Iowa went 1-1 in their next two games, home dates against Michgian and lowly Northwestern. Against Michigan, Iowa was in a romantic mood for V-Day, behind a pretty solid Carver crowd, and got off to a roaring start, hitting jumper after jumper and taking a 29-7 lead at one point. Michigan battled back thanks to usually sloppy play from our guards, and we kind of missed our chances to blow them out and we ended up holding them to a still pretty comfortable 16 points at the half, even though we didnt play as well to end it. Well, to say this game was a tale of two halves would be an understatement. We showed up in the 2nd expecting Michgian to bow down to us, but they came out firing, led by fabulously scoring frosh Manny Harris, and making all their shots and playing with much more defensive intensity and fire than we did. Gorney played hard the entire time and made some shots, while Kelly paced us with his scoring, but we totally let this one fall out of our grasp with poor defense and careless play. Freeman sat for quite some time in the 2nd thanks to crazy shot selecton and we looked lost without him, and Peterson looked shaky running the point. Michigan ended up scoring 44 second half points and beat us 60-53, one of the most disappointing losses of the season considering we had them in our grasp. Hats off to Michgian coming out a totally different team in the 2nd half though, and they are playing much better than they were at the beginning of the year. They even beat Ohio State after taking us out. Still doesnt take away the sting of this one though, as giving up 44 points in a half won't win you many games when you score as many points as Iowa does. The next game was against horrible but unique Northwestern, a team that hasn't won a conference game in more than a year. They are several notches below the other Big Ten teams as far as talent level goes, but they rely on their tricky, patient Princeton offense and three point shooting to hang with teams that have way more athletic talent. The Wildcats have given us trouble in the past, forcing us to be patient on defense and block out every time, but we haven't see how we do against them in the Lickliter era. The 1st half of this one put basketball back 50 years, ending in a 17-15 lead for Northwestern after missed shot after missed shot, turnover after turnover. It was extremly ugly, and it looked like Iowa hadn't woken up for this one. The crowd was sparse and disinterested, while Kelly and Tate were the only Hawkeyes providing any scoring. Gorney kept us in it with some set shots in the 2nd half, but NU came roaring out with hot three point shooting and flat-out more intensity, embarassing us big time with a 14 point lead. Then we figured out we could get the ball to our man inside, Cyrus Tate. Tate was manhandling the much-undersized NU post players and getting great position every time, and once we figured that out and started getting him the ball we picked up our play and everyone got more confidence. Tate finished strong every time, cleaned up the glass, and played with a lot of energy to spur on the comeback. Freeman then hit three consecutive three pointers, while bench-warmer Dan Bohall finally saw the court again and made some huge contributions, playing awesome defense for the majority of the 2nd half while getting a key steal and layup along with a clutch three pointer. It was good to see those three players make big contributions and give us some scoring, while Kelly also finished with 12 points and did a nice job from the charity stripe. I was not impressed with the mindless play of Justin Johnson though, as he made some stupid passes and even dumber shots, hurting the team. Our effort was so much better in the 2nd half and it felt good to escape with a win and get back on track, even if it was against a team like NU. We needed it, and a "W" is a "W".

I've done a few previews for Iowa's basketball team this season, a team with pretty low expectations to say the least. Short on talent, new coach, guys getting hurt left and right dwindling our roster down even more than it already was; needless to say, things just weren't looking good. Well here we are in the middle of February, my Hawks at times looking like the young and shorthanded team that they are but at times showing flashes of the team they can be. Mark my words, Lickliter will implement his system here in Iowa City eventually and will turn us into a Big Ten contender, but he needs time to get his players...right now he is only using a 7 man rotation! They are 11-14, 4-8 in the Big Ten now, playing much better than expected and much better than they were at the start of the year with Tony Freeman injured but still up and down in consistency, struggling with turnovers and scoring, just lacking the bodies to bang night in and night out. All signs point to the future though; the once empty confines of Carver Hawkeye Arena are slowly filling back up with black and gold again, while we beat teams we aren't supposed to and hover around .500, hoping for a chance in the NIT or the brand-new, money-influenced CBI while always holding out the hope that we can go on a miracle Big Ten Tourney run. Life isn't so bad for us Hawkeye fans if we just take the positives this year's team and this year's coaches have to offer and look ahead to the great things that are sure to come. Just look at what Lickliter established at Butler, and then smile. Give the 07-08 Hawks credit for hustling, playing great defense, and being pretty damn good shooters...don't give them credit for the bevy of 20 turnover games, the lack of post players, the ball-handling woes, the mental breakdowns, and the etc. etc. of other issues that plague young, rebuilding teams. Right now our best player is Tony Freeman, a junior guard and the most explosive, talented guy on the team. Tony came to Iowa as a pure scorer, a guy that jacked up lots of threes and made questionable decisions for the sake of scoring. He still takes an iffy shot or two, but his maturation has been very impressive. He is a great ball handler, a dangerous scorer who can create his own shot, and a calming presence on the floor, a true leader that the other guys rely on for points, assists, and everything else. Justin Johnson, a senior from Tyler (TX) Junior College, is our best shooter, a three point menace with crazy range whose miracle performance against Indiana almost led Iowa to an upset and whose 8 three pointers knocked down favored foe Ohio State later in the year. He is inconsistent and streaky, and while he improved his overall game he is still mainly just a shooter, but when he is hot hardly anyone in the nation can rival the shooting ability of JJ. Seth Gorney is our 7 footer, a big, goofy looking white guy who has been criticized and poked fun at his entire Iowa career. He is finally sending a metaphorical middle finger to the haters this Big Ten season with his fantastic play. He is rebounding and playing defense like a true big man, while consistently draining the pick and pop Js that he is known for. Props to Seth for working hard and finally becoming the player we all knew he could be. His backup, Kurt Looby, is an alley-oop machine who gets all of his points off of flashy dunks and the like. He is also a dangerous shot blocker with his long arms and quick hops, but his slight frame and ultra-raw offensive game have really limited his skill set and what he can be counted on for. He is the ultimate crowd pleaser though, as his jams and swats always get the students pumped. Cyrus Tate, our power forward, has always been a great hustler, rebounder, and defender; foul trouble and the lack of any go-to post moves have always limited his production though. This year, he has improved exponentially, staying away from silly fouls for the most part and finishing strong in the post, stepping up in the absensce of any other post up threat and the injury to Jaryd Cole. Cole is a frosh with the body of a Goliath-sized linebacker. He was our best inside scorer at the beginning of the season, a tenacious and athletic rebounder who finished very strong down low and gave us a valuable inside presence. He tore his ACL right before Big Ten season though, and he has been missed in the depth department. He has lots of potential as an inside stud though and we all look forward to his return. It would be nice to get better free throw shooting from Cole and Cy, but you take the good with the bad from them. Dan Bohall was once a walk-on, a skinny sharpshooter from Sioux City who worked his ass off to earn a scholarship, but after a public intoxication charge and a shaky handle he has seen his playing time dwindle to garbage minutes. He can be a good shooter when his confidence is up, but it hasn't been this season and it will be interesting to see if he stays next year. JR Angle is a similar player, a good shooter out of Indiana with some pretty decent basketball skills, but he lacks in confidence and respect after riding the Iowa bench for many years and most fans doubt if he has the body and athleticism for a D1 athlete. David Palmer was a fairly high profile transfer from Seton Hall, but he has yet to earn any significant time in the Lickliter era and prove that he deserves any, with shaky play in his limited time and academic struggles off the court. He seems like he could help us with his size (he is a legit big man) and good touch from outside, but Lickliter just hasn't given him the chance for whatever reason. Our last two players are freshmen who have had off and on starts to their Iowa careers, but both have of potential to be Hawkeye stars. The most exciting out of the 2 is point guard Jeff Peterson, who has shown flashes of star-worthy point guard play. He is our best penetrator to the basket, with great vision and passing ability. He is a pretty good shooter who only takes shots when we really need him to, as he is very unselfish. A lot of Iowa fans are very excited with his potential to be great. Jake Kelly is a smooth wing from Indiana, but this has been the tale of two seasons for his game; the 1st half of the year he was a cool, nonchalant player, the definition of smooth. His slick handle, nifty passing, and wet jumper all contributed to him being one of our most reliable scorers, but for the better part of Big Ten play he has looked totally out of games. Disinterested, nonchalant (in a bad way), lazy, missing shots, turning the ball over, etc.; it hasn't been good. He is only a freshman and once his confidence in his playing ability returns I think he will be valuable for us down the road.

