What a long week waiting for this game. It's homecoming, a blackout, a night game, and it's against Michigan. I'm about to hit the road and make my trek to Kinnick. I'm pretty excited to say the least. If you are stuck at home today, sorry, but here's at least a little something to read while you are waiting.
The need to know:
What: #12 Iowa vs Michigan
Where: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA
When: 7:12 PM October 10, 2009
TV: ABC (National Coverage)
Scouting Michigan:
THE OFFENSE
Michigan, like Iowa, has been plagued by injuries on offense. Starting center, David Molk, is out causing the offensive line to struggle in the past couple of games. Also, runningback Carlos Brown is likely out with a concussion sustained in practice this week. The other back, Brandon Minor has been battling an ankle sprain this year, but should be fine to start. Also, QB/"Anointed One" Tate Forcier hurt his shoulder a couple weeks ago against Indiana.
All that said, though, Michigan has a very potent offense. Watch out for the zone read in the run game and bubble screens in the pass game. Sash and Greenwood are going to have to tackle well especially against the bubble screen is Norm insists on having Hunter and Edds cover the slot receiver. Also, watch out for a set with Forcier and Robinson (the speedy backup QB)...they could have a lot of options out of that set.
The key will be to pressure and contain Forcier. He can beat you with his feet and makes amazing plays when he rolls out of the pocket. Hopefully this cold and snowy weather will hurt the Californian's performance. I'm sure he'll be feeling it the first time Clayborn or Binns gets a hit on him.
THE DEFENSE
Michigan runs a hybrid 3-4/4-3 type defense where the outside linebacker plays on or off the line. The front 7 are pretty good and the rush defense is led by Brandon Graham. Obi Ezeh (awesome name by the way) is also pretty strong up front. However, if Michigan is content with only keeping those 7 in the box, Iowa should have some success running the ball.
The secondary of Michigan has been particularly bad. Donovan Warren, kind of like Spievey, has been a lock down corner, but the rest of the defensive backs have been bad. They are shuffling around a little this week as Troy Woolfolk (a safety) is moving to corner. The secondary plays pretty soft as well, so hopefully Stanzi can hit those short routes all day long.
THE SPECIAL TEAMS
This is probably the only week this year, were the opponent has better special teams than Iowa. Zoltan Mesko is a fantastic punter...probably better than Donahue (I know that's blasphemy). Their kicker has been a little bit more consistent than Murray this year going 5/6 on field goals (Murray is 6/9).
OUTLOOK
Iowa should have a slight advantage when on offense and on defense, but Michigan is very capable of the big play and has proven it can come from behind. If Iowa can establish the run, take advantage of the Wolveriene's somewhat suspect secondary, and contain Forcier, then Iowa should win by a couple of scores.
Archive page 104
Friday Night Recruit Roundup: 6
Sorry about the very late recruit roundup this week. Some of the kids are probably already playing this week's games. Hopefully it won’t take as long next week. We have a few new commits to watch this week with the addition of A.J. Derby, Stephane N’goumou, B.J. Lowery, and De’Andre Johnson (who is actually hurt…so not much to report on him).
Marcus Coker: DeMatha 49 – Gonzaga 24
Coker racked up 186 yards on 18 carries and scored 3 touchdowns as Dematha routed Gonzaga.
Jim Poggi & Anthony Ferguson: Gilman 28 - Malvern 14
I didn't find anything on this game.
Christian Kirksey & Don Shumpert: Hazelwood East 38 – Riverview Gardens 24
Hazelwood East jumped out to a 19-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back in a victory over Riverview Gardens. Shumpert had his best game of the season catching 5 passes for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns including a 80-yard TD catch. He also recorded 6 tackles. Kirksey also had a nice game on defense. He had an interception that he returned for 42 yards, 1 sack, and 10 total tackles.
Andrew Donnal: Anthony Wayne 44 – Bowling Green 6
Anthony Wayne came out on fire and score 37 first half points, before cruising to a 44 to 6 victory.
Austin Vier: Ballard 59 – Nevada 2
Ballard cruised to its sixth straight victory beating Nevada 49 to 2. Vier completed just 4 passes on 8 attempts, but of those 4 completions 3 were touchdowns and he averaged over 25 yards per completion. Vier also ran the ball twice for 4 yards.
Mike Hardy: Kimberly 47 – Neenah 7
Kimberly racked up 475 yards in a route over Neenah. The rushing game was stellar with 331 yards, and the passing attack was near perfect, as the Papermaker’s quarterback went 8 of 9 for 144 yards. Here’s a pic of Hardy and his teammates stopping the Neenah running back on a 3rd and short.
