The Iowa Hawkeyes (winners of five out their last six games) host one of the best team in the nation this afternoon inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  The #6 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will face a confident Iowa team in front of one of the better crowds in recent memory.  This is the 150th time these two teams have played each other.  Iowa has lost six straight games to Ohio State.  The Buckeyes have an impressive streak of 56 consecutive wins over unranked teams.  The last time these two teams played, Iowa lead by 6 at half but couldn’t hold on, losing by 5.

Game Info

Iowa Hawkeyes (10-6; 2-1) vs Ohio State (14-2; 2-1)
POMEROY RATINGS: Iowa – 95, Ohio State – 1
REALTIMERPI: Iowa – 102, Ohio State– 4
CBS RPI: Iowa – 149, Ohio State- 11
MASSEY RANKING: Iowa – 109, Ohio State- 5
Tip Off: Saturday, January 7th, 2012; 2:06 PM CST
Iowa City, IA; Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 15,500
TV: BTN HD; BTN2GO.com
Radio: AM 600, 1040, and 800.
Iowa leads 75-74 in the all-time series.

LINE: Iowa is an 11.5 point underdog at home. Pomeroy predicts a 15 point Iowa loss.

NO LIVE CHAT – visit the Iowa – Ohio State Game Thread instead.  Also, follow Jon Miller (@Hawkeyenation) and myself (@storminspank) on Twitter during the game.

Projected Starters

IOWA

G – Devyn Marble, 6’6”, 194 lb, SO

G – Matt Gatens, 6’5”, 212 lb, SR

G – Eric May, 6’5”, 217 lb, JR

F – Melsahn Basabe, 6’7”, 225 lb, SO

F – Zach McCabe, 6’7”, 232 lb, SO

OHIO STATE

G – Aaron Craft, 6’2″, 190, SO

G – Lenzelle Smith, Jr, 6’4″, 205, SO

G – William Buford, 6’6″, 220, SR

F – Deshaun Thomas, 6’7″, 225, SO

F – Jared Sullinger, 6’9″, 265, SO

STATS COMPARISON:

• Points Per Game – Iowa 76.7, OSU 78.1
• FG % – Iowa 45.8, OSU 49.5
• Points per Poss: – Iowa, 1.09, OSU 1.14
• eFG% – Iowa 49.9, OSU 53.6
• Opp eFG% – Iowa 50.1, OSU 44.7
• 3 pt% – Iowa 34.3, OSU 32.2
• Opp 2 pt %: Iowa 50.2, OSU 44.1
• Opp 3 pt% – Iowa 33.3, OSU 30.7
• FT% – Iowa 73.6, OSU 68.4
• Offensive Turnover% – Iowa 16.6 (#12 in nation), OSU 16.9
• Defensive Turnover% – Iowa 21.6, OSU 26.7 (#7 in nation)
• Offensive Reb% – Iowa 33.2, OSU 22.2 (#1 in nation)
• Offensive Steal% – Iowa 6.3 (#2 in nation), OSU 6.4 (#3 in the nation)
• Offensive Block% – Iowa 6.3, OSU 5.3 (#2 in the nation)

Here’s a look at a graphical comparison of the teams from statsheet.com, the two teams are basically mirror images of each other in regards to stats…

IOWA’S BIG TEN TEAM STAT RANKINGS (through ALL games):

• Scoring – 3rd
• Scoring D – 12th
• Scoring Margin – 9th
• FT% – 2nd
• FG% – 6th
• Opp FG% – 12th
• 3 pt% – 6th
• 3 pt Made – 10th
• Opp 3 pt% – 5th
• Reb Margin – 9th
• Assists – 5th
• Steals – 3rd
• TO Margin – 5th
• A/TO Ratio – 5th
• OREB% – 8th
• DREB% – 7th

IOWA’S BIG TEN INDIVIDUAL STAT RANKINGS (through ALL games):