So there's your Hawkeyes for this season; a ragtag bunch fighting for the pride of an entire fanbase, battling the upstart Drake Bulldogs for attention in a state that has been irrelevant in basketball the past couple of years. I think Lickliter will bring us back up to an elite level, if you look at what he did against Butler and the resources he had there compared to what he has at Iowa, you have to believe his system will work once he gets the players who fit it. Right now our players are just fighting hard, not fitting really any system. Not always fun to watch, but like I said, this year you have to take the good with the bad. We started off with a very sloppy exhibition against tiny Simpson College of Iowa, winning by almost 30 basically by default at the incompetence of Simpson. The big news out of this one was the ankle injury to Freeman, however, as it would keep him out much longer than expected for most of the nonconference. Our 1st few games were duds against schools that barely qualified as divison 1, teams such as Idaho State, Northern Colorado, Florida Gulf-Coast, and Maryland Eastern-Shore. Not quite the names of powerhouses. We beat all these teams by fairly comfortable margins, but did not play impressively in any of these contests, turning the ball over frequently and basically winning because of the poor play of the opponents instead of the good play of the Hawkeyes. They did nothing to ease Iowa fans' fears of this season, but at least gave basketball-starved fans a taste of sports action, and a W is a W. We beat Idaho State riding the 7 three pointers from Justin Johnson, while Dan Bohall showed some surprising scoring punch and Peterson dropped an easy 20 in a too-close-for-comfort win over Northern Colorado that was decided by free throws. Point totals in the 50s against these less than impressive squads was somewhat disturbing. The FGCU win was our most comfortable yet, but it was against probably our least talented opponent. Hell, I was just happy to crack 60. We actually trailed against Maryland Eastern-Shore, but got our act together eventually and pulled out a pretty easy win once the shots started falling. Iowa fans didn't know what to expect against Bradley at the South Padre Invitational, a dangerous mid-major team with great guard play and Cinderella aspirations in March Madness. We played one of our best offensive games, shooting wise, but Bradley's defensive pressure was unlike anything our guys had seen before and it forced way too many turnovers, and they got plenty of scoring from their perimeter guys to cancel out our offensive production, giving us our 1st loss of the season. We didn't really show up in the consolation game against Utah State, lacking any defensive intensity or energy as they maintained a steady lead throughout. We hung around but never got close enough to challenge, and we lost once again to an average team that just plain looked more talented than our "big, bad Big Ten bred" boys did. We hosted Wake Forest in a less than full CHA for the Big Ten/ACC challenge, embarassing our conference with a lackluster offensive effort on national TV as we basically handed a more talented Wake team this game with a sloppy 1st half performance. Our lone bright spot was the play of Cole inside and getting boards. Keep in mind, Tony Freeman is still out and a freshman has had to handle the point guard duties; this is a HUGE factor so far! Next up was our most embarassing loss yet, in our own tourney, the pathetically easy Hawkeye Challenge, where we bowed down to Lousiana-Monroe!! Our guys built a good lead and maintained it for most of the game, but sloppy, complacent play down the stretch led to the comeback and it eventually went into overtime, where we had a tough time recovering from the shock of it all and just got outhustled. Incredibly tough loss for Lickliter and the boys; this is one where the outside forces really started seeing how much Iowa was struggling and dark prophecies where laid down for the conference season. All young, rebuilding teams face these kinds of shocking losses, but it doesn't make them any easier to take. At least we rode another hot shooting performance from Justin Johnson to take out Eastern Illiois with ease in the embarassing consolation game. No one expected much from us as we began our in-state rivalry series at Northern Iowa, a very tough place to play and a place where we haven't won in a couple years, but no one expected the miraculous return of Tony Freeman either! UNI has built quite the basketball reputation in Cedar Falls and they have given Iowa hell recently, plus the way the Hawks were playing lately not a whole lot was expected. But the Hawks weathered the storm, playing well in all facets of the game and pulling off a minor upset, beating the Panthers at their own gym. Freeman came off the bench and scored 15 points, shooting three pointers at a blinding pace and leading the charge, sparking our momentum and catching the UNI players off guard with his impressive play. Our big men handled the boards while Kelly and Johnson shot well to lead the Hawks to victory. Freeman aggravated his ankle some more in this game though, and sat out the Iowa State game in Ames. His absence showed. We looked much sloppier and less poised than the UNI game, lacking any offensive rhythm and real energy as ISU just played like they wanted it more and took us out by double digits. Jaryd Cole was one of the few guys who played hard, while everyone else just missed shots and looked flustered in a tough road environment. We returned to the lovely confines of Iowa City to play Drake; at the time no one knew that Drake would be going on a dominate and historic run through the Missouri Valley, ranking as the hottest team in the nation, but they had gotten off to the best start in school history and had beaten Iowa last year, so they were slightly favored. They didn't play their best game, but they made plenty of shots and made the big plays when they had to, beating Iowa at Carver for the 1st time ever!! Quite a down point for Iowa and quite a high point for Drake, a small school in Des Moines that hasn't won anything since the '70s! Less shame in this loss as the year progressed and we all saw how good Drake really is, but this one hurt because we had it in our grasp and we are supposed to be the big bullies of the state! Freeman did play but was far from spectacular. One more tune up before conference play, at home against Southeastern Louisiana. We didn't play very well at all and struggled to score points, but our boys made their free throws and made a run at the end to put the game away and at least give us a win heading into a brutal opening Big Ten slate, starting with Indiana at Carver.

Indiana was a conference title favorite and maybe the most talented team in the Big Ten, lead by super-frosh and prolific scorer Eric Gordon and his dominant inside counterpart DJ White!! Iowa shocked the nation by playing well enough to lead to a halftime tie, 34-34, playing well in all facets and inspired by the 1st good home crowd of the season. Our lack of depth showed down the stretch, as it looked like the Hoosiers were pulling away, before Justin Johnson put on a performance for the ages that would have been talked about for decades had we been able to win! Neverthless, it would be the turning point of our season. JJ made six threes in the last minute or so, including some insane 35+ footers, four point plays, and an unbelievable fadeaway from almost halfcourt that banked in. That was the culmination, and the crazed Iowa fans that stayed thought we had a chance. Down by three with about three seconds left, we weren't able to get the ball in his hands and we lost, but the valiant effort by Johnson injected some new life into Iowa fans. We played hard against a Wisconsin team with loads of big bodies in MAdison, one of the most impossible places to play in college basketball, but the boys wore out at the end and gave in to the Badger's big advantage in size and number of bodies. The effort was great once again though, giving one more sliver of hope to Iowa fans hoping for a decent season. Losing to Ohio State in Columbus was no shocker, but we were all a little taken aback at the 32 point blowout, where our guys looked flat out dazed and confused at OSU's defense and couldn't make a shot to save their lives. To say they were flustered would be an understatement. They just got completely embarassed and outplayed, facing a far superior team. This was a step back for sure, and not a good night for Iowa fans. None of this lead up to our amazing upset of 6th ranked Michigan State at Carver!! Unbelievable game, one of those where everything goes right for your team and nothing goes right for the other team. We held the Spartans to 36 points (!), making Drew Neitzel a nonfactor, while all our of players stepped up in their own special ways to contribute to a victory that just felt damn good in front of a good contingent of home fans!! Whether it was Freeman with his three pointers or Looby with his alley-oops, this win was a must-have for the fragile mind-state of our young players, as going 0-4 in our big 1st four games would not be good. A much needed upset win for Hawkeyes everywhere. They played hard once again against Purdue at Carver, but lost a painful one thanks to missed free throws and key shots by a young and talented Purdue team down the stretch. Iowa played very well the whole time and appeared to have some chances to take over, but Purdue would always go on a run to get back in it and they executed their stuff admirably, not turning the ball over and making free throws, two big keys to any game that you play. Purdue pulled it out but I continue to be impressed by the effort and the amazing defense of the Hawks. We got back on track with a big victory at lowly Michigan, riding the hot shooting from Freeman and Johnson, proving that we aren't the WORST rebuilding team around!! We played well for about a half but ran out of gas at Indiana, losing by 22 as they just kept throwing new, fresh, and talented players at us and we couldn't counter or keep up the intensity. Not making enough shots either. We rolled a Penn State team at Carver that has just been decimated by injuries, playing our slow and steady style to perfection as the Lions couldn't get anything to drop and we got great offensive/defensive balance. One of our more complete games, and a good one to get the confidence back up. Also our biggest crowd of the season. Next up was a contest against the number 1 team in the Big Ten, at Purdue. Tough game, as the Boilermakers were the hottest team in the conference and coming off a big victory over Wisconsin, but this was a game we really should have won. It was back and forth and we played excellent defense, scoring a big bucket just when you thought we were out of it. Just a thrilling game to watch. It was tied 50-50 with 5 secs left after a foul on Jake Kelly and a goaltend call, but our coaches came up with a questionable decision NOT to pressure Purdue up the court as they vied for a desperation shot. Well, this strategy hurt us as Freeman got caught in a bad position on defense, let his man drive him, and was forced to hack at the ball; it was a jump ball and this game should have been decided in overtime, but the ref called a foul and Purdue hit the game winning free throw. Frustrating loss, but if you look at the positives the effort and the heart was there once again and these losses will turn into wins with more experience. Plus, we had 21 turnovers, so you can't solely put blame on the refs. We rebounded that weekend to post an EXCELLENT victory over Ohio State at Carver. This one felt extremly good after the blowout loss at their place, and we had an amazing crowd to witness it. JJ lit it up wiht 8 threes from downtown, while our usually stifling defense shut down OSU's playmakers and we got vengeance over the hated Buckeyes. A big game against Wisconsin at Carver followed, and we ended up losing another heartbreaker. It was a back and forth game, marked by fantastic defense and great play from Freeman and Gorney, who has made amazing improvement in his energy and offensive confidence since the Ohio State loss to become one of our most valuable players. This was another back and forth contest dictated by runs, as both teams made plays when it looked like they were about to be out of it. Iowa inevitably just ran out of gas and momentum though, and hated Iowa native and Wisconsin guard Jason Bohannon sealed the game with excellent touch from the free throw line, much to the ire of the Iowa students who continually booed him throughout the game. It was another depressing loss, but once again I have to echo, the effort was great and the fact that we almost beat this battle-tested squad with our crew of mismatched overahceivers is impressive and a testament to Lickliter's ability as a coach and a teacher. Finally, to get you non-Iowa followers up to date, we lost to an average Minnesota team in a tough environment at The Barn. The Gophers came in with one of the more potent offenses in the conference but had been struggling against the upper tier of the conference lately. Iowa really played well and shot well on offense, but this game ended up being a step back for these inconsistent Hawks as a bevy of turnovers and nonchalant play, especially in taking care of the ball, lead to a huge disparity in shot attempts and the Gophers just wore us out and nullifyed our solid effort with a victory. Sad to see the Hawks playing this sloppy and inconsistent, but the flashes are there and you just have to take them and accept them and hope the next game just might be that great upset.

