was right.

Tonight's bright but soggy installment of Saturday Night Football was full of excitement. A feral Beaver Stadium crowd danced under backlit sheets of rain -- a blinding white force of anxious enthusiasm, and later, bewilderment. There's no question that Beaver Stadium can hold its own with any game environment at any level. Watching in high definition on my Sony, I was treated to a high gloss symphony of color. The Angelic-white of plastic fan ponchos, the bright green wet grass, the eight-ball black of skuffed-up helmets, and the blood red hands of ball carriers created a graphic novel live.

Early on it seemed as if the fifth-ranked Lions might shine on the national stage. Ricky Stanzi threw behind an open receiver on third-down, and Penn State responded with a stunning 79-yard touchdown on their first play from scrimmage. They stopped Iowa a second time, and drove the length of the field on a 20-play drive. It was the last time they would threaten Iowa with more than an empty fist.

Early in their next possession commentator Brent Musburger said something that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Penn State had just been called for holding, negating a beautiful Graham Zug layout catch for a first down. "It appears," said Musburger, "this Penn State offensive front is having trouble containing Iowa's defensive ends." It was a simple enough observation, but a grave omen.

In that moment, I remembered Bama's article. Specifically, the fact that Penn State's offensive line lost three All Big Ten Selections, and had the least amount of returning line starts in the Big Ten. I knew all of sudden that the Lions were in trouble. Sure enough, once Iowa's front seven settled in, their fate was sealed.

Series after series, the Hawkeye defensive front waltzed into the Penn State backfield, the ease of which reminded me of a passage from my favorite American novel The Great Gatsby.

Dinner was announced; wedging his tense arm imperatively under mine, Tom Buchanan compelled me from the room as though he were moving a checker to another square.

Like great brooding patriarchs, Iowa's line consistently tossed its Nittany Lion counterparts aside, forcing Daryll Clark to throw under duress. At one point, Kirk Herbstreit noted that Clark had completed 11 of 30 odd throws, 27 of which were under pressure.

Try as they might to fast-talk their way out of the stronghold, the talented Evan Royster, Zug, and Clark were just for show. This circus belonged to the Hawkeye defense, and punter Ryan Donahue.

So what should a conference fan take from this? It's a problem that will be back to haunt the Nittany Lions. They don't want to hear it, but Ohio State has arguably the best defensive line in the country.

I also can't help but wonder if this isn't the kind of trouble that could have been fixed with a stronger out of conference slate. Had Penn State faced a legitimate challenge prior to tonight's opener, they might have recognized the blocking disparity, and made offensive adjustments to compensate (e.g. zone read).

What about Iowa?

Yes, they really are the sleeper in the Big Ten, and we don't need Brent Musburger to tell us that. Graham picked Iowa to go 9-3, I picked them at an ambitious 11-1, and Bama put them at 10-2. When we asked a fellow SBN blogger if Ohio State or Penn State doesn't win the Big Ten who is the most likely to end up in Pasadena, they responded:

It's Iowa, and it's not even up for debate.

That was on August 20th, shortly after the media picked Michigan State third in the Big Ten. A third of the way through the regular season the Hawkeyes are undefeated, and the Spartans have three losses. Any questions?

Iowa will face stout challenges all the way out, with a visit to FROM Michigan in two weeks, back-to-back games at Wisconsin and MSU, and a date with Ohio State on November 14th. They might struggle to defend the Wolverine spread, or get a taste of their own medicine from the Buckeye pass rush.

But the bottom line remains: the Hawkeyes are in control of their own destiny, and what happened tonight was no fluke.

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Knows The Truth

RossWB — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:21:41 -0000

Au Contraire, MR. PATERNO. According to the Altoona Mirror, JoePa is trying to downplay the revenge factor in Saturday's game.

"I don't know what revenge has got to do with it in football," he said. "It's not like they sneaked up on us and stuck us in the back with a knife or something. They played a good football game, and they beat us."

