Before any Iowa fan gets all upset at me for not ranking the Hawkeyes, let me say that I didn't rank a single team with a loss. There are still 34 teams that have yet to lose and because of that are more deserving of a top 25 ranking at this point. Plus, after week 1 I kept Virginia Tech ranked as my only team with a loss in the top 25 and that was a huge mistake. Do I think Iowa will end up out of the top 25 at the end of the season? No. I'll even probably have them back on my ballot next week (assuming they take care of business against a bad Ball State squad).

With that out of the way...it's week 3 and I am starting to rank more on performance than on expectations. Expectations aren't completely void though. Nebraska's high ranking is partially the result of the weak Big 12 North that they will be teeing off against in the upcoming weeks. From top to bottom in the poll this week, most all of the teams I had ranked won, so there weren't too many changes.

Up: I bumped up both Nebraska and Oregon because of their impressive wins the past couple of weeks. I hate to reward Oregon for running up the score on FCS schools, but that win over Tennessee was solid. Arizona and Stanford are also recipients of considerable bumps; Arizona for its win over Iowa and Stanford because they have been very impressive and I think I have under-ranked them thus far.

In: Michigan State, N.C. State, and Fresno State all make their first appearances on my ballot. They are all undefeated and have decent resumes thus far. Michigan State's dramatic win over Notre Dame alone is worthy of a spot on the ballot.

Out: Iowa, Cal, and Houston are all out for losing.

The rest: Everyone else pretty much moved in line accordingly. Some teams struggled against far lesser competition (I'm looking at you Michigan) and went completely untested. For the most part though, it was just ranked teams beating up on  unranked teams.

In case you don't remember it well, here is one more chance to relive the the seriously crappy series of events that went down Saturday night.

FULL SCREEN VERSION

Okay, that game was terrible by most accounts. The start was as bad as you could imagine and yet the end was worse. The special teams were anything but special (sorry for that horrible piece of writing) and neither the defense nor offense could come up big in the final minutes. But really, in-between Iowa played pretty well and should/could/would've won that game if it not for some seriously terrible plays at the bookends.

The good
Defense played as expected: The defensive line was pretty good. They completely shut down Arizona's running game (63 yards on 30 carries) and did get pressure on Foles semi-consistently. Plus Binns had that amazing pick-six. The rest of the D was okay. Iowa gave up a couple of big passing plays that really hurt, but for the most part kept things in front of them and made sound tackles after short passes. If you take away that first touchdown after the blocked punt (you can't really blame the defense there) then Arizona's offense really only put up 13 points on their only 3 good drives of the night.

The comeback: Despite going down 14 points before ESPN even got coverage up on the game, Iowa managed to come back and tie the game up midway through the 4th quarter. Iowa didn't even try to run the ball and really put the game in the hand of Stanzi who led 2 nice scoring drives in the second half. He is really a very capable quarterback when he has time to throw. The defense also played really well in the second half holding Arizona scoreless the entire half until the winning touchdown with 4 minutes left in the game.

Well, the story of tonight is pretty much the 3 big mistakes made early in the game. It took Iowa out of its game plan and was simply too much to overcome. Sure Iowa came back and tied it and that was really quite amazing all things considered. There were plenty of good thing and terrible things that happened between the the 0-14 hole that Iowa dug itself and the horrific final drive, but tonight it's not worth mentioning. The crappy ending is worth mentioning though. Iowa's defense failed to stop Arizona on its final real drive, and then Iowa's offensive line looked completely inept on the Hawkeye's final drive. And Stanzi, you have to throw the ball. Just horrific execution on that final drive.

For now, it's late. I'm pissed. And I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll write up some actual analysis tomorrow or Monday.

The need to know
What: Iowa at Arizona
Where: Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ
When: 9:30 PM
TV: ESPN

Injury report
Out: Jason White (sprained knee)
Questionable: Marcus Coker (collar bone) he's been practicing but will probably red-shirt
Probable: Adam Gettis (sprained ankle), Daniel Murray (hip flexor)

Keys to the game
First downs: Arizona is converting on over 60% of its third downs. This is largely due to the fact that they have been efficient on first down. They have been decent running the ball with Nic Grigsby and Nick Foles has been deadly throwing short passes. Iowa will need to dictate down and distance by stopping the Wildcats on first down. Getting Arizona into 3rd and long will allow the defense to sit back in coverage and let the defensive line pin its ears back and go after Foles.

Time on possession: Iowa can limit Nick Foles effectiveness by keeping him on the sidelines. Iowa needs to be able run the ball with Adam Robinson and Jewel Hampton and sustain long drives (much like the first half against Iowa State). Stanzi is also going to need to manage this game and not make mistakes that give the ball back to Arizona. He has made good decision for the most part in the first two weeks, so hopefully that trend will continue.

Prediction
Iowa will leverage its advantages in the trenches to turn out a big day for Robinson and Hampton. Iowa will pick on Arizona's inexperienced interior defensive line and linebackers with a grinding rushing attack. On the other side of the ball, the defensive line will take away passing lanes and get after Foles early. Arizona will move the ball some between the 20s, but the defense will "bear down" (that's an Arizona motto) and keep touchdowns off the board.

The final score: Iowa 24 - Arizona 16