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It's GAME WEEK!

torbee

HR King
Gold Member
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:

Tuesdays with Torbee​

Game week is here for Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes.




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!
 
Your analysis is on target. Hawkeye defense is our
foundation for a winning season. Our offense needs
to get the running game in high gear. Our 2022 schedule
will be tougher than last year. Both Ohio St. and Michigan
will challenge the Hawkeyes to the utmost.

Bottom Line: Keep up the good work as you write
Tuesdays with Torbee.
 
Iowa will win 9 or 10 games this year. They will be solid, as always. Iowa fans should be thankful for what they have. Many teams would love to be so consistent. The grass isn't always greener. Look no further than FSU since Jimbo's last year, or Auburn, or Nebraska, or the gators. Cherish what you have, not what you could get lucky and possibly have.
 
I like the "get off my lawn" perspective. Sometimes "technology is to unwieldy. Give me my cardstock tix dammit!
 
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There's just something special about having a tangible product in your hand.

Same reason I will continue collecting vinyl.
LoL. Did you see my post in the Album Cover thread? I only have 2 vinyl records, and just got lucky with their worth.
 
1 rated LB's Now if Iowa only had a top 50 QB.
I think "competent game manager" out of the QB position should be our expectation --- and I think it can be achieved.

This defense, our usual solid special teams and an efficient offense capable of ball and clock control with high-percentage redzone scoring can win the West and help Iowa notch 9-11 wins, IMO. Need Petras to be a competent game manager who doesn't make mistakes. I have confidence he can do that heading into his senior campaign.
 
LoL. Did you see my post in the Album Cover thread? I only have 2 vinyl records, and just got lucky with their worth.

Sometimes I wish I only had 2 vinyl records. It is bad enough that I somehow have the most complete collection of Linda Ronstadt that I know of.
 
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I think "competent game manager" out of the QB position should be our expectation --- and I think it can be achieved.

This defense, our usual solid special teams and an efficient offense capable of ball and clock control with high-percentage redzone scoring can win the West and help Iowa notch 9-11 wins, IMO. Need Petras to be a competent game manager who doesn't make mistakes. I have confidence he can do that heading into his senior campaign.
Trent Dilfer :). Move the ball and give him some confidence instead of tap dancing in the pocket. That will tell me everything if he's still doing stutter steps on his progressions he's not gonna be able to lead this team.
 
It’s remarkable how young this team is. The big names are upperclassmen of course, but there are so many young guys in the two-deeps. That’s exciting.

That being said, enjoy Jack Campbell this season. In my opinion, he is on a level shared with Chad Greenway and he alone. We’ve had some incredible LB’s, but those two are in a different plane. He’s a unicorn. He’s going to have a long, lucrative career.
 
Linda Rondstadt is a national treasure. Her, Dolly, Loretta Lynn and Margo Price are on my lady country singer Mt. Rushmore.
I concur, no shame in being a Linda Ronstadt fan. She certainly had my attention in my early teens.

I also miss the cardstock tickets with the player pictures, date and opponent on them. I used to save all my ticket stubs, now nothing. :(

linda-ronstadt-most-powerful-female-country-singers.jpg

image3A40436_Glitch.jpg

https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets%2F191205120339-linda-ronstadt-cnn-film-1.jpg

linda-ronstadt.2456d13e58fa5846667649fbed7d5dbe.jpg

519Jjt97uNL._AC_.jpg

4be81c6a0c5f6cb2a3b319d91565293f.jpg
 
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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:

Tuesdays with Torbee​

Game week is here for Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes.




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!

Yeah. Why the hell did we schedule a really good FCS squad? Such a nothing-to-gain / plenty-to-lose scenario. WTF Barta? Just get Miami of Ohio or whatever. I was pissed to read about how good they are.
 
Yeah. Why the hell did we schedule a really good FCS squad? Such a nothing-to-gain / plenty-to-lose scenario. WTF Barta? Just get Miami of Ohio or whatever. I was pissed to read about how good they are.
They really shouldn't be any more of a handful than a mid-level MAC team or a good UNI squad.

People are gun shy after the fiasco against NDSU, but that team is probably more on par with a Northwestern or Minnesota type team. They are that good. They completely dominate FCS even more than Alabama dominates FBS.
 
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One of the unanticipated outcomes of the Nole invasion on this board is that we all now follow the Hawks and wish y’all the best season ever!

Oh, and in my next life I wanna have a voice like Ronstadt. 😬
 
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They really shouldn't be any more of a handful than a mid-level MAC team or a good UNI squad.

People are gun shy after the fiasco against NDSU, but that team is probably more on par with a Northwestern or Minnesota type team. They are that good. They completely dominate FCS even more than Alabama dominates FBS.

My Daughter in Laws Parents are NDSU grads and she’s been known to rotate a flag for NDSU, TCU, and FSU.
No Iowa flag yet although her sister and BIL are Hawkeye grads. 😉
 
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My Daughter in Laws Parents are NDSU grads and she’s been known to rotate a flag for NDSU, TCU, and FSU.
No Iowa flag yet although her sister and BIL are Hawkeye grads. 😉
NDSU and Wisconsin are the only two fanbases that tailgate/party/drink beer at the same/higher rate than Iowa fans.

They were awesome guests, even though their team broke our hearts. Genuinely fun, down-to-earth folks.
 
I’ve been to a few Wisky tailgates.
Brats, beer, brandy shots. And the fifth quarter Bud Song. Crazy.
 
I will not return to the shores of Lake Mendota or Lake Monona so Iowa it is...😬
 
You should try to make it to an Iowa-Wisconsin game some time --- either city --- it's like when matter and anti-matter collide, only all matter is booze.
The most intoxicated I've ever been after college was at the 2015 game in Madison. At one point Montee Ball and I were buying shots for each other at the bar.

The drive back to St Louis the next day was painful. So worth it, though.
 
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