Lies! BHGP has uncovered the truth:

Credit to Hayden Fry's Mustache Ride for his hard-hitting efforts to uncover that photo.

Programming Note: Episode 6 of BlackHeartGoldPodcast will go live tomorrow morning. Accursed real life delays kept it from going up before now. Apologies.

We got your whiteout right here. Iowa assistant basketball coach Joel Cornette unveiled the new third jersey for the Iowa basketball team via Twitter. As an avowed hater of yellow jerseys, I approve of the new look.

H/T to Storminspank

The game is when? Shiiit. Per Ferentz's radio show last night, Bryan Bulaga is out for Saturday's game, but DJK and Moeaki "have a chance." Speaking of which... caring may be creepy, but Facebook-stalking is A-OK.

"The only thing on my mind is who gone run that town saturday night? WE ARE, YA I SAID IT, WE ARE! HAWKNATION STAND UP!!!"

So if we are to believe that DJK's Facebook status is a credible source, then it sounds like he's either in top cheerleading form or ready for action on Saturday. Much as his cheerleading efforts might be appreciated, let's hope it's the latter case and he's out there abusing the PSU secondary.

Profilin'. ESPN's Adam Rittenberg points out that Stanzi has developed a trend of slow starts. You don't say. Meanwhile, the Press-Citizen checks in with a nice profile on Ryan Donahue, who's arguably been Iowa's most consistently strong performer this year.

"It obviously depends on where we are on the field," Donahue said. "If we're backed up, I'm going to try and change our field position. If it's a pooch punt, I'm going to kick it as high as I can, and hopefully our coverage team can get down there."

The three teams ahead of Iowa in net punting average are No. 21 Georgia (47.36), No. 8 Boise State (43.82), and No. 16 Oklahoma State (43.58).

So, yeah, Zoltan Mesko can suck it.

Blurbin'.

As far as the game itself, Rittenberg also likes Penn State in a close, low-scoring game, while the Gazette's Marc Morehouse also likes Penn State in a close, slightly higher-scoring game.
The gametime for Iowa's Halloween tilt with Indiana is also set: 11:00am on either ESPN or ESPN2. There's really been a shockingly small number of BTN games this year.
Finally, Great Moments in Iowa vs. Penn State takes us back to the year 2002:

Iowa at Penn State 2002 highlights (via PortlandHawk)

I'm unaware of anything that happened in that game after halftime and before overtime, but the parts of the game I do remember were awesome.

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Is Feeling Nostalgic

RossWB — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:59:37 -0000

Great moments in Iowa vs. Penn State:

Iowa vs. Penn State 2004 (via HawkeyeFan123)

Ah, the greatness that was 6-4. The use of "Sabotage" (which instantly makes anything 1000% better) and the montage of bone-crushing hits and opportunistic interceptions definitely makes this game look a bit better than it really was. You can't even honestly say it was just a great defensive game - there was also some pretty putrid offense on display here. But, hey, it has an F-U safety -- how often do you see that?

Press conferencin'. Tuesday was press conference day, which means injury updates, reminiscing, and lots of coachspeak. You know, the usual.

Injury-wise, Bulaga, Moeaki, and DJK are all still listed as "day-to-day," although KF doesn't sound too optimistic.
On practicing for the crowd noise in Happy Valley:

We’ve got a little bit of everything going. Some stuff I’ve never heard and some stuff I have. We piped in some crowd noise last week. I think it was an Australian football game or soccer game from Denmark or something like that. It sounded like a foreign crowd.

On the plus side, at least now our players should be able to say "your mother is a cheap whore" in Danish. (Andy Hamilton also has a nice article about the noise issue.)

