There is no longer an edge on my seat, I’ve worn it off. Having to sit there every Saturday as the Hawkeyes turn each game into an instant classic has been painful, fun, crazy, insane, enjoyable, gut wrenching, and epic. Saturday was no different except I was burning the edge off of different seat, in small town Elkader, Iowa, at a townie bar called Gene’s Place. Each year while hunting with my father we take a bit of time from the woods and stroll into Gene’s, donning our Hawks gear, to join the rest of the town in celebrating our state’s closest thing to a professional football team. With only a couple of seconds left in the game the bar was dead silent while every eyeball was fixated on the TV screen. Never in the history of Iowa football have the Hawks gone 8-0 and it wasn’t looking like 2009 was going to be the year it would happen. Iowa, coming into this game a 1 point underdog, found themselves only two tics away from shattered dreams and broken hearts. As the clock hit zero quarterback Ricky Stanzi connected with former backup QB Marvin McNutt for a 7 yard, game-winning touchdown that resulted an a tremendous show of emotion on the field. Off the field however, was where the real celebration was happening. Gene’s Place, packed shoulder to shoulder with farmers, locals, and travelers, erupted into celebration. Throwing age and maturity out the window, the fans (myself included) at this hole-in-the-wall bar were jumping around wildly, exchanging high-fives and hugging complete strangers. Sports have a way of bringing people together and this could not have been more perfectly displayed than what I saw at Gene’s Place in Elkader, Iowa. Know any good Hawkeye bars I should hit up for the Ohio State game?
The Hawkeyes, off to their best start in over a decade, had one of the toughest starts to their season since perhaps 2004 when Kent State was their only cushy game. This season Iowa faced a UNI team that will probably end the season with their sole loss being to the Hawkeyes. PSU was obviously a challenge and Arizona can play tough, but what happened last week at Arkansas St? Iowa is notorious for looking past “easy” games when they have a bigger game coming up and it almost bit them in the butt. Looking at the rest of their schedule there are no easy games.
Can they go undefeated? In short, Yes. In long… This Iowa team, like many others from the past, shows improvement each week. Despite the scare last weekend Ricky Stanzi showed that he can go to the air when the ground game isn’t working. I think this ability to be multidimensional will be the key to winning the game on Saturday. Let’s face it, Iowa can’t count on their defense to win every game, especially in the Big10 (11). If Stanzi can get some short routs working (slants/screens) it should open up the long ball. If Wegher and A-Rob can break a few good runs, that should help the trowing. It’s an obvious circle that has been a little less obvious to an unbeaten Iowa team. I hope Offensive Coordinator Ken O’keefe takes a different approach going in to Saturday night or we might see the same struggling offense on the sidlines praying for another Tyler Sash showcase.
My predictions for the game:
Iowa puts up the most points all year with 36. Their defense allows its first rushing touchdown in over 30 quarters of play (dating back to Iowa Vs PSU circa 2008).
Michigan doesn’t get the lucky calls that they got against Notre Dame and comes up short with 27 points.
In honor of our upcoming radio show I thought I would toss out a little weekly competition. This week I wanted to post my picks for the upcoming weekend of college football and highlight the games of unbeaten teams that play between Thursday and Saturday.
RULES: You can see the list of games below and my picks for this week. Submit your picks to gpglynn@gmail.com by 5pm on Thursday 10-8-09. If you beat me (ties go to YOU) then your name goes into the random drawing for the prize for that week. If nobody beats me (a VERY likely scenario) then no prize will be awarded.
PRIZE: This week I am giving away a $20 gift card to Starbucks.
Here’s the games and my picks highlighted in bold:
Florida(4-0) Vs LSU(5-0) Florida by 2 scores
Texas(4-0) Vs Colorado(1-3) This should be embarrassing for Colorado. Texas by 24
Alabama(5-0) Vs Ol’ Miss (3-1) Close game but Bama stays perfect.
TCU (4-0) Vs AirForce(3-2) TCU will lose, just not this game.
Iowa (5-0) Vs. Michigan (4-1) Iowa doesn’t lose at home. Michigan is a different team than the 9-2 Lloyd Carr team.
KU (4-0) Vs ISU (3-2) ISU needed to win last week… badly.
Auburn (5-0) Vs Arkansas (2-2) Put up 41pts against Georgia & Auburn’s beaten… who? AU finishes the year 7-5
Mizzou (4-0) Vs Nebraska (3-1) Mizzou will be pumped up for homecoming Vs Texas next week but they have to get this done first. Close game but Tigers take it.
GOOD LUCK!
Friends,
I am excited to announce that I will be joining my good friend Mark Charter for a weekly radio show on Des Moines Local Live. Our show will be all about sports and your beef with whats going on in sports. More to come on start date and times!
Cheers,
Gabe
