Pseudoandreia

I've been dwelling on the Penn St game for the past few days. One of the things that impressed me is how Iowa responded to the adrenaline-fueled way that Penn St started the game. Iowa's strategy was a Thanksgiving dinner to Penn St's Halloween candy - it took longer to fully enjoy, but there was more substance and in the end, it was more satisfying.

It reminds me a passage from "Gates of Fire". It's a fictional story of the historical account of 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. Here's a short quote from it:

“Before a battle they would sacrifice to Phobos, the god of fear, from whom we get our English word, “phobia.” In their minds, it was the mark of an ill-prepared and amateur army to rely in the moments before battle on what the Spartans called pseudoandreia, “false courage.” This was artificially inflated martial frenzy produced by a general 11th hour harangue or some peak of bronze-banging bravado built to by shouting and shield pounding. In contrast, the Spartans wore crimson cloaks and they burnished their bronze until it was gleaming in the sun. They were trained to wait silently and let the enemy come running and screaming. They performed as one unit this simple maneuver called “palming the pine,” in which the Spartans snapped their spears from vertical into forward position for their mode of murder. It caused many foes to lose heart, pee in their pants, and run at the mere sight of it. Then they marched into battle in tight ranks singing!"

I love this concept! In contrast to some macho speech before a battle, the Spartans calmly and confidently went about their job. No chest thumping, no contrived chanting, just mental toughness and focus on the task at hand.

I'm sure Kirk has given his share of gameday speeches, but he seems like the kind of coach who puts all his thought and preparation into practice, not the pregame speech. I mean, how many "win one for the gipper" speeches can you listen to before they all sound the same?

Bottom line is Iowa won the game because of mental toughness and preparation. Credit goes to real coaching for that.

Don't call it an upset!

"WE...JUST...GOT BEAT!"

Iowa 21, Penn St 10. Iowa came into Beaver Stadium (aka Kinnick East) and showed that they're a legit threat for the Big Ten title. Despite giving up a touchdown on the first PSU offensive play of the game, the Iowa Defense held tough and kept them in the game. I think Daryl Clark will be having nightmares about Iowa's D-line all week.

My favorite play of the game was Clayborn's blocked punt. He shoved some joker out of the way, batted the ball down, picked it up in stride and ran another 40 or so yards into the end zone. Then he jogged back to the sideline as if he expected to do that the whole time. Pure fun!

I was disappointed with the offense though. The O-line and the Wegher/Robinson duo were solid, but Stanzi and the WRs seemed out of sync. Their timing seemed off for most of the game.

Regardless, the team has improved in every game so far. They have great momentum and it feels like there is still room until they peak. Up next, the Arkansas St...give me a minute for a quick google search...Red Wolves.

Whiteout Shmiteout

Due to something called a "faulty motherboard", I haven't been able to update my blog recently. So here's a quick catch up over the past week.

• The Hawkeyes had a solid win over AZ last weekend. Respect is slow to come by though. They still did return to the Top 25.
  
  
• They managed to overcome Arizona without some main contributors: DJK, Moeki, and Bulaga.
  
  
• Next up is Penn State. The game is getting a lot of attention. ABC will be showing the game at 7 CST on national TV.
  
  
• This will be a huge test. Penn St has not forgot the last second FG that beat them last year and will be out for revenge.
  
  
• Penn State fans (all 110k of them) will be in "whiteout" mode at Beaver Stadium.
  

I am really looking forward to watching this game. If Iowa can win it, all of a sudden they will be center stage of the Big Ten battle. Every game so far, I've seen them get a little better. If they can keep the momentum going and take the next step tomorrow, it should be fun to watch.

The key is gonna be the defense. So far, Iowa's D has been it's strength. Guys like Tyler Sash and Adrian Clayborn are taking over the spotlight. Way to go fellas, keep it up!

All day long...

Up next... the Arizona Wildcats

Well I haven't found the time to really preview Arizona this week. It's a little unfortunate due to the fact that Arizona is considered a good team and they're defense is considered one of the quickest in the Pac-10.

Word is that they are excited to get a crack at a Big Ten team as well. Listening to Miller and Dace this morning, I found out the spread earlier this week was 6 in favor of Iowa (I'm not sure of the source). Apparently today, it was 3.5...hmmm, what do the stat and gambling geeks know that I don't?

