The Hawkeyes had some major issues in the first quarter as they failed to move the ball on offense and gave up some big chunks of yards on the ground. C.J. Beathard, making his first career start at QB struggled in the first quarter throwing a pick six that put the Hawkeyes down 7-0. Neither of the offenses could get anything going and that was the score at the end of the first.
On Purdue's first possession of the second quarter they started around midfield thanks to a nice punt return. On 3rd and 7 from the Iowa 16, Louis Trinca-Pasat was able to sack the QB and held Purdue to a field goal, their final score of the game. A 10 point deficit was nothing new to Beathard, as he faced the same situation the week before at Pittsburgh. A Jonathan Parker 47 yard kick return gave Iowa great field position and they cruised down the field with Mark Weisman capping the drive with a 2 yard score. Beathard had a nice 15 yard run.
Both teams traded three and outs and Iowa's defense held Purdue to another three and out giving Iowa the ball back with 3:48 to go starting at the 12. A nice 34 yard reception from Parker set up the Hawkeyes in Purdue territory. A few plays later, facing a third and 18, Beathard hit Jacob Hillyer for a 17 yard gain. Weisman then ran for five on fourth down setting Iowa up at the 16. A couple of drops killed the momentum and Iowa settled for a Marshall Koehn field goal to knot it up at 10.
Iowa defense started the second half the way they played last week in the second half. Nate Meier and Carl Davis teamed up for a sack and third down forcing another three and out. Unfortunately, Iowa couldn't do anything with the ball as they were plagued with yet another drop on third down. Iowa defense forced another three and out before taking over at the nine. Beathard, facing a third and nine situation at the 10, ran for 17 yards picking up a huge first down, and giving the Hawkeyes some room. A couple of plays later he hit Kevonte Martin-Manley for a nice 17 yard gain converting another third down. Iowa managed to march down to the Purdue eight yard line where they faced a fourth and three, they elected to go for it, but Beathard's throw to KMM was off the mark. Purdue's drive started at the eight and they were able to get their first first down of the half, but couldn't anything more than that. Iowa's defense held again. Iowa started at the 29 after Riley McCarron's 27th fair catch of the game. Tevaun Smith, who had been nursing an injury, gave the Hawkeyes a spark with a 27 yard pick up down to the Purdue 32. Jordan Canzeri followed that up with a 14 yard run. Two plays later Beathard hit KMM for a touchdown and Iowa's first lead 17-10. Purdue ran two plays before the quarter ran out.
Purdue started the fourth with a first down, but once again stalled out so they could watch McCarron fair catch a punt. Iowa couldn't do anything with their next drive with another three and out. Purdue started at their 42, excellent field position and a chance to get back in the game. QB Danny Etling fumbled on the first play before recovering it, but put them in a 2nd and long situation. Two incomplete passes later we watch McCarron fair catch a punt. The next drive saw a nice dose of Canzeri and Weisman and even had a seven yard run by LeShun Daniels, who we hadn't seen in a couple of weeks. Beathard only needed two passes on the drive, but they were 16 and 18 yards respectively. Weisman capped it off with a five yard run into the end zone. Iowa now had a pretty comfortable 24-10 lead. Purdue's next drive started with another Etling incompletion before throwing an interception to John Lowdermilk. The Lowdermilk return set Iowa up around midfield with 4:44 to go. Beathard hit Damond Powell on a nice 46 yard strike down to the five yard line, but the Hawkeyes couldn't punch it in and once again went for it on fourth down and they were stopped. Still 24-10, could have 30-10 or 27-10, but not much time for Purdue, I'm sure Ferentz felt pretty good about the defense shutting them down. Purdue brought in backup QB Austin Appleby who was able to get a couple of first downs and got Purdue to the 28. Lowdermilk once again stepped in front of a pass for his second interception. He could have had a chance to run it in for a score, but kneeled, which I thought was pretty classy. The final score was 24-10, but Iowa dominated Purdue in the second half. The defense was very sharp, they picked up four sacks on the day.
Early on it looked like Purdue was going to be able to run all over the Hawkeyes as Akeem Hunt had some nice gains, but they really stepped up later in the game. Purdue's QB had an awful day, the secondary wasn't leaving anyone open and the DL did a nice job. The "Raider Package" really has been a nice touch to the defense the last couple of weeks confusing the offense and forcing the QB to get rid of the ball quickly. I think Phil Parker has done a fantastic job making adjustments the past two weeks.
QB: C.J. Beathard came out sluggish in his first career start. The offense didn't quite have the swagger they did in the second half against Pittsburgh. Beathard ended up having a nice game, but his 17 for 37 wasn't his fault at all. The receivers dropped at least seven or eight passes, which could have put him at 24 for 37, which looks way better. He did throw a pick six early on, but after the first quarter, Iowa had over 400 yards of offense. Overall, not the best game by Beathard, but he's got a nice arm and some decent wheels, had some nice designed run plays. I think he's going to be a pretty solid QB.
RB: No Damon Bullock, he was out with an injury, but Weisman and Canzeri had no problem carrying the load. I really like the Canzeri-Weisman combo, two different styles. We also got to see Daniels and Parker a bit, which could be the Canzeri-Weisman combo in a couple of years. Parker had a nice catch and run, he could be a good playmaker. Also had a great kick return.
FB: John Kenny has done a solid job playing fullback for the first time. I usually don't watch the fullback, but it didn't appear that he made any mistakes that I saw.
WR: This was one of the worst games for this group, drop after drop just killing drives left and right. Each of the WRs seemed to have a decent gain in the game at least despite the drops. KMM, Powell, Smith and Hillyer all had a nice gain or two, but they really need to catch the ball.
TE: A couple of drops by these guys, too, and when they did catch the ball they didn't gain many yards. Not a great day for the TEs.
OL: It seemed like the OL struggled, Jordan Walsh in particular in the first half. I noticed on the play-by-play chart that Mitch Keppy was called for a false start in the second half, I didn't even notice he was in the game.
DL: These guys came up big again in the second half. I love watching Louis Trinca-Pasat, that guy gets after it. Nate Meier had a nice game, too, the undersized DE was in on a couple of sacks. They really played well after the first quarter.
LB: This group stepped up after the first quarter as well, doing a nice job against the pass and the run. Josey Jewell picked up a sack on a blitz early in the game. I love how Bo Bower plays, he's got a lot of energy. I saw Ben Niemann in there as well for a bit. They keep getting better each week.
DB: I think this was probably the best game the secondary has played thus far. I can't remember the last time I saw a team complete a pass to receiver that was covered by Desmond King. Greg Mabin has really stepped up and John Lowdermilk was all over the place. This young group is getting better every week, too.
ST: Dillon Kidd has had some bad punts, it might be time to bring Kornbrath back in and see what he can do. Koehn is killing it on kick offs, which is great. McCarron needs to try to return a punt of two, I like Parker at kick return.
The Hawkeyes sit at 1-0 in the conference and 4-1 overall. They'll have a bye week this week before their home game with Indiana. Indiana will be a nice test for the Hawkeyes with their high-powered offense.
Monday, September 29, 2014
WEEK 6 PREDICTIONS AND TOP 25
Another week of college football down and there are, by my count, 17 undefeated teams left. Florida State survived another scare this weekend, Arkansas nearly knocked off A&M and UCLA crushed Arizona State.
Here's my new top 25 for the week
1-Oklahoma
2-Oregon
3-Alabama
4-Baylor
5-Texas A&M nearly lost to Arkansas, but found a way to win
6-Auburn
7-Florida State NC State had them early, but the Seminoles pulled it off
8-Notre Dame
9-Ole Miss
10-Michigan State
11-Georgia had a hard time putting away Tennessee
12-UCLA killed ASU
13-TCU
14-Stanford nice win over Washington
15-Ohio State crushed Cincy
16-LSU
17-BYU
18-Wisconsin had some issues in the first half before pulling away against USF
19-USC
20-Mississippi State
21-Nebraska starting to look good
22-East Carolina
23-Arizona State
24-Georgia Tech
25-South Carolina already two losses at home this year
Heisman Watch
I forgot to include Everett Golson on last week's Heisman Watch, he's definitely on this one.
QBs
Bryce Petty - Baylor
Shane Carden - East Carolina
Anu Solomon - Arizona
Brett Hundley - UCLA
Marcus Mariota - Oregon
Cody Kessler - USC
Jared Goff - California
Kenny Hill - Texas A&M
Blake Sims - Alabama
Everett Golson - Notre Dame
Others to Watch: Jameis Winston - Florida State, Clint Trickett - West Virginia, Kevin Hogan - Stanford, Dak Prescott - Mississippi State, Rakeem Cato - Marshall, Taysom Hill - BYU, Nick Marshall - Auburn
RBs
James Conner - Pittsburgh
David Cobb - Minnesota
Ameer Abdullah - Nebraska
Melvin Gordon - Wisconsin
Tevin Coleman - Indiana
D.J. Foster - Arizona State
Alex Collins - Arkansas
Todd Gurley - Georgia
Others to Watch: Cameron Artis-Payne - Auburn, Josh Robinson - Mississippi State, Jonathan Williams - Arkansas, Devon Johnson - Marshall
WRs
Rashad Greene - Florida State
Kevin White - West Virginia
Leonte Carroo - Rutgers
Nelson Spruce - Colorado
Amari Cooper - Alabama
Others to Watch: KD Cannon - Baylor, Sterling Shepard - Oklahoma, Bradley Marquez - Texas Tech, Tony Lippett - Michigan State, Travin Dural - LSU
PREDICTIONS
Last week I was 8-3 which puts me at 31-17 now for the season! This week has some great games and should shake up the top 25 a bit.
This week:
Iowa State at Oklahoma State: The first college football game I ever went to was Oklahoma State at Iowa State in 1991, it ended in a 6-6 tie. Worst game I've ever seen! This one should be a fun one, Ok State is solid, Iowa State has a brutal schedule but they're not as bad as I expected. I'll be in Oklahoma City performing this week, I thought about maybe going to Stillwater to see this one.
Oklahoma State 42 Iowa State 28
Nebraska at Michigan State: Nebraska is on a roll the last two weeks with Heisman candidate Ameer Adbullah! Michigan State has been rolling since their loss to Oregon. Should be a great one.
Michigan State 27 Nebraska 21
Arizona at Oregon: Arizona had a week off after their hail mary against Cal, Oregon had a week off after barely beating Washington State.
Oregon 45 Arizona 34
Texas A&M at Mississippi State: This is going to be a good one, both teams undefeated, two of the best QBs in the nation.
Texas A&M 38 Mississippi State 28
Alabama at Ole Miss: Can Ole Miss pull off the upset? Wallace is going to have a great game and not have a slow start like he did against Boise.
Ole Miss 28 Alabama 24
Oklahoma at TCU: I like TCU, but I don't know if I like them against Oklahoma.
Oklahoma 42 TCU 27
Stanford at Notre Dame: Notre Dame just keeps rolling, which has been a surprise. Stanford already has a loss and a close call, could give them some edge.
Stanford 24 Notre Dame 21
New Mexico at UTSA: The Lobos lost a tough homecoming game against Fresno, but their freshmen QB, Lamar Jordan has some skills. UTSA hung with Arizona earlier this year and they won at New Mexico last year.
New Mexico 34 UTSA 31
LSU at Auburn: LSU turned the ball over four times against New Mexico State, but won 63-7, they won't be able to do that against Auburn.
Auburn 35 LSU 21
Arizona State at USC: ASU was beaten badly by UCLA and USC looked sharp against Oregon State.
USC 45 Arizona State 31
Here's my new top 25 for the week
1-Oklahoma
2-Oregon
3-Alabama
4-Baylor
5-Texas A&M nearly lost to Arkansas, but found a way to win
6-Auburn
7-Florida State NC State had them early, but the Seminoles pulled it off
8-Notre Dame
9-Ole Miss
10-Michigan State
11-Georgia had a hard time putting away Tennessee
12-UCLA killed ASU
13-TCU
14-Stanford nice win over Washington
15-Ohio State crushed Cincy
16-LSU
17-BYU
18-Wisconsin had some issues in the first half before pulling away against USF
19-USC
20-Mississippi State
21-Nebraska starting to look good
22-East Carolina
23-Arizona State
24-Georgia Tech
25-South Carolina already two losses at home this year
Heisman Watch
I forgot to include Everett Golson on last week's Heisman Watch, he's definitely on this one.