Well the craziest and most upset-happy season in recent (or any) memory is now officially over and we have a while to dwell on all the craziness and the week-to-week BCS shakeups that have finally culminated in this year's bowl schedule. After the fall of #'s one and two in the BCS last night, 1-loss Ohio State, the Big Ten champs, and 2-loss LSU, the SEC champs, moved up to claim those spots and a match against each other in the national title game this season. LSU is the 1st two-loss team to get in the national championship in BCS history. All Missouri had to do was beat Oklahoma to clinch a title game berth, while West Virginia was almost assured a spot in the big game with their last game being against 4-7 rival Pitt. But nothing has been guaranteed this season, with Oklahoma stomping Mizzou and Pitt's defense shutting down the high-powered rushing attack of WVU. So OSU, who looked good but not spectacularily dominate all season in rolling through the Big Ten and beating Michigan again, kind of fell right into the championship while LSU emerged from a brutal SEC schedule with two losses in a combined 6 overtimes, to Kentucky and Arkansas. It should be an interesting matchup, and a very unpredictable one. You always have to factor in the fact that OSU hasn't played in 2 weeks and has such a long wait until January 7th, but I think the Buckeyes match up favorably with the Tigers in all facets except what is assured to be a pro-LSU crowd at the Superdome. OSU can pound the ball up the middle, eating clock and wearing down the defense, with their punishing back Beanie Wells, who has also shown breakaway speed when he hits a hole. The rest of the offense is dependent on Wells, as he sets up the occasional deep TD strikes to Bryan Robiskie where QB Todd Boeckman makes his money. The greatest strength for the Buckeyes is their physical, and at times dominate, defense. They are lead by sideline-to-sideline, all-out playmaker James Lauranitis, and pass-rushing defensive lineman Vernon Ghoulstion. This unit is great at stopping the run and forcing turnovers, but Illinois really attacked them through the air in that win 3 weeks ago. It will be interesting to see if they can get back to the dominate form they exhibited for the better part of the season. LSU may be the most talented team in all the facets of the game, and they have a fiery coach not afraid to take chances and just let his guys play, but their offense is inconsistent with the QB situation kind of back and forth between the solid game manager and great athlete Matt Flynn and the massive, potential-filled Ryan Periloux. They have tons of speed and big plays threats, along with an amazing halfback in Jacob Hester, who is strong, tough, and who makes the big plays at the ends of games and sometimes wills his squad to victory. Flynn should get the start but expect to see Ryan if he struggles. The LSU defense is one of the best around, so expect this championship to be a low-scoring, physical affair decided by turnovers and big plays, but they have been susceptible through the air the past couple of weeks. The D-line is massive and lead by physical animal Glenn Dorsey, but the secondary is also super-quick and they are a bunch of ball-hawks. This is a good matchup between two very talented teams, but it's impossible to tell if they are the most deserving as the upset losses on Saturday kind of allowed the championship to fall into their laps. Both squads are worthy and should come out motivated in what should be a great game, even though I doubt too many people are going to give Ohio State much credit after last year. LSU has the most overall talent around, but OSU can really milk the clock with their running game and if Boeckman can make some big plays through the air early to shut the crowd up the Buckeyes might really have a chance.

The Rose Bowl came up with somewhat of a surprise, going with tradition and picking Illinois to go up against Pac-10 champ USC. Georgia-USC might have been a better matchup, pitting two of the hottest teams in the nation against each other, but Illinois is still loaded with talent and has tons of offensive versatility, with the potential to hang with USC if they are hitting on all cylinders. I still question if the Fighting Illini deserve to be in this game, seeing as they still had 3 losses and played somewhat inconsistently all year, and I think the Rose Bowl guys got a little excited seeing such a turnaround in Champaign, but Illinois still has plenty of talent and could make me eat my words. They run a ground-oriented spread attack, using amazing running back Rashad Mendenhall and the mobility/spread-option mastery of QB Juice Williams, whose abilities as a passer are crucial in Illinois's chances. When he gave Illinois the extra dimension with his arm, their offense is unstoppable, because Mendenhall can run through and around almost anyone, except Iowa that is. Freshman QB Eddie McGee got some time throughout the early-to-middle part of the year, but mistakes in clutch situations throwing the ball lead to his benching. His athleticism might get him back on the field. The big threat at wideout for the Illini is Arrelious Benn, a physical freak of nature and big play threat for Juice. On defense they are lead by J Leman, a true playmaker of a linebacker who plays with all heart and is in on almost every tackle. The Illini go up against another team stocked with blue-chip talent but low on experience and consistency. USC's loss to Stanford is still bad, but there was no shame in losing to an Oregon team that was on fire with Dennis Dixon healthy. The Trojans closed the year playing better than anybody, crushing Arizona State and dispatching a downtrodden Cal team. John David Booty played fantastic at the end of the year and proved how good he can be when healthy; the Trojans don't have any standout wideout but plenty of intriguing prospects, while the running game has plenty of playmakers led by super-speedy frosh Joe McKnight, the number 1 recruit in the nation last year. The USC defense is one of the best around, with maybe the best linebacking corps in the nation. They will really test that Illini running game and force them to pass. I think USC is playing too well right now and has too much winning experience to lose to this Illinois team experiencing some success for the 1st time, and I think the USC defense will force the Illini to pass or making them one dimensional, and the Trojans can score points too. It's gonna be hard for Illinois to win this one; they had a great year but they still are a little ways off of being on USC's level. Beating OSU essentially got the Illini in this game anyway...In the Sugar Bowl, a red-hot Georgia team riding the all-world play of their running back Knowshon Moreno down the stretch as well as the improved play of QB Matthew Stafford takes on Hawaii, the 12-0 WAC champs lead by a potent offense and video game passing attack, thanks to record-setting Colt Brennan and his flock of speedy wideouts. Everyone will be tuned in to see if Hawaii's magical season was a fluke because of weak competition, and to see if Hawaii can hang with the big boys on the mainland. Their explosive passing attack should juxtapose well with Georgia's fearsome defense, which is playing unstoppable down the stretch and should put ridiculous pressure on an undersized Warrior's line, and their defense has to step up against a dangerous Georgia offense. I think Georgia has too much firepower and too much big game experience for this one, but you can never doubt the mid-major teams after Boise State last year. Should be fun to watch at least. West Virginia plays Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, in which I think it would be considered an upset if WVU could pull out the win considering the rollar-coaster ride they have been on the past few weeks. They thought they'd be playing for the national championship, then lay an egg against rival Pitt. Then they lose their coach to Michigan merely weeks later. It will be interesting to see if they show up to play against an Oklahoma team with loads of talent that could legitimately be playing for the title. The Mountaineers still have Pat White and Steve Slaton, two of the fastest and most explosive players in college football, on their offense along with a defense that was playing as good as any down the stretch this year, so if they bring a mental edge they can hang with the Sooners and then some. Don't forget either about the future of WVU football, the ultra-speedy Noel Devine. Oklahoma has maybe the best frosh QB in the nation and one of the best period, Sam Bradford, who leads this squad and brings an important balance to a fantastic rushing attack, with Demarco Murray and Allen Patrick leading the way there. A massive offensive line and great defense are only icing on the cake. Oklahoma is gearing up for a title run next year and beating West Virgina will be their 1st step.

The Orange Bowl pits this year's Cinderella team, Kansas, against another great story in Virginia Tech. No one expected Kansas to get to 11 wins and compete for a championship, and they did have an amazing season, but I do think that Mizzou earned this BCS bid with the win over KU at Arrowhead. Va Tech became America's team after the school shootings in April, and they rebounded from an early season blowout at the hands of LSU to give the school something to be proud of with an 11-2 season and an ACC championship. They play what is known as Beamer ball (after their coach), which revolves around a fast, swarming defense that goes for turnovers and a reliable, big play special teams unit to win games. They also have a clock-chewing running game with Brandon Ore and 2-QB system going on, with Sean Glennon proving to be a more than capable passer down the stretch. This is a talented and experienced Hokie team with a lot to play for, but KU is no pushover either; they are out to prove their season was no fluke. Todd Reesing is a great QB who makes a lot of big plays, and they have great offensive balance with the pass and run. The KU defense was dominate all year before the Mizzou game, led by versatile stud Aqib Talib, who should give Glennon all sorts of problems. I see this as a close game, but Va Tech will make enough big plays to win.

With the BCS bowls out of the way, let's start from square one with the Poinsettia Bowl, which pits Navy against Utah. Navy lost a great coach in Paul Thompson, but they are still a great service academy team with a lot of heart and a fairly unstoppable running game. Utah will be hard-pressed to stop the Navy ground game, but they have great offensive balance themselves and come in as one of the hottest teams in the nation, a Mountain West power. Should be a shootout, and I think Navy will win. The old Howard Schellenberger takes his Florida Atlantic baby against Memphis in the New Orleans bowl. Schellenberger is known for building up programs into national powers, winning a title with Miami and taking Louisville into the elite, and now he takes a FAU team that he built from scratch 7 years ago into their 1st bowl game ever against a hot Memphis team with a big play offense that rallied around a slain teammate to finish the season with success. Florida Atlantic has a lot of young talent on their squad, led by QB Rusty Smith, proving how much wealth is shared in Florida, and I think they are a team on the rise. Both teams have good QBs and this one should be a shootout as well, and I think FAU will win and continue the good story of this football upstart that plays in a high school stadium. The PapaJohns Bowl pits a great, surprising Cincinatti team against Southern Miss, who is being coached by legendary Jeff Bower for the last time after 17 years at the helm, getting controversially shoved out the door by the university. The Bearcats were a great surprise this year in the Big East, going 9-3 with a great defense and great QB in Ben Mauck, whose health is essential in Cincy winning this game. Southern Miss is a similar team with plenty of great athletes on both sides of the ball, but on offense they rely on their running game and sophmore Damion Fletcher, who is fast and tough. I think Southern Miss will play too hard for their beloved coach and spoil Cincy's great season. UCLA vs. BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl should be a close matchup. UCLA is without their coach Karl Dorell, who was fired after several years of inconsistency and mediocrity. UCLA was supposed to be a Pac-10 contender this year and looked like it at times but several puzzling losses, including a 44-6 drubbing at Utah, kept them grounded. The Bruins have a great defense but an inconsistent offense because of their leadership as QB, which has been off and on thanks to injuries and inconsistent play from Ben Olson and his backups. If UCLA is fairly healthy and play up to potential they could hang with anyone and I think they will win this game. BYU should be given plenty of credit as a mid-major power, winning 10 games this season even without John Beck, their senior stud passer last year. BYU is an efficient and balanced team that rarely turns the ball over and rarely makes mistakes; they have a good passing attack and a scrappy defense and should not be taken lightly. Just think UCLA has too much talent here. The Hawaii bowl doesn't have Hawaii this year, but it should be an exciting matchup between two potentially explosive mid-major powers in Boise State, the stars of last year's bowl show, and East Carolina, who have been a pretty consistent member of bowl season since the turn of the century, but haven't won one since 2000. Boise State may not be as dominate as last season, but they still have their stud-horse back Ian Johnson and an explosive offense without much drop-off from QB Jared Zabransky's graduation. Their defense is iffy but they have their share of big play guys, including Marty Tadman, who plays with a ton of heart and energy. Eastern Carolina has a great defense and a wealth of athletes on offense who are capable of making big plays; they use a multiple QB system with a lot of versatile guys good at various things, and they almost upset Va Tech at Lane Stadium in the 1st game of the year. Should be closer than people think, but Boise State will make the big plays to win it and I'm sure Coach Peterson and the boys will have some other tricks up their sleeves to make the fans excited again. New Mexico plays host in the New Mexico bowl, hoping to use the home-field advantage to win their 1st bowl game in a long time against a pretty good Nevada team playing a lot of young players, a team that improved significantly as the year wore on and ended up being pretty dangerous. Like most of the matchups this season, this should be close, but New Mexico will win behind the home crowd.

