2007 September archive at Black and Gold Nation

Archive for September, 2007

Sep

Indiana 38 Iowa 20

By pre 0 Comments

Categories: Hawkeye Football

Coming into the game as 11 point favorites, the Hawkeyes managed to put up one of the most dismal performances I’ve ever seen form them. The injury bug has hit hard, with Moeaki, Brodell and Klinkenborg out for this game. Even with Klinkenborg out you would expect the defense to put up some resistance. Instead Lewis and Hardy scored with ease.

The wheels are coming off this team. Look at the TD catch by Stross to end the half. He spiked the ball giving Indiana a 15 yard advantage on the next kickoff. The coaches have lost control of this team. It all started with Douglas and Bowman’s spending spree. Since then there have been many little problems which are all signs of a big problem with team discipline. Is Ferentz getting soft?

I’m not going to bother recapping the game. There were no highlights for the Hawks. They have a 7 game Big 10 losing streak. Games which looked like gimmes (Mich St, Northwestern and Illinois) now look like big challenges. It is possible the Hawks could put up an Iowa St-like season and be sitting at home in December and January.

Ferentz and staff need to fix the team discipline right away, or this will be a disaster of a season.

Sep

Contenders and Pretenders

By pre 0 Comments

Categories: Hawkeye Football

We’re a third done with the season and it is time to separate the contenders from the the pretenders in the Big 10.

I think we can forget about a Minnesota, Northwestern, Indiana and Illinois. They don’t fit into either category.

There is one group that hasn’t been challenged, but also has performed as they should. Ohio St, Wisconsin, and Michigan haven’t faced the toughest competition (Oregon excepted) and they haven’t dominated anyone yet. All three have had difficultly with teams they should blow out. They all play each other and could all end up going 1-1. All three are contenders.

There are also several teams that haven’t been challenged, so we don’t really know how good or bad they are. These include Penn St , Michiga St and Purdue. Penn St was exposed against Michigan. Playing teams that went 0-9 in the first weeks doesn’t look like that much of a challenge and didn’t prepare them for a good team like Michigan. Purdue has a ton of offense, but not much defense. They can’t outscore all their opponents. You need a defense to win the Big 10. Who knows about Michigan St. They haven’t played a decent team yet. They are a huge improvement over the John L Smith era, but that isn’t saying much. All of these are pretenders.

So where does Iowa fit? The defense should make them a contender. Their offense makes them a pretender. So far their defense isn’t tipping the balance, so they are still pretenders. Their schedule helps in playing only one of the contenders this year. They play all three pretenders and that will determine the fate of their season. Beat Penn St, Purdue and Michigan St, and the Hawks will probably go 10-2 for the season. Loss to all three and the Northwestern game looks iffy again and they might end up with a losing record again.

I like this defense too much. I think they have the talent to go 9-3 for the season. Christensen will get a trial by fire, but that will make him a better QB faster. The same goes for the young receiver corp. I wish the Hawkeye defense was a year younger because they would be unstoppable next season. We’ll see.

Sep

Injury update

By pre 0 Comments

Categories: Hawkeye Football

Receiver Andy Brodell may miss the rest of the season after tearing his hamstring in the Wisconsin game. Tight end Tony Moeaki will miss up to a month due to a dislocated elbow and broken bone in his hand. Both injuries occurred on the same play in Madison.

This is a blow to the struggling offense. An experienced tight end is a safety valve for a young QB. And the receiving corps is getting a little thin.

Here’s hoping they both recover quickly.