• Points – Gatens 16th, Marble 23rd
• Rebs – Basabe 9th
• FG% – Basabe 15th
• Assists -Cartwright 5th, Marble 9th
• FT% – Gatens 4th, Cartwright 5th,
• Steals – Marble 7th, Gatens 10th
• 3pt% – Oglesby 15th
• Blocks – Basabe 14th
• A/TO Ratio – Marble 2nd, Cartwright 5th
• OREB – McCabe 7th, White 11th
• DREB – Basabe 9th

KEYS TO GAME FOR IOWA:

- Continue the Terrific Perimeter D.  Whether it’s the increased communication, better rotation, or just pure luck – Iowa’s opponents have been shooting awful from behind the arc lately. Wisconsin shot 3-28 and Minnesota shot 4-23 from 3 point land.  Couple that with the fact that last time out Ohio State shot an ugly 2-17 from the outside, it’s possible that trend continues.  If it does, Iowa will be great position in this game.

-  Basabe vs. Sullinger.  The last time these two faced off, it was a real treat.  Mel and Sully went toe to toe, point for point, rebound for rebound.  Sullinger is one of the best players in the nation, if Basabe can duplicate his efforts from last year, it will take the pressure of Marble and Gatens to have to do too much.  Sullinger was in foul trouble in the loss to Indiana on the road, something like that can’t hurt Iowa if it happens today.

- Limit Mistakes and Execute.  No this isn’t a line from Kirk Ferentz, not verbatim at least.  There’s a reason Ohio State is ranked in the Top 10 and is a favorite to win the B1G.  They’re good – really good.  Iowa needs to be focused and needs to play mistake-free basketball, very similar to how they played on the road vs. Wisconsin.  They will need an effort like that to have a chance in the ballgame.  Empty Iowa possessions and allowing Ohio State 2nd chance points will severely handicap the Hawkeyes’ chances.

- Slash. Penetrate. Dish/Score.   If you watched the Ohio State – Indiana game, you saw the Hoosiers expose Ohio State’s defense.  Indiana was able to get into the lane, get the shots they wanted, get bunnies, etc…  That puts some focus toward Devyn Marble and Bryce Cartwright this afternoon – those two need to get into the lane and make OSU’s bigs make quick decisions on their defensive rotation.

PREDICTION:  It’s tough to bet against the Hawkeyes right now.  They are playing pretty good basketball on both ends of the court, and if they can put together 40 minutes of solid basketball, the wins are going to continue to come.   The last time Iowa played the #1 Pomeroy-rated team in the nation, they won on the road.  Can they accomplish the same feat at home today? I think they come up short to an incredibly talented Buckeye team.  Hawks beat the spread, but not Ohio State.  FINAL SCORE: Iowa 69,  Ohio State 77

The game was closer than that, but in some regards it was worse than that.

The Iowa offense ran 82 plays on the night, 29 in the first quarter alone. Oklahoma’s offense, ranked 4th in the nation entering the game, gained just 275 yards for the entire game.

Had you given those statistics to me before the game, I would have said Iowa wins by double digits. Instead, it was a story of failed execution for the Iowa offense, something Hawkeye fans have become all too familiar with this season and several others.

Iowa gained just 292 yards on those 82 plays. Iowa had two penalties in the second half on first and one yard to go situations. They still scored touchdowns on both of those drives, but that was indicative of the kind of day the offense had.

In the first quarter, Iowa had the ball inside the five yard line, a fourth and inches play and they tried to hurry up to run a play. Oklahoma had 12 men on the field for that play and possibly even an offsides with the 12th man running back into the game. The officials missed it and Iowa’s attempt to score failed as the ball carrier was stopped short of the first down marker. Marvin McNutt was uncovered on the play as well.

Iowa had at least five dropped passes in this game, another issue that plagued them in 2011. James Vandenberg never got on track in this game, rushing through his footwork for much of the game and then suffering from drops when he was on target.

Vandenberg finished the game 23-44 for 216 yards and an interception. The INT came in the first quarter and he was flagged for a 15-yard personal foul for a late hit on a tackle attempt, which set the Sooners up for a short porch score.