In other Big Ten news, Oh St has been a disappointing so far at 1-1, almost 0-2 if not for an interception at the goal line against Navy. Michigan has spanked Western Michigan and Notre Dame in convincing fashion. Penn St is also 2-0, but the wins were Akron and Syracuse.

It should be a good test for the team this week. I'll be interested if Brandon Wegher sees more quality minutes. It's also supposed to be a hawkeye "blackout" game. All hawkeye fans are suppose to wear black. Hope it helps. Good luck Hawkeyes!

Cyhawk Trophy stays in Iowa City!

35-3, Iowa. This one wasn't even close. Turnovers were the story of the game and the Hawkeyes were able to capitalize. The intensity and focus was much improved from the first game of the year. I think they got the message from the UNI game. Here's couple notes that I picked up.

• Tyler Sash was all over the place. With 3 interceptions, he was tied for the 2nd leading receiver...for ISU!
• Brandon Wegher, the true freshman from Sioux City, rushed for over 100 yards and one touchdown. He showed off some great juke moves.
• Keenan Davis, another freshman, also had a touchdown. It's nice to see that some freshman talent is coming down the pipe.
• ISU's QB, Arnaud, is not as bad as he looked on Saturday. I genuinely hope he can turn it around. I think he's a classy guy.

On to Arizona next weekend. I'll be looking to see if the Hawkeyes can keep the momentum going and if Bulaga (who was out with an undisclosed illness) will make a come back. Rumor is that he got the swine flu. Apparently he went out with an ISU girl last weekend, and well, enough said...ha! j/k

Prediction for the ISU game

Cue creepy music..."In the year 2000, in the year 2000...."


It's Thursday night and we're less than 48 hours away from the kickoff of the Cyhawk football game. There are still so many unanswered questions that it's tough to know what to think about this game. I've been listening, talking, and reading about this game for the past few days and here's what I think could happen.

ISU's gameplan will work like clockwork in the 1st quarter. They will have more momentum due to coming off a win over NoDak St and having home field advantage. They're energy will carry them to score 2 touchdowns in the first half. Iowa's defense will ever-so-slightly shift the momentum towards the Hawkeyes late in the 2nd quarter. Despite showing some energy of the defensive side, the offense will be limited to a field goal. After the 1st half. 14-3, ISU.

In the 2nd half, I think Iowa will set the tone by energetically scoring early. Stanzi will connect with Moeki for their first touchdown of the game. The defense will start getting to Arnaud as the Cyclone Oline starts to crumble under some pressure. Angerer and Edds will have some strong showings and show everyone why the linebacking core is so feared. I also see DJK making some spectacular plays in the 2nd half. (Don't ask why, that's just what my crystal ball is saying)

IA will score a TD again to take the lead in the fourth quarter and Jack Trice will go quiet real quick. The cyclones will try to march down the field again using their athletic WRs, but they will only be able to muster an attempt at a field goal...that will be blocked. The hawkeyes will then proceed to run out the clock, march down the field themselves, and score a field goal towards the end of regulation.

Final score.....20-14 Iowa. Go Hawkeyes! Take it to the bank!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

In my 7 years of living in Iowa, I've found 3 things that makes an Iowan's eyes light up like a Christmas Tree...1) any celeb with ties to Iowa (i.e. Ashton Kutcher or Shawn Johnson), 2) the State Fair, and most relevant to this blog 3) the Iowa vs Iowa State football game.

In truth, this game feels like a bit like a state holiday most places. Employees take 2 or 3 days off to start tailgaiting early. Office trash talk gets taken up a notch. You see Iowa or Iowa state memorabilia everywhere. Butchers finally break into the black from all the burgers and brats they sell. It's a great time of year.

No one cares about this outside of Iowa's borders. In fact, if you asked someone from back home in NY to name off the top 20 college football rivalries, I'm not sure this one would ever come up. But that's ok, it's an Iowan thing and it should be that way. These two programs have a storied rivalry and some great tradition.

For my next post, I plan on taking a look at ISU's team and trying to make a prediction on the game. Until then, I'll leave you with an ISU joke.

What do you call a convoy of John Deere tractors going down the road? The Iowa State homecoming parade.

What's that? You want another one?

What's the difference between a porcupine and Jack Trice Stadium? A porcupine has 40,000 pricks on the OUTSIDE.

Huh, one more?

Where was O.J. headed in the white Bronco? Ames, Iowa. . . The police would never look there for a Heisman Trophy winner!

