Bumped from the comments section due to Incredible-ness

Much love to "Anonymous" for the picture.  Pretty sterotypical username though.

Bulaga is Back!

To Health! And a regulated thyroid!  Cheers!

It's official.

The Hawkeye's All-American Candidate will be back in the starting line-up this weekend against Arkansas State.  Arkansas State is the Arkansas equivilant of Iowa State.  Except it's in Arkansas, so it's, you know, considerably worse.  If you had told any Hawkeye fan that Bulaga would be out during the stretch of @ ISU, vs. Arizona, @ Penn State, they likely would have responded OMG WERE SCRWED FIRE KOK CAN NE1 BLOCK?  

Per Kirk's press conference today, Bulaga had a thyroid condition.  Like Kirk said, if it happened on some garbage day in February (paraphrasing, of course) this would almost be a non-issue (aside from Bryan getting healthy in the Winter, rather than now).  However, as it stands, the great left tackle is back and will hopefully be paving defensive ends in the near future.  It'll be very interesting to see how he plays the first week back.

Implications

The odd man out is the Philly Steak Pita Riley Reiff.  For the last three weeks, Reiff has erased all thoughts about the Pita Pit streaking (though I'll never forget.  EPIC) and manhandled players much older than him in seriously difficult environments.  Although I expected there to be a gigantic drop-off after Bulaga went down, Reiff performed admirably considering the circumstances.  The only way a gigantic drop-off doesn't happen when an All-American candidate goes down is when another one is awaiting in the wings.  Although Reiff is the odd man out now, he's a damn good backup for a line that goes like this:  Bulaga, Richardson, Eubanks, Vandervelde, Calloway.  Iowa will win a lot of games this year based on the play of both lines.

Now that Bulaga has missed three games this season, it's entirely possible that he returns for his senior season.  His draft stock probably hasn't taken that big of a hit, but perhaps a bit of one.

The offensive line now has even more depth with game experience:  Reiff, Andy Kuempel, Josh Koeppel, Adam Gettis, and Dan Doering.  It's like the free CinnaPie Papa John's throws in with their 2-topping large.  Never, ever a bad thing.  And always useful. 

Other Notes:

Adrian Clayborn is now a captain after his insane performances against Penn State and Arizona.  He also got some beard time on the Big 10 Network.

Clayborn had the best quote on DT Karl Klug, "Karl Klug is an animal.  Next game we're going to bring him in a cage."  Let me just interject, while this is my own opinion, THAT WOULD BE SO FREAKING SWEET.  Put caged Klug on the platform the cheerleading bro's carry Herky out on, then set him in the middle of the field and watch him bend steel.

America Needs Farmers

Not a lightning bolt.

Have you been noticing that decal the Hawks have been wearing this season?  The decal isn't new, but I'm glad it's back.  As you can see from the picture, it says "ANF" which stands for "America Needs Farmers."  The NCAA has some crazy stupid rules (go figure) about decals on helmets that deal with advertising or promotion.  Iowa officials must have found a loophole in the system.  Either way, I hope it's here to stay.

Some History

From the immaculately reliable Wikipedia:

The Michigan Wolverines came into Iowa City with a perfect 5-0 record and the #2 ranking in the AP poll. It was just the 12th time in college football history that the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the AP poll would meet for a regular season game. It was the first such meeting where the victor scored the winning points on the game's final play. With two seconds remaining in the game and Iowa trailing 10-9, kicker Rob Houghtlin booted his fourth field goal of the day, this one from 29 yards out, as time expired to give Iowa a dramatic 12-10 victory over Michigan at Kinnick Stadium. Fry used the pregame attention to highlight the farm crisis in the state of Iowa at the time by putting ANF decals on Iowa's helmets, which stood for "America Needs Farmers."

Knowlege is power.

The Turnover: Pennsylvania State

What really happened in Hawkeyeland this weekend?

THIS. HAPPENED.

Sweet Baby Jesus

I'm still a bit shocked at the outcome of Iowa's 21-10 victory over then #5 Penn State. Not shocked that they won, I knew it was certainly a possibility. Just surprised that they actually pulled it off. Just think everything that was working against the Hawks on Saturday: the revenge factor (if you saw the way Daryl Clark celebrated after the first TD, that revenge factor was real), the seven hours of rain on real grass, the White-Out, playing a top 5 ranked team in the country. Everything. And yet they did it.

This game, especially the fourth quarter, was so much fun to watch. It started with Clayborn's punt-safe-block-scoop-run-TD and it ended with Daniel Murray kicking a 31-yard ball of irony down Penn State's collective mouth. I had accidentally run into a variety of objects and spilled so much beverage on my roommates, apartment floor, and myself that I had to watch the game from the comforts of my own bathroom. Things can go from excited to annoying really fast when people are soaked. I have a feeling this was the case all across the dustland fairytale that is Iowa.

Rumble on, big man. Rumble on.