And the Kirk Ferentz comedy routine:

The next year is when Coach Majors came in. I was a senior.
Quick story for you. And that was the last year of NCAA limit on scholarships. I think they brought in like 90 freshmen and another 30 JC guys. They went to camp next year with 170 guys. They had to practice in shifts because they had so many guys there.
I think I was the only eligible senior in western Pennsylvania not to be offered to go to University of Pittsburgh that year. Everybody else, including Tony Dorsett, I can’t believe they took him over me (laughter), so I was like the only senior to graduate that year that didn’t get an offer from Pitt.

And, finally, on why the Big Ten seems to love making Iowa start Big Ten play on the road (8 of the last 10 years):

I asked a couple years ago. I don’t know why, but I just got bored and asked, and I was told the computer handles the scheduling. We must not have enough — what’s the NBA do with that lottery deal, enough balls in the machine or whatever. We’ll see if we can get a few more of those.

That, or the computer just really does hate us. It was probably programmed in Ann Arbor.

We'll see your injuries and raise you two all-conference linebackers. As we mentioned yesterday, Iowa isn't the only ones dealing with some injuries to key cogs in the system heading into Saturday's big game. Navorro Bowman and Sean Lee, two of PSU's starting linebackers and best defensive players, are banged up. Of the two, Bowman seems more likely to play, but frankly we'll still believe Lee isn't playing when he's sitting on the sideline.

We didn't make the shirt for nothing. The Altoona Mirror chimes in on the Pwned State phenomenon by dredging up memories of ~~PSU's disastrous failures~~ Iowa's glorious victories over the Lions in football and basketball. To recap: losses to Iowa cost PSU a shot at a national title in football and an NCAA berth in hoops. Not that they're bitter about it or anything. Meanwhile, The Patriot News does the obligatory piece talking about just how bad Ferentz owns JoePa. The article practically oozes condescension (what, Iowa is 6-2 against PSU over the past decade?!) and revisionist history (it was pass interference - fucking get over it), but there is an interesting note about the Vegas action in the series:

But here’s what’s really striking: In those eight meetings, Ferentz’s teams have been favored in the Vegas line only twice — in 2001 (-9 in Iowa City) and 2003 (-10 in Iowa City). Iowa has covered six of the eight, excepting only 2001 (24-18 win) and 2007 (27-7 loss, +9 in State College).

Five of the games have been close — decided by a touchdown or less — and Iowa has won each of them. Because Penn State won the two blowouts (’99 and ’07), the average difference actually comes out in favor of PSU +1.5, which could not be more misleading.

Food for thought as you look at the line on this year's game (which was at -11 at one point and is now done to -9.5 at some places). -9.5 still seems a bit high given how close games in this series have been lately and the fact that Penn State's best win is over... Syracuse? Not to mention that they haven't covered a spread once this year, as I recall.

Down there, hypocrisy is spelled O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A. ESPN's Big Ten blogger, Adam Rittenberg, wrote an interesting and well-observed piece about the double standard that exists in the media treatment of Ohio State and Oklahoma's respective big game failings. Ohio State gets taken out behind the house and shredded, while Oklahoma and "Big Game" Bob Stoops gets a free pass more often than not, despite the fact that he's struggled even more than the Sweatervest when it comes to BCS games. His piece drew some indignant responses from Oklahoma fans, including this gem from Donovan in Tulsa:

Big 10 = weak; Big IX = strong

A Big 12 education at work, no doubt. Then again, as Orson points out, maybe it's all just a geography thing.

In other news...

Fluff, in video form: Pat Angerer and Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, Ryan Donahue.
Scouts Inc has a nice preview ($) up at ESPN, though you need to be an Insider to access it. They like PSU in a close (but strangely high-scoring, 31-24) one. CFN likes PSU in a blowout.
Rivals power ranks every position in college football; Iowa shows up at TE (#9, Moeaki), OL (#8, Bulaga, and #23, Calloway), LB (#16, Angerer), DB (#8, Sash, and #13, Spievey), Defensive Coach (#6, Norm), and Head Coach (#19, KF). Recognition is always nice, although Angerer might be a bit high and the omission of Clayborn seems pretty ridiculous. Donahue's omission is also annoying, but more understandable since their all-purpose "special teams" category lumps punters in with kickers and returners.