That was Oklahoma’s only offense for the first quarter, as they ran just 8 plays for 7 yards, with the Iowa defense recording three separate three and out stands on the other drives that were not set up by the INT.

The defense did their job, again. This was a phenomenal game for the Iowa defense, considering the fire power of the opponent. It was Norm Parker’s last game as Iowa’s defensive coordinator and Iowa held Sooner QB Landry Jones, a possible 1st round NFL draft pick in April, to a 16-25 day for 161 yards and just one TD. Oklahoma also had just 16 first downs on the day for 21 from Iowa.

This loss will leave a hollow feeling in the fan base. Iowa going 7-6 this season isn’t the end of the world, given the players they lost from last year and the fact they returned the fewest starters of any team in the Big Ten and one of the fewest totals of any team in the FBS.

But people will think ‘what if?’. What if the offense hadn’t spit the bit at Minnesota? What if the offense hadn’t spit the bit against Oklahoma? 9-4 is a far, far cry from 7-6. Yet, this team finished 7-6 in a year when they played a very manageable schedule.

These next nine months before Iowa kicks things off in 2012 will be long. The primary reason for that will be the losses on defense, a defense that was the most challenged (statistically) since the 2000 season. Still, this defense did its job more often than not, and the offense didn’t.

You can see some of Iowa’s offensive foibles at this link, something I wrote in early December. Yes, there was a lot of missed execution in this game. There was a lot of missed execution this season and there has been missed execution in other seasons.

That being said, it’s almost as if Iowa’s offensive philosophy demands a great defense and an offense that has far too little margin for error, one that doesn’t create enough big plays and one that places far too much pressure to be perfect.

Is that a good set up for success? When Iowa has had an elite defense, it has helped cover up some problems. However this year’s defense was not elite and I don’t hold out much hope that next year’s defensive line is going to be as good as this year’s group. In fact, I think their end of season performance levels will be beneath this year’s group.

That’s a scary proposition for a program that is losing it’s biggest playmaker on offense (Marvin McNutt) and likely three of its best linemen, as I expect Riley Reiff to turn pro.

Vandenberg has all the physical tools to be a great Big Ten quarterback. He had one of the five or six best statistical seasons every put forth by an Iowa quarterback, this year.

Yet in games 12 and 13, he looked as uncomfortable in the pocket as he did on the road in Week Two against Iowa State. He still feels phantom pressure, and the Iowa offensive line did a great job of picking up blitzers against Oklahoma.

He has to make big strikes, particularly on the road, to give this offense a chance. He’ll also need Keenan Davis to put the drops behind him and play to his potential, too. He’ll need to get reacquainted with the tight ends in this system, a position that has been a Hawkeye quarterback’s best friend through the entire Ferentz era.

Ferentz will also have some work ahead of him this next month. He’ll need to hire his first new coordinator since becoming Iowa’s coach in 1999. He need to hire a new defensive line coach, too.

It’s an important crossroads for the Iowa football program. They’ll need to establish a new foundation next year to keep pushing this thing forward.

Thousands of fans will have a long wait to see which direction things are going.

On to game two of the 2011-12 campaign for the Iowa Men’s Basketball squad.  After a blowout season-opening win against an inferior opponent on Friday, Iowa will suit up tonight against the Aggies from North Carolina A&T.  This game should give Iowa a little better test, but overall Iowa should not have a tough time against the N.C. A&T squad.

Game Info

North Carolina A&T Aggies (0-1) vs Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0)
POMEROY RATINGS:  Iowa – 59, NCAT – 300
RPI:  Iowa – 80, NCAT – 222
Tip Off:  Monday, November 14th 2011; 7:05 PM CST
Iowa City, IA – Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500)
TV: None.  video.BTN.com only.
Radio: AM 600, 1040, and 800.
This is the first meeting of the two teams.