Comprehending the Awesomeness that is Six Seconds of Hell

This is easily the story of the game. Try and name someone on the defense that didn't play well. We'll just go left to right, back to front. ESPN.com's Big 10 Defensive POW Broderick Binns: 8 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble that led to a safety. Karl Klug: 6 tackles, 2 TFL, .5 a sack, a tip that led to an INT, and a fumble recovery in the 4th quarter that essentially sealed the game. Christian Ballard: not gaudy stats (only 2 tackles), but probably the most consistent pressure on Clark the entire game. ESPN.com's Big 10 Special Teams POW Adrian Clayborn: Only two tackles...plus the aforementioned game changing/winning play.

Let's talk about this play for a bit. I can usually rate big plays in Hawkeye history by how I reacted to them. Ed Hinkel's one-handed catch at the Big House; quiet astonishment. Shonn Greene's run against Wisconsin; "He's too good. Too good." The Catch? I ran around a basement screaming and hugging and swearing and screaming for a good 20 minutes or more. In the process, I managed to pop an air mattress and instantly changed the way a few of my family's friends thought of me. On Clayborn's block, I jumped up from the couch (blocking the projector, which blocked the actual screen) and began to simultaneously celebrate in disbelief and endure significant wrath from friends.

If this block doesn't happen, it could be a completely and totally different game. Iowa gained both momentum and confidence after the block. Ferentz's best teams have always made big plays in special teams. ALWAYS. This is the aspect that has been missing the past few years. This season is different, which is why it could be very special. Iowa blocked two consecutive field goals in its opener. The Hawks silenced Happy Valley with a block on a punt safe. Just sayin'.

A.J Edds: 6 tackles, one INT. Big 10 Defensive Player of the Week Pat Angerer: 14 tackles, 1 forced fumble, one interception that he got knocked out on, and one amazing quote. Angerer called Edds a "bleep" for sliding after his pick. I can only assume and hope "bleep" means "bitch", but who knows, curse words have a variety of uses and meanings. Pretty funny considering Angerer got his bell rung during his return.

Jeremiha Hunter: 12 tackles, 1.5 TFL. Hunter seemed to be in on every play.

Amari Spievey: After getting burnt team for the touchdown on Penn State's first play, Spievey did what Spievey does. Mainly, locking down an entire side of the field. I'd bet at least three of my toes that Spievey doesn't get burnt like that again all season.

Sash/Greenwood: Pretty quiet game from the tandem. Probably due to the fact that the ball didn't get more than 4 yards down the field at a time. Though, it's entirely possible Iowa was playing a cover-2 deep on the first play and Sash bit on the play fake. Otherwise, spectacularly solid.

Shaun Prater: Making only his second start, he baited Clark like a veteran for a INT and then proceeded to run 78 yards sideways for a gain of 0.

That defense was something special on Saturday. Although we knew coming in that Penn State's offensive line was not a strength, Iowa's D-Line abused them all night. Can we expect this type of production game-in, game-out. Absolutely not. However, Iowa's defensive line is the reason this defense is suffocating its opponents.

JoePa has seen better days, when he could see.  Dude is a LEGEND.

So what's next?

First and foremost, Arkansas State.  Anyone know anything at all about them?  No?  Sweet.  They lost to Nebraska by 30ish.  Last year, they "upset" a bad Texas A&M team.  This is a "trap" game.  Iowa just beat a top 5 opponent on the road for the first time since 1990.  Iowa hosts #23 Michigan, at home, at night, on Homecoming.  Arkansas State is sandwiched.  Plus, the two stereotypes of trap games do sorta exist.  Teams usually play worse after a huge win or before a big game.  Arkansas State is both.  Remember how well Iowa played against a bad Purdue game last year after Penn State?  If it weren't for Shonn Greene destroying the manhood(s) of Purdue's secondary, Iowa might have lost that game. 

Iowa's run schedule doesn't look so tough anymore.  At Wisconsin, tough, but not Penn State tough.  Plus, I'll be there, which means at least +4 points for the Hawks.  At Michigan State not as bad, since they've been pooping the bed so far this season.  Plus, I hope they lose to Michigan this weekend to set up the battle of the undefeateds in two weeks, with a possibility of GameDay coming to Iowa Cit-ay.  With a good amount of luck, at Ohio State will hopefully be the battle for the Big 10 Title.

That's looking pretty far ahead, but it is certainly more plausible after this weekend.

(All photos owned by Matthew Holst)

The Turnover

What really happened in Hawkeyeland this past weekend?

Look at the dude bottom right of the pic: Sweet pose, bro!

Scary Good

The Hawkeye defense is finally dominating the way we thought they would from the start. Adrian Clayborn was the best player on the field Saturday, and it wasn't even close. He played so well that the only thing to slow him down all day was a whistle he thought he heard while chasing down Arizona running back Nic Grigsby for the 42nd time. This is the kind of game Hawkeye fans have been waiting and expecting from him for awhile now. Not to say he hasn't been impressive, but he took over the game single-handedly. ESPN blogger Adam Rittenberg named him the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Week. He also has a sweet beard. Here's to hoping that Clayborn's dominating performance wasn't just an anomaly.