QBs
Bryce Petty - Baylor
Shane Carden - East Carolina
Anu Solomon - Arizona
Brett Hundley - UCLA
Marcus Mariota - Oregon
Cody Kessler - USC
Jared Goff - California
Kenny Hill - Texas A&M
Blake Sims - Alabama
Everett Golson - Notre Dame
Others to Watch: Jameis Winston - Florida State, Clint Trickett - West Virginia, Kevin Hogan - Stanford, Dak Prescott - Mississippi State, Rakeem Cato - Marshall, Taysom Hill - BYU, Nick Marshall - Auburn
RBs
James Conner - Pittsburgh
David Cobb - Minnesota
Ameer Abdullah - Nebraska
Melvin Gordon - Wisconsin
Tevin Coleman - Indiana
D.J. Foster - Arizona State
Alex Collins - Arkansas
Todd Gurley - Georgia
Others to Watch: Cameron Artis-Payne - Auburn, Josh Robinson - Mississippi State, Jonathan Williams - Arkansas, Devon Johnson - Marshall
WRs
Rashad Greene - Florida State
Kevin White - West Virginia
Leonte Carroo - Rutgers
Nelson Spruce - Colorado
Amari Cooper - Alabama
Others to Watch: KD Cannon - Baylor, Sterling Shepard - Oklahoma, Bradley Marquez - Texas Tech, Tony Lippett - Michigan State, Travin Dural - LSU
PREDICTIONS
Last week I was 8-3 which puts me at 31-17 now for the season! This week has some great games and should shake up the top 25 a bit.
This week:
Iowa State at Oklahoma State: The first college football game I ever went to was Oklahoma State at Iowa State in 1991, it ended in a 6-6 tie. Worst game I've ever seen! This one should be a fun one, Ok State is solid, Iowa State has a brutal schedule but they're not as bad as I expected. I'll be in Oklahoma City performing this week, I thought about maybe going to Stillwater to see this one.
Oklahoma State 42 Iowa State 28
Nebraska at Michigan State: Nebraska is on a roll the last two weeks with Heisman candidate Ameer Adbullah! Michigan State has been rolling since their loss to Oregon. Should be a great one.
Michigan State 27 Nebraska 21
Arizona at Oregon: Arizona had a week off after their hail mary against Cal, Oregon had a week off after barely beating Washington State.
Oregon 45 Arizona 34
Texas A&M at Mississippi State: This is going to be a good one, both teams undefeated, two of the best QBs in the nation.
Texas A&M 38 Mississippi State 28
Alabama at Ole Miss: Can Ole Miss pull off the upset? Wallace is going to have a great game and not have a slow start like he did against Boise.
Ole Miss 28 Alabama 24
Oklahoma at TCU: I like TCU, but I don't know if I like them against Oklahoma.
Oklahoma 42 TCU 27
Stanford at Notre Dame: Notre Dame just keeps rolling, which has been a surprise. Stanford already has a loss and a close call, could give them some edge.
Stanford 24 Notre Dame 21
New Mexico at UTSA: The Lobos lost a tough homecoming game against Fresno, but their freshmen QB, Lamar Jordan has some skills. UTSA hung with Arizona earlier this year and they won at New Mexico last year.
New Mexico 34 UTSA 31
LSU at Auburn: LSU turned the ball over four times against New Mexico State, but won 63-7, they won't be able to do that against Auburn.
Auburn 35 LSU 21
Arizona State at USC: ASU was beaten badly by UCLA and USC looked sharp against Oregon State.
USC 45 Arizona State 31
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
WEEK 5 PREDICTIONS AND TOP 25
Another crazy week of college football is in the books and week five looks to have some great games as well. Last week we saw a few teams score 70 plus, LSU lost to Mississippi State at home, Oregon had a scare at Washington State, and Auburn won at Kansas State. Clemson choked against Florida State, too, that one went to O.T. And Arizona beat Cal with a hail mary scoring 36 in the fourth quarter!
TOP 25
1-Oklahoma
2-Oregon
3-Alabama
4-Baylor
5-Texas A&M
6-Auburn
7-Florida State
8-Notre Dame
9-Ole Miss
10-Michigan State
11-Arizona State
12-South Carolina
13-Georgia
14-TCU
15-UCLA
16-Stanford
17-Ohio State
18-LSU
19-BYU
20-Wisconsin
21-USC
22-Mississippi State
23-Nebraska
24-East Carolina
25-Penn State
PREDICTIONS
Last week was tough for predictions, I went 6-4, putting me at 23-14 for the season. Here are my predictions for this week.
Iowa at Purdue: Iowa's offense finally looked alive in the second half against Pitt and they should be able to keep that momentum against Purdue.
Iowa 31 Purdue 17
Baylor at Iowa State: Both teams had a week off, Baylor's high-powered offense travels to Ames.
Baylor 56 Iowa State 21
Fresno State at New Mexico: Both teams finally got their first wins of the season last week, both teams need a lot of work on defense. This should be a shootout.
Fresno State 49 New Mexico 42
Texas Tech at Oklahoma State: This should be a good matchup, Tech is coming off of a loss to Arkansas and they're looking to bounce back. Ok State has been tough thus far.
Oklahoma State 38 Texas Tech 34
UCLA at Arizona State: This game is a huge for the division, winner will have an easier shot at the championship game.
Arizona State 34 UCLA 27
Maryland at Indiana: This is going to be another high scoring game, can Maryland win their first Big Ten game?
Indiana 45 Maryland 34
Stanford at Washington: Stanford needs a win if they want to contend for a conference title. Washington is unbeaten, but they haven't really won convincingly in games that they should have.
Stanford 28 Washington 17
Cincinnati at Ohio State: Cincinnati has only played two games, but they won both behind the arm of Gunner Kiel. Will he be able to give the Buckeyes some troubles? This one could be close.
Ohio State 28 Cincinnati 27
Missouri at South Carolina: Loser of this game will have two losses and will most likely be out of any playoff contention.
South Carolina 34 Missouri 21
Duke at Miami: Duke is 4-0, Miami is 2-2 with a loss in conference already. The Canes need to bounce back quickly.
Miami 31 Duke 28
Oregon State at USC: This is a tough one to predict, USC had a huge win against Stanford and then they lost to Boston College.
USC 31 Oregon State 24
HEISMAN WATCH
I think it's pointless to do a Heisman watch too early in the season, and even at this point it might be too early. But, here's a look at some players who might be in contention.
QBs
Shane Carden E. Car 1,469-11-3
Anu Solomon Arizona 1,454-13-3 1,621 total offense
Marcus Mariota Oregon 1,135-13-0 1,349 total offense
Cody Kessler USC 846-8-0
Kenny Hill Texas A&M 1,359-13-1 1,465 total offense
Taysom Hill BYU 876-6-3 1,300 total offense
RBs
James Conner Pitt 699-9
Ameer Adbullah Nebraska 625-5 848 ap yds
Tevin Coleman Indiana 569-6 664 ap yds
Melvin Gordon Wisconsin 431-6
D.J. Foster ASU 510-5 649 ap yds
Todd Gurley Georgia 402-4 501 ap yds
WRs
Rashad Greene FSU 24-418-2
KD Cannon Baylor 14-471-5
Kevin White W.V. 42-633-3
Bradley Marquez Tex Tech 18-251-5
Nelson Spruce Colorado 37-518-7
Amari Cooper Alabama 43-655-5
Travin Dural LSU 18-494-4
TOP 25
1-Oklahoma
2-Oregon
3-Alabama
4-Baylor
5-Texas A&M
6-Auburn
7-Florida State
8-Notre Dame
9-Ole Miss
10-Michigan State
11-Arizona State
12-South Carolina
13-Georgia
14-TCU
15-UCLA
16-Stanford
17-Ohio State
18-LSU
19-BYU
20-Wisconsin
21-USC
22-Mississippi State
23-Nebraska
24-East Carolina
25-Penn State
PREDICTIONS
Last week was tough for predictions, I went 6-4, putting me at 23-14 for the season. Here are my predictions for this week.
Iowa at Purdue: Iowa's offense finally looked alive in the second half against Pitt and they should be able to keep that momentum against Purdue.
Iowa 31 Purdue 17
Baylor at Iowa State: Both teams had a week off, Baylor's high-powered offense travels to Ames.
Baylor 56 Iowa State 21
Fresno State at New Mexico: Both teams finally got their first wins of the season last week, both teams need a lot of work on defense. This should be a shootout.
Fresno State 49 New Mexico 42
Texas Tech at Oklahoma State: This should be a good matchup, Tech is coming off of a loss to Arkansas and they're looking to bounce back. Ok State has been tough thus far.
Oklahoma State 38 Texas Tech 34
UCLA at Arizona State: This game is a huge for the division, winner will have an easier shot at the championship game.
Arizona State 34 UCLA 27
Maryland at Indiana: This is going to be another high scoring game, can Maryland win their first Big Ten game?
Indiana 45 Maryland 34
Stanford at Washington: Stanford needs a win if they want to contend for a conference title. Washington is unbeaten, but they haven't really won convincingly in games that they should have.
Stanford 28 Washington 17
Cincinnati at Ohio State: Cincinnati has only played two games, but they won both behind the arm of Gunner Kiel. Will he be able to give the Buckeyes some troubles? This one could be close.
Ohio State 28 Cincinnati 27
Missouri at South Carolina: Loser of this game will have two losses and will most likely be out of any playoff contention.
South Carolina 34 Missouri 21
Duke at Miami: Duke is 4-0, Miami is 2-2 with a loss in conference already. The Canes need to bounce back quickly.
Miami 31 Duke 28
Oregon State at USC: This is a tough one to predict, USC had a huge win against Stanford and then they lost to Boston College.
USC 31 Oregon State 24
HEISMAN WATCH
I think it's pointless to do a Heisman watch too early in the season, and even at this point it might be too early. But, here's a look at some players who might be in contention.
QBs
Shane Carden E. Car 1,469-11-3
Anu Solomon Arizona 1,454-13-3 1,621 total offense
Marcus Mariota Oregon 1,135-13-0 1,349 total offense
Cody Kessler USC 846-8-0
Kenny Hill Texas A&M 1,359-13-1 1,465 total offense
Taysom Hill BYU 876-6-3 1,300 total offense
RBs
James Conner Pitt 699-9
Ameer Adbullah Nebraska 625-5 848 ap yds
Tevin Coleman Indiana 569-6 664 ap yds
Melvin Gordon Wisconsin 431-6
D.J. Foster ASU 510-5 649 ap yds
Todd Gurley Georgia 402-4 501 ap yds
WRs
Rashad Greene FSU 24-418-2
KD Cannon Baylor 14-471-5
Kevin White W.V. 42-633-3
Bradley Marquez Tex Tech 18-251-5
Nelson Spruce Colorado 37-518-7
Amari Cooper Alabama 43-655-5
Travin Dural LSU 18-494-4
Monday, September 22, 2014
Iowa 24 Pittsburgh 20
Another Iowa game that came down to the final minute, and they pulled it off on the road winning 24-20 against a previously undefeated Pittsburgh team. Iowa now improves to 3-1 with Big Ten play starting next week at Purdue. It was a tale of two halves, much like the Iowa State game, but the first half belonged to Pitt, second half to Iowa.
1st Quarter
The game started off with Iowa picking up a first down on a third down conversion, then QB Jake Rudock went deep to Damond Powell, who couldn't hang on to the ball and it was picked off by Lafayette Pitts. Pitt went to their bruising running back, James Conner, his first run went for 21 yards. The Hawks D ended up stopping them on third to get the ball back. On the next drive Rudock hit Tevaun Smith for a nice first down, but misfired on a couple of throws and had to punt it away. Pitt used the run on the next drive and Iowa struggled as Pitt scored the first td of the game going up 7-0. Iowa was able to strike back on their next possession as Rudock hit Matt VandeBerg for a nice 44 yard gain which set up a td pass to TE Henry Krieger-Coble. 7-7 game.
