Heinemann On The Hawkeyes - Iowa State at Iowa

Brian Heinemann, who covers Iowa football for the Herald, previews this week's game.

IOWA CITY ––––– Iowa got dominated last year by Iowa State.

Not on the scoreboard, of course. Iowa won 35-3, in large part thanks to six Iowa State turnovers. But up front? The Cyclones offensive line embarrassed and humbled the Hawkeyes vaunted defensive line, opening gaping holes en route to 190 yards rushing as a team.

That didn’t go unnoticed last season, as the Iowa coaching staff tore into the defense and quickly turned things around. It hasn’t gone unnoticed this week, either.

“The one thing I do know, they had a lot of success running the football,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We couldn’t stop the run last year, and it’s going to be tough to win if we give up 190 yards on the ground. That’s going to make it a little tough.

“You don’t stumble into 190 yards rushing.”

No, you certainly don’t. Iowa State got their yards last year by blowing the Iowa defensive line off the ball, effectively running their zone read scheme at will. It’s not a game tape the Hawkeyes have particularly enjoyed watching again – after all, this is the same front four. 

Ever since that 32-point win last year, the unit has gone on a mostly uninterrupted tear through opposing offensive lines, running backs and quarterbacks. 

But the talk from the Iowa defense this week has been rife with negative comments in describing their performance last year – “I felt like we played like crap,” defensive end Adrian Clayborn said – so the motivation is there to make a statement against their instate rivals.

For their part, the Cyclones aren’t underestimating the Hawkeyes or letting last year’s success running the ball get to their heads.They know the talent Iowa has up front.

“The thing that stands out with Iowa’s defensive line is they shed blocks extremely well, they play with their hands, and they make plays, just like the rest of their defense,” Iowa State running back Alexander Robinson said. “Obviously their front four is going to create some problems, but we’re going to get out there, give it our best shot, and see what we can do.”

Last year it was the back end of the Hawkeyes defense that paved the way to the win, with safety Tyler Sash recording three of the defense’s five interceptions. 

This year, that unit looks to be a possible weakness, at least after the opener.

“I know that I made a couple of mistakes, and the secondary made a couple of mistakes,” cornerback Micah Hyde, who gave up the lone touchdown last week, said. “We’ve got to go in and watch film and improve on some things.”

The front four getting some payback for last year would go a long way toward helping the secondary, who will likely be without Shaun Prater again, this week. Another four-interception day from Cyclones quarterback Austen Arnaud isn’t likely, so stopping the ground game will be even more important.

“Knowing that solely it was my fault we lost the game with four interceptions and turnovers in key times, that hurts,” Arnaud said. “But like we talk about, it’s a new year, it’s a new game, it’s a new season.”

The offense should be able to move the ball and score points against the Iowa State defense. After a strong debut from the new offensive line, hard running from Adam Robinson and a rare interception-free game from Ricky Stanzi, there is plenty of reason for optimism. 

And that’s not to mention the return of Jewel Hampton, finally back after missing all of last season to injury and last Saturday’s opener to suspension.

But this is a rivalry game. Anything can happen, and the Hawkeyes know it.

“I know they’re a good ball club,” Stanzi said. “They’re fired up. It’s a rivalry. We need to be ready to go.”

IOWA CITY –––– Who: Iowa State (1-0) at No. 9 Iowa (1-0)

When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City

The series: Iowa holds a 38-19 lead and a 22-12 edge at Kinnick

Last meeting: Iowa won 35-3 in Ames in 2009

This week's challenge: Keeping the level of play elevated to where it was in the opening quarter of the Eastern Illinois game. Many Iowa players suggested the team got complacent after jumping on the Panthers early. With the level of competition ramping up from here on out, they can’t afford to do so again, especially not against a rival.

To pull off an upset: Iowa State needs a repeat of last year’s punishing rush attack against the Hawkeyes, Austen Arnaud needs to stay turnover free, and Ricky Stanzi would have to have a similar outing to Arnaud’s four-pick performance last year.

Players to watch: Keep an eye on the match up between Adrian Clayborn and all-Big 12 left tackle Kelechi Osemele of Iowa State. Iowa State linebacker A.J. Klein also bears watching after a 15-tackle outing last week. For Iowa, Jewel Hampton’s return will be the focal point.

