Losing is never easy for Iowa Hawkeye fans. Losing badly is even worse, and can be enough to send fans into a downward spiral of depression and gloom. We take our college football seriously in the Midwest.
Despite the obvious pain and torment involved, Mike Hlas of the Cedar Rapids Gazette recently set out to determine what the worst losses of the Kirk Ferentz era were. Although reading some of the game descriptions was like pouring salt on a gaping wound, the mini-series on the Hlog Blog was a reminder for Hawk fans not to let their expectations for the 2010 season get the better of them.
As Hlas explains, "what would good games be if they didn’t have bad games to help them stand out? And what would a picture of how far the Iowa program has come under Ferentz be without knowing that it was a process with bumps? Incomplete, that’s what."
In the series, Hlas lists the Iowa losses in chronological order and manages to list almost every painful memory a Hawkeye fan has had over the last ten years. In Ferentz's first year as head coach, Iowa went 1-11 and suffered a few brutal losses. Hlas has three of those games on his list.
The Des Moines Register's Andrew Logue recently wrote a series on his blog titled Ten Iowa Hawkeye Storylines for 2010. As part of that series, he tried to determine ten possible topics that could dominate the headlines for the Hawks this fall.
From the kicking game, to adding Nebraska into the conference mix, to power-ranking Stanzi among the all-time quarterbacks in Iowa's history, Louge's analysis stretches the whole spectrum of Iowa football. He does a great job of giving fans a preview of what they can expect to read about once the season gets underway.
Not long ago, the writers at the Cedar Rapids Gazette set out on a task to determine the top games of Iowa during Kirk Ferentz tenure.
Marc Morehouse led the charge, and compiled not only his own list of games but a list of games as contributed by his readers. Fellow writers Mike Hlas and Scott Docterman also took part. Hawkeye Nation's Jon Miller followed, as did a handful of other aspiring bloggers.
The selections varied greatly. Morehouse, Hlas, Dochterman and Miller have all been covering Hawkeye sports for what combines to be well over 50 years, and all have different reasons for why some games are better than others.
In Morehouse's selections, it's clear he favors the close games. His No. 1 pick is the 6-4 win over Penn State in 2004, a classic Big Ten barn-burner. Most casual Hawk fans won't pick a defensive battle like this to be top of the list, but true fans understand the importance of this game.
Hlas favors the last second kick against Penn State in 2008. Dochterman favors the 2010 Orange Bowl championship. For most Hawkeye fans, the 2005 Capital One Bowl featuring Drew Tate's 60 yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Warren Holloway as time expired is the greatest game in the Ferentz era.
Phil Steele has a habit of being right about college football coaches on the hot seat.
Steele is a sportswriter and football analyst that produces a widely-respected annual preseason magazine Phil Steele's College Football Preview . His magazine, full of statistics and information has been the most accurate preseason magazine for the last 11 years.
Along with his magazine, he publishes daily blog posts covering the entire spectrum of the gridiron.
In 2008, he started an annual Coaches on the Hot Seat list as part of his blog. Seven out of the 12 coaches on Steele's first Hot Seat lost their jobs.
Three of the remaining five names were on the hot seat again in 2009. All three were fired during or after the 2009 season, as were several others.
Being on Steele's hot seat list is not where a head coach wants to be.
Thirteen coaches made 2010's Hot Seat. Of those 13, four are coaches from the Big Ten Conference.
Michigan's Rich Rodriguez (No. 1), Illinois' Ron Zook (No. 2), Minnesota's Tim Brewster (No. 5) and Indiana's Bill Lynch (No. 8) all make an appearance on the list.
In comic books, the superhero usually has an arch-nemesis.
Batman has The Joker. Superman has Lex Luther.
The idea of the arch-nemesis carries over into video games and television sitcoms, as well.
Bowser terrorizes Super Mario. Newman agitates Seinfeld.
College football coaches are all too familiar with the arch-rival concept.
Bo Schembechler battled Woody Hayes. Joe Paterno brawled with Bobby Bowden.
Most coaches have at least one rival thorn in their side. Even Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz has an arch-nemesis.
Captain Kirk's nemesis wears scarlet and gray, and goes by the name "The Vest."
If the cheesy nicknames weren't obvious, The Vest is none other than Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. Over the years, Tressel seems to have figured out what Ferentz's kryptonite is, and he hasn't been afraid to use it.
