Out of Towner: Hawkeye Nation Gears Up for Orange Bowl
Sunscreen, check. Sunglasses, check. Lucky Hawkeye boxers, check. New custom Hawkeye gold mohawk, check. Orange Bowl tickets, check. Well, I guess I'm ready. As are about 40,000 other Hawkeye faithfuls. Miami here we come. Georgia Tech here we come.
Aside from enjoying the warm weather and scantily clad women, of which I intend to enjoy my fair share, Iowans will also be treated to on hell of a game on January 5th at Land Shark Stadium against a very tough Georgia Tech team.
In Iowa's first ever game versus ninth ranked Georgia Tech (11-2, 7-1 ACC), the strength of the Hawkeye Defense will be the determining factor of the game. This is nothing new to this year's squad. However, the triple option run by QB Josh Nesbitt and RB Jonathon Dwyer (the ACC's all-time dual running threat) will be something the Hawkeyes and Kirk Ferentz have never seen. Georgia Tech's offense is ranked 2nd in the country in rushing and 11th in scoring and has been nearly unstoppable this season.
Urban Meyer reminds Hawkeye fans of Hayden Fry
Hayden Fry retired as head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes football team on Nov. 23, 1998.
It followed his worst season ever as coach. Iowa was 3-8 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten conference.
It wasn't just the losing that made it his worst season ever.
Not long after his announcement to retire, Fry revealed that he coached the entire season while undergoing treatments for prostate cancer.
"I didn’t know what was wrong," Fry said in a 2006 interview with Hawkeye Insider. "I knew something was wrong because I just got tired very easily. I hadn’t had a physical exam in quite a few years. I finally went over to get a physical to find out what was wrong. One thing led to another, and by the time I got through, I discovered I had prostate cancer."
Big Ten Basketball About to Begin Its Conference Schedule
Big Ten basketball begins conference action today, but unfortunately the conference's football bowl games might overshadow a lot of great match-ups.
The league won the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, and appear to be stronger this year than they have in the recent past. Teams have only played a dozen games against uneven competition, so there are still a few unanswered questions for teams.
There have been a few surprises, like the great early-season play by Northwestern. There have also been some disappointments, like Ohio State's Evan Turner breaking bones in his back.
As conference play begins, teams look to fully establish their identities.
Lickliter Probably Knows How Urban Meyer Feels
The world of college football was in utter shock when Urban Meyer suddenly decided to step aside for awhile as Florida Gators head coach.
Urgent health concerns were the reason cited for his unexpected departure.
It has been reported that Meyer suffered chest pains following the loss to Alabama that sent him to the hospital. In addition, Sports Illustrated reported earlier this month that Meyer also suffers from an arachnoid cyst that was discovered on his brain in 1998.
Todd Lickliter might know a little something about what's going through the mind of Meyer right now.
Lickliter, head coach for the Iowa men's basketball team, was recently hospitalized due to a tear in his carotid artery. He underwent a medical procedure to have a stent inserted.
"I was having headaches when we were in Kansas City," Lickliter explained in a radio interview after the procedure. "It turned out to be the beginning of a tear."
Georgia Tech Will Learn About Six Seconds of Hell the Hard Way
"Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light;"
John Milton (Paradise Lost)
In the poem Paradise Lost, John Milton attempts to explain the logic of Satan. He paints the picture of Satan rising up to claim Hell as his own domain, proclaiming that it is better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.
"The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven."
It could be a stretch, but Iowa's defensive coordinator Norm Parker might borrow a bit of Milton's explanation in his defensive strategy.
The Hawkeye defensive mantra all season has been focused on "six seconds of Hell". The mantra is simple. Each play lasts about six seconds, so players should focus and work as hard as they can for each six second play.
Sunday Morning Hawkeye News
Iowa Hawkeyes' season in review [QC Times] - Iowa blocked two field-goal attempts by UNI's Billy Hallgren, a Moline graduate, in the final seconds to avoid losing to the Panthers for the first time since 1898.
Tiger Hawk Born 30 Years Ago [KCRG] - When Hayden Fry arrived on the Iowa campus in December of 1978 he was looking for a new logo, a hawk that would be distinctive to the University of Iowa.
Cato Contributes Big Stop, Blocks [Hawkeye Sports] - University of Iowa backup strong safety David Cato finished the 12-game regular season with two solo tackles. Yet few of the team's 902 total tackles were more significant than the solo stop for a loss Cato delivered Sept. 19.