James Morris: Solon 35 – Center Point Urbana 0
No surprises here…Solon moved to 6-0 and Morris had another big game. Morris ran for 125 yards on 20 carries and had 1 touchdown. He also had a part is limiting the CPU offense to just 4 first downs and 43 total yards.
Matt Hoch: Harlan 41 - Glenwood 0
Harlan had a nice homecoming and continued its domination by routing Glenwood. Hoch, at fullback, had 8 rushes for 43 yards and scored a touchdown from 1 yard out that put the Cyclones up 21-0 midway through the 3rd quarter.
Louis Trinca-Pasat: Lane Tech 37 – Whitney Young 14
Lane Tech celebrated its homecoming Halloween style and dominated Whitney Young 37 to 14. Trinca-Pasat had a good game consistently getting into the backfield and causing problems for the opposing quarterback.
Brandon Scherff: Denison 35 – Storm Lake 6
Denison won just its second game of the year beating Storm Lake soundly.
A.J. Derby: City High 22 – CR Kennedy 14
Shortly after announcing that he was a Hawkeye, Derby led the Little Hawks to a win at home keeping the team undefeated. Derby ran for 50 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. He also added 105 yards through the air, but had 4 interception.
Stephane N’goumou Milford 35 – Globe Institute 34
Milford Academy came back from being 18 down to tie then came, then score the go-ahead touchdown with just 2 minutes left. Globe Institute came back to score a touchdown with 4 seconds left, but missed the extra point giving Milford the victory.
B.J. Lowery Hughes Center 6 – West Carrollton 34
Hughes Center lost its fourth straight game falling to West Carrollton 6 to 34.
De’Andre Johnson Monsignor 20 – Chaminade – 24
Johnson with a torn ACL sat out again. The Spartans could have used Johnson’s running abilities though, as they failed to covert from the 3 yard-line as time expired.
Previous Recruit Roundup:
Marcus Coker: DeMatha 49 – Gonzaga 24
Coker racked up 186 yards on 18 carries and scored 3 touchdowns as Dematha routed Gonzaga.
Jim Poggi & Anthony Ferguson: Gilman 28 - Malvern 14
I didn't find anything on this game.
Christian Kirksey & Don Shumpert: Hazelwood East 38 – Riverview Gardens 24
Hazelwood East jumped out to a 19-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back in a victory over Riverview Gardens. Shumpert had his best game of the season catching 5 passes for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns including a 80-yard TD catch. He also recorded 6 tackles. Kirksey also had a nice game on defense. He had an interception that he returned for 42 yards, 1 sack, and 10 total tackles.
Andrew Donnal: Anthony Wayne 44 – Bowling Green 6
Anthony Wayne came out on fire and score 37 first half points, before cruising to a 44 to 6 victory.
Austin Vier: Ballard 59 – Nevada 2
Ballard cruised to its sixth straight victory beating Nevada 49 to 2. Vier completed just 4 passes on 8 attempts, but of those 4 completions 3 were touchdowns and he averaged over 25 yards per completion. Vier also ran the ball twice for 4 yards.
Mike Hardy: Kimberly 47 – Neenah 7
Kimberly racked up 475 yards in a route over Neenah. The rushing game was stellar with 331 yards, and the passing attack was near perfect, as the Papermaker’s quarterback went 8 of 9 for 144 yards. Here’s a pic of Hardy and his teammates stopping the Neenah running back on a 3rd and short.
James Morris: Solon 35 – Center Point Urbana 0
No surprises here…Solon moved to 6-0 and Morris had another big game. Morris ran for 125 yards on 20 carries and had 1 touchdown. He also had a part is limiting the CPU offense to just 4 first downs and 43 total yards.
Matt Hoch: Harlan 41 - Glenwood 0
Harlan had a nice homecoming and continued its domination by routing Glenwood. Hoch, at fullback, had 8 rushes for 43 yards and scored a touchdown from 1 yard out that put the Cyclones up 21-0 midway through the 3rd quarter.
Louis Trinca-Pasat: Lane Tech 37 – Whitney Young 14
Lane Tech celebrated its homecoming Halloween style and dominated Whitney Young 37 to 14. Trinca-Pasat had a good game consistently getting into the backfield and causing problems for the opposing quarterback.
Brandon Scherff: Denison 35 – Storm Lake 6
Denison won just its second game of the year beating Storm Lake soundly.