The Motor City bowl pits Purdue against a Central Michigan team that they just dominated in the non-conference during the regular season. Purdue has been a pretty big disappointment the past couple years, starting strong with an easy slate before limping through their Big Ten schedule. However, they are a team with a lot of offensive weapons and big play threats, able to put up points in a hurry. Too bad their defense got rolled by almost every good opponent they played this year. On offense they are led by Curtis Painter, a traditional drop-back passer with a great arm, running backs Kory Sheets and Jaecon Taylor, both hard runners and big play threats. When they run the ball well their offense is virtually unstoppable. At wideout their big-play guy is Dorien Bryant, who is extremly fast and elusive, ready to break a big one every time. Central Michigan recovered from a rough early start and tough schedule to finish strong down the stretch and win the MAC championship, and could be motivated to battle with Purdue and prove their early season embarassment was a fluke. I think it will be closer than last time, but Purdue stil wins fairly easily. One of the best non-BCS games is the Holiday Bowl, pitting Texas against a scary Arizona State team that could have played in the BCS this year. Texas was overrated as a title contender coming into the year, but if they are playing motivated and hitting on all cylinders they are still one of the best teams in the nation. Colt McCoy kind of regressed this season and thew way too many picks, but he still has a gun and can pick you apart, just needs to be more consistent for this team to win. Luckily, they relied on Jamaal Charles and his rushing down the stretch to win games; Charles carried this team with 200-yard games and proved that he is not only a big-play track star but a workhorse too. If Colt can play like he showed he can at times and Charles can keep it up Texas will have an offense ASU will have a "devil-of-a-time" stopping them. Texas had an up and down defensive season as well, but they have lots of talent on that side of the ball and they should be motivated for this one. ASU has a very explosive offense as well, led by Rudy Carpenter,their QB who had a good rebound season tearing up Pac-10 secondaries. The Sun Devils' have tons of speed and offensive threats, but the reason they were in the BCS hunt was the improved play of their much-maligned defense; they regressed a bit down the stretch but if they can play like they did for the majority of they year then they will give Texas fits. Should be a back and forth battle.

The Champs Sports Bowl pits Boston College against Michigan State. THis is quite the drop-off from the potential BCS bowl the Eagles could be playing in if they would have beat Va Tech in the ACC championship, but Michigan State is a potentially scary team with plenty of talent so BC better be ready. They proved that they have more mental toughness under Mark Dantonio than they did under the old coaching staff, recovering from a tough loss to Iowa by beating Purdue and Penn State to get to 7 wins. BC is led by Matt Ryan, perhaps the best quarterback in the nation, who has never lost a bowl game. Ryan has tons of experience and smarts along with an NFL arm. BC will need to put up a more consistent offensive effort than they did at times this year, as MSU can put up points with their 2-headed running game. Javon Ringer is a speedy big-play threat, while Jehuu Caulcrick is one of the best at finishing off drives at the goal line and getting crucial 1st downs. MSU also has a dangerous passing game, with the solid Brandon Hoyer passing to do-it-all wideout Devin Thomas. This one could be a shootout, but BC is the better team. The originally-named Texas Bowl pits Houston against TCU; TCU was considered a BCS sleeper pick form the MWC before the season but fell off thanks to inconsistent offensive effort and the absence of star defensive end Tommy Blake, but they are still a dangerous team with a stout defense and improving, dual-threat QB in Andy Dalton. They have played very well in bowl games lately, which is a contrast to the Cougars, who haven't won one since the early '80s. Houston brings in an explosive offense, like usual, but they'll have to get it going against this TCU defense and make some stops as well. TCU will win this one with "D". The Emerald Bowl is an underrated good matchup, with Oregon State taking on Maryland. Oregon State has quietly been one of the better Pac-10 teams around lately, using a great defense and running game to become a conference power. They had another solid, consistent season highlighted by a win over then number two Cal at Berkely. Maryland had quite an up and down season, but they had some pretty big wins as well over top 10 foes, such as Boston College. If they can put it all together they have the talent on both sides of the ball to beat Oregon State, but I think OSU's senior stud Yvenson Bernard will carry his team to victory and the Beavers' will play hard for their seniors to beat this inconsistent Terrapin team.

Wake Forest and Conneticut is another good matchup in the Meinke Car Care Bowl, pitting two quietly good, smaller programs that aren't too well known as powers against each other. For an encore to last year's ACC championship, Wake followed it up with a solid 8 wins that could have been more if their offense was more consistent, but nevertheless it proves that their success is no fluke as they use a solid defense and special teams along with an efficient QB who doesn't turn the ball over in Riley Skinner. UConn is probably the most unknown conference champ around, winning a share of the Big East along with West Virginia, who beat them handidly. The Huskies are another team looking for some consistency, but they haven't really experienced much success before having just moved up to D-1 so they are still learning how to win the big games. They have a great player in QB Tyler Lorenzen and are also very efficient, not turning the ball over much. Wake wants to get a bowl win after last year's defeat and they will get it against a UConn team that is not playing as well down the stretch as they did for the first half of the year. In the Liberty Bowl, Sly Croom takes his dominate Mississippi State defense against a potentially dangerous UCF squad featuring one of the nation's most explosive offensive players, Kevin Smith, who is only 181 yards shy of breaking Barry Sanders' record for rushing yards in a season. Croom's getting this team to a bowl game after getting shut out in their opener against LSU has been one of the best stories of the year, and I think they will win this game for their coach while shutting down Smith and preventing him from getting the record. One of the better matchups so far is the Alamo Bowl, pitting Penn State against Texas A&M. JoePa is coaching his 500th game, while the Aggies will be coaching by their defensive coordinator while they wait for Mike Sherman to arrive. The Aggies have one of the most versatile and unstoppable rushing attacks around, using a massive offensive line, the hard-nosed Stephen McGee, and the sweet combination of legendary pounder Jovorskie Lane and super-speedy Mike Goodson to rack up yards on the ground against opponents. When they throw the pass in there along with some more offensive creativety they are unstoppable on offense, but McGee hasn't proven he can pass consistently. Penn State will give A&M fits with their tough defense, which is ironically great against the run. Something has to give. The play of maligned QB Anthony Morelli is important in Penn State's moving the ball, because they have found quite the running game here down the stretch. I think Aggies win with the big homefield advantage and too much offensive firepower. Alabama tries to avoid a second straight losing season by beating a surprisingly decent COlorado team in the Independence Bowl that no one thought would be in a bowl after last year. Bama is led by John Parker Wilson; when he threw well the Tide won at the beggining of the season, but as his play faded down the stretch so did Bama's. Wideout DJ Hall is also one of the best around at what he does and should be playing on SUndays. COlorado has a potentially explosive offense led by Dan Hawkins, the son of the coach and a solid QB. Saban will have his boys prepared for this one and they are too focused and talented for Colorado to beat them.