2nd Quarter
On Pitt's next possession they used another healthy dose of Conner, he ran 11 times, including a 1 yard touchdown which put Pitt up 14-7. The drive chewed up nearly 10 minutes of clock. Iowa was able to pick up a first down on their next drive after a couple of Mark Weisman runs, but the drive stalled out before Dillon Kidd's booming punt inside the 20. Pitt's QB Voytik connected on 7 of 8 passes on the next drive and led them to a field goal right before the half. Pitt had the lead 17-7, and it was looking like it was going to be a long day for the Hawkeyes. In their last four quarters of football they have scored 10 points.
3rd Quarter
Pitt started the second half with the ball and Conner, who had 100 yards in the first half, ran for 24 on the first play and 8 on the second. The defense stepped up and stopped them and forced a punt which was downed at the 6. C.J. Beathard came in at QB for a dinged up Rudock, and provided a much needed spark for the Hawkeyes. It seemed that the team was more fired up at this point. Weisman picked up 7 yards on a couple carries and Beathard hit Kevonte Martin-Manley on third down to move the chains and get some breathing room. On the next play Beathard tossed one downfield to Powell, who made an amazing one-handed grab for a 62 yard gain, which immediately sparked a QB controversy. The Hawkeyes used three straight runs and Weisman was easily able to march into the end zone for a score. Pitt 17 Iowa 14. Pitt started their next drive with a huge pass to Tyler Boyd, one of the top WRs in the country. Pitt had a third and 8 at the Iowa 34 when Desmond King was called for a personal foul on a really horrible call, I really have no idea how they called it, but it set up Pitt at the 19 with a first down. Iowa held them to a field goal. Pitt 20 Iowa 14. Beathard came back out and guided the team down to Pitt territory, but on third and 9 they called a run play to Damon Bullock. Why? I don't know, it set up a 52 yard field goal attempt for Marshall Koehn, and he drilled it! Pitt 20 Iowa 17. The quarter ended with Pitt struggling to move the ball.
4th Quarter
Pitt couldn't convert on a third and 17 and punted away to Iowa and gave them great field position around midfield. The first play was a pass interference on Pitt to set up Iowa at the Pitt 37. Beathard led the Hawks to the 15, but faced a fourth down and 1 situation. They decided to go for it and Beathard picked up the first down on a QB sneak. A few plays later they faced the same situation at the four yard line and Weisman ran for three. Two plays later Weisman ran in for his second score of the day. Iowa 24 Pitt 20. Pitt picked up a few first downs on their next drive, but Iowa was really shutting down Conner, he ran five times for 14 yards on the series. Pitt had a fourth and 10 at the Iowa 29 and decided to go for it, the pass was incomplete! At that point it seemed like a sure victory for Iowa, they had the ball at the 29 with 1:37 left. The first play Weisman rumbled for 19 yards, definitely felt pretty good right then. Pitt shut Iowa down on the next runs to set up a fourth down and some time for Pitt. With 25 seconds left Pitt started at the 20. Voytik hit Boyd for a 16 yard gain and a 15 yard gain setting them up at midfield. I'll admit I was a little nervous at this point, especially with Boyd out there and a pretty young Iowa secondary. Anthony Gair, making his first career start, made an interception on Voytik's next pass and secured Iowa's come from behind victory!
Iowa scored 17 points in the second half, and the defense did a really nice job shutting down Conner. We saw a lot of the Raider Package also, and I think they did a nice job throwing off Pitt's rhythm. I hope Iowa can keep the momentum going heading into their road tilt with Purdue to start the conference season next week.
QBs: Rudock I thought was doing a nice job, he missed on a couple of throw and ended up 5 for 10 with 80 yards and a td. Beathard came in and completed 7 of 8 for 98 yards and ran a couple times for five yards as well. I thought C.J. provided a much needed spark for the offense.
RBs: Weisman really had a solid game picking up 88 yards on 22 carries, not eye-popping numbers, but a good showing for an Iowa team that has struggled running the ball. Jordan Canzeri had 8 carries for 23, Bullock had 2 for 3 and Powell ran one for 14, which was a pass from Beathard, but considered a run since the ball was thrown behind him. Would be nice to see LeShun Daniels again.
FBs: John Kenny did another nice job in his second game as a fullback, they mentioned he hadn't played offense since middle school.
WRs: VandeBerg and Powell were the standouts, each had one catch, but combined for 106 yards. KMM had 2 for 11, Smith 1 for 14 and Hillyer 1 for 3. Since Pitt chewed up so much clock, Iowa only ran 53 plays, only 18 were passes.
TEs: Henry Krieger-Coble had a nice touchdown reception and Jake Duzey and Ray Hamilton each got in the action, Duzey 2 for 11 and Hamilton's catch went for 10 yards.
OL: The OL played very well in the second half and didn't give up a sack all game. Brandon Scherff had a beautiful pancake block picking up a blitz. I think the OL is starting to come together.
DL: The DL looked awful in that first half allowing Conner to go for 100 yards, they look worn down. The second half was much different, there was a lot of subbing, I saw Faith Ekakitie and Jaleel Johnson in there a lot. It's nice to have some good depth at DT.
LBs: The linebackers missed some tackles, but overall I think they did ok. Reggie Spearman got hurt and Josey Jewell playing in his second career game did pretty well in relief. I think this group is starting to come together.
DBs: Gair started in place of Jordan Lomax, who had to sit out after the targeting call against Iowa State. Gair seemed to do a pretty solid job in the first half, and of course, had the big pick at the end of the game to seal the win. Maurice Fleming also started for the first time at CB, but got dinged up a bit. Greg Mabin was able to come back in, he struggled a bit, but also made some nice plays. He was matched up with Boyd, who ended up with 10 catches. Desmond King made some great tackles, too. I think the secondary is coming together and getting some youngsters some much needed experience.
STs: Koehn hit a big 52 yard field goal, he's really got a strong leg and does great on kickoffs. Kidd had a nice 51 yard punt and did a solid job. Riley McCarron had a nice 8 yard punt return, Jonathan Parker had a 22 yard kick return and Powell was in on kick return, he had a 9 yard return after bobbling the ball.
I think Iowa should stick with Beathard at QB for next week's Purdue game. He provides a nice spark for the team and it seemed like there was a lot more energy on the field and sideline, something we really hadn't seen all year. I like Rudock, too, but I just think Beathard is a little better. He's got a better arm, and looks much better than he did last year. Last year it seemed like he was just trying to showcase how strong his arm was and missed out on a few completions because the receivers couldn't hold on. This year he looks much more comfortable and could be a very good QB. Rudock did look good throwing the long ball against Pitt, too. It's not a bad thing having two QBs that can play. Beathard has five series' under his belt and Iowa scored 17 points when he's in. Next week the Hawkeyes play at Purdue, which should be an easy win, I think Purdue is the weakest team on the schedule. This should be a good game for Iowa to pick up the ground game again and let C.J. settle in as the starter. Hopefully the defense will play like they did in the second half as well, I think this one could be a blowout like last year. Iowa hasn't had a 100 yard rusher since the Purdue game last year, and I think they'll have one in this game, probably Weisman.
Hats off to Pittsburgh, I think they have a solid team, especially with Conner and Boyd. The QB will get better with experience, but I think they can contend in their division this year, they have a favorable schedule. I really like the Iowa-Pitt series, they've always been great games. Pitt returns to Kinnick next year.
1st Quarter
The game started off with Iowa picking up a first down on a third down conversion, then QB Jake Rudock went deep to Damond Powell, who couldn't hang on to the ball and it was picked off by Lafayette Pitts. Pitt went to their bruising running back, James Conner, his first run went for 21 yards. The Hawks D ended up stopping them on third to get the ball back. On the next drive Rudock hit Tevaun Smith for a nice first down, but misfired on a couple of throws and had to punt it away. Pitt used the run on the next drive and Iowa struggled as Pitt scored the first td of the game going up 7-0. Iowa was able to strike back on their next possession as Rudock hit Matt VandeBerg for a nice 44 yard gain which set up a td pass to TE Henry Krieger-Coble. 7-7 game.
2nd Quarter
On Pitt's next possession they used another healthy dose of Conner, he ran 11 times, including a 1 yard touchdown which put Pitt up 14-7. The drive chewed up nearly 10 minutes of clock. Iowa was able to pick up a first down on their next drive after a couple of Mark Weisman runs, but the drive stalled out before Dillon Kidd's booming punt inside the 20. Pitt's QB Voytik connected on 7 of 8 passes on the next drive and led them to a field goal right before the half. Pitt had the lead 17-7, and it was looking like it was going to be a long day for the Hawkeyes. In their last four quarters of football they have scored 10 points.
3rd Quarter
Pitt started the second half with the ball and Conner, who had 100 yards in the first half, ran for 24 on the first play and 8 on the second. The defense stepped up and stopped them and forced a punt which was downed at the 6. C.J. Beathard came in at QB for a dinged up Rudock, and provided a much needed spark for the Hawkeyes. It seemed that the team was more fired up at this point. Weisman picked up 7 yards on a couple carries and Beathard hit Kevonte Martin-Manley on third down to move the chains and get some breathing room. On the next play Beathard tossed one downfield to Powell, who made an amazing one-handed grab for a 62 yard gain, which immediately sparked a QB controversy. The Hawkeyes used three straight runs and Weisman was easily able to march into the end zone for a score. Pitt 17 Iowa 14. Pitt started their next drive with a huge pass to Tyler Boyd, one of the top WRs in the country. Pitt had a third and 8 at the Iowa 34 when Desmond King was called for a personal foul on a really horrible call, I really have no idea how they called it, but it set up Pitt at the 19 with a first down. Iowa held them to a field goal. Pitt 20 Iowa 14. Beathard came back out and guided the team down to Pitt territory, but on third and 9 they called a run play to Damon Bullock. Why? I don't know, it set up a 52 yard field goal attempt for Marshall Koehn, and he drilled it! Pitt 20 Iowa 17. The quarter ended with Pitt struggling to move the ball.
4th Quarter
Pitt couldn't convert on a third and 17 and punted away to Iowa and gave them great field position around midfield. The first play was a pass interference on Pitt to set up Iowa at the Pitt 37. Beathard led the Hawks to the 15, but faced a fourth down and 1 situation. They decided to go for it and Beathard picked up the first down on a QB sneak. A few plays later they faced the same situation at the four yard line and Weisman ran for three. Two plays later Weisman ran in for his second score of the day. Iowa 24 Pitt 20. Pitt picked up a few first downs on their next drive, but Iowa was really shutting down Conner, he ran five times for 14 yards on the series. Pitt had a fourth and 10 at the Iowa 29 and decided to go for it, the pass was incomplete! At that point it seemed like a sure victory for Iowa, they had the ball at the 29 with 1:37 left. The first play Weisman rumbled for 19 yards, definitely felt pretty good right then. Pitt shut Iowa down on the next runs to set up a fourth down and some time for Pitt. With 25 seconds left Pitt started at the 20. Voytik hit Boyd for a 16 yard gain and a 15 yard gain setting them up at midfield. I'll admit I was a little nervous at this point, especially with Boyd out there and a pretty young Iowa secondary. Anthony Gair, making his first career start, made an interception on Voytik's next pass and secured Iowa's come from behind victory!
Iowa scored 17 points in the second half, and the defense did a really nice job shutting down Conner. We saw a lot of the Raider Package also, and I think they did a nice job throwing off Pitt's rhythm. I hope Iowa can keep the momentum going heading into their road tilt with Purdue to start the conference season next week.
QBs: Rudock I thought was doing a nice job, he missed on a couple of throw and ended up 5 for 10 with 80 yards and a td. Beathard came in and completed 7 of 8 for 98 yards and ran a couple times for five yards as well. I thought C.J. provided a much needed spark for the offense.
RBs: Weisman really had a solid game picking up 88 yards on 22 carries, not eye-popping numbers, but a good showing for an Iowa team that has struggled running the ball. Jordan Canzeri had 8 carries for 23, Bullock had 2 for 3 and Powell ran one for 14, which was a pass from Beathard, but considered a run since the ball was thrown behind him. Would be nice to see LeShun Daniels again.