Gettin' down with Brian (four keys for Saturday):

First down — Rush defense. Iowa struggled mightily last year in stopping ISU’s running offense. Iowa State has the task of stopping both Adam Robinson and the biggest question mark of the game, Hampton.

Second down — Offensive line play. The Hawkeyes offensive line looked impressive last week, but Robinson had to make far too many blocks, meaning people were getting through more than they should. You don’t want your running back being your main protection for Stanzi, so the line needs to play better.

Third down — Avoiding miscues. Last year, Arnaud threw his team right out of the game. Both quarterbacks are capable of doing so this year.

Fourth down — Containment. Arnaud can run, and while the Hawkeyes showed good lateral movement and pursuit last week, discipline and outside speed will be key to keeping Arnaud contained and forcing him to throw.

Trivial tidbit: Iowa State hasn’t scored a touchdown against the Hawkeyes since 2006, as the Iowa defense has kept the Cyclones out of the endzone for 14 straight quarters.

Did you hear?: Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads jokingly sent Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz a text message after the announcement of Ferentz’s contract extension asking for spending money. Ferentz said that the text should have gone to his wife, because he has a $20 a week budget.

Bottom line: Don’t expect to see a score quite as lopsided as last year’s 35-3 game, or a game reminiscent to the 2010 opener for either team. Iowa has the talent edge over Iowa State at nearly every position, and both sides of the ball have the ability to impose their will on the Cyclones. Look for the defense to rebound from a poor showing against the rush in 2009 and force Arnaud to beat them with his arm – something he probably isn’t going to do – leading the way to another comfortable Iowa win.

Final score: Iowa 27, Iowa State 10

NCAA Football Top 25, post week 1

Preseason rankings, while typically laughably wrong, are unfortunately not entirely worthless. They can have a huge impact on what happens in the BCS in the latter stages of the year, which is why it’s so maddening to see the voters get things wrong to start the season.

Because of my hate for preseason rankings, I didn’t give mine this year. Sure, I ranked the Big Ten, but that’s different than telling you who the best 25 teams in the nation are. With one week of fantastic football finally out of the way, though, we have long looks at every team and can start to formulate where they belong in the national rankings.

The first thing you’ll notice about my rankings is they won’t be very detailed – an explanation to start things off, and then just the list. I don’t have time this year to go in depth on each team, but trust me, I have reasons for ranking teams where I do, even if I’m not explicitly stating them here.

To start, I thought from the minute the preseason rankings were released that it was ridiculous for Florida, Oklahoma, and Nebraska to be ranked so highly. After opening weekend, I was right on two of those. Florida mustered just 26 yards in the first three quarters against a team they should have beaten by 50, and Oklahoma barely survived Utah State. Even though they won’t be dropped to #10 and #11 by the national media, these two aren’t really Top 10 worthy at this point, and I ranked them accordingly.

Some teams that needed to impress did – Alabama, Ohio State, Boise State, TCU, Iowa, Florida State, to name a few – and some teams disappointed – previously mentioned Florida and Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, and unranked Ole Miss and Kansas – leaving us with a better picture of who belongs where.

One final note. The USC Trojans will not make an appearance in my rankings once this year. They can’t play in a bowl and can’t affect the BCS (outside of screwing the Pac-10 over by beating up on everybody), so I see no reason to rank them.

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. TCU
5. Texas
6. Iowa
7. Nebraska
8. Oregon
9. Miami
10. Florida
11. Oklahoma
12. Wisconsin
13. Georgia Tech
14. Arkansas
15. Virginia Tech
16. Penn State
17. Florida State
18. LSU
19. Georgia
20. West Virginia
21. Auburn
22. Arizona
23. Utah
24. South Carolina
25. North Carolina

Next five in: Oregon State, Stanford, BYU, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame

Hawkeyes roll in opener

By Brian Heinemann

For The Herald

IOWA CITY — The Iowa Hawkeyes narrowly avoided a season-opening disaster at Kinnick Stadium for the second straight year.