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Is Ready for Primetime

RossWB — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:00:32 -0000

Whiteout? That's OK... all the white will just hide their tears; in totally related news, just five days until this:

That doesn't look so intimidating, eh? Just 100,000 ~~ghosts~~ ~~Klan members~~ Penn State fans, under the lights, on ABC (7pm CST, in case you've been living under a rock), with a full day's worth of tailgating fueling their rage (well, that and the 323 days they've had to think about this) ... no big deal. I mean, the last time Iowa played a game after nightfall, this happened ... and of course there's no difference whatsoever in the circumstances of those two games. 55-0 here we come!

Unlike Poor Guy, At Least Tony Still Has His Foot. Monday came and went and brought to light this week's depth chart, which is every bit as insightful as the usual Ferentz depth chart. The major news is that there's still no sign of Bulaga, DJK, or the Flyin' Hawaiian (Tongan?) in the depth chart. Considering this depth chart comes less than 48 hours since that trio was declared unable to play in the Arizona game, it's perhaps not surprising that there has been no miraculous improvement in their conditions. There's obviously still plenty of time for them to improve before gametime. In their absence, Riley Reiff, Colin Sandeman, and Allen Reisner are the named starters on the depth chart; all three filled in admirably last Saturday, but a night game in Happy Valley against a pissed-off top ten team is an entirely different challenge. We'd particularly like to see Bulaga and DJK make it back for this game; DJK had the best game of his career (to that point) against Penn State last year and no offense to the Naked Panchero's Bandit, but we'd much rather have Bulaga defending Stanzi's blindside. In other depth chart news:

As we saw last week, Adam Robinson remains the starter at halfback and Brandon Wegher remains his back-up. But as both the Iowa State and Arizona games have shown, each guy will get plenty of touches. It would be nice to work Jeff Brinson into the mix, too, but there's been nary a sighting of him (nor much ~~watercooler~~ message board buzz about him) since his garbage time carry against Iowa State, so any Brinson action will likely have to wait until Arkansas State at the earliest (barring injury).
Having finally made his 2009 debut (and doing so in rather impressive fashion), Shaun Prater makes the expected jump up to the other starting cornerback spot opposite Spievey; Willie Lowe moves to the back-up spot.
Chaney remains the main return option at both kick and punt returner; DAS PAKIBOMB is the other listed option at kick returner, but hopefully that just means he'll be serving as an extra blocker to try to spring a big return for Chaney. Chaney had a nice punt return against Arizona on Saturday and he continues to look more motivated and focused than he has at any other point in his Iowa career; with that attitude and his speed, he's bound to break a big play sooner or later.

And then JoePa called the apothecary. You mean Iowa's not the only team dealing with injuries to key personnel? Per ESPN, LB Sean Lee is day-to-day with a sprained left knee and LB Navarro Bowman is still questionable after missing the past two games with a groin injury (although our friends at BSD think he'll play). Losing both guys would be a definite blow to PSU's front seven. But given what happened last year and that both men are seniors, we expect to see both guys out there even if they have to attach their legs with duct tape. Wide receiver Graham Zug is also questionable after being concussed in the game against Temple, although we all know that's total bullshit and he's just petrified of being on the same field as the Adrian Clayborn Pain Train.

He may be a ginger and an Irishman, but he's got a fucking Howitzer for a leg. Ryan Donahue was named Co-Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, which makes three weeks in a row in which an Iowa player has been awarded a Player of the Week award by the Big Ten (Jeremiha Hunter also won the Special Teams Player of the Week award after his game-saving field goal block in Week 1, while Tyler Sash was recognized as Co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his three-interception effort against Iowa State in Week 2.) On Saturday, Donahue had four punts over fifty yards (including one 62-yard moonshot), two were downed inside the Arizona 20, and only one was returned (for a measly four yards). He's, um, good. Really, really fucking good. (For the record, Donahue shared the honor with Wisconsin's Chris Borland, who blocked one punt and forced a fumble on another punt in the Badgers' game against Wofford.)