Ferentz might win the battle off the field, having won three Coach of the Year awards to Tressel's zero, but on the field the Ohio State coach has dominated.
Tressel has compiled a 5-1 record against the Iowa coach, including a 1990 victory over Ferentz's Maine team while coaching at Youngstown State. He has won six Big Ten championships to Ferentz's two.
Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell Discusses the Team's Safety Position [Colts.com] - Sanders, a Pro Bowl selection in 2005 and 2007, missed 10 games in 2008, then began this past season inactive with a knee injury. He returned, but missed all but two games this past season after sustaining a season-ending biceps injury in October.
Adrian Clayborn: Everyone’s (preseason) all-American [Marc Morehouse] - Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn is cool with all the preseason hype going his way. He was added the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given annually to the nation’s top defensive player, watch list this week.
UI football featured on four major publications [Press Citizen] - Adrian Clayborn stopped at a newsstand long enough a couple weeks ago to thumb through one preseason college football publication.
Ronnie Lester, former Hawkeye, is candidate for Phoenix Suns' GM job [DM Register] - Ronnie Lester, the former Iowa Hawkeye basketball star, is among three assistant general managers who the Phoenix Suns have been granted permission to interview for their vacant GM job, according to the Arizona Republic.
A member of Iowa football's extended family was drafted in the 2010 NHL draft over the weekend.
Mark Alt, son of former Iowa Hawkeyes and Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman John Alt, was drafted with the 53rd pick in the 2010 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes.
The younger Alt passed on a football scholarship at the University of Iowa to instead lace up his skates for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and try his luck in the NHL. Pro scouts had him labeled as the 37th best North American skater prospect in the draft.
“We think his upside is pretty significant,” said Tony MacDonald, the Carolina Hurricanes’ director of amateur scouting.
After the customary two or three years of college hockey, the Canes are hoping that Alt will benefit from the structured environment and can shake-off some bad habits typical of high-school prospects before playing full time in the NHL.
The Big Ten Network recently recognized the best of Big Ten sports in 2009-10 with their third annual Big Ten Network Awards.
Among the honors was the award for the 2009-10 Game of the Year. For Big Ten fans around the country, the winner of the award should come as no big surprise.
The network offers approximately 35-40 college football games each year, but in 2009 one game in particular stood out above the rest.
The No. 15 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes traveled to Columbus on November 21, 2009 to face the No. 10 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
It was the 62nd meeting between the Hawkeyes and the Buckeyes, a game that would decide 2009's Big Ten Championship. The match-up would also decide who made a trip to the 2010 Rose Bowl.
The battle for the conference title was everything fans thought it would be.
As the 2010 college football season quickly approaches, several notable awards are starting to release their "watch lists."
This year, the watch lists are peppered with the names of Iowa Hawkeye players.
The 2010 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list features two well known Hawkeyes: DE Adrian Clayborn and S Tyler Sash.
Clayborn made a lasting impression on Big Ten fans in 2009. In addition to his Orange Bowl MVP and his First-Team All-Big Ten selection, Clayborn blocked a punt for a touchdown against Penn State which earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors.
Clayborn finished the 2009 season second in the Big 10 in sacks, which tied him for ninth nationally. He was also third in the Big Ten in tackles-for-loss, which also has him ninth nationally.
The senior defensive end was also recently named to the prestigious Playboy magazine pre-season all-America team.
Sash joins Clayborn on the watch list.
Hall Of Fame Softball Coach Gayle Blevins To Retire [Hawkeye Sports] - Legendary coach owns the second most wins in NCAA Division I softball history.
Next Norm? [Marc Morehouse] - "I want Norm to stick around for years to come, but his health may not allow it. I would think that Iowa would want Norm’s defensive philosophy to continue. Is there a current staff member being groomed to step in when Norm retires or will Iowa look outside the program?"
Title Tilt Nears [Press Citizen] - In 2011, the Big Ten may host its first football championship; too bad for the 2002 Hawkeyes.
University of Iowa police increase downtown presence [Press Citizen] - "An increased presence of University of Iowa police officers downtown is already paying off. UI officers assisted the Iowa City Police in locating a suspect wanted in connection with a report of a sexual assault involving a 14-year-old girl."
Salaries decrease slightly for Iowa men’s basketball [Scott Docterman] - The University of Iowa will spend less on men’s basketball coaches this year than it did in Todd Lickliter’s first season in 2007-08.
