Out of Towner Returns for 2009 Hawkeye Football
Welcome back Hawkeye fans. It's football season! Time for another four months of Iowa Hawkeyes football and the drunken ramblings of yours truly. It's been a long offseason for me but I've been training hard to get ready for the season opener against my alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa Panthers tommorrow at 11 a.m.
Not only have I prepared myself for the season with a new Hawkeyes tattoo, but I have also been drinking and eating heavily in preparation for tailgaiting in Iowa City. You heard me right, I am back in Iowa amongst a sea of die hard Hawkeye fans. And don't think for one second that I hold a conflict of interest reporting on Saturday's game being as I went to school in Cedar Falls.
I may have graduated a Panther, but I was born a Hawkeye! So rest assured, I will continue to provide you nothing but professionally biased, somewhat intoxicated reporting this weekend and the rest of the season.
This season looks to be a tough season for the Hawkeyes with all our toughest opponents being played on the road, including ranked Penn State and Ohio State. I feel that this can only make our team stronger and provide a more viable argument for a major bowl game bid down the road.
Another bump in the road already is the loss of starting running back Jewell Hampton for the entire season (knee). Junior Paki Omeara and redshirt freshman Adam Robinson will be no slouches in the backfield though. And freshmen Brandon Wegher and Jeff Brinson should also see some playing time as well, keeping fresh legs on the field throughout the season. Keep your eyes on Wegher this season. Mark my words, I have a feeling this young man is going to show us some fantastic stuff this season.
Iowa's offensive line looks to improve on last year's strong showing with a combined 89 games started for the front five, far and away more than any other teams o-line in the Big Ten. Veterans James Ferentz and Kyle Calloway will miss Saturday's game due to a one-game suspension but will be back September 12th against the hated Cyclones (I hate them anyway).
And as far as that goes, (bear with me on this tangent please) add to the list defensive back Shaun Prater and his 2 game suspension, I'd like to say, "What the hell, guys?" I know I drank too much and did stupid shit in college (still do) but I wasn't a University of Iowa football player! Get your collective heads out of your asses and drink and do stupid shit at home where the fuzz has little to no chance to bust you. And if there are any Johnson County police officers reading this column I'd like to point out that these guys bust their asses for the pride of all of Iowa and if they want to blow off a little steam once in a while, turn your head and go bust some hippies.
Now let's get back to business with this years Defense. For those of you new to this column, note the capital D in Defense. That's because, as usual, these guys are gonna be great. Eight starters return this year, including all three linebackers lead by that mean son-of-a-bitch Pat Angerer who finished the 2008 season with a team high 107 tackles and 5 picks. Last years defense allowed and average of only 13.0 ppg and I for one expect nothing less out of this years unit. One thing I would like to see improvement upon this year is pressure on the quarterback, most notably sacks, of which the Defensive unit only aquired 19 of last season.
Now to the one guy who all eyes are on this year to lead us to the Big Ten championship. That's right, Ricki Stanzi. Our junior QB was really coming into his own by the close of last season finishing with almost 2000 yds through the air and 14 scores. Coaches have been praising his work ethic and increasing leadership skills all through camp and I for one am excited to see what he can do with the added sense of confidence last years successes have brought. Let's just hope that confidence also inspired him to cut back drastically on turnovers. Keep and control the ball, win football games.
Finally a little bit about out season opener tommorrow. UNI does have a solid team that should not be overlooked. They finished 4th in the FCS last year and are expected to compete for the national title again this year. But, the Panthers are 1-13 all-time against the Hawkeyes and, let's face, we're the Hawkeyes. And they are just the Panthers. Hawkeyes win, 24-10.
Hope to see you all at the game tommorrow. If you see me say hi. I'll be the drunk guy wearing the black and gold. And if you can't make it to the game, take over your local sports bar, your friend's living room, or wherever else you can find the game on and go f*#king nuts. It's football season! Go Hawkeyes!!
Questions, comments, complaints or extra home game tickets? Email me at pixleyjackson [AT] yahoo [DOT] com.
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