Heart Attacks Good for the Bowl
Posted 08-17-2010 at 11:26 AM by beaverdaleguy
Things are looking up for the 2010 Iowa Hawkeyes as the season kickoff against the Eastern Illinois Panthers looms just over two and a half weeks away. Needless to say there are high expectations stemming from a respectable Orange Bowl victory last January against Georgia Tech, but they continue to grow ever higher as more and more Hawkeyes get added to various watch lists and award “short lists”.
While Coach Kirk Ferentz is not usually eager to hold one player above the others, there is no getting away from the national media’s comparisons of Defensive End Adrian Clayborn to last season’s flavor of the week, Ndamukong Suh, formerly of Nebraska. Clayborn, who racked up a respectable 70 tackles (36 solo) and 20 tackles for loss with 11.5 sacks, including 1 punt block returned for a touchdown against Penn State, is named to an early flood of award and watch lists throughout the country.
Of course, Iowa’s deadly, yet humble, teddy bear on steroids can’t do it all alone. He relies on the entire Iowa defense, who recorded 21 interceptions for 307 yards, including 6 by Safety Tyler Sash and 5 by now NFL rookie linebacker, AJ Edds. Led by veteran safeties Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood, the Iowa secondary is ranked as preseason #2 in the country by Rivals.com. Holding the opposition last season to an average 15.4 points per game, it is easy to see why this devilish defense gains respect from every opponent.
The Hawkeye offense was a rollercoaster flying up and down Heart Attack Hill, but always seemed to come through for Hawk fans in the 4th quarter and mount unbelievable drives and comebacks which haven’t been seen too much since the Chuck Long to Ronnie Harmon connections under Legendary Coach Hayden Fry. Running back injuries coupled with the True American Ricky Stanzi’s “pick 6s” held the offense back from producing at its full potential. Yet somehow the Howitzer of Blood & Guts Stanzi always seemed to find receivers Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Marvin McNutt in clutch situations.
Once the defense bit on those two threats, running back duo Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher would prove the scientific theory of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. They motivated steady progress with a combined total of 13 touchdowns, 1475 yards (Iowa’s total team rushing yardage was 1485 yards after sacks and runs for losses by other backs), at an average of 4.2 yards per carry between them.
Then, National Championship dreams steadily became a reality when the season seemed to be on the verge of a place the Iowa Hawkeyes haven’t been in almost six decades, the cusp of a National Title. It was a fall day in Iowa City. Fans were as excited as ever, and some were even thinking ahead of ending an embarrassing stint against Ohio State the next weekend.
Northwestern came to town with hopes of crushing Iowa’s dreams into bitter dust. Instead, on a naked bootleg out of his own endzone, Ricky Stanzi had his dreams crushed with a high ankle sprain, ending his regular season march to glory. Iowa fans could not believe it. And while backup James Vandenberg, a freshman from Keokuk, IA, had always dreamed of playing for the Hawkeyes, he did not want it to happen like this. With a performance which was better than expected from a cold, inexperienced freshman backup quarterback, Vandenberg just didn’t have enough to mount the fourth quarter comebacks like his mentor.
However, in the infamous Horsehoe the very next week, he led the Hawkeyes to a shaky but impressive contest in a narrow overtime defeat against Ohio State. That was the turning point for the Hawkeyes gaining recognition and the beginning of respect for the dynasty that is Kirk Ferentz’s legacy. In order to be the best, you have to beat the best. The best in the Big Ten has for years been “The Vest” and his Ohio State Buckeyes. For having a backup quarterback and a cacophony of other injuries, Iowa held their own in a very hostile environment.
The Hawkeyes topped off the season with an impressive Orange Bowl victory over a Georgia Tech team who was considered by many analysts as unstoppable for their “old school” approach to the Triple Option. With many going into the game believing the “slow, lumbering” approach of traditional Big Ten football would never stand up against the “slice and dice” of the triple option, they overlooked one key detail: Iowa’s Norm Parker, the defensive genius who has been coaching against the Triple Option and Power T formations for decades. With their “slow and lumbering” approach, Iowa continued it’s success in major bowl games and helped bring the Big Ten into its first winning bowl record in years.
With more expectations and higher hopes, can this 2010 team stay focused from beginning to end? Or will the Northern Iowa, Arkansas State, and other “creampuffs” give us all heart attacks again as the Hawks tend to play up or down to their opponent’s level? Ball State and Eastern Illinois aren’t going to roll over just because Iowa has high expectations. Likewise, Arizona and Iowa State could prove tougher than expected too, as Paul Rhodes is building his own dynasty and Mark Stoops already has his.
My advice: stay grounded. Even if we continue through to Mid November and Ohio State comes into an Undefeated Kinnick…stay grounded. Focus on each game, and remember that with half an inch, we lose to Michigan State. One dropped freak interception, we lose momentum and lose to the Hoosiers. One unblocked field goal, we never make it past Northern Iowa. Our season could be 12-0, and it could just as easily be 6-6. The world will not end if Iowa loses a player or a game. Remember, heart attacks are good. That means they gave you a scare and you got through it. It means a "W". And "W"s mean Bowl trips. But win or lose, its how classy you are to the other team when you win as to how the dynasty will be remembered.
