I didn’t watch the game on ESPNU as it is not in my crappy Comcast lineup, so I missed this on Saturday.

ESPN takes announcer off air: Brian Kinchen removed from game for ‘gay’ comment.

“A college football announcer for ESPNU has been taken off the air for his questionable use of the word “gay” in Saturday’s telecast of the Northern Illinois-Iowa game…

During the game Saturday, Kinchen was explaining the need for receivers to make catches with their hands because they are “tender” and can “caress” the ball. He then paused and said, “that’s kind of gay, but hey …”

What comes after no. 5? Number 6. It doesn’t look like there will be a QB controversy next season as Jake Christiensen proved he is the quarterback of future for the Hawkeyes. He stumbled out of the gate, having his first pass intercepted. He managed to forget about that and was nearly perfect the rest of the way, completing 19 of 30 for 253 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had a great throw to Trey Stross for 47 yards. He showed great poise when he completed a 4th down TD pass to Chandler in the 4th quarter to seal the win. I’m guessing we won’t be seeing Jason Manson taking many more snaps.

The rest of the team looked pretty good too. Albert Young had 123 yards on 25 carries and looked like the Young from last season. And eight different receivers caught passes. The defense managed to shut down running back Garrett Wolfe, holding him to 84 yards on 23 carries.

The special teams were not so special. They screwed up a couple of punt returns and poor coverage on a Husky kickoff return gave them the ball on the Iowa 33, which lead to a score. The score was a lot closer than it should have been.

With the win Iowa is bowl eligible again and they still can get another 10 win season.