The Armed Forces bowl is a matchup between two teams that went in stunningly opposite directions this season; Cal is one of the most talented and athletic squads in the nation, number 2 at one time midseason with a shot at number 1 before their freshman QB made a costly error late with clock management, but lost their last 5 games, including a dud against Stanford, to finish 6-6 after such promise and hype. Air Force was a big surprise this year, finishing 9-3 while becoming quite the force in the Mountain West with hard work and a dangerous running game, overacheiving all year long to beat bigger and better teams with good execution and discipline. They will have their work cut out for them against an explosive Cal team filled with offensive weapons, but I think that Cal won't be ready to play in this game and Air Force will pull out a bit of a shocker by coming ready out the gate. Georgia Tech comes up against an underrated and talented Fresno State team in the Humanitarian Bowl, but I think their defense will force enough plays for the victory. The Sun Bowl pits a fading Oregon team against South Florida, a team that was number 2 at one team and the most surprising team in the nation before collapsing down the stretch. Oregon has just been a shell of the team they were a few weeks ago without their star Dennis Dixon, but they still have all-world back Jonathan Stewart, who gives the DUcks a chance against a talented but young South Florida team that frankly just hasn't been in this kind of winning situation before. I think Oregon wins close to get back on track for next year. Kentucky looks to win their 2nd consecutive bowl game in the Music City Bowl in beating an underrmanned Florida State team thanks to an online cheating scandal. Kentucky has a pretty explosive, multi-faceted offense led by QB Andre Woodson, a legit NFL prospect with a great arm and the ability to make all sorts of throws. It's pretty pathetic to watch FSU's decline the past few years and offensive ineptitude despite the loads of talent they have amassed on the roster, but with so many players missing I see the Seminoles losing despite showing some good fight to prove they still belong. Okie State takes on one of college football's best stories in the Indiana Hoosiers in teh Insight Bowl, who rallied to "play 13" after the death of their Coach before the season. Both teams have explosive offenses, while the Cowboys probably have more talent but the Hoosiers have more to play for. This is pretty unpredictable, but I think Indiana will pull it out. The Peach Bowl is a great matchup, pitting a fierce Auburn team against a suprisingly more consistent Clemson Tigers squad. Auburn has a great, swarming defense, like usual, and a pretty solid offense if they are all healthy. They are balanced with the short, accurate passing of Brandon Cox and a small number of effective running backs. Cullen Harper was the surprise star for Clemson, leading the Tigers through the air with maybe the most explosive running back duo in the nation, James Davis and CJ Spiller. Lot of talent on both these teams, and will be a close one to the finish. I think Auburn has the defense to take it. Wisconsin looks to notch up a big win for the Big Ten against Tennessee in the Outback Bowl. The Badgers were not as good as their lofty preseason expectations, but they still have a solid defense and one of the toughest and most consistent running backs around in PJ Hill, and a dual-threat hustler in QB Tyler Donovan. Just a really scrappy team with a lot of heart, but not as much talent as people thought. Tennessee has a potenitally explosive offense with Erik Ainge leading the charge, and they could score a lot of points if Wisconsin doesn't come ready. I think the Badgers win close though, they have a lot of heart and have been in close ones before. Missouri has loads of talent and deserves to be in the BCS, not in the Cotton Bowl against an Arkansas team that really just rides the heroics of All-World stud Darren McFadden and his counterpart Felix Jones to victories. On offense, few rival the potency of Mizzou; at QB they have close Heisman candidate Chase Daniel, handing off to Tony Temple and to all-purpose phenom Jeremy Maclin, throwing to All-America tight ends such as Martin Rucker. I'll give the Hogs credit for McFadden's talent, but they don't have enough firepower to hang with a Mizzou team that might not be motivated to play but still has too much talent to lose. The explosive offensive theatrics of Mike Leach and Texas Tech take on the masters at winning the close games, Virgina, in the Gator Bowl. Tech has Micheal Crabtree; enuff said. Their passing offense is virtually unstoppable, but Virginia does have a great defense and this is a great matchup of opposites; if Tech can be forced to play one-dimensional, the Cavs have a chance. They are led on defense by Chris Long, one of the best pass rushers in the NCAAs, while their offense relies on big plays and time of possesion. They have to keep the Red Raiders off the field for as much as possible to avoid that offense, but I don't think they can do it enough and Tech will win. One of the most interesting bowl matchups is the Capital One Bow1, pitting Michigan against last year's champs, Florida, in Lloyd Carr's last game as Wolverines coach. If Michigan has all their big studs healthy on offense they are a championship caliber team and one of the best offenses in the nation, so they could give the stacked Gators a run for their money. I think Michigan will play their hearts out for Carr, and with all the senior leadership on the team and all the offensive talent I think they will pile up points against an average Florida defense and win one for Carr. Tebow will keep Florida in the game, but Michigan has fate on their side. Two crappy bowls outside the BCS are Rutgers versus Ball State in the International Bowl, played in Canada. Rutgers has more talent on both sides of the ball and should ride Ray Rice to victory; Ball State has no one to stop him, but they can score points. The GMAC bowl pits the high-powered offenses of Tulsa and Bowling Green against each other, but Tulsa has more talent and hasn't been stopped all year, so who is saying Bowling Green can?

After another disappointing, inconsistent, disconcerting, and just about everything else type of season in the books, it is seriously time to look at the staff and all the players and evaluate where the program is at and where they are headed. Hell, Ferentz needs to be sure he is committed to the program 1st, as these Michigan rumors continue to pick up. I can't see a man like Kirk leaving to another Big Ten school, but then again, I wouldn't blame him after all the pressure and crap the fans have given him the past two years and all the struggles with recruiting that come with coaching at Iowa. But that is all I will say on that issue. Our Iowa athletes need to get their act together off the field, which has become a huge issue, and on the field, where we still show up too often with the attitude that we are owed wins and are one of the Big Ten elite when we are obviously no longer a member of that class. I believe Ken O'Keefe needs to be evaluated, as his play-calling is predictable and prehistoric, even downright idiotic at times when we don't take advantage of our running game. Our players just need to execute better and come out prepared; I really don't know what to say or how to fix the problems that plague us, but I think it starts with the attitude off the field and it appears that their are some problems there that need to be addressed before we can move on. No one's job is safe going into the offseason, which is likely straight where we are headed unless a minor miracle occurs and we make a minor bowl game we probably don't deserve. I know it sounds so harsh to say that, unfair to our seniors who put in so much work (even if it was inconsistent work) for 5 years and to the Hawkeyes who rallied to win 4 of their last 5 Big Ten games, but that embarassing loss to Western Michigan changed a lot of things. Next season, the opportunity is there once again to jump out to a very fast start and even contend for a Big Ten title once again, missing out on OSU/Michigan for the 2nd year in a row and receiving a very easy nonconference slate. But thinking of such things is ridiculous at this point, and Iowa needs to take things one step at a time and regroup.

At the QB spot, I think Jake Christensen needs to get some good competition and the job should be kept open all spring in order to get him fired up to improve and deliver on a consistent basis. He showed flashes all year and proved that he has the tools to be a solid passer, but when he was bad he was horrible and was just too up and down to be relied on to win games and even convert 3rd downs for us. I'm still not sure he's our future, but if Kirk left him in the entire season that says something about the progression of his backups, and hopefully he can improve on his various issues for next year and just deliver a consistent effort. Jake showed an amazingly upbeat attitude all season, and never got down on himself or lost confidence when things got bad. He always bounced back and he never shut down or got on his teammates. He also has an extremly strong arm, which is both a blessing and a curse. He can make a lot of throws most QBs cannot make and can really heave it down the field, but he also doesn't know how/when to put touch on his passes and his accuracy was way off. There were many times when he couldn't even complete a routine screen pass, or a dumpoff to the fullback. Those are the little things that he can work on and improve at. The things that he might not be able to improve on are his instincts and mobility. When the pocket broke down he was indecisive and often just looked for a place to fall down. When he ran he didn't run with purpose or toughness, and he lacks some speed. Those instincts and knowledge of where the ball is at and where your teammates are at come naturally and cannot be taught; Drew Tate had these, but I'm not sure if Jake does. I like his skills as a pure passer though and I will wait to pass some judgement on him until he has a full and healthy batch of wideouts to work with and a better year from our O-line. His backups are the tall/strapping dropback passer Ricky Stanzi, the more tall and athletic Arvell Nelson, and the even more athletic/raw frosh Marvin McNutt. Adam Farnsworth is also on the roster, but he is only a walk-on and likely won't play. Our biggest losses next year will be at the running back position, where we lose two seniors in Albert Young and Damian Sims, and another senior in blocking fullback Tom Busch. Young was one of the best backs in Iowa history and one of the hardest workers, but he will probably be remembered for unfulfilled potential and all the greatness that could have and should have been rewarded to him and to Iowa during his time. He always ran hard and made cuts with a purpose, speedy and powerful up the middle, but he was also a big recieving threat. Too bad JC couldn't throw routine passes to him and get him more involved in the offense. Young also had his share of injury problems, and seemed to always give us a taste of his talent before pulling a no show in the next game. Sims is probably the most underused back in Iowa history; he is ridiculously quick on his feet and is a big play threat every time. He should have been the next Freddy Russell, but never seemed to get enough carries or opportunities. Kind of sad really. Busch got used a lot during goal-line recieving situations, espcecially by Tate, but mostly went under the radar and didn't get the running chances that a lot of Iowa fullbacks have gotten in the past. Next year for running backs we are looking at Jevon Pugh as the starter. Pugh got some garbage time this year and ran for a touchdown in double-overtime against MSU after Albert Young got hurt. He should be good and he's an Albert Young type of runner, but there are questions about his future after rumors have picked up that Pugh's name has been thrown around in the sexual assault scandal plauging the U of I campus. It would also be fantastic to get Shonn Greene back (academics), as he was a potential star and a punshing runner who never went down on the 1st hit. Without Dana Brown for depth, we are also looking at speedy freshman Jason Ford to contribute next year. A lot of this unit depends on off-field problems, especially in Pugh's case. At fullback we should have Jordan McGlaughlin, who has plenty of experience in the program and should fulfill his blocking duties. Our running game should be solid, but a lot depends on the improvement and continued gelling of our offensive line. The entire line is back, which could be a good or very bad thing. They gave up a ton of sacks this year (40+), but some of that has to be attributed to JC getting happy feet. They looked out of sorts and confused, but they are all young and I have a hard time believing that a Kirk Ferentz-coached line will struggle for much longer. I think this year was a valuable trial by fire for them. They need to do a better job though, because we need to develop a rushing balance to complement the up and down JC, and we need to protect JC better because he is far from mobile. At center we should be set with Rafael Eubanks, a good leader with a great attitude and understanding of the offense. He needs to improve his consistency like the rest of the line, but he was only a sophmore last season. Dace Richardson needs to get healthy, because he is our most physically talented lineman and came into Iowa with a ton of hype. He just needs to stay off the stretcher. Seth Olsen will be our big senior, and is our best run blocker. He should be very solid next season. The next couple guys should all get some time at some spot. Julian Vandervelde and Travis Meade are both big Iowa boys who are pretty solid but also young; they got valuable experience last season. Dan Doering and Kyle Calloway were both highly-rated recruits, Kirk had a ton of pressure by fans to play these guys and in our best games last season they played well. They need to do that on a more consistent effort and get less penalties if they want to get more playing time, but they also have the most potential for greatness, along with highly recruited frosh Bryan Bulaga, who recovered from an early season injury to become arguably our most dominate lineman down the stretch.