What the fucking fuck? Yes, bowl projections at this stage of the game are pretty much inherently retarded and barely worth paying attention to... but they should still make a little bit of sense, right? Try telling that to Bruce Feldman, ~~ESPN Insider blogger~~ cuntbag extraordinaire. For the second week in a row, he has Iowa MIA from his bowl projections on ESPN. This despite picking eight Big Ten teams to go bowling, including 2-1 justNorthwestern (who just lost to Syracuse) and Minnesota (who has looked fairly middling in all of their games thus far) and 1-2 Michigan State and 1-1 Illinois, two teams whose only wins have come against I-AA opposition. Other college football luminaries picked to go bowling by Feldman? Florida International, Arkansas State, and SMU. Feldman can go get fucked by a roomful of syphilitic cocks. (For the record, Feldman's cohort in bowl-based prognostication, noted SEC homer Mark Schlabach, picked Iowa to play Georgia in the BHGP-approved Outback Bowl.)

Poll watchin': like bird-watching, only with less chance of contracting avian flu. Like early season bowl prognostication, early season polling is pretty much intrinsically idiotic, but every year we get sucked into caring about it anyway. This week, despite being ranked 19th in the only poll we officially give a shit about, Iowa is ranked 31st in the AP poll and 30th in the Coaches poll, up slightly from last week.

In other news...

The gametime and broadcast info for the October 3 tilt with Arkansas State has been set: 11am CST on either ESPN Classic or ESPN2. Being on ESPN2 likely means Pam Ward and Ray Bentley on the call, but also probably HD. Being on ESPN Classic means no Ward or Bentley, but also no HD. Hmm. And it's frankly shocking that this game isn't on BTN.
Herschel Walker listens to voices in head, decides to take up MMA. This will not end well.
Finally, the greatest thing on television this year.

27-17: TIME TO UNDERSTAND THE HORROR

Oops Pow Surprise — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:52:28 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Neibergall - AP

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27-17. Feeling pretty good about that, right? As well we ought to be; that Arizona defense was fast. The headlines are probably going to be about Robinson's 100 yards or "OMG 2 FRESHMAN RBS"--maybe even about Stanzi--okay, probably not about Stanzi--but the real story has to begin on the other side of the ball.

Now, you wouldn't normally see a game in which your (underdog) opponent scored 17 points and conclude, "wow, that defense is legit."

But that's exactly what to take away from the Iowa victory today: fear this defense. They... oh, you know what? Put this music on first, then read on (but don't actually watch the video, because it's stupid):

Got it going? All right.

Here's the last two starting quarterbacks' combined stats from when they faced Iowa: 14-36, 129 yards, 0 TD, 5 INT. Oh, and 2 benchings. Austen Arnaud, you are not alone; you may take solace in the fact that while you threw 4 INT in the game, you were able to complete more than 4 passes to your own team. Not so for Mike Scott, who just submitted a stunning 4-14, 1 INT, 50 yard performance. Like, that was his entire day through the air. 50 yards.

Arizona held the ball for only 22:04 of the game today. That number makes sense, considering the team only managed 8 first downs. 2-12 on third down conversions, which is only slightly mitigated by going 2-3 on 4th down.

Put it like this: Arizona's scoring started with a horrific first quarter pick-six by Trevin Wade (who is unimpeachably awesome). It ended with a score on a hurry-up late TD with Iowa protecting a 17-point lead. Inbetween was one field goal off of a 58-yard run to the 1 by Nic Grigsby... and pain. Lots of pain.