Orange Bowl from A-Z [QC Times] - "Adrian Clayborn, Amari Spievey, A.J. Edds and Pat Angerer are some of the mainstays of the Iowa defense."
Angerer, Edds are Hawks' odd couple [Globe Gazette] - They are the Iowa Hawkeyes’ “Odd Couple:” Pat Angerer as the rough-hewn Oscar, A.J. Edds as the oh-so-GQ Felix.
UI study may help blood pressure [Press Citizen] - Researchers at the University of Iowa think their latest find could be used to create new treatments to prevent high blood pressure.
Christmas Day Hawkeye News
Looking Back Will Help Stanzi in Orange Bowl Prep [Hawkeye Sports] - UI quarterback will use successful Outback Bowl as blueprint for Miami.
Winning on the wild side - Editing the 2009 Iowa football highlight film isn't an easy task. What do you cut? The Hawkeyes made many unlikely, unpredictable plays on their way to the Orange Bowl.
Iowa offensive coordinator has had a satisifying year [Marc Morehouse] - Iowa’s offense never has been a complete picture. It started in June, when No. 1 running back Jewel Hampton suffered a torn ACL. Then, all-star left tackle Bryan Bulaga missed three games with a thyroid condition.
Clayborn leaves the money and stays [Marc Morehouse] - Somewhere out on the internet, there’s a Santa Claus picture with Adrian Clayborn’s face photo shopped under the red furry hat.
Healthy Moeaki Boosts UI Offense [Hawkeye Sports] - The following week, Moeaki hauled in three passes for 55 yards and a touchdown during a 20-10 win at Wisconsin. It was the third of four road triumphs for the Hawkeyes during the season.
Sick 4-year-old an inspiration for Iowa football team - The University of Iowa Hawkeyes have been busy preparing for the FedEx Orange Bowl for about a month now. They’ve been working out, studying film, finishing up first-semester classwork. It’s been a hectic time.
Bob Sanders: Iowa Football Player of the Decade
The legend of Bob Sanders continues to thrive in Iowa.
It has been six years since Sanders last played for the Hawkeyes, but his bone-crunching tackles epitomized smash-mouth football and left fans with a long-lasting impression.
The Hitman is quite possibly the best strong safety to step foot on the field of Kinnick Stadium and one of the hardest hitting defensive backs to ever play in the Big Ten.
Sanders' hard-hitting, hard-working style earned him first team All-Big Ten three years in a row (2001, 2002, 2003).
His speed and agility made him nearly impossible for opposing players to avoid and helped him capture 348 tackles during his career at Iowa, seventh highest in Iowa history.
He spotted plays quickly and was extremely difficult for teams to block. His 25 tackles against the Indiana Hoosiers in 2001 sits as the fourth-best single game total ever at Iowa.
Sanders put a fear deep into the soul of his opponents with the way he played football for the Hawks.
Reggie Evans: Iowa Basketball Player of the Decade
Reggie Evans was a rebounding machine at Iowa.
In 2001, Evans led the nation in free throws attempted, free throws made, and double-doubles. He also set an Iowa single-season record for rebounds, pulling down 416.
His 378 rebounds in 2002 ranks as the third highest single season total on record at Iowa.
The 6'8'' Evans led the Big Ten Conference in rebounding in 2001 and 2002 and was named Second Team All-Big Ten in 2002.
The Hawkeyes won the Big Ten Conference Tournament in 2001, due in large part to the outstanding play of Evans. Evans was named the Big Ten Tournament MVP and set Big Ten Tournament records for free throws, free throw attempts, and rebounds, both for a single game and the entire tournament.
Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas for Hawkeye Fans
It's Christmas Eve, and surely I am not the only person in the world with shopping left this late in the holiday season.
It's not that I procrastinate. It's that there are about four million things that I would rather do in life than go Christmas shopping.
Running my foot over with a lawnmower, drinking bleach straight from the bottle, or cleaning out a port-a-potty all sound like more pleasant activities than dealing with hordes of coupon-fueled housewives fighting for the last copy of Guitar Hero on the shelf so they can further spoil their offspring into psychological trauma.
Dealing with the crowds of mindless lemmings is only part of the misery for me, though. The stress of trying to figure out what to buy someone you hardly know is also coupled with holiday shopping obligation.
Some days I can't figure out what I want for lunch, let alone pick out a gift for someone I barely know.