Last year, it was two Northern Iowa field-goal attempts in the waning seconds of the game. Saturday, it was the left knee of quarterback Ricky Stanzi, buckling as he slipped while trying to plant and change direction.

“I was a little worried that maybe it was something serious, so I wanted to get off and get it checked,” Stanzi said. “I didn’t want to make a big ordeal about it.”

Stanzi missed one series, started the second half and played well into the fourth quarter. Iowa fans can rest easy, because after a 37-7 cruise over Eastern Illinois, the heart and soul of the Hawkeyes said he’s fine.

“I have no doubt that it will be fine,” said Stanzi, who returned to the field to chants of “USA, USA!” from the fans, a nod to the quarterback’s pro-America post-Orange Bowl comments. “I talked to the trainers. It’s all stable. It’s nothing to worry about. It’s just part of football — bumps and bruises.”

The Hawkeyes (1-0) escaped without many of those — middle linebacker Bruce Davis limped off in the second half, but it was just cramping — and Iowa looks to get only stronger heading into a home contest with heated rival Iowa State this week.

Jewel Hampton and Broderick Binns, both suspended for the opener, will be back. Jeff Tarpinian, slowed by a broken hand, will be further along. Kicker Daniel Murray, guard Adam Gettis and cornerback Shaun Prater all had a shot at playing against Eastern Illinois and could be back this week.

And Josh Koeppel? That was the first near-disaster the Hawkeyes faced last week. The senior center was dressed and cleared to play Saturday, and he could battle James Ferentz this week to start against Iowa State, despite being hit by a truck while riding his moped just one week ago today.

“That’s Koeppel, though,” James Ferentz said. “If there’s some sort of nutshell picture to explain Josh, that’s it. Get hit by a truck, bounce off and he’s at meetings the next day.”

That jaw-dropping incident would have served as a nearly perfect metaphor for the Hawkeyes’ 2009 campaign. No such resiliency was needed against the Panthers Saturday, a welcome change from the norm of last year.

There were some areas of concern, though.

“We got off to a good start and thought our guys were ready to play at kickoff, and (we) did an awful lot of good things and certainly some disappointing things, too, in that first half, not only giving up a fake punt but also letting it become a big play instead of just a first-down conversion,” coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Then, we turned around and gave up a big play right after that, and that’s something that we have to do a better job responding when something bad happens.”

There were two lost fumbles and a bout of what some players considered complacency in the middle quarters, but for the most part, things went fairly smooth for the Hawkeyes. Stanzi was efficient, going 18-for-23 for 229 yards, one touchdown, and most importantly no interceptions.

Adam Robinson had a monster game, rushing 24 times for 109 yards and three touchdowns, breaking a slew of tackles along the way and rushing with a style that wasn’t seen much last season.

“It was a phenomenal effort from him,” senior guard Julian Vandervelde said. “He was running real physical, and that’s something that I don’t think a lot of people thought that he was capable of. So for him to come out and really have a statement game, where he comes out and doesn’t dance around people, doesn’t run through clean holes but really takes it to the other team, it was impressive to say the least.”

Robinson wasn’t particularly interested in taking much of the credit.

“The o-line did a great job today,” he said. “They gave me some big holes to run through, and they really pushed the d-line back, which helped my field vision out a lot. I couldn’t have done what I did today without those guys.”

Neither did he have extra motivation to perform better with the knowledge that fellow sophomore Hampton will be back next week. He expects to split carries with Hampton, despite proving he’s capable of carrying the entire load Saturday.

“He had a lot of carries that he had to take care of because we really didn’t have another back that we could just throw in there,” Stanzi said.

You wouldn’t have known the Hawkeyes entered the opener with a badly depleted offensive line and backfield with the way they performed. Iowa outgained EIU 435-157, with 179 of those yards coming on the ground.

It wasn’t perfect, but perfect wasn’t what Iowa needed to get past Eastern Illinois and have a successful start to a season brimming with high expectations. What it was was exactly what the Hawkeyes needed — a fast start, a comfortable win, an opportunity to get some young players some playing time.

Now, they go back to the film room to get ready for instate rival Iowa State. Despite the 30-point margin of win, there will be plenty of work to do, as the level of competition will significantly ramp up from here on out.

