- Sep 13, 2002
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Some of the leaves are getting color on them at the Torbee estate. It is officially "in the air!"
Here is this week's TwT:
I started last week’s column with a grumpy old guy, get off my lawn type of observation, so why not make it two-for-two!?
I got my downloadable “Iowa Mobile Tickets” last week. Anyone else feel like getting another email in a sea of emails just isn’t the same as getting the fat envelope of card stock tickets and parking info in the good old snail mail? I wonder if that is another reason this coming Hawkeye season feels like it snuck up on us so fast.
But here we are, it’s game week and we’ve already had the joy of seeing Nebraska’s season ruined on live television in front of the entire college football world. That is a fantastic start to the 2022 campaign; let’s hope the schadenfreude train keeps rolling for Iowa fans.
Here are some other football thoughts rattling around in my head as the first kickoff quickly approaches:
· The Battle for the B1G West is going to be a slugfest. It pains me to say, but I think Bret Bielema has Illinois trending up. I would argue they are already semi-respectable, on their way to being competitive. As demonstrated Saturday, Pat Fitzgerald knows how to motivate and knows how to play to his teams (often-minimal) strengths while picking at his opponent’s weaknesses. Lord knows, Iowa has seen that bite them a time or two with Fitz in charge. Jeff Brohm and Purdue look to have another exciting offense, one that we all know has been the Hawkeye’s Achilles’ heel recently. Wisconsin looks very much like Iowa, stout along the lines, solid defense but sometimes-shaky quarterback play. Minnesota may have lost most of the big dudes on their stellar offensive line, but they return Mo Ibrahim and Tanner Morgan, who led the program to nine wins last season. And Nebraska has talent, if not intelligent coaching. The conventional wisdom is the winner of Iowa-Wisconsin will represent the division in Indianapolis, but expect lots of drama along the way and don’t be surprised if an upstart team challenges for the division title.
· Iowa doesn’t need a stellar offense to win, but it has to be efficient and complementary if the Hawkeyes are going to repeat as division champions. With a tougher schedule this year, Spencer Petras, the offensive line and the rest of the beleaguered and oft-criticized offense need to carry more of the load. We all expect Iowa to have another ironclad defense, but with improved teams in the West and better cross-division opponents with Michigan and Ohio State on the schedule, Iowa is going to need to put up more points, be more efficient in the red zone and avoid more three-and-outs than last year. My prediction is if the offensive line can stay healthy and develop continuity with each other, the running game – and therefore the entire offense – can improve quite dramatically. A running threat helps negate Petras’ biggest weakness, his propensity to panic at the first sign of pressure. Teams were able to tee off on the Iowa quarterback most of last year because Iowa was in third-and-long far too often due to poor blocking and Tyler Goodson’s feast-or-famine running style. I expect to see better push and more assertive downhill running from the offense this year, and this in turn will allow Petras to take advantage of his strong arm.
· Angst over playing a good FCS squad by Iowa fans is understandable. Needing to block consecutive field goals to beat Northern Iowa was borderline humiliating. Watching North Dakota State wear down Iowa in the fourth quarter to steal a victory was even worse. And we know the Jackrabbits of South Dakota are no joke. They are regular participants in the FCS playoffs, making the semi-finals last season. Iowa absolutely should respect them, but we fans should absolutely expect to see a season opening win. With fewer scholarship players and lesser financial resources, even an elite FCS squad should never beat a top-notch FBS team on their home field. If Iowa fancies itself such a program, it needs to take care of business this Saturday.
Finally, my good friend Tom Kakert is celebrating his 20th year at the helm of Hawkeye Report. It was on a soccer field in Davenport a year or maybe two after that when he asked if I’d be interested in writing a fan-perspective weekly column during the Iowa football season. Eighteen or so years later, Tom has one of the best college sports websites around and I’m still sharing my passionate if lacking-expertise Hawkeye takes. Thanks, Tom, it’s been a blast!
