Pathetic game in basically all regards. Iowa escaped here. Very, very, VERY lucky.

The redzone offense was as terrible as I have ever seen. The team looked completely lost out there once it got in scoring position. Stanzi was WAY off overthrowing deeper routes and throwing behind on shorter routes. Not matter what they called, it was just not working inside the 20.

The defense once again performed rather questionably when the game was on the line letting Indiana to go down and score in the 4th quarter to take the lead. And, nearly giving the game away at the end of the game if it were not for an Indiana drop.

The penalties were also killer; 9 penalties for 65 yards. They were in bad situations too. Back-to-back penalties in the redzone on 3rd-and-Goal. Another on the Indiana's 21 on a 2nd-and-6. Those two situations really stalled Iowa's drives and led to FGs instead of TDs.

The one bright spot was Marcus Coker who played really well in place of Adam Robinson. Coker had a great first half, going over 100 yards, but wasn't used much in the second half as Iowa was trying to get Stanzi going. Coker finished with 129 on 22 carries.

I guess the McNutt TD was another bright spot...very good and clutch play there. Stanzi actually played okay for most of the game. He finished 22/33 for 290 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. The interception was bad...I think thrown just way too high.

So yeah. Maybe a little bit overreacting so, more level-headed thoughts to come tomorrow or Monday morning. Then we will quickly move on and forget everything about this game other than the W.

This is at the last minute...but could help you kill some time before kickoff.

The need to know
What: Iowa at Indiana
Where: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington
When: 11:00 AM
TV: BTN (Game Finder)

Iowa injury report
Injuries have gotten out of hand with the Iowa football team. It's too hard to tell who's coming off of injury, who's still injured, etc... There are lots of rumors flying around too. The big one, though, is Adam Robinson. He is not going to play today after suffering a concussion last week. The linebackers are the other big question. I think Nielsen is the only one definitely out, but Tarpinian, Hunter, and Johnson all may be limited.

Keys to the game
Overcome the injuries: It will be interesting to see what Iowa does to try compensating for Robinson's absence. I imagine Coker and Rogers will handle most of the carries, but we may see Paki or Jason White (who both have played very little due to injuries this year). In obvious passing situations, Morse may stay in as a blocker. We saw that some last year and most notably at Michigan State on the final drive. KOK might even call a draw play for Morse, who has had 3 carries in the past 2 weeks, just to keep Indiana off balance. So, it'll probably be some kind of runningback by committee today. Also, Iowa may utilize Stanzi and the receivers to open up the run with the passing game.

Iowa Offense vs. Indiana Defense

Category	Iowa O: Stat	Iowa O: Rank	Indiana D: Stat	Indiana D: Rank	Advantage
Rushing Yards	159.5	48	167.5	82
Passing Yards	245.88	39	216.63	67
Passing Efficiency	177.37	2	147.69	105	++
Sacks	1.5	39	1.25	98	+
Total Yards	405.38	46	384.13	74
Scoring	34.13	26	29	84	+
Turnovers	5	2	11	91	++
3rd Down Conversion	51	10	41.58	81	+
Red Zone %	0.88	24	0.92	111	++

I don't know that I've even seen a breakdown where Iowa had an advantage in every statistical category, and definitely not with the offense (maybe the defense against some terrible team). Iowa should hold a distinct advantage with the ball. Indiana's defense doesn't get a lot of pressure on quarterbacks, so Stanzi should have plenty of time to pick the secondary apart. Indiana has a couple of experienced safeties, but the cornerbacks are a freshman and a converted receiver. McNutt and DJK should be able to get open early and often.

The real question Saturday is if Iowa can establish a run game without Adam Robinson if he is unable to go. I would say, yes...probably. The two past years Iowa has had freshmen running backs go over 100 yards against Indiana (Hampton had 114 yards and 3 TD in 2008 and Wegher had 118 yards a 3 TDs last year). So, maybe Coker can put up similar results. Indiana is giving up over 5 yards per carry and with Iowa's offensive line I think Coker and Roger (or maybe Paki?) will be able to move the ball enough to at least open up the play-action game.