“Like any season, any week, it’s all about what you can do to move forward as a team,” Kirk Ferentz said. “And that old axiom about week one to week two, it’s typically true. But you have to make it that way. It doesn’t just happen by showing up. We’ll look at the tape tomorrow and try to move forward from here.”

Photos from Iowa vs. EIU

I...O...W...A!!!

The Manzi's knee looks fine here.

The hero of the day, Adam Robinson

Middle linebacker Bruce Davis

Redshirt freshman offensive guard Nolan MacMillan

Tight end Brad Herman, aka The Herminator

Defensive end / tackle Christian Ballard is big. And scary.

If he looks like someone you know... It's because this is center James Ferentz.

A-Rob, up close and personal

I'm a brilliant photographer. I know.

Less cool angle. More Ricky.

Senior guard Julian Vandervelde

Ricky, right at the end of the postgame interviews

A crappy representation of my amazing view

The D-line

The offense

Action shot

Some Hawkeyes quick hitters from the EIU game

Full article coming, but for now, some quotes and tidbits.

First, and most important, Ricky Stanzi is fine. So is Bruce Davis. No real injuries that will have any impact from this game.

Middle linebacker Bruce Davis on EIU scoring:
"It was disappointing. It was kind of a let down. But that team was working hard. You’ve got to give them more credit than people do."

Running back Paki O'Meara on his punt block:
"I watch a lot of film and I’m definitely trying to do that. That’s kind of my role on that team is to force the punt from the right side with a right footed punter."

Offensive guard Nolan MacMillan on seeing quarterback Ricky Stanzi go down:
"You feel bad. It’s a little scary. We’re supposed to be out there protecting him."

Tight end Brad Herman on getting playing timei:
"It felt good. Tony (Moeaki) finally left. Finally I got to go out there and get my feet wet, and it was fun. It’s fun being out there."

Cornerback Micah Hyde on giving up the EIU touchdown:
"Coach always tells us, work inside out. Don’t let them break a big play. For me personally, I gave up a big play today. I’ve got to work on that. I’ve got to watch film, study some more."

Iowa center James Ferentz on Josh Koeppel surviving being hit by a truck:
"We’re really fortunate to still have Josh with us. After seeing that video, it’s incredible that he just bounced up and walked away from that. The first concern was really Josh. It’s incredible that he was at practice the next day, and even going through some walkthroughs Thursday. That’s Koeppel, though. If there’s some sort of nutshell picture to explain Josh, that’s it. Get hit by a truck, bounce out, he’s at meetings the next day."

Running back Adam Robinson on contact:
"I love that contact. That’s why I love the game of football. The game wouldn’t be the same without getting popped every play."

Quaterback Ricky Stanzi on his injury:
"I was a little worried that maybe it was something serious, so I wanted to get off and get it checked. I didn’t want to make a big ordeal about it. I have no doubt that it will be fine. I talked to the trainers. It’s all stable. It’s nothing to worry about. It’s just part of football – bumps and bruises."

Offensive guard Julian Vandervelde on the team's mindset with injuries:
"You can’t let one guy going down ruin what the other ten guys are trying to do."

Defensive tackle Mike Daniels on Iowa State:
"We always prepare for the opponent and it doesn’t matter who it is, but right now we need to focus on fixing ourselves for Iowa State."

Head coach Kirk Ferentz on dark thoughts:
"Last year was probably why I was thinking about all of those bad things. I was having dark thoughts all week. That was tough. And the credit goes to UNI there. So it was good to see us come outlooking a little bit better prepared and more ready and what-have-you."

Heinemann on the Hawkeyes

Brian Heinemann, who covers Iowa football for the Herald, previews this week's game.

IOWA CITY –––– They’ve been saying it for a calendar year now. Don’t look ahead. Don’t take anybody lightly.

Now, the time has finally come for the Iowa Hawkeyes to prove that they mean what they say, as they try to avoid another near-disaster in a season opening game against an FCS team when Eastern Illinois visits Kinnick Stadium tomorrow.

“Last year, I think that we came into the first game playing down to their level,” cornerback Micah Hyde said. “I think if we go out there and we know what we’ve got to do, then we’ll be fine.”