FBs: John Kenny did another nice job in his second game as a fullback, they mentioned he hadn't played offense since middle school.
WRs: VandeBerg and Powell were the standouts, each had one catch, but combined for 106 yards. KMM had 2 for 11, Smith 1 for 14 and Hillyer 1 for 3. Since Pitt chewed up so much clock, Iowa only ran 53 plays, only 18 were passes.
TEs: Henry Krieger-Coble had a nice touchdown reception and Jake Duzey and Ray Hamilton each got in the action, Duzey 2 for 11 and Hamilton's catch went for 10 yards.
OL: The OL played very well in the second half and didn't give up a sack all game. Brandon Scherff had a beautiful pancake block picking up a blitz. I think the OL is starting to come together.
DL: The DL looked awful in that first half allowing Conner to go for 100 yards, they look worn down. The second half was much different, there was a lot of subbing, I saw Faith Ekakitie and Jaleel Johnson in there a lot. It's nice to have some good depth at DT.
LBs: The linebackers missed some tackles, but overall I think they did ok. Reggie Spearman got hurt and Josey Jewell playing in his second career game did pretty well in relief. I think this group is starting to come together.
DBs: Gair started in place of Jordan Lomax, who had to sit out after the targeting call against Iowa State. Gair seemed to do a pretty solid job in the first half, and of course, had the big pick at the end of the game to seal the win. Maurice Fleming also started for the first time at CB, but got dinged up a bit. Greg Mabin was able to come back in, he struggled a bit, but also made some nice plays. He was matched up with Boyd, who ended up with 10 catches. Desmond King made some great tackles, too. I think the secondary is coming together and getting some youngsters some much needed experience.
STs: Koehn hit a big 52 yard field goal, he's really got a strong leg and does great on kickoffs. Kidd had a nice 51 yard punt and did a solid job. Riley McCarron had a nice 8 yard punt return, Jonathan Parker had a 22 yard kick return and Powell was in on kick return, he had a 9 yard return after bobbling the ball.
I think Iowa should stick with Beathard at QB for next week's Purdue game. He provides a nice spark for the team and it seemed like there was a lot more energy on the field and sideline, something we really hadn't seen all year. I like Rudock, too, but I just think Beathard is a little better. He's got a better arm, and looks much better than he did last year. Last year it seemed like he was just trying to showcase how strong his arm was and missed out on a few completions because the receivers couldn't hold on. This year he looks much more comfortable and could be a very good QB. Rudock did look good throwing the long ball against Pitt, too. It's not a bad thing having two QBs that can play. Beathard has five series' under his belt and Iowa scored 17 points when he's in. Next week the Hawkeyes play at Purdue, which should be an easy win, I think Purdue is the weakest team on the schedule. This should be a good game for Iowa to pick up the ground game again and let C.J. settle in as the starter. Hopefully the defense will play like they did in the second half as well, I think this one could be a blowout like last year. Iowa hasn't had a 100 yard rusher since the Purdue game last year, and I think they'll have one in this game, probably Weisman.
Hats off to Pittsburgh, I think they have a solid team, especially with Conner and Boyd. The QB will get better with experience, but I think they can contend in their division this year, they have a favorable schedule. I really like the Iowa-Pitt series, they've always been great games. Pitt returns to Kinnick next year.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
New Top 25 and predictions 9/14
Yesterday was another interesting game in college football, the Big Ten looked awful again, USC got upset by Boston College, Louisville lost to Virginia and Virginia Tech lost to East Carolina, a game that would not end and pissed off the entire state of Iowa. (I missed almost the entire first quarter of the Iowa-Iowa State game.) Here is my updated top 25.
1-Oklahoma had no problem with Tennessee
2-Oregon they actually were down 7 after the first quarter against Wyoming before crushing them
3-Baylor another easy game
4-Alabama easy win over S. Miss
5-Texas A&M beat Rice no problem
6-Florida State didn't play
7-Auburn didn't play
8-LSU easy win, another shutout
9-Notre Dame beat Purdue after a sluggish start
10-Ole Miss easy win
11-Michigan State didn't play
12-Arizona State beat Colorado
13-South Carolina huge win over Georgia
14-Georgia lost a tough one at South Carolina
15-TCU beat up Minnesota
16-UCLA had a tough time with Texas after Hundley got injured
17-Stanford easy win against Army
18-Ohio State 66-0 over Kent State, wow
19-BYU held off a Houston comeback
20-Clemson didn't play
21-Kansas State didn't play
22-Wisconsin didn't play
23-Missouri had no problem with UCF
24-Pittsburgh beat FIU after a slow start, they also beat BC last week
25-USC lost to BC
Teams that are close: Duke, Penn State, Nebraska, Florida, Washington, Marshall
I was 6-3 on predictions yesterday, which puts me at 17-10 overall now for the season.
Week 4 Games
Auburn at Kansas State: This is a big Thursday night game, both teams had the week off to prepare, Kansas State struggled with Iowa State, but they should be ready for this game.
Kansas State 34 Auburn 31
Iowa at Pittsburgh: I really don't see Iowa's offensive struggles being fixed this week, and Pittsburgh has Tyler Boyd at WR and James Conner at RB, could get ugly if Iowa can't get anything going.
Pittsburgh 28 Iowa 17
Florida at Alabama: Florida needed three overtimes to knock off Kentucky, Alabama looked solid against Southern Miss.
Alabama 31 Florida 17
Virginia at BYU: Virginia coming off a big win, BYU still undefeated.
BYU 38 Virginia 27
North Carolina at East Carolina: North Carolina hasn't looked that great in their victories and East Carolina has looked solid all year.
E. Carolina 28 N. Carolina 21
Mississippi State at LSU: Both teams are undefeated, but LSU is more talented and at home.
LSU 35 Miss St 21
Oklahoma at West Virginia: The WV-Maryland game was a good one yesterday and the Mountaineers have a solid QB in Clint Trickett. Oklahoma is really good, though.
Oklahoma 45 West Virginia 27
Clemson at Florida State: Clemson already has one loss under their belt, and this should be another one, but they'll give FSU a great game.
Florida State 38 Clemson 34
New Mexico at NMSU: The Lobos were off this week and should be ready for this in-state rivalry.
New Mexico 42 NMSU 27
Miami FL at Nebraska: Nebraska looked good against Fresno, but Fresno has looked awful.
Miami 31 Nebraska 24
The Playoff race
ACC: The only team that I think has a shot from the ACC for the playoffs would be Florida State. Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh are undefeated, but I think they'll all beat up on each other.
Big 10: In the West division Wisconsin could run the table and make the Big Ten title game, a win could put them in the playoffs. Nebraska is undefeated, but I don't think they'll run the table. Out of the East, Michigan State at Penn State could be the best hope, PSU is still unbeaten and Michigan State might run the table and win the title game, which I think would put them in.
Big 12: Right now Oklahoma, Baylor, TCU and Kansas State are undefeated, I think it'll come down to Oklahoma and Baylor.
Pac12: Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Arizona State are the top contenders right now, USC would have to win out as would Stanford.
SEC: Georgia and South Carolina both have one loss and another would knock them out. Florida, Missouri, Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M and Ole Miss are all undefeated for now.
IND: Notre Dame has a brutal schedule, but running the table would put them in, even one loss could get them in depending on the loss. BYU is tough, too, could they run the table?
Marshall and Cincinnati are the only non power five schools that have an outside shot, Marshall could run the table, Cincinnati has some tough league games.
1-Oklahoma had no problem with Tennessee
2-Oregon they actually were down 7 after the first quarter against Wyoming before crushing them
3-Baylor another easy game
4-Alabama easy win over S. Miss
5-Texas A&M beat Rice no problem
6-Florida State didn't play
7-Auburn didn't play
8-LSU easy win, another shutout
9-Notre Dame beat Purdue after a sluggish start
10-Ole Miss easy win
11-Michigan State didn't play
12-Arizona State beat Colorado
13-South Carolina huge win over Georgia
14-Georgia lost a tough one at South Carolina
15-TCU beat up Minnesota
16-UCLA had a tough time with Texas after Hundley got injured
17-Stanford easy win against Army
18-Ohio State 66-0 over Kent State, wow
19-BYU held off a Houston comeback
20-Clemson didn't play
21-Kansas State didn't play
22-Wisconsin didn't play
23-Missouri had no problem with UCF
24-Pittsburgh beat FIU after a slow start, they also beat BC last week
25-USC lost to BC
Teams that are close: Duke, Penn State, Nebraska, Florida, Washington, Marshall
I was 6-3 on predictions yesterday, which puts me at 17-10 overall now for the season.
Week 4 Games
Auburn at Kansas State: This is a big Thursday night game, both teams had the week off to prepare, Kansas State struggled with Iowa State, but they should be ready for this game.
Kansas State 34 Auburn 31
Iowa at Pittsburgh: I really don't see Iowa's offensive struggles being fixed this week, and Pittsburgh has Tyler Boyd at WR and James Conner at RB, could get ugly if Iowa can't get anything going.
Pittsburgh 28 Iowa 17
Florida at Alabama: Florida needed three overtimes to knock off Kentucky, Alabama looked solid against Southern Miss.
Alabama 31 Florida 17
Virginia at BYU: Virginia coming off a big win, BYU still undefeated.
BYU 38 Virginia 27
North Carolina at East Carolina: North Carolina hasn't looked that great in their victories and East Carolina has looked solid all year.
E. Carolina 28 N. Carolina 21
Mississippi State at LSU: Both teams are undefeated, but LSU is more talented and at home.
LSU 35 Miss St 21
Oklahoma at West Virginia: The WV-Maryland game was a good one yesterday and the Mountaineers have a solid QB in Clint Trickett. Oklahoma is really good, though.
Oklahoma 45 West Virginia 27
Clemson at Florida State: Clemson already has one loss under their belt, and this should be another one, but they'll give FSU a great game.
Florida State 38 Clemson 34
New Mexico at NMSU: The Lobos were off this week and should be ready for this in-state rivalry.
New Mexico 42 NMSU 27
Miami FL at Nebraska: Nebraska looked good against Fresno, but Fresno has looked awful.
Miami 31 Nebraska 24
The Playoff race
ACC: The only team that I think has a shot from the ACC for the playoffs would be Florida State. Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh are undefeated, but I think they'll all beat up on each other.
Big 10: In the West division Wisconsin could run the table and make the Big Ten title game, a win could put them in the playoffs. Nebraska is undefeated, but I don't think they'll run the table. Out of the East, Michigan State at Penn State could be the best hope, PSU is still unbeaten and Michigan State might run the table and win the title game, which I think would put them in.
Big 12: Right now Oklahoma, Baylor, TCU and Kansas State are undefeated, I think it'll come down to Oklahoma and Baylor.
Pac12: Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Arizona State are the top contenders right now, USC would have to win out as would Stanford.
SEC: Georgia and South Carolina both have one loss and another would knock them out. Florida, Missouri, Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M and Ole Miss are all undefeated for now.
IND: Notre Dame has a brutal schedule, but running the table would put them in, even one loss could get them in depending on the loss. BYU is tough, too, could they run the table?
Marshall and Cincinnati are the only non power five schools that have an outside shot, Marshall could run the table, Cincinnati has some tough league games.
Iowa 17 Iowa State 20
I don't even know where to begin with this, Iowa was awful yesterday. I've been on the Kirk Ferentz bandwagon all along, but after yesterday, I'm not so sure. This was painful to watch, even if the Hawkeyes would have won the game, it was not a good showing. I felt pretty good with a 14-3 lead at halftime, but Iowa State played to win in the second half, Iowa did not. They attempted to establish the running game with Mark Weisman and Damon Bullock, Weisman had a couple tough runs, but Bullock was awful, missed a couple of holes where he could have picked up some decent yardage. He's a good pass catcher, but he's not a good running back. He got away with holding on a play where Jake Rudock had to throw the ball away. Jordan Canzeri had three carries for 18 yards, good for six yards per carry, but that's all we saw of him. I'm thinking he was probably injured since they brought Jonathan Parker back in for kick returns. The passing game was just as bad, there was nice 33 yard pass to tight end Ray Hamilton, but other than that I can't think of any decent gains through the air.