The other dominating component of Iowa's D is safety Tyler Sash. I said in my season preview podcast with Gazette sportswriter Marc Morehouse that Sash could be comparable to former Hawkeye safety Sean Considine. In fact, I felt that might have been a touch of exaggeration. I was wrong. He's well on his way to be the second best safety of the Kirk Ferentz era, behind the incomparable Demond Sanders. Sash has 7 picks in his last 5 games, the most return yards on interceptions in Hawkeye HISTORY, and he's just a true sophomore. Sure, it's true Austen Arnaud was throwing the football to Sash like he was his own kin. However, if you saw Sash's INT on the tele against 'Zona, you said something to the effect of "Man, that Scott kid from Arizona sucks. He just lobbed it up there." But if you were lucky enough to be in Kinnick, you were saying, like me, "OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG." Because trust me, Sash was on his horse (not literally, that's a bit illegal) and came across the entire field.

Quick question:  Has anyone thrown at Amari Spievey yet this year?  I know the Hawks play a ton of zone, but seriously.  He's shutting down one person/area for the ENTIRE game.

Do something crazy, Marvin.

Gameday in Happy Valley

The crew is going to be at the Big 10 opener at Penn State. Unfortunately, that means Desmond Howard will still be there, on television, and think himself to be funny. This is good and bad for a couple reasons. The good news is that Iowa will receive plenty of coverage throughout the day, will be nationally televised, and every Hawkeye fan in any podunk town can watch it on ABC. Even I got the three most basic channels (ABC, CBS, PBS) when I was in elementary and lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere. Though PBS was in black and white for me, so the whole purple dinosaur got sorta lost on me. The point of the story is this: public universities and their football teams, like Iowa, are absolutely, 100% a brand. If you don't believe this, you're a complete moron. The more frequently we're on national television, the better. Better for recruiting, better for a local and national fan base, better for everything (The key exception being Oregon's LeGarette Blount. Whoopsie). I'm convinced that it's much less how we play and much more that we're on the nation's televisions.

The bad news: Happy Valley was already gonna be completely and utterly APESHIT. This makes it worse; much worse. It was already a WhiteOut (which is undeniably both impressive and cool). Penn State is still fuming after 24-23 and Murray's ensuing seizure. Stanzi won't be able to audible, we have two freshmen running backs, and again, 110,000 caucasionly-clad people screaming. Good luck.

Throw it away, please

Enigma Manzi

Dick Stanzi comes to play in the first half.  He chucks it around like he's Brett freakin' Favre only with Jake Christensen-style accuracy.  Dick Stanzi is only completely 49 percent of his throws and there is an feeling of discomfort everytime he throws into triple coverage.  Dick Stanzi is a bottom-tier Big 10 QB.

Rick Stanzi is the QB of the second half.  He works drives, completes passes, converts third downs, and does everything anyone wants from their quarterback.  Rick is completing 73 percent of his passes and playing above even Hawkeye fans expectations.  Rick might be the best quarterback in the Big 10.

The key is to put it all together.  Now I'm not one of those crazy types of Hawkeye fans who cut out their father's pacemaker and always want the back-up quarterback to get a chance.  But I'm not an apologist either.  Stanzi needs to play better in first halves, otherwise the Hawks will be looking at a 17-0 hole.  The Hawkeyes are not climbing out of a 17 point hole in Happy Valley against Penn State's defense.  Not happening.

Let's not forget that Stanzi's top players have been out for at least some time at every major offensive position.  Offensive Line:  Bryan Bulaga, Kyle Calloway, Julian Vandervelde.  Running Back:  Jewel Hampton.  Wide Receiver:  DJK.  Tight End:  Tony Moeaki.  These aren't just starters out with injuries, these are all-Big 10 quality players that are out.  It's not possible to take all the major parts away from a unit and not feel it.  Perhaps this lack of cohesiveness is all falling on Stanzi's numbers.  Perhaps he just needs to play better in the first half.  I have a feeling both the first half and second half numbers will improve/regress to the mean eventually.

Either way, the Big 10 season will be very interesting.  I have a feeling that the Hawkeyes are going to be right in the thick of things come November

Totally non-football, non-Hawkeye related. But hey, it was in Iowa...

Another mental evaluation set for man accused of cutting out father’s pacemaker.

See those big, bold words above this sentence.  Those.  No, the ones below the picture.  Got it?

This was an actually headline on the Gazette's website.  There's a story that accompanies it, but for no reason really.  It really could be a 25 word article.  This man is so screwed in court because he tried to cut out his father's pacemaker, which is essentially like cutting out his heart anyway. 

And he's going through another mental evaluation?  My diagnosis:  F'n insane.  Not the clinical kind where you get off withour repercussions, but the kind where people in prison find out about it and make you their mistress for the rest of your stay.  Enjoy.

http://gazetteonline.com/breaking-news/2009/09/17/another-mental-evaluation-set-for-man-accused-of-cutting-out-fathers-pacemaker

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