Here is this week's TwT:
Tuesdays with Torbee
I started last week’s column with a grumpy old guy, get off my lawn type of observation, so why not make it two-for-two!?
I got my downloadable “Iowa Mobile Tickets” last week. Anyone else feel like getting another email in a sea of emails just isn’t the same as getting the fat envelope of card stock tickets and parking info in the good old snail mail? I wonder if that is another reason this coming Hawkeye season feels like it snuck up on us so fast.
But here we are, it’s game week and we’ve already had the joy of seeing Nebraska’s season ruined on live television in front of the entire college football world. That is a fantastic start to the 2022 campaign; let’s hope the schadenfreude train keeps rolling for Iowa fans.
Here are some other football thoughts rattling around in my head as the first kickoff quickly approaches:
· The Battle for the B1G West is going to be a slugfest. It pains me to say, but I think Bret Bielema has Illinois trending up. I would argue they are already semi-respectable, on their way to being competitive. As demonstrated Saturday, Pat Fitzgerald knows how to motivate and knows how to play to his teams (often-minimal) strengths while picking at his opponent’s weaknesses. Lord knows, Iowa has seen that bite them a time or two with Fitz in charge. Jeff Brohm and Purdue look to have another exciting offense, one that we all know has been the Hawkeye’s Achilles’ heel recently. Wisconsin looks very much like Iowa, stout along the lines, solid defense but sometimes-shaky quarterback play. Minnesota may have lost most of the big dudes on their stellar offensive line, but they return Mo Ibrahim and Tanner Morgan, who led the program to nine wins last season. And Nebraska has talent, if not intelligent coaching. The conventional wisdom is the winner of Iowa-Wisconsin will represent the division in Indianapolis, but expect lots of drama along the way and don’t be surprised if an upstart team challenges for the division title.
· Iowa doesn’t need a stellar offense to win, but it has to be efficient and complementary if the Hawkeyes are going to repeat as division champions. With a tougher schedule this year, Spencer Petras, the offensive line and the rest of the beleaguered and oft-criticized offense need to carry more of the load. We all expect Iowa to have another ironclad defense, but with improved teams in the West and better cross-division opponents with Michigan and Ohio State on the schedule, Iowa is going to need to put up more points, be more efficient in the red zone and avoid more three-and-outs than last year. My prediction is if the offensive line can stay healthy and develop continuity with each other, the running game – and therefore the entire offense – can improve quite dramatically. A running threat helps negate Petras’ biggest weakness, his propensity to panic at the first sign of pressure. Teams were able to tee off on the Iowa quarterback most of last year because Iowa was in third-and-long far too often due to poor blocking and Tyler Goodson’s feast-or-famine running style. I expect to see better push and more assertive downhill running from the offense this year, and this in turn will allow Petras to take advantage of his strong arm.
· Angst over playing a good FCS squad by Iowa fans is understandable. Needing to block consecutive field goals to beat Northern Iowa was borderline humiliating. Watching North Dakota State wear down Iowa in the fourth quarter to steal a victory was even worse. And we know the Jackrabbits of South Dakota are no joke. They are regular participants in the FCS playoffs, making the semi-finals last season. Iowa absolutely should respect them, but we fans should absolutely expect to see a season opening win. With fewer scholarship players and lesser financial resources, even an elite FCS squad should never beat a top-notch FBS team on their home field. If Iowa fancies itself such a program, it needs to take care of business this Saturday.
Finally, my good friend Tom Kakert is celebrating his 20th year at the helm of Hawkeye Report. It was on a soccer field in Davenport a year or maybe two after that when he asked if I’d be interested in writing a fan-perspective weekly column during the Iowa football season. Eighteen or so years later, Tom has one of the best college sports websites around and I’m still sharing my passionate if lacking-expertise Hawkeye takes. Thanks, Tom, it’s been a blast!