The defense wasn't awful, but the DL failed to get a decent pass rush, the linebackers struggled with coverage and the secondary got rocked by an ejection that really hurt.
QB - Jake Rudock didn't have that great of a game, he's still hitting 68% of his throws, but he's not going downfield at all. He had a couple nice runs, but also some head scratchers. I'd like to see C.J. Beathard get a couple of series per game and see what he could do.
RB - Weisman did ok and had some nice runs to pick up first downs, but he's slow. Bullock, like I said, was awful. Canzeri needs more touches and LeShun Daniels didn't play at all that I saw.
FB - John Kenny got his first action of his career, he arrived as a LB, but played FB due to injury. He seemed like he did pretty good for his first time playing FB.
WR - Derrick Willies averages 21.7 yards per catch and Damond Powell averages 14, why were they not getting any balls thrown to them? I didn't even see Powell in the game. Kevonte Martin-Manley is a good WR, but he's not a huge playmaker. I still don't understand why there are no throws downfield against ISU? They have short CBs, throw some up to bigger WRs, take some chances?
TE - Ray Hamilton had a great 33 yard catch, but other than that the TEs didn't get much action in the passing game. Why not use George Kittle some more? And throw to Jake Duzey some more.
OL - They gave up four sacks against an ISU front seven that is not that great. Brandon Scherff probably wasn't 100%, but that's no excuse. The line created some nice openings for running backs, but they weren't hitting the holes.
DL - The DL struggled getting a nice rush on the QB and didn't put much pressure, they looked pretty winded. There wasn't much subbing going on, I think the loss of Darian Cooper has hurt the DL. The DEs aren't getting to the QB either, Nate Meier is just too small to play every down.
LB - This unit is very slow and have a really hard time in coverage. I think they're pretty solid against the run, but one-on-one with a running back they're going to lose every time. Bo Bower missed out on an interception that would have been huge. I like the way he plays though. Saw the first glimpse of Josey Jewell and he made some costly mistakes.
DB - Desmond King and Greg Mabin looked pretty good at the corner spots, John Lowdermilk and Jordan Lomax played well at safety, but Lomax got ejected for targeting on a very questionable call. Anthony Gair came in for Lomax and got a huge offsides penalty late in the game.
ST - Marshall Koehn drilled a pretty big field in the fourth quarter after some confusion on the field. It was nice to see him hit that, definitely a confidence booster. Dillon Kidd did a nice job pinning the Cyclones deep.
Ferentz really needs to work on clock management, a timeout could have been taken with about a minute left and Iowa could have some time to actually get down the field for a chance to win or tie.
Well, next week will be an even bigger challenge at Pittsburgh. I watched part of the Pittsburgh-FIU game and FIU was roughing them up 16-0, that's when I stopped watching. Pitt came back and won 42-25. Iowa's going to have to play flawless to win on the road, but I don't see that happening with this vanilla offense. If they can't even get to 300 yards against Iowa State, how will they be able to move the ball against Pittsburgh?
How many games has Iowa lost by a touchdown or less under Ferentz? Lets take a look.
1999 ISU-7, Northwestern-2, Indiana-7, Minnesota-4
2000 W. Michigan-6, Wisconsin-6, Minnesota-3
2001 Michigan State-3, Michigan-6, Iowa State-3, Wisconsin-6
2002 Iowa State-5
2005 Michigan-3, Northwestern-1, Florida-7
2006 Indiana-3, Wisconsin-3, Texas-2
2007 Iowa State-2, Wisconsin-4
2008 Pittsburgh-1, Northwestern-5, Michigan State-3, Illinois-3
2009 Northwestern-7, Ohio State-3
2010 Arizona-7, Wisconsin-1, Northwestern-4, Ohio State-3, Minnesota-3
2011 Iowa State-3, Minnesota-1
2012 Iowa State-3, Central Michigan-1, Indiana-3, Purdue-3, Nebraska-6
2013 Northern Illinois-3, LSU-7
2014 Iowa State-3
The defense wasn't awful, but the DL failed to get a decent pass rush, the linebackers struggled with coverage and the secondary got rocked by an ejection that really hurt.
QB - Jake Rudock didn't have that great of a game, he's still hitting 68% of his throws, but he's not going downfield at all. He had a couple nice runs, but also some head scratchers. I'd like to see C.J. Beathard get a couple of series per game and see what he could do.
RB - Weisman did ok and had some nice runs to pick up first downs, but he's slow. Bullock, like I said, was awful. Canzeri needs more touches and LeShun Daniels didn't play at all that I saw.
FB - John Kenny got his first action of his career, he arrived as a LB, but played FB due to injury. He seemed like he did pretty good for his first time playing FB.
WR - Derrick Willies averages 21.7 yards per catch and Damond Powell averages 14, why were they not getting any balls thrown to them? I didn't even see Powell in the game. Kevonte Martin-Manley is a good WR, but he's not a huge playmaker. I still don't understand why there are no throws downfield against ISU? They have short CBs, throw some up to bigger WRs, take some chances?
TE - Ray Hamilton had a great 33 yard catch, but other than that the TEs didn't get much action in the passing game. Why not use George Kittle some more? And throw to Jake Duzey some more.
OL - They gave up four sacks against an ISU front seven that is not that great. Brandon Scherff probably wasn't 100%, but that's no excuse. The line created some nice openings for running backs, but they weren't hitting the holes.
DL - The DL struggled getting a nice rush on the QB and didn't put much pressure, they looked pretty winded. There wasn't much subbing going on, I think the loss of Darian Cooper has hurt the DL. The DEs aren't getting to the QB either, Nate Meier is just too small to play every down.
LB - This unit is very slow and have a really hard time in coverage. I think they're pretty solid against the run, but one-on-one with a running back they're going to lose every time. Bo Bower missed out on an interception that would have been huge. I like the way he plays though. Saw the first glimpse of Josey Jewell and he made some costly mistakes.
DB - Desmond King and Greg Mabin looked pretty good at the corner spots, John Lowdermilk and Jordan Lomax played well at safety, but Lomax got ejected for targeting on a very questionable call. Anthony Gair came in for Lomax and got a huge offsides penalty late in the game.
ST - Marshall Koehn drilled a pretty big field in the fourth quarter after some confusion on the field. It was nice to see him hit that, definitely a confidence booster. Dillon Kidd did a nice job pinning the Cyclones deep.
Ferentz really needs to work on clock management, a timeout could have been taken with about a minute left and Iowa could have some time to actually get down the field for a chance to win or tie.
Well, next week will be an even bigger challenge at Pittsburgh. I watched part of the Pittsburgh-FIU game and FIU was roughing them up 16-0, that's when I stopped watching. Pitt came back and won 42-25. Iowa's going to have to play flawless to win on the road, but I don't see that happening with this vanilla offense. If they can't even get to 300 yards against Iowa State, how will they be able to move the ball against Pittsburgh?
How many games has Iowa lost by a touchdown or less under Ferentz? Lets take a look.
1999 ISU-7, Northwestern-2, Indiana-7, Minnesota-4
2000 W. Michigan-6, Wisconsin-6, Minnesota-3
2001 Michigan State-3, Michigan-6, Iowa State-3, Wisconsin-6
2002 Iowa State-5
2005 Michigan-3, Northwestern-1, Florida-7
2006 Indiana-3, Wisconsin-3, Texas-2
2007 Iowa State-2, Wisconsin-4
2008 Pittsburgh-1, Northwestern-5, Michigan State-3, Illinois-3
2009 Northwestern-7, Ohio State-3
2010 Arizona-7, Wisconsin-1, Northwestern-4, Ohio State-3, Minnesota-3
2011 Iowa State-3, Minnesota-1
2012 Iowa State-3, Central Michigan-1, Indiana-3, Purdue-3, Nebraska-6
2013 Northern Illinois-3, LSU-7
2014 Iowa State-3
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Big Ten Football
Like I said in my previous posting, it was a brutal week for the Big Ten conference on the field. Off the field there was good news for Penn State as they are now eligible for a bowl game and a potential Big Ten championship. That should make things more interesting as the kids now have something else to play for other than pride. The first conference game of the season is this weekend as Penn State travels to Rutgers to welcome them into the conference.
STANDINGS
EAST
Rutgers 2-0
Penn State 2-0
Maryland 2-0
Indiana 1-0
Michigan State 1-1
Ohio State 1-1
Michigan 1-1
WEST
Nebraska 2-0
Iowa 2-0
Minnesota 2-0
Illinois 2-0
Wisconsin 1-1
Purdue 1-1
Northwestern 0-2
The standings definitely don't reflect who's the better teams in each division, here are my rankings for each division.
EAST
1-Michigan State, still my favorite to win the division and quite possibly run the table and end up in the college football playoff.
2-Ohio State, a lot of talent, great DL, offense will get better. Not a playoff team.
3-Penn State, won a close one with UCF and Akron hung with them for awhile, but this a good football team.
4-Rutgers, they have been a nice surprise so far, I didn't know who Paul James was before this year, if he stays healthy they could be a bowl team.
5-Michigan, the Wolverine team that beat App State is good, they looked awful against Notre Dame.
6-Maryland, struggled to beat USF, but they got the win, a pretty decent team, great WRs in Diggs and Long.
7-Indiana, isn't even that bad of a team, will they make a bowl this year? All of the teams in this division are capable of a bowl game this year.
WEST
1-Wisconsin, lost a heartbreaker to LSU and struggled in the first half with Western Illinois, but they're the best in the division right now. If the QB play keeps improving they'll be the favorite.
2-Nebraska, Ameer Adbullah is a beast and the offense will be good as long as he's in the game. Close win against McNeese State is kind of scary for the Huskers.
3-Iowa, a couple ugly wins against teams they should have beat easily. No ground game to speak of, if they can establish the run and get the balance on offense that they're used to they could contend for the division crown.
4-Minnesota, they really need better play from Leidner if they want to make a bowl game, they're 2-0 now, but the schedule is going to get tricky, especially in November.
5-Illinois, 2-0 right now against some weaker opponents, Wes Lunt is a good QB though and will help them stay in some games, the defense won't. Illinois could make a bowl game.
6-Northwestern, 0-2 with a couple of tough losses to Cal, who I think is much improved, and Northern Illinois. This is going to be a tough season.
7-Purdue, they have a win under their belt, but they got pounded by Central Michigan and couldn't do anything right. Not a bowl team.
STANDINGS
EAST
Rutgers 2-0
Penn State 2-0
Maryland 2-0
Indiana 1-0
Michigan State 1-1
Ohio State 1-1
Michigan 1-1
WEST
Nebraska 2-0
Iowa 2-0
Minnesota 2-0
Illinois 2-0
Wisconsin 1-1
Purdue 1-1
Northwestern 0-2
The standings definitely don't reflect who's the better teams in each division, here are my rankings for each division.
EAST
1-Michigan State, still my favorite to win the division and quite possibly run the table and end up in the college football playoff.
2-Ohio State, a lot of talent, great DL, offense will get better. Not a playoff team.
3-Penn State, won a close one with UCF and Akron hung with them for awhile, but this a good football team.
4-Rutgers, they have been a nice surprise so far, I didn't know who Paul James was before this year, if he stays healthy they could be a bowl team.
5-Michigan, the Wolverine team that beat App State is good, they looked awful against Notre Dame.
6-Maryland, struggled to beat USF, but they got the win, a pretty decent team, great WRs in Diggs and Long.
7-Indiana, isn't even that bad of a team, will they make a bowl this year? All of the teams in this division are capable of a bowl game this year.
WEST
1-Wisconsin, lost a heartbreaker to LSU and struggled in the first half with Western Illinois, but they're the best in the division right now. If the QB play keeps improving they'll be the favorite.
2-Nebraska, Ameer Adbullah is a beast and the offense will be good as long as he's in the game. Close win against McNeese State is kind of scary for the Huskers.