This past season, we were extremly short-handed at wideout because of injuries and suspensions, so a lot of young guys not in the rotation during spring practices got very valuable experience, showing flashes of greatness for the future so they can hopefully contribute more and play more consistently (the word of this offseason) in '08. Dominique Douglas was going to be our number 1 coming into the year, a great possesion reciever with athleticism and soft hands, but he looks to be out for good after a share of legal problems. Andy Brodell has tons of speed and good size, he should be a number 1 and a big play threat next year, but he was injured for the majority of this season with a hamstring injury. Look for him to come back strong in '08 after being granted a medical redshirt. Trey Stross looked to be the recevier that Jake felt the most comfortable with all year, and was definitely our most consistent threat as we went on our big stretch in November. Jake's best games were Trey's best games, and his speed can really stretch defenses. James Cleveland looks to be Douglas-light; he is a great athlete and possesion reciever, making tough catches all year long despite his small frame. He should play a nice role next year. Derrell Johnson-Koulianos will also be a huge asset after having some of the best Hawkeye receiving games this season and making his share of highlight plays; DJK is big and strong and a great athlete, just raw as a receiver and still working on technical skills and consistency. Good thing he's only a frosh. That one-handed catch against Wisconsin will forever be in my memory. Too bad I heard some rumors he was slapping hands with Hawkeye fans after JC's 1st pick against Western Michigan, when he could have tackled the guy and prevented the 38-yard return. That says something about his character. The next two wideouts should be Paul Chaney, a super-speedy frosh who still needs to work on his hands but who had a great TD to help beat MSU, and Colin Sandeman, another speedy frosh from Bettendorf who should be a threat on punt returns next year and should be a stud down the road in the future; could he be Timmy Dwight Jr.? Anthony Bowman, yet another speedster, would have gotten playing time but he is gone because of the same things that did Douglas in. At tight end we may have our most valuable receiving threat in Tony Moeaki, a highly recruited stud out of Illinois who showed big flashes of stardom this season and even looked like a John Mackey candidate before getting hurt against Wisconsin and sitting out the year, thus increasing his chances of a medical redshirt. He is big, a great blocker (like anothe lineman), and will be a great target in the red zone and even has the speed for big plays, as he showed against Syracuse. Brandon Myers, who will be a senior, also will get playing time after the surprise success he had at tight end this year in Tony's absence. Myers had his share of inconsistency, but he also got his share of TDs at the end of the season and took advantage of mismatches to be a great goal-line receiving threat for JC. He will be back as a receiver. Allen Reisner is a big white boy out of Marion who could be a future stud at the position. Even though our defense loses two solid ends and some amazing linebackers along with a future NFL corner, the D should once again be the strength of our team and a great, physical, and hard-hitting unit. Our ends should be great, maybe even better than the combo of the massive/athletic Iwebema and the always hard working/opportunistic Bryan Mattison. In getting crucial minutes against Michigan State and Northwestern, freshmen Adrian Clayborn, Christian Ballard, and Chad Geary all played exceptional. Clayborn is massive and really clogs the line, but he also has plenty of moves and surprising athleticism. He has All-America potential, and he made tons of big plays including sacks and field goal blocks this season. Scary to think about the possibilities. Ballard is a little smaller but came to Iowa as a tight end; bottom line is that he is a great athlete with a constant motor, and should be a stellar pass rusher. Geary looks to be the odd man out, but he is hard worker with a great motor, similar to Mattison. In the middle, we return our big horses Mitch King and Matt Kroul. King made 1st team All-Big Ten, thanks to his amazing energy and his constant internal motor. He made up for a lack of size with a heart that never stops, constantly batting down passes and getting in the backfield. Kroul is a very underrated run-stopper. At linebacker,we lose all-world stud Mike Humpal, who seemed to will us to victory at times, and Mike Klinkenborg, who was all heart and our best run stopper, playing most of the year with painful injuries and even a huge cast on his right hand. Good thing we get Jacody Coleman taking over. Coleman could be our next star, a huge athlete with surprising speed who really gets after it and pursues his target with reckless abandon out there. He plays with a energy you have to love. Jerimiha Hunter will likely take over the other spot; Hunter has amazing athleticism/speed, with the potential to be a sideline-to-sideline playmaker. AJ Edds returns at the other spot; Edds is a very solid tackler and he plays with a lot of heart. He is also surprisingly good in coverage, seeing as he had to cover the Big Ten's best for whatever reason at many times last season. He will be a leader for us in '08. At the safety spot, both guys should return. Harold Dalton is a big guy and punishing hitter in the Marcus Paschal vein, while Brett Greenwood is a former walk-on who plays balls-out and like he has everything to lose out there. He learned a lot last season and had his share of ups and downs, getting beat on coverage multiple times, but he also made tons of big plays, including the pick against Illinois, and he's a hard hitter who is valuable in run-support. Dalton and Brett both need to improve their coverage, but they also have lots of potential. We lose both our corners, the great Charles Godfrey, a physical/athletic beast who had 5 picks, and Adam Shada, who received much hate from the fans due to his lack of speed and penchant for pass interference calls. Shada played hard and was a good tackler, but he got beat too often. Taking over one of the spots is sure to be Bradley Fletcher, who played great to end the year, proving to be a more than solid tackler and better in coverage than some skeptics thought, nabbing his share of game-saving picks. The other spot is more up in the air; it could be Jordan Bernstein, a great athlete from Des Moines who has the physical tools to be great; it could also be Lance Tillison; other than that I can't think of anyone thanks to a wealth of arrests. Our kicking game looked to be in good hands after the MSU game thanks to a stellar performance by Daniel Murray, but after the hellish missed 2 extra points against Western Michigan most Hawk fans aren't so sure. He is only a freshman and should be ok, the consistency is just lacking though. Austin Signor has a strong leg, but is even more erratic than Murray. He may have found a role on kickoffs though. At punter, Ryan Donahue looks to be the real deal, amazing considering how bad he played at the beginning of the year. He got so much practice with our horrible offense though that he steadily improved to the point that he was a team strength. There were still bouts of inconsistency and the occasional shank, but he improved drastically and showed that he has a huge leg and the potential to be our best special teams player.

There are a lot of words that could describe Iowa football so far in 2007, most of them bad but a few good, a jumbled mass of paradoxes and missed opportunities. It really all comes down to the fact that we aren't an elite program anymore, and it is going to take some time to rebuild the winning attitude and the swagger needed to bring a Big 10 championship back to Iowa City. Expectations were probably too high coming into the season with all the new faces on offense, but injuries have also really killed the team and hurt the progress of new QB Jake Christensen, who is obviously not comfortable at all w/ all the freshmen wideouts that he probably didn't intend to throw too much when he was warming up in spring ball. The amazing 3 year period that Kirk Ferentz brought Iowa fans from '02-'04 was thought to be that 1st step that vaulted Iowa into the consistent elite of college football, constant finishers in the upper echelon of the conference with Ohio State and Michigan. Two underacheiving years later, it looks like we are back at square one and it has become painfully apparent to Iowa fans that we will never be a real "national power" of a program because we have to recruit and rebuild, not reload like the Big 2 of the conference. Recruits come to those places because they are nationally recognized powers and NFL factories, while Iowa is not the most appealing place in the world to the 5-star recruits of the world. But Iowa has not built the third best record in the conference over the past 3 years on highly-rated studs, but on walk-ons, hard workers, blue-collar athletes willing to work their butts off for the pride of Iowa football. I think the main reasons we didn't live up the lofty championship (national and conference) goals set for us the past two years was because we grew complacent with success and got the attitude that we were better than these other teams. We didn't work as hard and we played like we were owed a victory on Saturday. There is also something to be said for just bad breaks and a lack of luck, as those little nuances that turned into game-saving plays that magically fell into our laps during the B10 championship seasons were now going to the other team, and it appears once again that the power is shifting in the B10. Right now, our boys in black and gold are 2-3 with victories over some of the worst teams in the nation, Northern Illinois and Syracuse, and losses to Iowa State, Wisconsin, and Indiana. These losses were all painful for their various reasons. The sad thing to watch is how all the other teams in the conference have improved, while we have regressed so much. Keep in mind that we have such a young team that the potential is there to turn it around at any time, we are just going through some bumps and learning curves at the moment. Hell, all this "the world is ending" crap could end with a victory over Penn State at Beaver Stadium this weekend. But there are numerous things that need to be corrected if we want to salvage this season, and none of the solutions are simple. Coaching has honestly been a big problem, as our offensive play-calling has been questionable at best and not really taking advantage of our talents, mainly at running back. Norm Paker has always been critiqued a bit for using such conservative defensive formations when we have so much talent on that side of the ball, but we have proved that our defense can be dominate, mainly against the run. Against the pass we often struggle because our starting corners are average and we never blitz, and I'm starting to think Parker just got spoiled by great defensive players when he almost won the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant. Not counting the NIU game, we have not established the running game all year, a tragedy considering that we might have the best running back duo in the B10. JC has also not performed well, even though he has solid stats for a 1st year QB. He makes a lot of bad throws when his wideout is open, his rhythm is totally off, and all of his throws just seem a second too late. I'm sure the horrific mass of injuries endured at the receiving positions is a major factor, as well as the poor blocking of our offensive line. JC is way too indecisive with the ball and when the pocket breaks down he often just looks like he is looking for a place to fall down. I know he is young but that instinctiveness is something that you cannot teach. But he has shown flashes of great potential and he is still learning, I just think a lot of fans were disturbed by his regression against Indiana. It all comes down to our guys adopting Kirk's policy of "next man in" and not using injuries for an excuse, and our whole offense, including the coaching staff, just needs to come together and execute better. A different story altogether has been the abysmal play of special teams. Ryan Donahue has been struggling big time all year on punts, even getting an obligatory shank every game, but he has a big leg and was great in high school so hopefully he can improve as he gets less nervous. Our two place kickers, Daniel Murray and Austin Signor, have both been incredibly inconsistent, with Signor missing two extra points so far and Murray missing a 25 yard field goal right down the middle. Neither of these guys can be relied on. So a young offensive unit has had to grow up too fast with all the injuries and suspensions (at least I'm proud of our coaches for adequately punishing our players, something teams like Wisconsin and Florida haven't done), our defense has kept us in most games but have been exposed through the air and have had to take the field too long, and our special teams has been abysmal. This year has really shown me so far how important every little special teams play can be: one missed field goal can change the momentum and take the confidence out of an inexpereiened offensive unit that just worked their tails off to drive the ball down the field, all for not. We need to get better in this area and many others but I can only hope more game experience will do the difference. A seventh-straight bowl game is currently out of the question for our boys until we can get of our current skid of 7 straight conference losses dating back to the heartbreaking defeat at Indiana last year. The year looked fairly promising, especially for our dominate defensive line, after we won 16-3 against NIU at a predominately black and gold crowd at Solider Field. The offense was pretty underwhelming, but that was expected with a new QB and the 1st game of the season, plus the main problem was all the drops by the wideouts, an easily correctable and expected problem considering all the young guys catching passes for the 1st time. Our running game and our o-line also controlled the action from start to finish, as Albert Young and Damian Sims both went well over 100 yards rushing, with AY nabbing a touchdown. Since our offense got off to a slow start we relied on our stud running backs all day long, and they delivered. JC also got his confidence up in the 2nd half, hitting on more of his passes and throwing a nice touchdown pass to TE Brandon Myers. Our defensive line was fantastic all day long, harassing the NIU QB and stuffing any semblance of a running game. The Huskies really had plenty of opportunities but had decisions by their QB and the pressure of our defense took those chances away. Charles Godfrey also had two big picks, because NIU was driving both times. Mitch King deserves not only All-Big Ten consideration but All-America consideration, he is obviously not the biggest defensive tackle on the block but he goes hard every possesion and is always making plays somehow. Our offense also missed plenty of opportunities and we probably should have scored more on such an average squad, but once we got in control in this game Kirk pretty much just dictated the tempo with running game and defense, not trying to score. Next week the Hawks dominated a horrible looking Syracuse team 35-0 behind a rowdy night crowd at Kinnick. Our offense finally got rolling, especially the passing with JC, who looked very confident. It was hard to judge our performance against such an poor looking squad, but the way we dominated on both sides of the ball after barely squeaking out a win last year was enough to get everybody happy. A week after our wideouts embarassed themselves with all the drops, TE Tony Moeaki stepped up in a big way, catching 9 balls for about 120 yards and 3 TDs, demonstrating why is a John Mackey candidate and probably our most reliable reciever. He got started early with a 56 yard TD catch, while his other two were on the goal line, including one highlight worthy scramble by JC when he eluded two defenders to throw across his body to a wide open Moeaki. Albert Young also took a screen pass 30 yards for a score. Our defense was once again the real story of this game, holding the Orange to one total yard of offense in the 1st half, dominating all facets of the game and only giving them a few passing yards when it was garbage time in the 2nd half. Truly one of the most impressive defensive efforts I have seen and one of the worst offensive performances I have ever seen by the Cuse. Kenny Iwebema also blocked two field goals, preserving our 1st shutout in a while. The only thing we did not dominate at was the running game, as Albert Young never got going and Sims only had one big run.