A.J. Derby: City High 22 – CR Kennedy 14
Shortly after announcing that he was a Hawkeye, Derby led the Little Hawks to a win at home keeping the team undefeated. Derby ran for 50 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. He also added 105 yards through the air, but had 4 interception.
Stephane N’goumou Milford 35 – Globe Institute 34
Milford Academy came back from being 18 down to tie then came, then score the go-ahead touchdown with just 2 minutes left. Globe Institute came back to score a touchdown with 4 seconds left, but missed the extra point giving Milford the victory.
B.J. Lowery Hughes Center 6 – West Carrollton 34
Hughes Center lost its fourth straight game falling to West Carrollton 6 to 34.
De’Andre Johnson Monsignor 20 – Chaminade – 24
Johnson with a torn ACL sat out again. The Spartans could have used Johnson’s running abilities though, as they failed to covert from the 3 yard-line as time expired.
Previous Recruit Roundup:
Blargh: I'm sick
Sorry about the lack of updates...I'm sick. Not the swine flu or anything crazy, just a cold. Anyway, I hope to get the Recruit Roundup here done by tomorrow (otherwise I'll be a week behind!) then maybe some analysis on the upcoming Michigan game.
If anybody out there has a desire to dip their toes into the blogging waters and wants to write a guest post let me know! While I'm slightly incapciated, I'd still like to get some content out there. I'd give you pretty much free reign. So if you're interested, email me at [email protected].
If anybody out there has a desire to dip their toes into the blogging waters and wants to write a guest post let me know! While I'm slightly incapciated, I'd still like to get some content out there. I'd give you pretty much free reign. So if you're interested, email me at [email protected].
Grades For Iowa: Arkansas State
Well, that was definitely not a pretty victory. The team as a whole was very average looking on Saturday. They looked like they were just going through the motions. Though the players and coaches may not admit that they were overlooking the Red Wolves, I think it's pretty obvious that they were...and as a result for the second time this year the Hawkeyes almost lost to an inferior foe. But 5-0 is 5-0, so there is only so much you can complain about.
The Offense
Quarterback: C+
Shockingly, Stanzi came out on fire and actually had a better first half than second. After hitting Stross and McNutt on long touchdowns, everyone and their mom was thinking, okay...this is going to be a blow out. Then, Stanzi went and played generally not too well. He threw two terrible interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown that allowed ASU to get within 7. On that return as well, Stazni was absolutely embarrassed trying to tackle Demario Davis.
Overall though, his stats looked pretty good, definitely padded by the long ball that was right on today (which was very good to see as he's kind of been struggling with that thus far this year). He went 18 of 26 for 296 yards, 3 TDs and 2 interceptions. This actually a QB rating of 187.6, by far his highest of the year. I would have given him a higher grade had his interceptions been so costly and untimely.
Running backs: C
The running backs were very average today (though the offensive line wasn't giving them huge holes). Neither back really made any mistakes and had some okay runs, but they just weren't hitting on all cylinders. Robinson only averaged 2.7 yards per carry and wasn't breaking tackles they way he has in the past couple of games. Wegher played a little better and had 49 yards on 11 carries, but really most of his yards came on a 19 yard run in the second quarter. Neither were helped by the fullbacks though. Iowa lined up in the I most of the day, and Morse missed a couple of lead blocks that would have led to decent gains.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: B+
This was the by far the best performance by the receivers and probably a million times better than last week. Marivn McNutt had a "breakout" performance, if you want to call it that. He had 2 long touchdown catches and had 4 total receptions for 121 yards. Keenan Davis also had a couple of nice catches along the sideline and Stross got compeletely wide open on his first quarter touchdown. And DJK had a nice grab on the 1 play (he probably played more than that) he actually got in. Reisner had a couple of good grabs and once again filled in nicely for Moeaki (I really hope he's back next week though). Just overall though, I don't recall any dropped balls, and the receivers did a good job of getting open, especially down field.
Offensive Line: C+
The offensive line had a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on Saturday. The pass blocking was excellent (no sacks...I think for the first time this year), and Stanzi had plenty of time all day. The run blocking however, left something to be desired. Vandervelde especially had a rough day missing some blocks in short yardage situations. On the other hand, Bulaga looked back in form on his return. He had a false start on a bad call, but really looked good otherwise.
Offense as a Whole: B-
The offensive production was really pretty solid (420 yards, 296 passing, and 124 on the ground), but for long stretches of the game the offense looked lazy, especially after the first 2 drives in the first half. Part of that is on the coaches. The game plan was pretty conservative besides the 3 or 4 long passes and the McNutt receiver pass...it was mostly just run it up the gut into a 8 or 9 man box. Definitely not as exciting as the stellar game plans against the previous opponents, Arizona particularly.