3-Iowa, a couple ugly wins against teams they should have beat easily. No ground game to speak of, if they can establish the run and get the balance on offense that they're used to they could contend for the division crown.
4-Minnesota, they really need better play from Leidner if they want to make a bowl game, they're 2-0 now, but the schedule is going to get tricky, especially in November.
5-Illinois, 2-0 right now against some weaker opponents, Wes Lunt is a good QB though and will help them stay in some games, the defense won't. Illinois could make a bowl game.
6-Northwestern, 0-2 with a couple of tough losses to Cal, who I think is much improved, and Northern Illinois. This is going to be a tough season.
7-Purdue, they have a win under their belt, but they got pounded by Central Michigan and couldn't do anything right. Not a bowl team.
Top 25 and Predicitions for Week 3
The Big Ten did not look good on Saturday, watching Iowa and Ball State was painful until the final three minutes when Iowa squeaked out the win. Wisconsin looked bad in the first half, but looked great in the second against Western Illinois. Nebraska needed a huge play by Ameer Adbullah with 30 seconds left to beat McNeese State. Illinois struggled to beat Western Kentucky. Purdue lost to Central Michigan by quite a bit. Michigan State went to Oregon and looked good until late in the third quarter before losing. Ohio State lost their home opener to Virginia Tech. And, of course, Michigan, got shut out by Notre Dame 31-0. It was the first time Michigan had been shut out since 1984 against Iowa!
I watched the New Mexico-Arizona State game from home, I was going to go to the game, but figured it would be a blowout and would rather just watch from home. The Lobos brought in freshmen QB Lamar Jordan for his first action and he actually brought the Lobos back within one score in the first half, but in the second half ASU offense was really clicking and the Lobos lost by five touchdowns. They really need some work on their run defense, the top two rushers in the country have played against New Mexico. They're off this week before heading to New Mexico State for their in-state rivalry game with the undefeated Aggies. What!? Yeah, the Aggies are undefeated.
Here's a look at my top 25
1-Oklahoma 2-0 cruised past Tulsa
2-Oregon 2-0 looked sharp against one of the nation's top defenses
3-Georgia 1-0 had a bye week to gear up for the big one at South Carolina
4-Baylor 2-0 put up huge numbers without Bryce Petty
5-Alabama 2-0 had no problem with FAU, Amari Cooper had a huge game
6-Texas A&M 2-0 73 points in their win over Lamar, way better than I thought they'd be
7-Florida State 2-0 easy win against Citadel, but I still think they need some work
8-USC 2-0 huge win against Stanford, USC could be a real contender
9-Auburn 2-0 crushed San Jose State
10-LSU 2-0 easy win
11-Notre Dame 2-0 looked really good against Michigan, tough schedule this year, but they should be legit
12-Ole Miss 2-0 dominating win at Vanderbilt, looked a lot better than the Boise State game
13-Louisville 2-0 crushed Murray State
14-Michigan State 1-1 lost at Oregon, but they'll bounce back
15-Virginia Tech 2-0 huge win at Ohio State
16-Arizona State 2-0 had their way with New Mexico
17-TCU 1-0 I don't think they played last week
18-UCLA 2-0 looked sluggish again against Memphis at home
19-Stanford 1-1 tough loss against USC, and they have a tough schedule this year
20-Ohio State 1-1 needs to get it going on offense
21-South Carolina 1-1 they kind of struggled with East Carolina, they'll need to play flawless against Georgia to avoid their second loss of the young season
22-BYU 2-0 crushed Texas for the second straight season, Taysom Hill is a great QB
23-Clemson 1-1 easy win
24-Kansas State 2-0 had a nail-biter with Iowa State, but won 32-28. They started strong and took their foot off the gas pedal
25-Wisconsin 1-1 The QB play was much improved, but they struggled in the first half against FCS W. Illinois
Predictions
Last week was a rough one I was 3-4 and I'm 11-7 on the season, here are some top games this week.
E. Carolina at Virginia Tech: East Carolina is a pretty solid team and Va Tech is coming off a huge win.
Va Tech 34 E. Carolina 21
UCF at Missouri: UCF kicked off the season with a loss to Penn State and Missouri is off to a 2-0 start, should be a good game.
Missouri 31 UCF 24
Georgia at South Carolina: This is a must-win for South Carolina if they have any shot at an SEC title.
Georgia 42 South Carolina 27
Iowa State at Iowa: Iowa State has yet to allow a passing td and Iowa is yet to allow a rushing td. Iowa hasn't really established much of a ground game, but I think they'll try early in this one. If Brandon Scherff doesn't play, it's going to be a little more difficult, but Iowa State doesn't have a very experienced DL. I think Iowa creates the balance that they are used to and win this one.
Iowa 28 Iowa State 14
UTSA at Oklahoma State: UTSA looked pretty good against Arizona, but came up short, I think they'll have a decent year. Ok State played Florida State tough and won last week fairly easily.
Oklahoma State 35 UTSA 24
Tennessee at Oklahoma: Both are 2-0 and Tennessee looks much improved over last year, they have some talent, but Oklahoma has more.
Oklahoma 38 Tennessee 21
UCLA vs Texas: I really thought Texas would be a decent team this year and finish in the top half of the Big 12, which they might, but they aren't looking like it right now. UCLA looked like a top ten team before the season started, but after two unconvincing victories they aren't looking like a contender, but I think they'll beat Texas.
UCLA 34 Texas 17
Penn State at Rutgers: This is shaping up to be a big game, with a lot of news this week. Penn State is now eligible for a bowl game and Big Ten championship. Former Rutgers player, Ray Rice, was cut by the Ravens and suspended by the NFL after a tape came out of him punching his sweet lady in an elevator. This is also Rutgers' first conference game in the Big Ten. I have been going back and forth on this one all week. Two of the better offensive players in the conference go head-to-head, Christian Hackenberg and Paul James.
Penn State 31 Rutgers 28
Nevada at Arizona: I like Nevada this year, Cody Fajardo, is a solid QB. This should be a good one.
Arizona 28 Nevada 24
I watched the New Mexico-Arizona State game from home, I was going to go to the game, but figured it would be a blowout and would rather just watch from home. The Lobos brought in freshmen QB Lamar Jordan for his first action and he actually brought the Lobos back within one score in the first half, but in the second half ASU offense was really clicking and the Lobos lost by five touchdowns. They really need some work on their run defense, the top two rushers in the country have played against New Mexico. They're off this week before heading to New Mexico State for their in-state rivalry game with the undefeated Aggies. What!? Yeah, the Aggies are undefeated.
Here's a look at my top 25
1-Oklahoma 2-0 cruised past Tulsa
2-Oregon 2-0 looked sharp against one of the nation's top defenses
3-Georgia 1-0 had a bye week to gear up for the big one at South Carolina
4-Baylor 2-0 put up huge numbers without Bryce Petty
5-Alabama 2-0 had no problem with FAU, Amari Cooper had a huge game
6-Texas A&M 2-0 73 points in their win over Lamar, way better than I thought they'd be
7-Florida State 2-0 easy win against Citadel, but I still think they need some work
8-USC 2-0 huge win against Stanford, USC could be a real contender
9-Auburn 2-0 crushed San Jose State
10-LSU 2-0 easy win
11-Notre Dame 2-0 looked really good against Michigan, tough schedule this year, but they should be legit
12-Ole Miss 2-0 dominating win at Vanderbilt, looked a lot better than the Boise State game
13-Louisville 2-0 crushed Murray State
14-Michigan State 1-1 lost at Oregon, but they'll bounce back
15-Virginia Tech 2-0 huge win at Ohio State
16-Arizona State 2-0 had their way with New Mexico
17-TCU 1-0 I don't think they played last week
18-UCLA 2-0 looked sluggish again against Memphis at home
19-Stanford 1-1 tough loss against USC, and they have a tough schedule this year
20-Ohio State 1-1 needs to get it going on offense
21-South Carolina 1-1 they kind of struggled with East Carolina, they'll need to play flawless against Georgia to avoid their second loss of the young season
22-BYU 2-0 crushed Texas for the second straight season, Taysom Hill is a great QB
23-Clemson 1-1 easy win
24-Kansas State 2-0 had a nail-biter with Iowa State, but won 32-28. They started strong and took their foot off the gas pedal
25-Wisconsin 1-1 The QB play was much improved, but they struggled in the first half against FCS W. Illinois
Predictions
Last week was a rough one I was 3-4 and I'm 11-7 on the season, here are some top games this week.
E. Carolina at Virginia Tech: East Carolina is a pretty solid team and Va Tech is coming off a huge win.
Va Tech 34 E. Carolina 21
UCF at Missouri: UCF kicked off the season with a loss to Penn State and Missouri is off to a 2-0 start, should be a good game.
Missouri 31 UCF 24
Georgia at South Carolina: This is a must-win for South Carolina if they have any shot at an SEC title.
Georgia 42 South Carolina 27
Iowa State at Iowa: Iowa State has yet to allow a passing td and Iowa is yet to allow a rushing td. Iowa hasn't really established much of a ground game, but I think they'll try early in this one. If Brandon Scherff doesn't play, it's going to be a little more difficult, but Iowa State doesn't have a very experienced DL. I think Iowa creates the balance that they are used to and win this one.
Iowa 28 Iowa State 14
UTSA at Oklahoma State: UTSA looked pretty good against Arizona, but came up short, I think they'll have a decent year. Ok State played Florida State tough and won last week fairly easily.
Oklahoma State 35 UTSA 24
Tennessee at Oklahoma: Both are 2-0 and Tennessee looks much improved over last year, they have some talent, but Oklahoma has more.
Oklahoma 38 Tennessee 21
UCLA vs Texas: I really thought Texas would be a decent team this year and finish in the top half of the Big 12, which they might, but they aren't looking like it right now. UCLA looked like a top ten team before the season started, but after two unconvincing victories they aren't looking like a contender, but I think they'll beat Texas.
UCLA 34 Texas 17
Penn State at Rutgers: This is shaping up to be a big game, with a lot of news this week. Penn State is now eligible for a bowl game and Big Ten championship. Former Rutgers player, Ray Rice, was cut by the Ravens and suspended by the NFL after a tape came out of him punching his sweet lady in an elevator. This is also Rutgers' first conference game in the Big Ten. I have been going back and forth on this one all week. Two of the better offensive players in the conference go head-to-head, Christian Hackenberg and Paul James.
Penn State 31 Rutgers 28
Nevada at Arizona: I like Nevada this year, Cody Fajardo, is a solid QB. This should be a good one.
Arizona 28 Nevada 24
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Iowa 17 Ball State 13
This game was a mess offensively for the Hawkeyes, they only had three points up until the 2:58 mark in the game. Luckily, Jake Rudock led them to two touchdown drives in the final 2:58 to pull off the stunning comeback. The running game was pretty much non-existent as they were led in rushing by Rudock, last year they were led by WR Tevaun Smith. The defense was stout all day and much improved over last week, they didn't allow a touchdown all day. Ball State's only touchdown came on a fumble return touchdown. Jonathan Parker fumbled twice for the Hawkeyes, and there's a good chance we won't see him for awhile. The freshmen looks very quick, but needs to hold on to the ball. The running game really needs to emerge against Iowa State, I really don't like how they are rotating in backs. Like Joey Galloway said it's hard to get into any kind of rhythm getting a carry here and there. I know they're trying to keep them fresh and healthy for the season, but something needs to change. We did get to see a glimpse of C.J. Beathard on the second series, he hit some nice passes and threw a nice one in the end zone to Damond Powell, which was ruled an incompletion.
QB: QB play was pretty solid in this game, no mistakes, Rudock got sacked once, but it was the only time they were even close to getting to the QBs. Rudock threw some passes downfield but either overthrew or under threw. He was great in the final three minutes of the game, though, and looked very comfortable in the pocket. I would like to see Beathard a little more, he's got a cannon and needs some more experience.
RB: As much depth as we have here, they are really struggling to get anything going. I really like LeShun Daniels and Jordan Canzeri, and next year they should be a good 1-2 punch. Damon Bullock has been solid as a receiver out of the backfield, but doesn't add much to the running game. Mark Weisman has been pretty much a non factor. I think they'll change it up against Iowa State and start with Weisman and get him 7-10 carries in the first quarter.
