Quick Thoughts Following PSU

Where does Iowa land in the Polls? I predicted 26 right?  Even the coaches and sportswriters can't be that dumb.  Seven Top 25 teams lost this weekend and four more scraped by.  #4 Ole Miss lost to The Ole Ball Coach (South Carolina) whom Iowa thumped in the Outback Bowl way back on January 1st.  Iowa owned #5 Penn State after the first quarter and anyone who disagrees with this statement didn't watch the game.  Oregon punched #6 Cal in the face (not really they suspended that guy) 42 to 3.  Virgina Tech destroyed "The U" 31 to 7.  Unfortunately this actually makes Nebraska look better.  Jim Leavitt's USF team dismantled #18 FSU with their backup QB.  Georgia Tech soundly beat North Carolina 24 to 7 signaling it is time for basketball season in Chapel Hill.  And #24 Washington looked like, well 0-12 Washington following up their huge upset of USC by losing by 20 to the mighty Stanford Cardinal. Great job with that ranking last week sportswriters.  #7 LSU needed a goalline stand to hold off an upset bid by Mississippi State.  BF Mangino must have eaten his gameplan as Southern Miss gave#20 KU a scare.  #21 Georgia needed a field goal with no time remaining to avoid OT against Arizona State.  #23 Michigan needed help from the zebras to hold off Indiana in a 36 to 33 shootout.  And Texas Tech mismanaged the clock when all they needed was a field goal to beat # 17 Houston- final score Houston 29 TTU 28. 

With the hatred of the Big Ten Michigan is likely to fall out.  Penn State might fall out of the Top 15 and Iowa is likely to still be ranked behind them.  I think Iowa might crack the top 20 but wouldn't be shocked to see them ranked 21.  Ohio State is likely to be the only Big Ten team ranked in the Top Ten for the next three weeks.

Bowman, Odrick, and Royster are good- I don't think that Sean Lee would have been enough of a difference maker in this game to change the result.  Bowman is a fantastic player.  He is even better than I thought.  Odrick played well and it is a testament to Iowa's coaching staff that we didn't hear his name more often.  Royster is also better than I remember.  He ran tough and did the best he could often requiring three or four Hawks to bring him down.  The fumble was less his fault than an outstanding play by Angerer.  I was also very impressed by Derek Moye, Chaz Powell, Andrew Quarless- much better with the ball in his hands than I expected, D'Anton Lynn is a very good player and will only get better. Stefon Green is also much better than I thought.  Daryll Clark had a tough game but I still have a ton of respect for him.  Hopefully he never makes another promise he can't keep.  I wish Penn State nothing but success.  Unless Iowa loses  a game.  Then they need to lose one more.

The Oline:  Iowa's offensive line is really coming together much sooner than I expected.  Riley Reiff, again, is playing so well Iowa may have to find a spot for him.  Next season he may have to move to Right Tackle if Bulaga comes back which is looking more likely as Bulaga has missed 3 consecutive games.  I don't look for Bulaga or Moeaki to play significant minutes against Arkansas State if at all.  I thought Vandervelde and Calloway dominated the second half.

If the passing game clicks Look Out: The Hawks could be downright scary if they could get the passing game clicking.  I thought Stanzi actually played very well last night.  I don't think all of the errant throws were his fault, some of those could have been on the receivers and it was pretty crappy conditions.  Iowa is 4-0 with out a complete game from a very talented quarterback.  The recievers are still learning their trade and we are missing a vital cog in Tony Moeaki.  There is plenty of room for improvement and I think it will improve.  Believe it or not Arkansas State has a pretty good defense and a very good pass rush.  It will be a nice test for Iowa and we should concentrate on getting the passing game on track.

Robinson and Wegher:  I continue to be impressed with the poise and ability of these two.  These guys seem to be very similar and are growing before our eyes.  Wegher's explosiveness and acceleration are incredible though and I keep waiting of him to bust a long gain.  I hope he waits for Big Ten play to do it.  Robinson seems to be more suited to be the "mail carrier".  His vision and patience are improving each week and he is running more physically every week.  I would like to see Brinson get some carries this week to see if he offers a change of pace. 

That is it other than these tidbits- Iowa has never been undefeated in September under Kirk Ferentz.  Iowa has not given up a rushing touchdown in 29 quarters or since the Penn State game from 2008.  Iowa has an 8 game winning streak which I believe is 2nd longest in the nation to Florida.