LINE:  none

LIVE CHAT DURING GAME RIGHT HERE

Probable Starters

IOWA

PG – Bryce Cartwright, 6’1”, 188 lb, SR

G – Matt Gatens, 6’5”, 212 lb, SR

G – Eric May, 6’5”, 217 lb, JR

F – Melsahn Basabe, 6’7”, 225 lb, SO

C – Devon Archie, 6’9”, 222 lb, SR

NORTH CAROLINA A&T

G – Marc Hill, 5’8”, 160 lb, SR

G – Nic Simpson, 6’3”, 205 lb, SR

G/F – Austin Witter, 6’8”, 195 lb, JR

F – Adrian Powell, 6’6”, 188 lb, JR

F – Lawrence Smith, 6’5”, 200 lb, JR

The Aggies (projected to be a middle of the pack MEAC team) bring back a lot of people from last year’s team that won 15 games.  Unfortunately, they lost their best player to graduation.  By best player, I mean “the guy that did everything for the team” in Thomas Coleman.   Guard play is big for the Aggies and Marc Hill sets up the show up at the point (he’s a 3 pt threat), while Nic Simpson has the potential to be a scorer.  Hill did an above average job of distributing the ball last season, and it will be interesting to see how he does without Coleman.  R.J. Buck came off the bench last game and played well for the Aggies.  There is some talent on the team, but not enough to give Iowa too much heartburn.   N.C. A&T recently lost their season opener to Creighton by 30+ points, as part of the Dale Howard Classic preliminaries.  Also of note, Creighton beat Chicago State last night by a score of 95-61 (Iowa defeated CSU 96-53).

It’s Andrew Brommer bobblehead night, so hopefully he will be able to play.  He was able to get back to practice this week and it is assumed he will be well enough to log some minutes.

KEYS TO GAME FOR IOWA:

-          Rebound.  Iowa did a better job in the season opener, but they’ll need to build on this in game two.  They shouldn’t have many issues doing this, as NC A&T is a very, very poor rebounding team.  If the Hawkeyes are able to grab the boards like they should be able to on the D end, you could see a lot of up and down action.

-           Get Bryce Back on Track.   Bryce Cartwright didn’t have the best game to start his senior year in Iowa City.  He missed some buckets, lost the ball a couple of times, and didn’t find his teammates in transition.   Bryce knows he had a down game, but we should see him make a comeback in this one.  The Cartwright – Hill matchup should be an interesting one to watch.

-           Find the Bigs Down Low.   Several times in the opening game, Iowa just flat out missed bigs in position downlow.  I can recall a couple specific times where Aaron White had his man pinned on the block and Josh Oglesby either didn’t get him the ball at all or got it to him too late to do anything with it.  Yes, Iowa was up against a zone, but if a big has his man pinned, you have to get him a touch at bare minimum.

-           Stop Pump-Faking and Take the Shot.   Look, I know Josh Oglesby is a true freshman, so I don’t want to pile up on him (especially considering he had a pretty good debut to start his career).   However, I saw far too many pump-fakes from three-point land from Josh when he had an open shot.  While I’ve always liked the idea of finding a better shot, I do think it’s best if you are a premier outside shooter to shoot a wide-open trey.  The same can be said for Eric May, who passed up on several wide-open looks in the first game.  Trust in your shot, and know the frontcourt is there to grab your miss if it doesn’t drop.

PREDICTION:   North Carolina A&T is a better challenge for the Hawkeyes than Chicago State, but a middle-of-the-pack team in a low-major conference shouldn’t give Iowa a lot of trouble.   Don’t expect N.C. A&T to turn the ball over at the rate Chicago State did, but look for Iowa to have a decisive edge in the rebounding department.  Iowa should have a significantly high number of possessions in this game.   FINAL SCORE:  Iowa 96,  North Carolina A&T 65

Iowa came away with a decisive 96-53 season opening win over Chicago State tonight inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Below is the postgame press-conference from Coach McCaffery, as well as interviews from Zach McCabe, Matt Gatens, and Aaron White.  White was the first freshman to put up a double-double in his first game since Jess Settles did it in 1993.  White’s 19 point performance is presumed to be the most ever by an Iowa Hawkeye freshman in his debut game.  Dick Ives scored 19 points as a freshman (they were allowed to play at the age due to WWII).  I guess no one is really sure, Iowa SID included.  Here’s the long and short of it – White had one hell of a debut. And he did it in front of the largest home opening crowd in over 10 years.