FB: Not much to report, they do a good job, Macon Plewa had a catch again this week.
WR: This group is starting to come together, Kevonte Martin-Manley is solid and led the team with eight receptions for the second week in a row. Smith is a nice number two guy, and Powell is getting more action. Matt VandeBerg got more action at WR, but was overthrown a couple of times. Derrick Willies had a couple of catches, including a late touchdown.
TE: The TEs kind of had a rough day, Henry Krieger-Coble and Jake Duzey both had drops, George Kittle almost had a nice deep catch but Ball State was called for interference.
OL: Brandon Scherff went down with an injury in the second quarter trying to make a tackle, luckily it didn't seem too serious and he came back before halftime. Ike Boettger looked pretty good in his place, looks like he might have held a couple of times, but didn't get called, but overall I thought he did pretty well. The OL was great in pass protection again this week, but struggled against the run once again. Ball State was stacking the box much like Northern Iowa did last week.
DL: I love this defensive line! Carl Davis and Lou Trinca-Pasat are beasts in the middle, and Drew Ott has really emerged as a strong defensive end, he had 13 tackles, including a sack of Ozzie Mann with about 30 seconds left and also caused a fumble sealing the win. The depth at DE isn't the greatest, but at DT it looks good. Faith Ekakitie got in some plays while Davis was injured, nothing serious. Next week they'll be tested against Iowa State's Sam Richardson, who can run a little bit.
LB: The LBs were much better than last week. Ball State has a couple of good running backs, but the linebackers kept them in check in the pass game for the most part. Quinton Alston and Reggie Spearman looked solid.
DB: Desmond King is a stud at CB, but other than that the secondary needs some more work. John Lowdermilk looks out of place at times and has whiffed on some tackles. Jordan Lomax has looked ok, and will be good. Greg Mabin didn't have an awful day and is still young, could be a solid player by the end of the year.
K: I said a lot of swear words at the kickers yesterday, they missed three pretty easy field goals, resulting in a loss of nine points. Iowa dominated this game in yardage, but not in points. Marshall Koehn missed two field goals, so they tried true freshmen, Mick Ellis, and he had a similar result. Koehn did make one field goal early.
P: I thought Dillon Kidd did a better job this week, his numbers aren't amazing, but he pinned a couple inside the 20.
ST: Parker had a big fumble on a kick return and there wasn't much opportunity to return any punts. The coverage was solid in the kick and punt games.
Iowa State surprised me yesterday, after getting down 13-0 against Kansas State they stormed back and had the lead for a majority of the second half. K State got a late score and ISU couldn't pull it off, but they looked way better than they did against North Dakota State and Iowa should have their hands full next week when the Cyclones come to town.
I also watched the New Mexico-Arizona State game. ASU was up 22-0 before the Lobos started a comeback of their own behind freshmen QB Lamar Jordan. They were down 29-21 at one point, but ASU dominated the second half. The Lobos run defense is awful this year. Last week UTEP's running back had a career high over 200 yards rushing and yesterday D.J. Foster had his career high as well going over 200.
QB: QB play was pretty solid in this game, no mistakes, Rudock got sacked once, but it was the only time they were even close to getting to the QBs. Rudock threw some passes downfield but either overthrew or under threw. He was great in the final three minutes of the game, though, and looked very comfortable in the pocket. I would like to see Beathard a little more, he's got a cannon and needs some more experience.
RB: As much depth as we have here, they are really struggling to get anything going. I really like LeShun Daniels and Jordan Canzeri, and next year they should be a good 1-2 punch. Damon Bullock has been solid as a receiver out of the backfield, but doesn't add much to the running game. Mark Weisman has been pretty much a non factor. I think they'll change it up against Iowa State and start with Weisman and get him 7-10 carries in the first quarter.
FB: Not much to report, they do a good job, Macon Plewa had a catch again this week.
WR: This group is starting to come together, Kevonte Martin-Manley is solid and led the team with eight receptions for the second week in a row. Smith is a nice number two guy, and Powell is getting more action. Matt VandeBerg got more action at WR, but was overthrown a couple of times. Derrick Willies had a couple of catches, including a late touchdown.
TE: The TEs kind of had a rough day, Henry Krieger-Coble and Jake Duzey both had drops, George Kittle almost had a nice deep catch but Ball State was called for interference.
OL: Brandon Scherff went down with an injury in the second quarter trying to make a tackle, luckily it didn't seem too serious and he came back before halftime. Ike Boettger looked pretty good in his place, looks like he might have held a couple of times, but didn't get called, but overall I thought he did pretty well. The OL was great in pass protection again this week, but struggled against the run once again. Ball State was stacking the box much like Northern Iowa did last week.
DL: I love this defensive line! Carl Davis and Lou Trinca-Pasat are beasts in the middle, and Drew Ott has really emerged as a strong defensive end, he had 13 tackles, including a sack of Ozzie Mann with about 30 seconds left and also caused a fumble sealing the win. The depth at DE isn't the greatest, but at DT it looks good. Faith Ekakitie got in some plays while Davis was injured, nothing serious. Next week they'll be tested against Iowa State's Sam Richardson, who can run a little bit.
LB: The LBs were much better than last week. Ball State has a couple of good running backs, but the linebackers kept them in check in the pass game for the most part. Quinton Alston and Reggie Spearman looked solid.
DB: Desmond King is a stud at CB, but other than that the secondary needs some more work. John Lowdermilk looks out of place at times and has whiffed on some tackles. Jordan Lomax has looked ok, and will be good. Greg Mabin didn't have an awful day and is still young, could be a solid player by the end of the year.
K: I said a lot of swear words at the kickers yesterday, they missed three pretty easy field goals, resulting in a loss of nine points. Iowa dominated this game in yardage, but not in points. Marshall Koehn missed two field goals, so they tried true freshmen, Mick Ellis, and he had a similar result. Koehn did make one field goal early.
P: I thought Dillon Kidd did a better job this week, his numbers aren't amazing, but he pinned a couple inside the 20.
ST: Parker had a big fumble on a kick return and there wasn't much opportunity to return any punts. The coverage was solid in the kick and punt games.
Iowa State surprised me yesterday, after getting down 13-0 against Kansas State they stormed back and had the lead for a majority of the second half. K State got a late score and ISU couldn't pull it off, but they looked way better than they did against North Dakota State and Iowa should have their hands full next week when the Cyclones come to town.
I also watched the New Mexico-Arizona State game. ASU was up 22-0 before the Lobos started a comeback of their own behind freshmen QB Lamar Jordan. They were down 29-21 at one point, but ASU dominated the second half. The Lobos run defense is awful this year. Last week UTEP's running back had a career high over 200 yards rushing and yesterday D.J. Foster had his career high as well going over 200.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
New Top 25 and Week 2 Predictions
What a great week to kick off the college football season. It was fun to see North Dakota State beat Iowa State by 20, I thought ISU would have a decent offense. They were off to a great start up 14-0 but then it all fell apart. Anyway, here's my new top 25 for the week.
1-Oklahoma 1-0 Looked sharp against La Tech.
2-Georgia 1-0 Todd Gurley for Heisman, we need a running back to win it.
3-Oregon 1-0 Easy blowout win.
4-Baylor 1-0 Defense looks pretty stout.
5-Alabama 1-0 Came out kind of sluggish against West Virginia, might not run the table.
6-Texas A&M 1-0 Johnny who?
7-Michigan State 1-0 I like this team a lot, even though I hate them, they look solid.
8-Florida State 1-0 Jameis wasn't Jameis of last year, needs to pick it up.
9-USC 1-0 Looked sharp against Fresno, got a big one this week.
10-Auburn 1-0 They were struggling with Arkansas until the second half.
11-LSU 1-0 Came up huge late in the game.
12-Ohio State 1-0 They always start slow every year regardless of QB, big test this week.
13-Louisville 1-0 Nice ACC debut last night.
14-Ole Miss 1-0 Every time I watched Wallace threw a pick, had a huge fourth quarter.
15-Stanford 1-0 They should probably be ranked a little higher, but they'll move up with a win this week.
16-UCLA 1-0 Really didn't look that great against Virginia.
17-TCU 1-0 Didn't get to see any of their game.
18-Arizona State 1-0 Kelly to Strong is something you'll hear a lot this year.
19-Notre Dame 1-0 Played a lot better than I expected.
20-South Carolina 0-1 A solid team, but got whooped by A&M.
21-Nebraska 1-0 Crushed FAU, should have a solid team.
22-Kansas State 1-0 Didn't get to see any of their game either.
23-Wisconsin 0-1 They're going to need better QB play if they want to win the West.
24-Clemson 0-1 A good defensive team got torched by Georgia.
25-Duke 1-0 Didn't see any of their game.
Here's my predictions for the week, I was 8-3 last week.
Ball State at Iowa: I think Iowa comes out and the offense punches Ball State in the mouth, big win. Iowa 42 Ball State 14
Arizona State at New Mexico: I'm contemplating whether or not to go to this game, the Lobos defense is going to roughed up. Arizona State 49 New Mexico 17
USC at Stanford: This game is being overlooked by the MSU-Oregon game, but this is going to be a great one. Stanford 35 USC 31
Michigan State at Oregon: This will be a great football game, but I think Oregon pulls away later in the game. Oregon 34 Michigan State 21
Michigan at Notre Dame: Both teams were pretty impressive last week, this could be a really good one. Michigan 31 Notre Dame 27
BYU at Texas: Both had nice wins last week, can Texas' defense shut down Taysom Hill? Texas 24 BYU 17
Virginia Tech at Ohio State: I think Ohio State starts slow again, but rebounds. Ohio State 21 Virginia Tech 16
Kansas State at Iowa State: I won't count this one in my predictions because it's too easy, Kansas State 45 Iowa State 17.
1-Oklahoma 1-0 Looked sharp against La Tech.
2-Georgia 1-0 Todd Gurley for Heisman, we need a running back to win it.
3-Oregon 1-0 Easy blowout win.
4-Baylor 1-0 Defense looks pretty stout.
5-Alabama 1-0 Came out kind of sluggish against West Virginia, might not run the table.
6-Texas A&M 1-0 Johnny who?
7-Michigan State 1-0 I like this team a lot, even though I hate them, they look solid.
8-Florida State 1-0 Jameis wasn't Jameis of last year, needs to pick it up.
9-USC 1-0 Looked sharp against Fresno, got a big one this week.
10-Auburn 1-0 They were struggling with Arkansas until the second half.
11-LSU 1-0 Came up huge late in the game.
12-Ohio State 1-0 They always start slow every year regardless of QB, big test this week.
13-Louisville 1-0 Nice ACC debut last night.
14-Ole Miss 1-0 Every time I watched Wallace threw a pick, had a huge fourth quarter.
15-Stanford 1-0 They should probably be ranked a little higher, but they'll move up with a win this week.
16-UCLA 1-0 Really didn't look that great against Virginia.
17-TCU 1-0 Didn't get to see any of their game.
18-Arizona State 1-0 Kelly to Strong is something you'll hear a lot this year.
19-Notre Dame 1-0 Played a lot better than I expected.
20-South Carolina 0-1 A solid team, but got whooped by A&M.
21-Nebraska 1-0 Crushed FAU, should have a solid team.
22-Kansas State 1-0 Didn't get to see any of their game either.
23-Wisconsin 0-1 They're going to need better QB play if they want to win the West.
24-Clemson 0-1 A good defensive team got torched by Georgia.
25-Duke 1-0 Didn't see any of their game.
Here's my predictions for the week, I was 8-3 last week.
