SB Nation User Blog: chitownhawkeye

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

chitownhawkeye — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:52:45 -0000

All of the writers have now pulled out the pre-written articles that they had stashed away for our demise. The luck has run out, they weren't really that good, we all knew it would happen.

Ignore all the injuries. Ignore the still solid defensive play, just focus on how disappointing we are.

First off, it was a hell of a ride, and while I'm disappointed to have the loss, this season is not over. But a lot of things have changed, and when I say changed, I mean they haven't. Alabama, Florida, Texas. There's your MNC trifecta. Sorry Cincy. Here's hoping you go undefeated and beat the snot out of the SEC loser.

We're still in the hunt for the Rose Bowl. We still control our own destiny. We should be a double digit dog next week, which would be entirely justified. Look, at the beginning of the season, who was the pre-season conference favorite? Same one as always. We always knew to make this season go from good to great they would be in the way.

We win on defense, not offense, if we can force turnovers we can be in that game. I'm not optimistic, as I fear we'll make the offense even more vanilla with Vandenberg, but we still need to play the game.

As far as everybody else goes, the Pac 10 is a mess beyond ~~USC~~ ~~Oregon~~ Arizona? USC is back in it. The SEC is a clusterfuck beyond the big 2. * waves hand * There is no Big 12 North.

ND sucks. And for that we all find joy. Michican probably won't go to a bowl. Ditto. I'm rooting for Purdue to win out, after beating OSU and Michigan, they deserve a bowl other than Queso.

One final thought, whichever bowl we end in, we should be healthy with an extra month of practice. Keep that in mind, we'll be healthy. Be afraid.

Big 12 Bowl Proposal (6 win and in)

chitownhawkeye — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:15:09 -0000

Big 12 Bowl Proposal (6 win and in)

Like you can find 5 teams in the Big 12 ranked in the Top 25.

OSU vs PSU, what is better for the conference?

chitownhawkeye — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:58:08 -0000

The Big 10 is down this year, the pundits continue to tell us. And while there's been plenty of debate over whether or not this is true, the fact remains 1-6 in bowl games last year, 3-5 in 2007. We all know about Ohio State and recent MNC games.

The most frequently pointed at issue the Big 10 faces is that we have gotten 2 BCS bids in recent years, causing teams to be bumped up, playing a one bowl higher than their actual conference ranking would dictate.

So it occurred to me, while we're looking forward towards Northwestern (but with certain assumptions that I will not state here), there is a game that has huge implications for the conference as a whole, OSU vs PSU. If PSU wins, they will likely have a 11-1 record and a BCS bid. If OSU wins, it's much harder for the BCS to make that call given the number of undefeated and 1 loss teams left.

As much as I hate to say this, would a PSU loss be better for the conference this year because it will potentially help with bowl matchups? Or does a 11-1 PSU team serve us better because of the increased visibility and money for the BCS bowl?

(For the record, I really want PSU to win out, and for all the Big 10 teams to win their bowl games, we need the boost in conference respect. I'm just throwing out a hypothetical. Obviously, any change in the main assumption here makes the whole thing moot.)

That is bitchmade

chitownhawkeye — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:17:43 -0000

That is bitchmade

Gentlemen, this is a challenge.

Well doesn't this sound familiar

chitownhawkeye — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:45:46 -0000

Well doesn't this sound familiar

Good to see that Rivals considers this a "crazy" finish, even though it's now happened twice so far this season, not that our case is mentioned. Excellent reporting as always by them.
Point is, coaches are going to have to find some way to teach this point, but it's next to impossible for a player to know in the split second after a block.

New polling concept

chitownhawkeye — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:45:46 -0000

New polling concept

Our friends over at BSD point this out, it's an interesting attempt to remove bias in the polls. Seems like a good idea, don't know how it'll work out though.

EDSBS joining SBN

chitownhawkeye — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:45:25 -0000

EDSBS joining SBN

Uh oh, there's a new kid in school. And he's cool and smart and funny. Well, maybe not cool. Let's shove him in a locker!

Why Ron Zook Can't Coach

chitownhawkeye — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:10:37 -0000

Why Ron Zook Can't Coach

The headline says it all. 1 issue, and I think the gents over at the Rivalry nail it.

OT: Iowa high school coach shot and killed

chitownhawkeye — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:26:47 -0000

OT: Iowa high school coach shot and killed

I know there are a lot of ex-Iowans around here, if you haven't already heard, Ed Thomas, coach of the Aplington-Parkersburg football team was shot and killed this morning during weight training workouts this morning.
This is a guy who has been a tremendous positive force for a lot of kids, not to mention to town, in which there has already had too much tragedy recently.
It makes me sick.

JoePa calling Bobby

chitownhawkeye — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:59:18 -0000

JoePa calling Bobby

Sure, there's no secretary, but this made me laugh. Your move OPS.