The big Iowa-Iowa State rivalry game was up next, JC's 1st road test at Ames in what was quite a hostile crowd for such a small stadium. No matter how bad the Cyclones' record is, they always play hard against Iowa. And no matter what the fans say, the Iowa game is their Super Bowl. They could go 1-11 and Iowa could go 11-1, so while this game doesn't tell a whole lot about how the rest of the season will go down it is always hard-fought and intense with plenty of bad blood between the fans. Another disturbing trend in this game is that Kirk has only won 3 times in his tenure, while ISU has won 5. Well the 'Clones took back the Cy-Hawk trophy that we won last season with a 15-13 victory, a defensive struggle decided by big plays and the kickers. Our lack of offense was very disconcerting, as JC could never really get us started and our running game was lackluster all day long. ISU got pressure on us fairly easily and their offense was efficient, not finishing drives but getting into Iowa territory on a regular basis thanks to Brett Meyer's multidimensional skill-set. Their inconsistent kicker, Brett Culbertson, was also fantastic, relied on all day and delivering with 5 field goals, including the eventual gamewinner. We hung in there by holding them to field goals with our bend but don't break defense, and eventually JC got into the endzone on a QB run to make it 12-10 ISU. In the 4th quarter we got a short field goal blocked, which proved to be a defining moment, but ended up getting the ball back and completing a nice pass to James Cleveland, and Austin Signor ended up kicking it through the uprights for the 13-12 lead. It looked like our defense had done a fantastic job to prevent the Cyclone comeback, leading to a 3rd and long play for Meyer. Well he ended up chucking a pass up for grabs, and lucky for him one of their wideouts was in single coverage with our linebacker Mike Klinkenborg. So 50 yards later, they were in field goal range and knocking on the door. Sure enough, Culbertson nailed the kick and the Ames crowd was on the field. Not so fast though, as Derrel Johnson-Koulianos returned the kick to the 29 yard line, striking a little fear into the hearts of the ISU fans. But the game was over, another poor performance against our rival and another reason for our fans to gripe over the fact that we can never seem to get prepared for this rivalry. But too bad, because now Wisconsin at Camp Randall was on our minds, and dwelling on this loss has never seemed to be a problem for the Hawks. The red-hot Badgers, a Big Ten favorite at the time, welcomed my Hawks to Camp Randall in front of a rowdy crowd and national TV audience, our chance to get back on track and get our 1st Big Ten win while also reclaiming the Heartland Trophy after a tough loss at Kinnick last year. This one turned out to be one of the best efforts the Hawkeyes have put forth in a couple years, with the defense playing all-out, inspired football and the offense making enough big plays to stay in the game until the end, when Iowa tragically fell 17-13. This game started off being a battle of puntes, as neither team could move the ball no matter how great of field position they got. Wisconsin did drive once but Klinkenborg forced a fumble to keep the Badgers out of the red zone. It looked like our defense came up big again when PJ Hill fumbled in the endzone, but somehow Wisconsin recovered and ended up throwing a touchdown pass to Beckum, their great tight end. But surprsingly Iowa drove right down the field, and Derell Johnson-Koulianos had an amazing one handed catch after a beautiful pass from JC to grab a touchdown and the lead before the half. But Hill ended up just wearing our exhausted and overworked defense out as the game wore on and he lead Wisky down the field for a touchdown, which turned out to be the gamewinner. Iowa had a very good chance at the end when freshman Paul Chaney was sprinting past the defense for what could have been an easy jaunt into the endzone, but he tripped a bit and didn't catch the pass, and Iowa's incredible effort fell just short.