Ball State at Iowa: I think Iowa comes out and the offense punches Ball State in the mouth, big win. Iowa 42 Ball State 14
Arizona State at New Mexico: I'm contemplating whether or not to go to this game, the Lobos defense is going to roughed up. Arizona State 49 New Mexico 17
USC at Stanford: This game is being overlooked by the MSU-Oregon game, but this is going to be a great one. Stanford 35 USC 31
Michigan State at Oregon: This will be a great football game, but I think Oregon pulls away later in the game. Oregon 34 Michigan State 21
Michigan at Notre Dame: Both teams were pretty impressive last week, this could be a really good one. Michigan 31 Notre Dame 27
BYU at Texas: Both had nice wins last week, can Texas' defense shut down Taysom Hill? Texas 24 BYU 17
Virginia Tech at Ohio State: I think Ohio State starts slow again, but rebounds. Ohio State 21 Virginia Tech 16
Kansas State at Iowa State: I won't count this one in my predictions because it's too easy, Kansas State 45 Iowa State 17.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Iowa Knocks Off UNI 31-23
The Iowa Hawkeyes kicked off their 2014 season taking on the Northern Iowa Panthers, one of the top teams in the FCS. I was expecting this game to be a little easier for Iowa, but it was a close one throughout the entire game. The Hawkeyes got on board in the first two minutes of the game, with a big kick return from Mark Weisman, and a touchdown run by LeShun Daniels. The Panthers, led by senior running back, David Johnson, provided plenty of offense against Iowa. Northern Iowa actually out gained Iowa 405-401 on the day, thanks to Johnson, who had 34 yards on the ground and 203 through the air, torching an inexperienced linebacking crew. The Hawkeyes secured the victory thanks to some big plays by junior wide receiver, Tevaun Smith. He scampered 35 yards on an end around, and made a beautiful one-handed grab in the end zone for a touchdown. I was very impressed with Northern Iowa and think they will conted for the FCS title this year. I also watched part of the North Dakota State-Iowa State game, and NDSU is going to be good once again. To me it looks like some of these FCS football teams would be right in the middle of the pack in the FBS.
Here's a breakdown by position now for the Hawkeyes in their first game.
QB: Jake Rudock was the only one to get any snaps, which wasn't a surprise in a close game like this. He didn't throw the deep ball often, but was efficient connecting on 31 of 41 passes for 250 yards and 2 scores. He didn't throw any interceptions, and most of his passes were pretty catchable, also a couple of drops. He had a long time to throw as well, I can't remember any Northern Iowa players putting much pressure on him. Overall, a pretty solid day, he hit Derrick Willies with a nice long pass, too. His arm strength looked better than it did a year ago.
RB: It was interesting how they used the running backs in the first game. They're saving Mark Weisman until the fourth quarter to keep him fresh, I think they should be using him in the first quarter and pounding the defense, and then again in the fourth quarter. None of the running backs were overly impressive, but Northern Iowa was stacking the box against the run. Daniels looked great on his touchdown run, looks a lot better than last year. The big four Weisman, Bullock, Canzeri and Daniels ran 28 times for 81 yards, which needs to improve quickly. Tevaun Smith is the leading rusher with a nice 35 yard gain. Rudock added 17 and Jonathan Parker had a nice 21 harder, I think he could be a nice offensive weapon.
FB: The fullback play was solid from what I saw, Macon Plewa, I think was the only one that played. He had a catch out of the backfield that picked up a couple of yards.
WR: Rudock had several different targets on Saturday, his go-to-guy was senior, Kevonte Martin-Manley, who hauled in eight catches for 62 yards. Willies had a great 46 yard reception, it would have been a touchdown, but he fell short, but it set up a nice 12 yard td for Damond Powell, his only catch of the game. Smith played nicely in the second half, including the one handed td grab. I think they need utilize Powell and Willies a little more, they seem to have some real talent. I think Smith will get more receptions this year, too, he seems like a playmaker. They have some pretty good depth this year and should get better each week. I'd like to see Jake air it out a little more.
TE: Jake Duzey had seven receptions leading the tight ends, Ray Hamilton and Henry Krieger-Coble also had receptions, George Kittle got in the game a bit, too. It's a solid group of tight ends this year. Duzey is probably the best receiver of the bunch.
OL: The OL could have done better at run blocking, but it's a little harder when the defense is bringing more players to stop the run. I thought they did a tremendous job in pass protection though, giving Rudock a lot of time in the pocket. Sean Welsh looked pretty solid as a freshmen starter.
DL: I thought the DL played really well, the Panthers ran 25 times and gained 25 yards, quarterback sacks accounted for -19 of that. They held David Johnson to 13-34 a 2.6 avg and Darrian Miller to 5-12 a 2.4 avg. Louis Trinca-Pasat was the DL MVP, he had 10 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks. I love watching him, he never gives up on a play. Drew Ott and Jaleel Johnson added a sack each as well. Carl Davis looked good, disrupting a lot of plays. I saw Faith Ekakitie in there as long as Mike Hardy and Nate Meier. I think I even saw freshmen Nathan Bazata in there a time or two.
LB: This group needs a lot of work on pass coverage. Quinton Alston got torched by David Johnson on a big touchdown. Alston made some big plays, but couldn't keep up with Johnson. Reggie Spearman did ok, but seemed out of place a couple of times, he also whiffed on a tackle. I think he's going to be good though. I was really impressed with freshmen, Bo Bower, a former walk-on. He's quickly becoming my favorite defensive player. He had a nice interception and a big sack as well. He was also getting the crowd into the game, which is always good to see from a young player, I think Iowa has a good one there, and the LB crew will be good in the future. I saw true freshmen, Ben Niemann in on special teams.
DB: The Panthers passed for 380 yards, but not all of that is the blame of the secondary. A lot of those yards are pinned on the linebackers. The secondary does need a lot of work though. UNI completed less than half of their passes, but the DL had a lot to do with that. The safeties seemed out of place at times, John Lowdermilk looked like a freshmen out there on some plays. Once again, this is a group that will continue to make strides and get better every week. Greg Mabin had an interception late in the game to seal the win, and instead of going down deciding to run with it, he got 18 yards, but coach wasn't too happy about it.
ST: The kicking game was pretty brutal, Marshall Koehn a 37 yard field goal, and Dillon Kidd only averaged 36.2 yards per punt. They both have to improve quickly. I did like Koehn's leg on kickoffs, of his six kicks, four were touchbacks. Weisman led the team on returning, a short kickoff to start the game went to Weisman and he picked up 50 yards. Matt VandeBerg will be a good punt returner, he has great hands, and Jonathan Parker joined him as the kick returners. Parker has some wheels.
Next week the Hawkeyes take on Ball State, who had a great year a season ago, but they lost their QB to graduation. They do have a couple solid running backs, but Iowa should have no problem stopping the run this year. I think Northern Iowa's QB is probably better than Ball State's, and they don't have David Johnson, so this game should be a little better for the defense. Hoping to see some C.J. Beathard at QB, too, he's got a cannon arm, but needs some game experience. I'd like to see Weisman and Daniels bruise up the defense in the first quarter before bringing in Canzeri and Bullock for the middle part of the game. Then bring the bruisers back in in the fourth to wear them down. I'd like to see Rudock take more shots downfield, maybe get Willies in the game a little more. The Hawkeyes didn't make many mistakes penalty-wise and only had one turnover. Hope they can keep that up.
Here's a breakdown by position now for the Hawkeyes in their first game.
QB: Jake Rudock was the only one to get any snaps, which wasn't a surprise in a close game like this. He didn't throw the deep ball often, but was efficient connecting on 31 of 41 passes for 250 yards and 2 scores. He didn't throw any interceptions, and most of his passes were pretty catchable, also a couple of drops. He had a long time to throw as well, I can't remember any Northern Iowa players putting much pressure on him. Overall, a pretty solid day, he hit Derrick Willies with a nice long pass, too. His arm strength looked better than it did a year ago.
RB: It was interesting how they used the running backs in the first game. They're saving Mark Weisman until the fourth quarter to keep him fresh, I think they should be using him in the first quarter and pounding the defense, and then again in the fourth quarter. None of the running backs were overly impressive, but Northern Iowa was stacking the box against the run. Daniels looked great on his touchdown run, looks a lot better than last year. The big four Weisman, Bullock, Canzeri and Daniels ran 28 times for 81 yards, which needs to improve quickly. Tevaun Smith is the leading rusher with a nice 35 yard gain. Rudock added 17 and Jonathan Parker had a nice 21 harder, I think he could be a nice offensive weapon.
FB: The fullback play was solid from what I saw, Macon Plewa, I think was the only one that played. He had a catch out of the backfield that picked up a couple of yards.
WR: Rudock had several different targets on Saturday, his go-to-guy was senior, Kevonte Martin-Manley, who hauled in eight catches for 62 yards. Willies had a great 46 yard reception, it would have been a touchdown, but he fell short, but it set up a nice 12 yard td for Damond Powell, his only catch of the game. Smith played nicely in the second half, including the one handed td grab. I think they need utilize Powell and Willies a little more, they seem to have some real talent. I think Smith will get more receptions this year, too, he seems like a playmaker. They have some pretty good depth this year and should get better each week. I'd like to see Jake air it out a little more.
TE: Jake Duzey had seven receptions leading the tight ends, Ray Hamilton and Henry Krieger-Coble also had receptions, George Kittle got in the game a bit, too. It's a solid group of tight ends this year. Duzey is probably the best receiver of the bunch.
OL: The OL could have done better at run blocking, but it's a little harder when the defense is bringing more players to stop the run. I thought they did a tremendous job in pass protection though, giving Rudock a lot of time in the pocket. Sean Welsh looked pretty solid as a freshmen starter.
DL: I thought the DL played really well, the Panthers ran 25 times and gained 25 yards, quarterback sacks accounted for -19 of that. They held David Johnson to 13-34 a 2.6 avg and Darrian Miller to 5-12 a 2.4 avg. Louis Trinca-Pasat was the DL MVP, he had 10 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks. I love watching him, he never gives up on a play. Drew Ott and Jaleel Johnson added a sack each as well. Carl Davis looked good, disrupting a lot of plays. I saw Faith Ekakitie in there as long as Mike Hardy and Nate Meier. I think I even saw freshmen Nathan Bazata in there a time or two.
LB: This group needs a lot of work on pass coverage. Quinton Alston got torched by David Johnson on a big touchdown. Alston made some big plays, but couldn't keep up with Johnson. Reggie Spearman did ok, but seemed out of place a couple of times, he also whiffed on a tackle. I think he's going to be good though. I was really impressed with freshmen, Bo Bower, a former walk-on. He's quickly becoming my favorite defensive player. He had a nice interception and a big sack as well. He was also getting the crowd into the game, which is always good to see from a young player, I think Iowa has a good one there, and the LB crew will be good in the future. I saw true freshmen, Ben Niemann in on special teams.
DB: The Panthers passed for 380 yards, but not all of that is the blame of the secondary. A lot of those yards are pinned on the linebackers. The secondary does need a lot of work though. UNI completed less than half of their passes, but the DL had a lot to do with that. The safeties seemed out of place at times, John Lowdermilk looked like a freshmen out there on some plays. Once again, this is a group that will continue to make strides and get better every week. Greg Mabin had an interception late in the game to seal the win, and instead of going down deciding to run with it, he got 18 yards, but coach wasn't too happy about it.
ST: The kicking game was pretty brutal, Marshall Koehn a 37 yard field goal, and Dillon Kidd only averaged 36.2 yards per punt. They both have to improve quickly. I did like Koehn's leg on kickoffs, of his six kicks, four were touchbacks. Weisman led the team on returning, a short kickoff to start the game went to Weisman and he picked up 50 yards. Matt VandeBerg will be a good punt returner, he has great hands, and Jonathan Parker joined him as the kick returners. Parker has some wheels.
Next week the Hawkeyes take on Ball State, who had a great year a season ago, but they lost their QB to graduation. They do have a couple solid running backs, but Iowa should have no problem stopping the run this year. I think Northern Iowa's QB is probably better than Ball State's, and they don't have David Johnson, so this game should be a little better for the defense. Hoping to see some C.J. Beathard at QB, too, he's got a cannon arm, but needs some game experience. I'd like to see Weisman and Daniels bruise up the defense in the first quarter before bringing in Canzeri and Bullock for the middle part of the game. Then bring the bruisers back in in the fourth to wear them down. I'd like to see Rudock take more shots downfield, maybe get Willies in the game a little more. The Hawkeyes didn't make many mistakes penalty-wise and only had one turnover. Hope they can keep that up.
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