All in good fun, nobody get offended now...ok one more.

What's the hardest thing about being a IA State Cyclone fan? Telling your parents that you're gay.

Feel free to share your own!

Hawkeye Gear Watch

I finally put my money where my mouth was and bought some hawkeye shirts. Nothing special, but they were on sale at Hyvee. 2 for $15. My wife said I looked good in them, but I don't think she was looking at the shirts. hehe

A Win is a Win

In the season opener today, the Hawkeyes squeaked out a narrow victory over UNI. Some commentators were predicting a blow out, but it certainly didn't work out that way. UNI had 2 field goal attempts at the end to win it, but the defense held tough and made two sensational blocks back to back.

The end of the gane was confusing to say the least, but regardless, the black and gold came away with a win. I took a couple things away from this game.

1. UNI is a good team. Generally, you want an easy win for the first game of the season. I'm sure that this was the plan originally, but it's evident that the Panthers were better than expected. They simply outplayed Iowa for the majority of the game. After the game, I repeatedly heard them compared to middle-of-the-pack Big Ten teams. (It's an interesting comparison. Not sure if that's good for the Panthers, or bad for the Big Ten)
   
   
2. Moeaki's play was a bright spot on the offensive side. The tight end led the team in receiving yards and didn't get injured!
   
   
3. Robinson did a commendable job filling in after Paki left the game. It's something to build one.
   
   
4. It will take some getting used to watching Iowa's defense. My friend Jesse gave me some good insight after the game. Watching the defense can make you really nervous unless you understand what they are trying to do. The D will pressure and contain the offense to short gains all the way down the field. They will do everything they can to prevent the big plays. Once inside the thirty yard line, they pack it in and try to limit the scoring, if any, to field goals. If all you give up are field goals, and you manage to score touchdowns, you should theoretically have a good shot at winning. It's an old school approach, but understanding the strategy makes it easier to watch.

Next week versus Iowa state, it's possible that the Cyclones and their spread-style offense will run up and down the field moving the ball on most plays and getting close to the endzone. But close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. If the D works, it should be a win. An ugly win, but a win nonetheless. Iowa will need to pick up their focus and energy for the Cyclones though.

On a side note, I must confess that my attention was divided for most of the game. See, over on ESPN 2, Syracuse was going toe-to-toe with an up-and-coming Minnesota team. What a game! The Gophers won in OT and I took a couple things away from that too.

1. Paulus is a legit D1 QB even after not playing football for 4 years. The former Duke point guard looks confident and is clearly the team leader right now. Albeit, I'm already sick of the "Greg Paulus Era" angle that every talking head has to use. This is how the media works though: set up huge expectations, heap unearned praise, then scorn them at any sign of adversity.
   
   
2. Eric Decker is a stud at WR for the Gophers. The guy was taller, stronger, and faster than anyone they tried to put on him. Iowa better have their eye on him come November.
   
   
3. This Syracuse team looked different than any other team they've put out over the past few years. Even before Greg Robinson, Pasqualloni's last few years seemed stagnant. Marrone has them motivated and creative. You could tell from the the way the D was stuffing the run and putting pressure on the QB to the way the Offense was mixing it up with the "Stallion" formation. I liked what I saw today.

All in all, it was a great first weekend for college football in 2009. Football is in the air! Can you smell it?

Get used to this Picture

Bad news sports fans. It's official, Jewell Hampton (left) will be joining Jordan Bernstine on the sidelines this year. They made the announcement today that he will redshirt this year and undergo surgery on his knee soon.

So what does this mean? Roster is down to 3 main running backs: Paki Omeara, Adam Robinson, and Jeff Brinson. For the season opener on Saturday, Paki has been named the starter.

Here's what I've gathered so far on the 3 canidates.

Paki Omeara - Junior

• former walk-on
• saw limited action last year due to emergence of Greene and Hampton
• all around athlete who has played more than one position

Adam Robinson - Sophomore

• redshirted last year as a freshman
• played high school football at Des Moines Lincoln (about 5 minutes from where I work)
• great speed, but not much else

Jeff Brinson - Sophomore

• spurned offers from Fl St, MI St,, and KS to come to Iowa
• put up gawdy numbers in high school
• struggling with ankle injury, will miss opener vs UNI

It would be great if one of these guys grabbed the bull by the horns, but the reality is that most likely the running back position will be handled "by committee". It should be interesting!