The chief agents in Iowa's dissection of the Matt Scott Show were Adrian Clayborn, Karl Klug, and Tyler Sash. Clayborn and Klug were helldemons on the defensive line, continually pressuring Scott and wrecking the point of attack for Grigsby. Clayborn ended with 10 tackles, a sack, another tackle for loss (by running Grigsby down from behind, which a 280-pound man absolutely should not be able to do), and a forced fumble. But if he ended 10 plays, he affected about three times as many; Mike Diaz was little more than a turnstile at LT. Klug, too, had his name called plenty of times, and Sash was EPIC TYLER once again, his 43-yard interception return cementing the end to Scott's day.

As for the offense? Ehh. Ricky Stanzi was fine in the second half, as you might have guessed, but after the opening TD drive in the first quarter, Stanzi looked on the verge of implosion. He threw that interception to Wade, then spent most of the next few drives throwing balls to random places on the field. It was bad. Very bad. But for an utterly improbable 43-yard draw on 3rd and 23, Iowa might have gone into the locker room down at the break. Totally different game at that point? Eh, maybe. Not sure that does anything to the defense's demolition of the UA offensive line.

Also, taking nothing away from the effort-filled performances of Allen Reisner, Colin Sandeman, Paul Chaney Jr., and Riley Reiff... it's really obvious this team could use Tony Moeaki, DJK, and Bryan Bulaga back on the field. Like, soon. Preferably for next week.

Last, we would also be quite remiss if we didn't acknowledge a strong candidate for team MVP, Ryan Donahue. The Redheaded Cannonfoot boomed five punts for an average of 51 yards--2 stayed inside the 20 and another was a 62-yard touchback. Net punting on the day: 46.2 ypp. Considering that Arizona's was only 34.2, that's a significant benefit in the field position fight. Ask Arizona if they enjoyed staring at a long field after every time they held Iowa to a punt. Matt Scott will probably answer, and his response will be uncontrollable tears.

So that's that. 27-17 in the books, and a defense that is starting to look like the fearless ass-kickers we thought they'd be before the season began. Next week, Happy Valley. And the salvos begin firing... now.

Bring it.

Assume the Position 2009: Special Teams

Hawkeye State — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:25:52 -0000

It's about that time again. For the next three months, BHGP will be previewing this year's Iowa Hawkeyes, position-by-position. Naturally, as the earth revolves around the sun, things will change. Therefore, we're starting with the position where we are most certain, and ending with the position of which we are least certain. To date:

1. Quarterback
2. Offensive Tackle
3. Safety
4. Linebacker
5. Tight End
6. Running Back
7. Defensive End

Tonight: Special Teams

What did you expect, a punt?

In this space last year, we lamented the apparent downfall of Iowa special teams, which had devolved from "game-changing" to "barely mentionable" over the past 3 seasons. Gone were players like Sean Considine and Ed Hinkel, guaranteed to provide a spark on special teams when necesary. Consistency in the kicking game had long since left the station, slowly eroded over the course of Kyle Schlicher's career and hitting bottom with the two-headed Murray/Signor terrormonster in 2007. We hoped special teams would improve, if only because they couldn't possibly get worse.

Turns out the Reneissance was here, and we didn't even see it coming.

Two special teams plays set the tone for the 2008 season. Andy Brodell's punt return touchdown againt Iowa State announced the resurrection of the punt return team and ensured Iowa wouldn't endure another early-season hiccup against the Cyclones. Daniel Murray's field goal clinched the biggest Iowa win in over a decade and set off a string of wins that built confidence for 2009. It was the beginning of the resurrection; hopefully, it continues this year.

The Punter

Ryan Donahue (#5, 6'3", 180, Junior) - It's too bad Donahue doesn't have a name like a space alien; he might actually get the respect he deserves. No offense to Mesko, who is quite good, but Donahue's numbers compare favorably with the Space Emperor: Fifty punts for an average of 41.6 yards, 19 downed inside the 20 to 7 touchbacks, and improving consistency. Those statistics (aside from the number of punts, which is out of the punter's hands) are nearly identical to Mesko's numbers as a sophomore. He's improved drastically over his first two years, from shankapotomus as a freshman to all-conference as a sophomore. Two more years of improvement and a name change, and we might have something.