Once again the opportunity was there for a quick turn around, as the Hawks welcomed the Indiana Hoosiers to Kinnick Stadium for Homecoming. The atmosphere was fantastic, the hatred brewing for a Hoosier team that stunned Iowa in a 31-27 upset last season. They are a scary team playing with plenty of motivation and heartbreak after the death of their coach Terry Hoeppner, trying to reach their 1st bowl game in many moons with a potent offense led by dual-threat QB Kellen Lewis and his favorite target, 6 foot 7 record breaking, Iowa killing stud James Hardy. But their defense was considered very average and Iowa hardly ever loses on Homecoming, especially to these perennial losers. Well lose we did; the Hawks got spanked in almost every facet of the game in an embarassing 38-20 defeat, a game in which the stats don't tell the true story of the Indiana domination. They came out the gate firing and it took a lucky break for us to get into the end zone, but by then we really had to battle back and it was too late, especially for our worn out defense. The Hoosiers struck fast with two huge plays by Hardy; one for a touchdown and one to set up a touchdown pass by Lewis, a pass where Lewis showed off his impressive improvisational skills. As if a 14-0 hole in which we couldn't move the ball past the 50 yard line wasn't bad enough, it was about to get worse. It looked like we finally got the big break we needed, forcing a fumble on their fullback, but somehow Lewis picked up the fumble and sprinted all the way down the sideline for a fluke touchdown. Things could not go against us anymore is this game, and Indiana was just catching all the lucky breaks in the world. Very tough and frustrating to stomach. But the Hawks showed life after a miraculous fluke of their own, a last second before the half Hail Mary that was deflected by multiple IU defenders and eventually caught by Trey Stross in the endzone. No matter how lucky we got, a touchdown is a touchdown and we got great momentum from this. It looks like a comeback might be within reach after a Brandon Myers touchdown catch, but our offense struggled to find consistency thanks to a poor running game, a plethora of bad throws by JC (even though he had 300 yards and 3 TDs), and major struggles in the kicking game. This lead to our defense being exhausted, and IU answered after that Myers' touchdown and just kept going from there, hitting us hard with the run and the pass and getting crucial 3rd down after crucial 3rd down. JC did throw another TD to DJK but the game was already in hand, and he really had a poor day throwing the ball. Sad to see Iowa regress in this one, especially at home, but no time to dwell on it as we traveled to Penn State next week to play at one of the toughest stadiums in college football, but one where we have had some recent success at. Penn State is a tough team with a great defense, considered a Big Ten title threat before the season but down on their luck after two tough consecutive losses to Michigan and Illinois in which their offense stalled and inconsistent QB Anthony Morelli failed to step up for them. Iowa has had great success against the Nittany Lions in the Kirk Ferentz era but this was an Iowa team playing very poorly on offense, failing to give our fantastic defense any help. This game ended up being one of the ugliest I have seen as a Hawkeye fan and the most painful game of the season, a 27-7 butt-kicking in which we failed to move the ball for 3 whole quarters. Offensive ineptitude was at a premium at the start, as both defenses made big plays, stuffing the run and forcing the respective QB's into bad decsions. Morelli got off to a horrible start and was getting booed by the fans, but all the consecutive three and outs by the Hawks were starting to wear on our defense and slowly Morelli started making good throws and getting his confidence up. A couple big throws and defensive breakdowns by freshman Brett Greenwood led to a 14-0 Penn State lead before we knew it; maybe this was the wake-up call we needed. It wasn't. We still weren't moving the ball, and Penn State's suspect running game started to roll as our defense, which is known for stuffing the run, just got pooped. Questionable and conservative play calling by Ferentz and by Ken O'Keefe also was frustrating, but the fact that the players couldn't execute was even more brutal. We even tried to run the clock out before the half with more than a minute to work with, and ended up having to punt, which led to PSU getting a 50+ yard field goal as time expired, taking a 17-0 lead to the half. THe 3rd quarter was more of the same, and the lead started to look insurmountable as offense seemed to be a term our Hawks just couldn't grasp. Our defense was playing as hard as they could but being on the field for so long was just wearing on them. Christensen couldn't complete a pass, our line couldn't block, and Albert Young couldn't run when the whole Lions' defense was expecting it. Eventually we put up a great drive in the 4th, leading me to wonder where that was the whole game. JC completed pass after pass, especially to Trey Stross, and ended up throwing a TD to Stross to make it a 20-7 game with about 7 minutes left. Amazingly, we still had hope. After a couple INTs on Morelli failed to turn into points, our hope vanished and Penn State put the finishing touches on their win with a late rushing touchdown. We played hard at the end, but only for one quarter and our offensive struggles were tough to witness and a disturbing trend for the rest of the season.
But little did anyone suspect that Iowa was about to turn their season around against arguably the hottest team in the nation, the 18th ranked Illinois Fighting Illini. Since this is the part of the season where Iowa actually started playing with some pride, I'll stop analyzing the negative and breifly go over big win after big win on Iowa's road to a bowl game and back to respectability. The Illini came into their game against Iowa at a rainy blackout-crowd at Kinnick with one of the hottest offenses around, a run-oriented spread option attack exectued with perfection by QB Juice Williams and unstoppable running back Rashad Mendenhall. If we could stop their variety of pitches and misdirection runs, then we had a very good chance to beat the Zooker and his squad because Juice and his iffy but talented backup Eddie McGee can't pass. Well stop them we did, with one of the best defensive performances of the past few years for the Hawks and a very efficient, ball-control attack from our offense to pull off the big upset and win 10-6, holding the Illini to 28 points less than their season average and shutting down Mendenhall and their running game. Our offense was far from stellar, but our running backs carried us, chewing up plenty of clock, while JC was an extremly effective game-manager and made all the big throws on third down, including a great throw to Brandon Myers for a TD. Mike Humpal was the man on defense, getting 18 tackles with a bunch of them for losses along with a forced fumble and a recovery. Brett Greenwood also came up with the game-saving interception when McGee and the Illini were driving late. Iowa missed various opportunities to put the game away for good, but questionable calls on penalties by Zook and turnovers by his squad kept them from taking advantage, and my Hawks got the much needed win.
One would think this would lead to a bevy of momentum for Iowa the rest of the way, but they came out flat the next week against a downtrodden Purdue team at Ross-Ade and ended up getting embarassed 31-6. The Hawkeyes hung in there for a while because of their defense, but our offense went back into Penn State mode again and boneheaded play-calling by Ken O'Keefe, who insisted on passing 40 times even after the success of our rushing attack the week before, and our defense got exhausted and started getting burned by Purdue's speedy wideouts. The main culprit here was Dorien Bryant, who got behind our corners all day and broke off big plays. Jake couldn't complete passes and we were eventually forced to turn away from Albert/Damian when we fell behind so much; our defense couldn't make the crucial stops because they were too tired once again and we eventually gave in and let the Boilermakers finish us off and end the offensive misery.
Once again like the Illinois win, no one could have seen it coming how the next game would play out, against Michigan State at Kinnick Stadium, especially after starting dead and being down 17-3 at halftime. It looked like it would be more of the same offensive struggles and defensive exhaustion. But the next half of Hawkeye football was one of the most enjoyable and exhilariting of my life. Albert Young went into beast mode, putting the other 10 guys on his back and carrying them like an ox to the 34-27 2OT victory. Albert ran as hard and as purposeful as I have ever seen him, making guys miss and breaking tackles like it was routine. He ended up with 180 yards and 2 touchdowns, all of them needed in the comeback. AY kept up the great running throughout the 3rd and early 4th, complimented well by the speedy Damian Sims. After we tied the game, our defense came up big with stops and some freshmen/backups proved how great they are right now and how great they are going to be someday, coming in for some injured Hawkeyes in a big way. Everyone from Adrian Clayborn racking up sacks to Bradley Fletcher nabbing 12 tackles to the usual from Mike Humpal, our defensive stars came up with all the big momentum-changing stops when we needed them too. MSU completed an amazing pass and ended up getting a field goal out of it to send the game into OT. By the way, JC only had 32 yards and 4 completions at this point of the game, so we were winning in spite of him, not because of him. But he would make one of the biggest plays of his career in the 1st OT, after MSU scored on a Jehuu Caulcrick run, when he hit speedster frosh Paul Chaney (who broke some tackles) for a great touchdown pass to send the game into the 2nd overtime. Albert Young immediately sprinted down to the 1 yard line before limping out with injuries, but Jevon Pugh punched it in for the TD. MSU tried to get a touchdown of their own to stay in the game, but amazingly a backup walk-on defensive back named Drew Gardner made the game saving tackle for the thrilling Iowa win! Great game and a win we really needed.
Quick recaps of the next two games now, at Northwestern and at home against Minnesota. Crazily, we started off sluggish against Northwestern just like the MSU game, giving them a 14-0 lead after our defense looked like it had never seen a pass before and JC struggling to make even routine throws. All Iowa fans know about the two painful defeats the undermanned Wilcats have laid on us the past two seasons, winning in the final seconds in '05 and embarassing us at Kinnick last season, so we were all hungry for a victory. Well the Hawkeyes did bounce back, but not necessarily because of the player you might think, Albert Young. Christensen had his best game of his young career, rebounding from his horrible 1st quarter to throw for 300 yards and a touchdown, making some great deep throws and moving us down the field at will. He could have had a few more TDs but Sims punched it for us twice at the goal line, with Albert Young getting another touchdown from 15 yards out. Our defense also shut down NU in the 2nd half and frustrated the hell out of CJ Bacher (the quarterback), who looked invincible at the beginning. We picked him off three times and put constant pressure on him, mainly from frosh Clayborn and Christian Ballard. So a great 2nd half effort and surprising offensive balance supplied by JC led to a 28-17 victory. Against Minnesota we jumped out to a 21-10 lead at the half, thanks to great running by Young and some sharp passes from JC, who had a bit of a fluke TD pass after it bounced off James Cleveland's fingers into the waiting hands of Brandon Myers. Keep in mind this game would put us at 6-5, bowl eligible, and we would get back the rivalry trophy known as the Floyd of Rosedale, a trophy the Gophers took back last year after we had it for 5 years straight. In the 2nd half, our offense totally died and odd play-calling (turning away from the success of the running game again) led to ZERO 2nd half points. JC didn't look as sharp and the potentially-potent Minne. offense made some big plays, especially in the passing game. Our defense made big stops, including a Fletcher interception, but late in the 4th they ended up getting a TD pass, making the score 21-16 before a potential 2-point conversion. Lucky for us, Greenwood picked it off and Cleveland recovered the onside kick and we held on for the big win. So while the Hawks haven't put up a complete game this year, getting 4 wins in their past 5 is huge considering where they were before and this has to be considered one of Kirk Ferentz's best coaching jobs of his career in keeping these young guys' heads up and their attitudes confident even with the horrible losing. One more game remains, at home for a date with Western Michigan on Senior Day. If we win we are 7-5 and for sure looking at a solid bowl game; a very different 7-5 then we were 2 years ago. Unfortunately for Hawk fans all across America, the horrible, the unexpected, the unimaginable happened; we got beat. By Western Michgian. On Senior Day, at home, playing for a bowl game. No 7-5 for us. Just an amazing loss, words can't even describe how bad this was for the program. Don't you think your football team has some problems if they come out totally flat and not prepared to play when a bowl game is on the line and it's the last game for your seniors at Kinnick, especially against a middling MAC team? WMU totally picked apart our vaunted defense through the air, jumping out to a 19-0 lead thanks to big pass play after big pass play. JC played all out of whack as he tried to get us back in the game through the air, while the coaches befuddled everyone who had an inch of sanity by turning away from our running game, as they have done too many times this season. Quote me as saying Damian Sims is the most underused Hawkeye player in Iowa history. Our boys actually battled back, with JC firing three TD passes to Trey Stross, Tom Busch, and Brandon Myers. But missed extra points (such an inconsistent kicking game this season) and the inability of our defense to make the key stops when we needed them hurt us, as we were down 25-19. We were actually driving with a chance at the end, incredible considering our lack of energy and the fact that we just showed up expecting WMU to bend over; of course, we couldn't be so lucky, fitting for this ultimately depressing season. JC threw behind a wide-open Stross, who bobbled the ball and was intercepted. This essentially ended the game as WMU drove down the field with ease and kicked the game-winning field goal. The Iowa football team has a lot of problems, on and off the field (especially), and this loss only brings it more to light. At 6-6, Iowa probably won't make a bowl game because so many Big Ten teams are eligible. Things could fall into place and we might make a lower-tier bowl as long as it's not during finals week, but it only hide our problems a little longer and would only really show how ridiculous it is to have so many bowl games. Some would say the seniors deserve it, that we need the extra practice, but a lot of things need to be looked at and evaluated, at least in my opinion. The inconsistency and lack of progress all year was disturbing. The young excuse can't work much longer, eventually we have to show more consistent improvement. I thought we were doing that with those last three games, but this loss could be a good thing because it takes that temporary mask off the team that everything was ok; it's not and the Iowa staff needs to see that and bring this program back to where it needs to be. Our seniors will be missed, especially Young and Sims, but almost everyone is coming back next year and if at least some improvements aren't made, than it is time for some people to go.