We have the ability to develop into a top tier school. The first step is here, in 2010. But in order for us to do so, fans have to have class. Iowa’s coaches do. The players do. Do you? Go Hawks!
While Coach Kirk Ferentz is not usually eager to hold one player above the others, there is no getting away from the national media’s comparisons of Defensive End Adrian Clayborn to last season’s flavor of the week, Ndamukong Suh, formerly of Nebraska. Clayborn, who racked up a respectable 70 tackles (36 solo) and 20 tackles for loss with 11.5 sacks, including 1 punt block returned for a touchdown against Penn State, is named to an early flood of award and watch lists throughout the country.
Of course, Iowa’s deadly, yet humble, teddy bear on steroids can’t do it all alone. He relies on the entire Iowa defense, who recorded 21 interceptions for 307 yards, including 6 by Safety Tyler Sash and 5 by now NFL rookie linebacker, AJ Edds. Led by veteran safeties Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood, the Iowa secondary is ranked as preseason #2 in the country by Rivals.com. Holding the opposition last season to an average 15.4 points per game, it is easy to see why this devilish defense gains respect from every opponent.
The Hawkeye offense was a rollercoaster flying up and down Heart Attack Hill, but always seemed to come through for Hawk fans in the 4th quarter and mount unbelievable drives and comebacks which haven’t been seen too much since the Chuck Long to Ronnie Harmon connections under Legendary Coach Hayden Fry. Running back injuries coupled with the True American Ricky Stanzi’s “pick 6s” held the offense back from producing at its full potential. Yet somehow the Howitzer of Blood & Guts Stanzi always seemed to find receivers Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Marvin McNutt in clutch situations.
Once the defense bit on those two threats, running back duo Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher would prove the scientific theory of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. They motivated steady progress with a combined total of 13 touchdowns, 1475 yards (Iowa’s total team rushing yardage was 1485 yards after sacks and runs for losses by other backs), at an average of 4.2 yards per carry between them.
Then, National Championship dreams steadily became a reality when the season seemed to be on the verge of a place the Iowa Hawkeyes haven’t been in almost six decades, the cusp of a National Title. It was a fall day in Iowa City. Fans were as excited as ever, and some were even thinking ahead of ending an embarrassing stint against Ohio State the next weekend.
Northwestern came to town with hopes of crushing Iowa’s dreams into bitter dust. Instead, on a naked bootleg out of his own endzone, Ricky Stanzi had his dreams crushed with a high ankle sprain, ending his regular season march to glory. Iowa fans could not believe it. And while backup James Vandenberg, a freshman from Keokuk, IA, had always dreamed of playing for the Hawkeyes, he did not want it to happen like this. With a performance which was better than expected from a cold, inexperienced freshman backup quarterback, Vandenberg just didn’t have enough to mount the fourth quarter comebacks like his mentor.
However, in the infamous Horsehoe the very next week, he led the Hawkeyes to a shaky but impressive contest in a narrow overtime defeat against Ohio State. That was the turning point for the Hawkeyes gaining recognition and the beginning of respect for the dynasty that is Kirk Ferentz’s legacy. In order to be the best, you have to beat the best. The best in the Big Ten has for years been “The Vest” and his Ohio State Buckeyes. For having a backup quarterback and a cacophony of other injuries, Iowa held their own in a very hostile environment.
The Hawkeyes topped off the season with an impressive Orange Bowl victory over a Georgia Tech team who was considered by many analysts as unstoppable for their “old school” approach to the Triple Option. With many going into the game believing the “slow, lumbering” approach of traditional Big Ten football would never stand up against the “slice and dice” of the triple option, they overlooked one key detail: Iowa’s Norm Parker, the defensive genius who has been coaching against the Triple Option and Power T formations for decades. With their “slow and lumbering” approach, Iowa continued it’s success in major bowl games and helped bring the Big Ten into its first winning bowl record in years.
With more expectations and higher hopes, can this 2010 team stay focused from beginning to end? Or will the Northern Iowa, Arkansas State, and other “creampuffs” give us all heart attacks again as the Hawks tend to play up or down to their opponent’s level? Ball State and Eastern Illinois aren’t going to roll over just because Iowa has high expectations. Likewise, Arizona and Iowa State could prove tougher than expected too, as Paul Rhodes is building his own dynasty and Mark Stoops already has his.
My advice: stay grounded. Even if we continue through to Mid November and Ohio State comes into an Undefeated Kinnick…stay grounded. Focus on each game, and remember that with half an inch, we lose to Michigan State. One dropped freak interception, we lose momentum and lose to the Hoosiers. One unblocked field goal, we never make it past Northern Iowa. Our season could be 12-0, and it could just as easily be 6-6. The world will not end if Iowa loses a player or a game. Remember, heart attacks are good. That means they gave you a scare and you got through it. It means a "W". And "W"s mean Bowl trips. But win or lose, its how classy you are to the other team when you win as to how the dynasty will be remembered.
We have the ability to develop into a top tier school. The first step is here, in 2010. But in order for us to do so, fans have to have class. Iowa’s coaches do. The players do. Do you? Go Hawks!
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