The Kickers

Daniel Murray (#1, 5'10", 185, Junior) - If you were within a mile of Kinnick Stadium or a block of a pro-Hawkeye household on November 8, you probably heard screaming. No, not after the field goal (though there certainly was screaming after the field goal). The screaming began before the field goal, when Ferentz benched a kicker who was 13/15 for the season in favor of a walk-on who missed a 35-yard attempt against Pitt and hadn't kicked a field goal since. Five minutes later, all was forgotten in a soccer slide and a sea of humanity, and the oft-maligned Murray entered the Rob Houghlin wing of the Iowa football hall of fame.

There is no denying Murray has the stronger leg. He handled the kickoffs throughout the season, and kicked every long field goal Iowa attempted. In fact, despite beating out Murray for the placekicking spot by week 5, Mossbrucker didn't attempt a field goal over 39 yards last season, and Murray repeatedly showed he had the leg - if not the accuracy - to get the ball to the goalposts from over 50 yards. If that range outweighs his long-documented placement problems, Murray will probably retain the top line.

Trent Mossbrucker (#8, 6'0", 220, Sophomore) - How Mossbrucker lost the starting job last season remains a mystery. When he split field goal duties with Murray early in the season, Mossbrucker proved to be more consistent than his competitor. After Murray's miss against Pitt, the race was effectively over. Mossbrucker made 8 of 9 attempts in his 5 weeks as the undisputed starter. The longest of these field goals was just 35 yards, however, and a shank from 30 yards against Illinois eventually cost Iowa a road win. We're left to wonder if the coaches' lack of confidence in Mossbrucker's leg led to the ill-fated 4th and 2 from the Michigan State 21 that cost Iowa another.

As we said last season, Ferentz would not have burned a scholarship on Mossbrucker if he was confident in Murray, and there is still a chance that Mossbrucker takes the top line eventually. Building a little leg strength over the offseason would certainly go a long way toward that goal.

The Punt Returner

Colin Sandeman - When Brodell went down injured four games into the 2007 season, Sandeman assumed the duties as punt returner. He filled in during garbage time last season, as well. His experience dictates his position here. His stats leave us hoping the position goes to someone else. Sandeman averaged only 7.7 yards per return as a freshman, and an even more benign 6.0 last year. There has been talk from the staff of the need for more yardage from the kick return team. If Sandeman eventually is the punt returner, let's only hope the staff's focus extends to the punt returner, as well.

The Kick Returners, We Think (Actually, We Have No Idea)

Paki O'Meara - He returned two kicks last season for a total of 31 yards, but he's sitting at the top of the most recent depth chart. PAKIBOMB is a special teams dynamo, but probably not the answer for a better kick return game.

Paul Chaney, Jr. - Returned kicks as a freshman to mixed results. Didn't do much of anything as a sophomore, either as a receiver or a returner. I would normally believe he's on his way out, but Ferentz has repeatedly praised the leap forward his sprinter made during spring track. If his newfound commitment extends to the football field, he's too fast to not find a spot. With receiver stacked, the most likely place would be as a kick returner.

Brandon Wegher - Has been told by the coaches he could well be returning kicks this season. Given that statement, the lack of returners on the returning roster, and the hype surrounding the Sioux City Heelan product, that's probably enough to make him a favorite.

Jewel Hampton - He's on top of the depth chart right now, but (unless the staff is completely comfortable with Jeff Brinson at halfback) it would be suicide to send your starting halfback - the only player on your team with significant experience in the backfield - to get speared by kamikaze kickoff teams filled with underclassmen looking to make a name for themselves and get some playing time. Quite frankly, Ferentz is nowhere near that crazy.

The New Roster With Numbers For Freshmen Is Out. Yes, You Do Too Care

Oops Pow Surprise — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:28:08 -0000

Rivals released the updated roster for the 2009 iteration of the Hawkeyes, so's you can update your NCAA 2010 rosters and all. Oh, and there's vitals for the players as well. Height and weight, we mean, not blood pressure*.