That was a common problem for the Hawkeyes last year. Despite the shiny 11-2 record and Orange Bowl win, Iowa had a tendency to play down to their competition in most contests. They can’t afford to do that in tomorrow’s opener. Not with national expectations for the team soaring. Not after last year.

“I think last year we definitely learned a lesson with how to prepare for your first game, not go in there and take anybody lightly,” quarterback Ricky Stanzi said. “We’re not going to do that this week.

“We have to take every team very seriously.”

If they do so, they’ll be fine this week. Eastern Illinois is a team riddled with suspensions and injuries, and, while they are ranked in the Top 20 in the FCS, they aren’t close to the caliber of team that UNI brought to Kinnick last season.

This is a chance for the Iowa offense to get off on the right foot, build momentum and avoid turnovers. Everyone knows what the defense can do, and with EIU’s offensive line and quarterback woes – three starters on the line could be out, and they’ll have a new quarterback under center – the defense is likely to dominate the Panthers.

The Hawkeyes say they are ready. They say they aren’t going to overlook a team that they are expected to easily handle. We’ll find out quickly how much they learned last season once the ball is kicked off to open the 2010 season.

“I think the moral of the story is there are just not a lot of easy games and if you go into a game thinking it’s going to be anything less than competitive, you’re going to suffer for that,” Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I’m not saying that we did that last year but as it turns out, we played a team that was very good and they were ready to play and we – I don’t think we looked great.”

They won’t need to look great to beat Eastern Illinois, but it surely wouldn’t hurt.

Who: Eastern Illinois (0-0) at Iowa (0-0)

When: 11:01am tomorrow

Where: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City

The series: First meeting

Last meeting: N/A

This week's challenge: They already had several new faces, but with the loss of guard Adam Gettis (sprained ankle), center Josh Koeppel (injured in moped accident) and Gettis’ backup Cody Hundertmark (left team) this week, all eyes will be on the suddenly-thin Hawkeyes’ offensive line tomorrow to see how they handle the adversity.

To pull of an upset: Eastern Illinois’ corners, who have a nose for the ball, have to play the game of their lives and make Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi’s five-interception game against Indiana in 2009 look good by comparison.

Players to watch: Keep your eyes peeled for Iowa’s freshman tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz and junior defensive tackle Mike Daniels, and Eastern Illinois’ senior cornerbacks Rashad Haynes and CJ James, the latter of which had two pick-6s last year.

Gettin' down with Brian (four keys for Saturday):

First down — Ricky Stanzi needs to show he’s learned from game tape this offseason and make sound decisions against a talented, but overmatched, EIU secondary.

Second down — The offensive line has an opportunity to gel and get much-needed experience against a lesser opponent, and needs to take advantage of it by paving the way for a strong rushing attack.

Third down — Iowa needs Adam Robinson to get enough carries that Paki O’Meara and Josh Smith barely touch the field, and do just enough to fill the gap until Jewel Hampton’s return next week.

Fourth down — The defense needs to consistently harass EIU quarterback Brandon Large, a sophomore taking his first Division 1 snap, to take some heat off the secondary, where Greg Castillo will be making only his second start in place of the injured Shaun Prater.

Trivial tidbit: Eastern Illinois hasn’t beaten a FBS team since 2004 and has lost four straight years to Big Ten teams, by an average of 36.5 points per game.

Did you hear?: Iowa’s Big Ten championship teams of 1960 and 1985 will be recognized   before the game tomorrow.

Bottom line: Don’t expect to see a repeat of last year’s Northern Iowa opener. The Hawkeyes are too strong in every aspect of the game for Eastern Illinois, and should get a good opportunity to build major momentum on both sides of the ball. Look for Eastern to get some points off either a Stanzi interception or backup running back fumble, but for the Hawkeyes defensive line to make life a nightmare for the Panthers. Expect to see a good dose of some young players and backups as the Hawkeyes pull away.

Final score: Iowa 38, Eastern Illinois 10

The right, and the many wrongs, of Big Ten realignment

The Big Ten screwed up this time.

Adding Nebraska was a major win for the conference. Having 12 teams and a conference championship are going to be huge boons to the conference, and adding a program with such a rich tradition is nothing but a positive.

