One team stands 2-1, renewed with a vigorous hope pouring forth from the collective heart of a fanbase still reeling from the horrors of a 0-12 2008 season. They have just toppled the number 3 team in the country by a field goal, standing ranked in the top 25 only one measly season after being at the lowest nadir of college football loserdom. The other team, perched atop a plateau of 3-0, is fresh off a stifling non-conference victory over Arizona, an admittedly lesser Pac-10 school than the former number 3 team in the nation, and started the year ranked number 22nd. That team is currently riding a 7 game winning streak dating back to a shocking upset victory of Penn State the previous season, yet currently sits unranked and disregarded by the national media at large. The former team is, of course, Washington, a horribly overrated West Coast team riding the coattails of ONE win, while the latter, unfortunate squad is Iowa, still being perpetually punished for a miracle win over Northern Iowa in week 1 and continuing a disgusting plummet in the national rankings despite not losing a game yet. Let's take Michigan as another example of how the AP poll voters are biased quacks who base their opinions off of 10-second Sportscenter snips and namebrand recognition of regal college football "powerhouses" by "name" only. The hallowed Wolverines, unproven and fresh from a 3-9 season a year ago, remain the most winningest college football program in history (due in large part to the fact that they've been playing football since the American Revolution), so naturally after a hyperbolized victory over the grossly overrated and overranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, irrelevant on the national scale (quality-wise) for at least the last decade, they move up from not even "receiving votes" in the previous week's AP poll to being ranked number 18. Because, of course, beating Notre Dame is always a national accomplishment on par with saving a child's life.
It is a gross and repulsive injustice that Iowa has fallen from the top 25...there is no doubt in my mind that had we beaten a Notre Dame or a Michigan this past weekend, teams on par with Arizona talentwise, then we would be back in the rankings and groveling at the top 20. I'm all for the underdog mantra of "staying under the radar," as I realize a lot of Hawkeye fans take a sense of pride in sneaking up on self-righteous opponents from that role, but rankings make a different in national exposure, recruiting, and how one is viewed in the all-important BCS rankings. If I said that I'd rather be unranked than ranked so that we could "sneak up on people," I'd be a liar. So while the double standard associated with big-name programs in college football is tiresome, I'm overly numb to it at this stage, and there is still no logical reason why the Hawkeyes are not ranked at this point. The pollsters obviously want us to prove ourselves on the grandest of national scales, beating the 5th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions to land our quiet name back in the prestigious rankings, but we shouldn't have to beat the number 5 team in the country just to sniff the top 25 again. It's just unfortunate that we could have thumped an unranked Notre Dame, and we would have been back in the national rank and file. That's all I'll say on that subject. On to Saturday's 27-17 defensive demolition of former Hawkeye Mike Stoops and his Arizona Wildcats on a brutally hot Blackout, perhaps the worst day of the year for it in Iowa!
The story of this past Saturday's rugged, hard-earned victory over a sleek, athletic Arizona team was far and away the defensive performance. The offense was, at times, sluggish and disjointed, especially with the continuation of Ricky Stanzi's first half passing woes, but the one constant was the defensive front's penchant for disruption at the line of scrimmage, as well as generally clogging the running lanes and holding Nic Grigsby, the nation's 2nd-leading rusher heading into the game, to only 75 yards, including 55 on one play. Adrian Clayborn exuded a freak athleticism that doesn't come around too often, racking up at least 6 solo tackles while constantly harassing Arizona's beautifully flustered QB, nabbing a sack and a late forced fumble on QB #1's unfortunate replacement. Even with all these flashy statistics, Clayborn's most impressive play came on a seemingly routine tackle of Grigsby after a one-yard gain, when both players got an even start from the jump and Clayborn ran across the entire line, chasing Grigsby down before he could even get started. Seeing a player so large chase down a much smaller, quicker player was a surreal experience, and a quintessential example of Clayborn's dastardly athleticism. Another wonderful testament to the stellar play of the Hawkeye defense would be the opposing QB play. Arnaud's performance last week was originally thought to be a nerves-induced rivalry choking, but after the duds put forth by Arizona's signal-callers, many Hawk fans are starting to re-think that sentiment. By the 3rd quarter, when he was mercifully pulled, Arizona's starting QB, Matt Scott, was 4-12 (?) for 50 yards. That's it. Though his strength was thought to be in his mobility, he only managed to pull off one halfway decent scramble. Everything else was squelched by the bad boys in black up front. His backup, more of a pocket passer, did lead the Wildcats to a garbage time touchdown, but he also threw the inevitable pick to Tyler Sash, a.k.a. The Velociraptor back there. Once again, it was like fielding a punt! All in all, Iowa tussled and tattered the Arizona offense all day, stifling the overmatched young quarterbacks, strong-arming the offensive line, and reigning poor Grigsby in like a a rambunctious toddler. On his 55-yard run, Amari Spievey made perhaps the best hustle play of this young season, chasing him down the entire field, not giving up on the play, developing a solid angle, and finally bringing him down at the one yard line. David Cato nabbed a ferocious tackle for loss on the next play, and Iowa held on to force Arizona to take a goal line field goal. Huge play. Though Iowa dominated the time of possession with an effective running game and some savvy plays by wideouts Colin Sandeman and Marvin McNutt, the score was still 7-7 early due to a nasty pick-six by Stanzi, and Arizona hung around up until a thoroughly dominate Iowa 3rd quarter, when two drives that ended in Daniel Murray field goals stalled what could have been a much more lopsided final score. Stanzi once again flushed a so-so first half with a sharp, precise showing after halftime, finishing with 205 yards and his lone pick. Adam Robinson continued his successful running, nabbing about 110 yards and 2 TDs, though a lot of his yards came on a 43 yard scamper on 3rd and 23, when KOK decided to play up to his conservative namesake and run a draw, only the line opened up a massive chasm and Robinson took full advantage. Brandon Wegher got in on the action himself once again, landing 43 yards and another impressive, leaping touchdown.
