Well, that was brutal. A full 2 days later and I'm still playing the what-ifs game in my head. The loss was really just completely baffling and that was apparent as 70,000 fans stood quietly staring blankly ahead as the final seconds ticked off of Kinnick's scoreboard. It's easy enough to point to where the problems were and why Iowa lost, but how the hell did it happen?

How did every single person in the stands and watching the game on TV know that you HAVE to spike the ball with 12 seconds left and just 1 time out remaining, and yet Ricky Stanzi and the coaches did not?

How have the special teams, which have been a very apparent problem all season and talked about extensively by not only the media but by Coach Ferentz, not improved?

How was Iowa not in punt-safe when they use it probably more than any team in the country and it was the absolute perfect time for Wisconsin to try a fake punt?

I don't know.

Ugh. Actual thoughts on the game will be posted later. For now, here's the drive chart.

FULL SCREEN VERSION

Iowa Offense vs. Wisconsin Defense

Category	Iowa O: Stat	Iowa O: Rank	Wisconsin D: Stat	Wisconsin D: Rank	Advantage
Rushing Yards	166.00	46	114.86	26
Passing Yards	253.17	30	193.86	38	-
Passing Efficiency	177.76	3	128.40	70	+
Sacks	1.83	56	2.14	55	-
Total Yards	419.17	39	308.71	23	-
Scoring	34.33	26	18.86	27	-
Turnovers	5	2	7	101	++
3rd Down Conversion	47.95	23	33.68	25	-
Red Zone %	88.46	27	88.89	100	+

Wisconsin has a pretty decent defense all the way around. The one real standout is J.J. Watt who absolutely terrorized Ohio State last week. He leads a solid defensive line that will make it difficult but not impossible for Iowa to run the ball. J.J. Watt is probably a bigger threat though as a pass rusher. Iowa may need to roll Stanzi out away from Watt or keep in extra blocker to avoid sacks. If the offensive line does give Stanzi time, he should be able to find some openings in Wisconsin's secondary.

Wisconsin has been okay defending the pass. Michigan State's Kirk Cousins had a lot of success finding open receivers a couple of weeks ago, but last week Terrelle Pryor looked completely lost. Iowa's best bet will be off of play action. Safety Jay Valai likes to play close to the line of scrimmage and is better in run support.

Overall Advantage: Very slim advantage to Iowa.

I am not really sure where this started, but there has been a grassroots movement (by grassroots I really mean on Facebook) to get the fans inside Kinnick to chant "NORM" every time Wisconsin is facing a third first down on Saturday. The idea is to honor defensive coordinator Norm Parker who has been dealing with some health issues related to his diabetes. Coach Parker has missed Iowa's last 5 games and will miss the game this weekend as well. Signs are pointing to a return next week.

Well, this idea has gone from Facebook event to officially endorsed by the University. Here's the info:

A movement has started to try to get everyone in the stadium this Saturday to scream and chant “Norm” on every Wisconsin third down [updated-first down now]. Bring signs and do whatever is necessary to get the entire stadium rocking.

The idea is to do this in honor of Norm Parker who as you probably know, has been hospitalized more then once and is in a serious battle with his diabetes. My understanding is he already lost his foot. If you watched the post game last week it looked like Ferentz had tears in his eyes after the game when Parker was mentioned. These two are huge friends. Norm has not been coaching.

Can you imagine how pumped up the defense will get if the entire stadium is rocking with a Norm chant. A ton of signs would also be great. Those of us watching on TV want to see the signs, hear the crowd and listen to the announcers explain what is going on.

Go to work guys and let's make this happen. Let's watch the power of viral marketing. Tell others to keep passing this message on. I posted this on Facebook linking to an event request and suggest you do the same.

NORM, NORM, NORMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was probably not a super "official" person sending this out. You shouldn't actually bring signs. There is a policy against taking signs into Kinnick Stadium and it will be in effect on Saturday. But you get the general idea, right? UPDATE: Also, now it is on first down instead of third down. This is because there are already things that are "traditionally" done on third down in Kinnick. I'm thinking specific music or something. I don't know. But yeah, first down now. Here is the latest "official" word: "Hawkeye fans are encouraged to shout 'Norm' every time the Badger offense approaches the line of scrimmage for a first down play."

Anyway, count me in. I'll be screaming "NORM" every chance I get. My only question is, is it "NOOOORRMMMM!!!!!" or "NORM, NORM, NORM, NORM..."?

I didn't get too crazy this week with my ballot. Auburn shoots up after beating Arkansas. Auburn's defense has been pretty horrid, but Cam Newton looks like a near lock for Heisman at this point, and the Tigers have two big wins over South Carolina and Arkansas. Wisconsin also take a big jump for beating Ohio State. That obviously leads to Ohio State falling...Nebraska is the other big loser this week getting beat by Texas. Oh, and last week I cast the first ever BlogPoll vote for Syracuse at #25 and then the go a promptly lose to Pitt. So that was short lived.