The Defense
Defensive Line: A-
The line, which has emerged as the strength of the defense, was very good once again. ASU gained less than 100 yards on the ground, and the line got pressure on the QB with 2 sacks (both by Clayborn) and 3.5 tackles for loss. Just not much to complain about here.
Linebackers: B
The linebackers played pretty well, but did not have quite the same impact as last week. Angerer had 11 tackles and Hunter added another 8. However, the pass coverage was once again not fantastic. On ASU's last drive (minus the hail mary) the linebackers got beat twice by the Tebowesque fake draw jump pass to the tight end play. While it's hard not to bite on the run fake, Edds (or maybe Angerer) completely missed his assignment on the touchdown.
Secondary: B-
Really the secondary could be split into two groups: Spievey/Sash and Greenwood/Lowe. The first had a fantastic game. I only recall one pass being completed against Spievey and Sash had yet another interception (there is basically no way at this point that he doesn't break the record for INTs at Iowa...he has 10 already and 18 is the record). Greenwood and Lowe, on the other hand, played rather poor. I'm usually not as hard on Greenwood as some, but he had some trouble in run support. Sometimes he just takes bad angles or doesn't wrap up. Lowe was absolutely abused in the passing game. I think about half of the passes were thrown in his direction. He gave up a touchdown (he did have pretty good coverage and it was a well thrown ball) and had a pass interference called. He did okay filling in, but I have to same I'm happy the Prater is back on the depth chart.
Defense as a Whole: B
If the defense hadn't played so well against Arizona and Penn State, I probably won't be complaining too much this week. They only gave up 14 points, under 300 total yards, under 100 rushing, and forced two interceptions.
The Special Teams
Special Teams as a Whole: C+
This was probably the worst game from a special team's perspective. Donahue seemed slightly off, punting into the endzone for touchbacks and not really booting the ball all the far. Granted, ASU averaged -3 (yeah, the only return went backwards) yards on punt returns. Kick off coverage was pretty good only giving up 15 yards per return, and the onside kick recovery was perfect. The up front guys all got on their blocks and McNutt fielded the ball cleanly and uncontested. The kicking game was mediocre as Murray missed an inexcusable 28 yarder. He also was not kicking the ball very far on kick offs. I'm not sure if that was by design since the Red Wolves returnmen were having a hard time fielding the ball after it bounced, or if his leg is just not that strong.
The Offense
Quarterback: C+
Shockingly, Stanzi came out on fire and actually had a better first half than second. After hitting Stross and McNutt on long touchdowns, everyone and their mom was thinking, okay...this is going to be a blow out. Then, Stanzi went and played generally not too well. He threw two terrible interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown that allowed ASU to get within 7. On that return as well, Stazni was absolutely embarrassed trying to tackle Demario Davis.
Overall though, his stats looked pretty good, definitely padded by the long ball that was right on today (which was very good to see as he's kind of been struggling with that thus far this year). He went 18 of 26 for 296 yards, 3 TDs and 2 interceptions. This actually a QB rating of 187.6, by far his highest of the year. I would have given him a higher grade had his interceptions been so costly and untimely.
Running backs: C
The running backs were very average today (though the offensive line wasn't giving them huge holes). Neither back really made any mistakes and had some okay runs, but they just weren't hitting on all cylinders. Robinson only averaged 2.7 yards per carry and wasn't breaking tackles they way he has in the past couple of games. Wegher played a little better and had 49 yards on 11 carries, but really most of his yards came on a 19 yard run in the second quarter. Neither were helped by the fullbacks though. Iowa lined up in the I most of the day, and Morse missed a couple of lead blocks that would have led to decent gains.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: B+
This was the by far the best performance by the receivers and probably a million times better than last week. Marivn McNutt had a "breakout" performance, if you want to call it that. He had 2 long touchdown catches and had 4 total receptions for 121 yards. Keenan Davis also had a couple of nice catches along the sideline and Stross got compeletely wide open on his first quarter touchdown. And DJK had a nice grab on the 1 play (he probably played more than that) he actually got in. Reisner had a couple of good grabs and once again filled in nicely for Moeaki (I really hope he's back next week though). Just overall though, I don't recall any dropped balls, and the receivers did a good job of getting open, especially down field.
Offensive Line: C+
The offensive line had a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on Saturday. The pass blocking was excellent (no sacks...I think for the first time this year), and Stanzi had plenty of time all day. The run blocking however, left something to be desired. Vandervelde especially had a rough day missing some blocks in short yardage situations. On the other hand, Bulaga looked back in form on his return. He had a false start on a bad call, but really looked good otherwise.