The new divisional realignment, however, is not so positive.

Sure, they did some things right. But there is a lot wrong with the new East / West split, which we’ll get to in a second. For now, if you have been in a cave today and haven’t seen it, here is your new Big Ten (12). 

Big Ten West: 
Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota

Big Ten East: 
Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois

The first thing that stands out to me is how uneven these divisions are. The Big Ten was striving for competitive balance and protecting rivalry and trophy games, and it failed in both areas. The West is, overall, much more competitive and stronger than the East, although the East is clearly more top heavy. 

However, when you look at the West and see only one truly awful program, Minnesota, while the East has the mediocrity of Purdue, Illinois and Indiana to deal with, it’s pretty clear that things aren’t very even.

I get splitting Ohio State and Michigan, and the news that The Game will continue to be the last regular season game on the schedule is a huge, huge win for the Big Ten. The Ohio State - Michigan game is one of six protected crossover games, which means they are guaranteed to play each other every year.

That’s a good one. Penn State - Nebraska is another very good crossover game. The rest? Well, they suck.

Who really cares about Minnesota - Wisconsin, or Michigan State - Indiana. Northwestern - Illinois was protected for obvious reasons, and should be a good yearly battle.

Iowa - Purdue is both a loss and a win for Hawkeyes fans, depending on how you look at it. On one hand, Iowa gets to beat up on a poor Purdue program every year, instead of slugging it out with Ohio State or Penn State.

The bad is obvious, though. Iowa will no longer be playing Wisconsin every year, a major black stain on this divisional split. Everyone knows that Iowa - Wisconsin is one of the most competitive rivalries in the nation (I’m talking strictly in terms of win / loss records), and to lose that, in favor of Purdue, hurts.

But it’s not all bad for Iowa. Wisconsin got hurt the worst by the realignment, losing both Iowa and a shot at playing Nebraska yearly, something Bret Bielema has been pushing incredibly hard for.

One bonus for the Hawkeyes is that they get to play Nebraska every year, and for the first two seasons of the new alignment, they get them as the regular season finale. Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com may be the one who coined it, but either way, the phrase “Farmageddon” is pretty accurate for what that rivalry is likely to become. As Rittenberg said, it’s a huge indication of what the league feels will happen with these two teams, pitting them against each other to close the season instead of having the protected game, Penn State - Nebraska, in the finale.

Iowa also loses Penn State each year, which is both good and bad – easier schedule, but lose a “rival” – but it could be worse. 

I still say the Big Ten should have gone strictly geographical, throwing Michigan and Michigan State in the East and bringing Illinois and Wisconsin to the West. The league, though, is too mired in history and not the current state of the programs or their outlook for the immediate future.

The Big Ten also kind of slapped Nebraska in the face, giving them Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin in one rotation, with the bottom feeders in the other. That means the Huskers play their first two years in the Big Ten having to play three of the best programs in the conference, while avoiding all but Minnesota from the bottom.

The conference did good in only losing three trophy games, but it’s unfortunate that Penn State loses two of theirs. The formerly annual games that are now lost are Iowa - Wisconsin, Minnesota - Penn State and Penn State - Michigan State. The middle one isn’t a huge loss, but the others were certainly intriguing match ups. 

It’s hard to say whether the Big Ten over- or under-thought this process, but something didn’t go right. The split isn’t horrible, but the protected games are a mess, and clearly were an afterthought. Commissioner Jim Delaney also didn’t so much as hint at a second crossover being added for each team once the league expands to nine conference games in 2015, which is another eyebrow raiser.

The blessing in disguise, at least for Iowa fans, is that the Hawkeyes get off easy their first two years of the new scheduling. Ohio State and Wisconsin are both missing from the schedule in 2011 and 2012 (and Illinois is strangely missing until at least 2013, despite not playing Iowa since 2008), so the Hawkeyes have almost the opposite road that the Huskers will have.

What are your thoughts on the realignment? I’ve heard satisfaction, I’ve heard disappointment. What would you have done differently? Can anybody out there give me any kind of reasonable explanation as to why the Hawkeyes and Badgers didn’t get each other for their crossover game?