First, the freshmen:

3 - Brandon Wegher (RB)
6 - Keenan Davis (WR)
9 - JoJo Pregont (WR)
13 - Josh Brown (DB)
18 - Micah Hyde (DB)
23 - Jordan Cotton (WR)
35 - Martin Hopkins (DL)
37 - Shane DiBona (Porn Star**)
38 - Brad Rogers (RB)
41 - Jake Reisen (FB)
50 - Drew Clark (OL)
59 - Conor Boffeli (OL)
70 - Brett Van Sloten (OL)
72 - Matt Murphy (OL, Mose)
75 - Scott Covert (DL)
76 - Nolan MacMillan (OL)
79 - Dominic Alvis (DE)
80 - Dakota Getz (TE)
83 - Stephane N'goumou (WR)
96 - Tyler Harrell (DL)

Cool stuff. Not much to take from the guys' heights and weights--for veterans, they're taken verbatim from last season's official roster--but Brandon Wegher is already at 206 pounds, which happens to be a pound heavier than the listed weight of one Dr. Pythons, Jordan Bernstine.

Other than that, the tallest players outside of the offensive line are... a punter and wideout, both 6'6" walkons. Eric Guthrie is the punter, and the lanky WR is one JoJo Pregont, who has an awesome name. Pregont turned down a scholarship to Illinois State to attend Iowa as a walk-on. Being that he's so tall, we're assuming he's lacking some top-end speed, which Doyle may or may not be able to imbue into the receiver. Guthrie, meanwhile, has the misfortune of spending two more seasons behind cannon-legged nutball junior Ryan Donahue.

So yeah, for now, Cotton's a WR, Wegher's a tailback and kick returner, and other than that, no surprises. God, the season needs to start already.

*Casey McMillan's blood pressure, if you were curious, is "leaded." This is no surprise, as he has not been declared street legal in decades.
**Or linebacker, if you want to be all factual and shit about it.

You Like Me! You Really Like Me!

Hawkeye State — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:00:06 -0000

The 2008 Iowa football team is winning awards like Titanic Gladiator (yeah, definitely Gladiator). Shonn Greene and Mitch King won the big awards, but they weren't the only players recognized. Now, for awards given at an earlier ceremony:

First Team All-Conference
Shonn Greene, RB (media (unanimous) & coaches)*
Seth Olsen, G (media & coaches)
Brandon Myers, TE (coaches)
Mitch King, DL (media & coaches (unanimous))

Second Team All-Conference
Rob Bruggeman, C (media & coaches)
Bryan Bulaga, T (coaches)
Kyle Calloway, T (media)
Matt Kroul, DL (media)
Pat Angerer, LB (media & coaches)
Amari Spievey, CB (coaches)
Ryan Donahue, P (coaches)

Honorable Mention All-Conference
Kyle Calloway, A.J. Edds, Bradley Fletcher, Matt Kroul (coaches)
Bryan Bulaga, Ryan Donahue, A.J. Edds, Bradley Fletcher, Brett Greenwood**, Brandon Myers, Amari Spievey (media)

That's one hell of a haul, considering Iowa had just two honorable mentions last season. Congrats to one and all.

* -- Voters are allowed to choose two running backs for first team all-conference consideration. Greene didn't get a unanimous selection from the coaches for first team all-Big Ten, which means one coach inexplicably had him third or worse in the conference. It's either the result of a massive oversight (unlikely) or a petty, vindictive, childish vote by someone with a vendetta against Iowa. Whoever did it should be relieved of their duties as a voter on these awards, a coach in this conference, and a living being on this planet.

I'm looking at you, Fitzgerald.

** -- We don't get Greenwood's inclusion, either, but we're not going to rain on his parade. Besides, the Big Ten's official website has his name misspelled. That's just cruel.