Offense as a Whole: B-
The offensive production was really pretty solid (420 yards, 296 passing, and 124 on the ground), but for long stretches of the game the offense looked lazy, especially after the first 2 drives in the first half. Part of that is on the coaches. The game plan was pretty conservative besides the 3 or 4 long passes and the McNutt receiver pass...it was mostly just run it up the gut into a 8 or 9 man box. Definitely not as exciting as the stellar game plans against the previous opponents, Arizona particularly.
The Defense
Defensive Line: A-
The line, which has emerged as the strength of the defense, was very good once again. ASU gained less than 100 yards on the ground, and the line got pressure on the QB with 2 sacks (both by Clayborn) and 3.5 tackles for loss. Just not much to complain about here.
Linebackers: B
The linebackers played pretty well, but did not have quite the same impact as last week. Angerer had 11 tackles and Hunter added another 8. However, the pass coverage was once again not fantastic. On ASU's last drive (minus the hail mary) the linebackers got beat twice by the Tebowesque fake draw jump pass to the tight end play. While it's hard not to bite on the run fake, Edds (or maybe Angerer) completely missed his assignment on the touchdown.
Secondary: B-
Really the secondary could be split into two groups: Spievey/Sash and Greenwood/Lowe. The first had a fantastic game. I only recall one pass being completed against Spievey and Sash had yet another interception (there is basically no way at this point that he doesn't break the record for INTs at Iowa...he has 10 already and 18 is the record). Greenwood and Lowe, on the other hand, played rather poor. I'm usually not as hard on Greenwood as some, but he had some trouble in run support. Sometimes he just takes bad angles or doesn't wrap up. Lowe was absolutely abused in the passing game. I think about half of the passes were thrown in his direction. He gave up a touchdown (he did have pretty good coverage and it was a well thrown ball) and had a pass interference called. He did okay filling in, but I have to same I'm happy the Prater is back on the depth chart.
Defense as a Whole: B
If the defense hadn't played so well against Arizona and Penn State, I probably won't be complaining too much this week. They only gave up 14 points, under 300 total yards, under 100 rushing, and forced two interceptions.
The Special Teams
Special Teams as a Whole: C+
This was probably the worst game from a special team's perspective. Donahue seemed slightly off, punting into the endzone for touchbacks and not really booting the ball all the far. Granted, ASU averaged -3 (yeah, the only return went backwards) yards on punt returns. Kick off coverage was pretty good only giving up 15 yards per return, and the onside kick recovery was perfect. The up front guys all got on their blocks and McNutt fielded the ball cleanly and uncontested. The kicking game was mediocre as Murray missed an inexcusable 28 yarder. He also was not kicking the ball very far on kick offs. I'm not sure if that was by design since the Red Wolves returnmen were having a hard time fielding the ball after it bounced, or if his leg is just not that strong.
Blackout for Michigan
Homecoming + Blackout + Prime Time ABC (National Coverage) + 70,585 = 6-0 (I hope)
The Michigan game this weekend has been announced as a blackout game. On hawkeyespots.com they had a poll to vote for a blackout or a be bold wear gold. When I voted gold was winning by a land slide, so I'm guessing the athletic department just ignored the results.
Anyway, I think black will look good. I thought the student section did an excellent job of the blackout for the Arizona game. I think the plan for homecoming this weekend is a big block I in the middle of the students a la Penn State's S. That would be pretty cool, if they can pull it off. Many people have complained, me included, about the lackluster showing by the students at home games, but if the Arizona game was any indication, maybe they are getting better (probably the result of success on the football field).
I wasn't planning on going to this game originally, but my brother hooked me up a ticket. It'll be my first homecoming game as an alum. I am pretty excited.
The Michigan game this weekend has been announced as a blackout game. On hawkeyespots.com they had a poll to vote for a blackout or a be bold wear gold. When I voted gold was winning by a land slide, so I'm guessing the athletic department just ignored the results.
Anyway, I think black will look good. I thought the student section did an excellent job of the blackout for the Arizona game. I think the plan for homecoming this weekend is a big block I in the middle of the students a la Penn State's S. That would be pretty cool, if they can pull it off. Many people have complained, me included, about the lackluster showing by the students at home games, but if the Arizona game was any indication, maybe they are getting better (probably the result of success on the football field).
I wasn't planning on going to this game originally, but my brother hooked me up a ticket. It'll be my first homecoming game as an alum. I am pretty excited.