Another major story of this game, especially in the context of next week's big game, was the injuries. A lingering ankle injury kept the Glass Man himself, Tony Moeaki, out of this contest, but luckily his backup, the very capable and Brandon Myers-esque Allen Reisner, subbed in with flying colors, racking up about 40 receiving yards while showing off his wonderfully soft super-glue hands. Though Reisner doesn't have Moeaki's jaw-dropping athleticism or dominate run blocking capabilities, it's nice to know the injury prone superstar once again has a reliable backup. DJK also sat this one out with a hamstring injury, but luckily wideout is the Hawks' deepest position, and a vast array of characters filled in admirably, though I would like to see more of Keenan Davis out there. Perhaps the biggest, most figuratively and literally, hole to make up for was the conspicuous absence of left tackle Bryan Bulaga, apparently with intestinal issues due either to a thyroid problem or an infection from a tattoo, depending on who you listen to. No one seems to know when he will be cleared by the doctor, but in the meantime his admitedly undersized backup, redshirt frosh Riley Reiff, has done a fantastic, even dominate job, in his absence. He limited an All-Pac 10 defensive end to only one tackle, an essentially worthless game. But Penn State is another deal. One more player I should talk about is Heisman Candidate and Iowa punter Ryan Donahue, who has been having as dominate and entertaining a seasons as a punter could possibly have. He gives the Hawks fantastic field position everytime out, consistently pins the opponent inside their own 10/5 yard line, and contributed mightily to our narrow victory over UNI. If Donahue was a safety, only the gods could comprehend his potency. Donahue would possess a tenacity rivaling that of Bob Sanders, with a penchant for sternum-snapping hits and unyielding intensity, leading to the occasional "foaming at the mouth" whenever his rabid intensity exposes itself to the shockingly pleased Kinnick faithful, clad in midnight black while playing the role of bloodthirsty Romans clamoring for their ketchup-topped gladiator to slay the lion. His coverage skills would rival that of the fleece blanket wrapped around grandma's knees at Christmas time, or at least that of Champ Bailey. On a good day. Donahue would rise from his crippled feast, a mound of battered enemies, running backs searching for shoulder blades, wideouts missing toes, tight ends cross-eyed and stumbling from the severe spinal wreckage that Bomb-a-Hue proudly claims responsibility for. He raises his fist, bleached white, yet speckled with fresh grass and Nittany Lion cartilage, points to the lonely red-headed Hawk fan sitting in row 15, easily distinguishable among the Beaver Stadium White-Out, and shouts "I AM GINGER!" And you thought Donahue could only punt...
The epic revenge match against the Nittany Lions, which will be aired on ABC Primetime while welcoming in the College Gameday crew, should be the toughest test of our entire season. Penn State will bring new meaning to the words "motivation" and "hatred," looking to embarrass the Hawks on a national stage after Murray's field goal kept them out of the national championship last year. Not only does Ferentz's 6-2 record against JoePa suggest that PSU is our bitch, but even in basketball, a sport where the Hawks have barely been competent in recent years, Iowa knocked off the Nittany Lions in a late season thriller and kept them out of the NCAA tournament. DJK and Moeaki are expected back, but nobody seems to know if Bulaga will play or not, so look for Reiff to throw his 280-pound body into the biggest fire of his life. ISU and Arizona are one thing, but Penn State is an entirely different burn. We'll see. The raucous, much-ballyhooed White Out crowd will be a frightening experience, and new starters should be prepared to shiver in their cleats, but Penn State has played three straight cupcake opponents to start the season, and Iowa is their first challenge, a major one at that. It will be a competitive, physical, emotional game, with the factors stretched against us, but if Stanzi can limit the turnovers, the defense can continue to play at an elite level, and the youngest players can tune out the distractions of crowd noise, then we should make it a College Gameday to remember.
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