Overall Advantage: Enormous advantage for Iowa if Robinson plays, still big advantage if he doesn't.

Ray Hamilton
L Solon 31 - Strongsville 28 | (6-4)
Solon was undefeated and Strongsville was fighting for a berth into the playoffs. Strongsville played well the entire game and held a 28-20 lead with just 30 second left, and Solon 34 yards away from scoring. Solon completed a short pass down to the 26 yard line and was tackled inbounds with no timeouts. With the final second ticking off the clock it seemed Solon's only play would be to spike it and take one final stab at the endzone. Instead, Solon put its undefeated record on the line on one final, extremely risky play...instead of spiking the ball, the QB faked a sneak then bounced outside and ran it in for a TD as time expired. Solon then converted the 2-point attempt and won in overtime. The loss ended Strongsville's season at 6-4 and left them out of the playoffs. The loss left the Mustangs, including Hamilton, in shock. Hamilton did have a 39-yard TD grab. He finished the season with 55 receptions for 884 yards and 11 TDs.

Season Over

Austin Blythe
Playoffs, 1st Round: W Maquoketa 27 - Williamsburg 56 | (9-1)
After the 1st quarter, Williamsburg was up 25-0. At the half, it was 39-0. In the end, Williamsburg cruised into the second round of the playoff beating Maquoketa 56-27. There are plenty of Blythe highlights in this KCRG video (Blythe is #77).

Playoffs, 2nd Round: W Clear Creek-Amana 35 - Williamsburg 65 | (10-1)
Williamsburg's offense was unstoppable as they scored 9 TDs and a field goal against CCA and won by 30. Blythe was quoted: "We played a great game. CCA has a good team. It was a good physical game and that’s what we like to play." Next up for Williamsburg is Solon (10-1) who handed Williamsburg its only loss back on October 8.

Next Game: at Solon - 11/08 (Playoffs, Quarter Finals)


Riley McMinn
Playoffs, 1st Round: W Freeburg 7 - Rochester 49 | (10-0)
Rochester continued its unbeaten streak into the first round of the playoffs playing a great game start to finish. The special teams provided a blocked punt and an onside kick recovery, the passing game was extremely efficient (only 1 incompletion), and the defense was smothering. Freeburg only briefly looked like it would give Rochester any type of challenge, but it was promptly erased McMinn registered a sack on 4th and 9 when Freeburg was deep in Rochester's territory.

Next Game: vs. Effingham - 11/05 (Playoffs, 2nd Round)

It was very difficult week for coming up with my ballot. The most difficult part for me was ordering the top 4 in the Big Ten. Michigan beat Wisconsin who beat Iowa who absolutely demolished Michigan State. Throw Ohio State in there and it gets very messy. What complicated things further for me, is that Iowa has 2 losses to MSU's 1...however Iowa proved head-to-head that it's a better team. But MSU and Wisconsin both have 1 loss and MSU own the head-to-head. So, is Iowa's win over MSU greater than MSU's over Wisconsin? I think so. That puts MSU at the bottom of the pack. Wisconsin is at the top for beating OSU and Iowa, and OSU is ahead of Iowa for only having 1 loss. Makes perfect sense, right?

Some other changes:

• Boise State jumps up ahead of TCU again. Both teams have a very similar strength of schedule and BSU has been slightly more impressive thus far. A win over Utah this weekend could quickly flip these two again.
• Alabama and Nebraska both jump Wisconsin. This is partially due to the fact that I emotionally over-ranked Wisconsin for beating Iowa. Also, Nebraska's win over Missouri helped their cause.
• LSU drops some more, because they just don't deserve a high ranking. If they beat Bama on Saturday, I'll give them the appropriate bump.
• NC State and Baylor both enter the poll for their impressive wins of Texas and Florida State respectively.