Enjoy.

Coach McCaffery

Matt Gatens

Zach McCabe
 

Aaron White

So in essence, it’s a month long Iowa and Big Ten football preview here at HawkeyeNation.com.

We’ll lead things off with our game by game prediction for Iowa’s 2011 football season. I had toyed with the thought of picking the Hawks last, but by that time you would have been able to piece the prediction together based upon my game by game predictions for the other 12 teams in the Big Ten, so let’s just jump in with the Hawkeyes.

September 3rd, Tennessee Tech at Iowa: Tennessee Tech is an FCS squad with a lot of experience on the roster. They will have nearly 25 seniors plus another 25 juniors on the roster. They boast one of the best receivers in the FCS level, Tim Benford, who has more than 2000 career receiving yards. Coach Watson Brown said this prior to the start of spring ball this past March: “We want to be the fastest 60 minutes in football. Our style will change and we’ll pick up the tempo. We want to play faster, improve our team speed, react quicker. We want to make the games longer. We think one of our strengths wil be our depth, and we want to take advantage of that.” Here is a link to their spring game report. A veteran FCS club will be a nice test for Iowa right out of the gate; nice in that you had better still win the game, but salty enough for the game film to be a benefit heading into week two. This team beat Eastern Illinois last year, but surrendered over 100 points combined against Arkansas and TCU. IOWA 41, Tech 17

September 10th, Iowa at Iowa State: Iowa is an early 7.5 point favorite in this game, and you can see some of the Iowa-ISU line history at this link. There’s no nice way for me to put this, so I will just say it; I can’t stand this game when it’s at Jack Trice. I get pretty amped up due to what this game means when you are an Iowa fan living in central Iowa. Losing this game creates multiple smack talk opportunities due to my line of work…then again, that’s part of the fun in it, too. Iowa State has a LOT of questions to answer on offense, things we’ll take a deeper look at in the coming weeks. Namely, they have to settle on a new quarterback (Steele Jantz didn’t set the world on fire in the spring and Jerome Tiller hasn’t proven to be anything other than an average passer, at best). They have to replace running back Alexander Robinson. They have a receiving corps with talent, but one that hasn’t stepped it up to the next level. They are solid in the secondary and at linebacker on defense, but defensive line continues to be a question mark for them. ISU has not scored a touchdown against Iowa’s first or second team defense since 2006, but they will this year. IOWA 24, Iowa State 14

September 17th, Pittsburgh at Iowa: Wanny is gone and so is the guy they hired to replace him. Pitt will shift to a 3-4 front, but it’s going to be a ‘multiple’ look defense, where they can shift to a 3-3-5 or a 4-2-5 with the same personnel group…or at least that is what they are hoping to do. They lose key offensive players in RB Dion Lewis (2800 yds last two years) and WR Jon Baldwin (822 yards) but QB Tino Sunseri is back for the Panthers and RB Ray Graham is a home run hitter, but unproven between the tackles. They are also ushering in a new offensive system, moving away from the traditional pro-style attack and going to something more pass happy. Phil Steele picks them to tie for the Big East title, for what that’s worth. I am glad this game is at home following the Cy-Hawk series, as a let down factor is always a possibility. The Kinnick faithful will be there to carry the Hawks against one of the better defenses they will face this year. Iowa 24, Pitt 20.

September 24th, Louisiana-Monroe at Iowa: LA-M has posted just two .500 or better seasons since 2001 and they were smoked 135-10 last year by Arkansas, LSU and Auburn. However, this team returns 19 starters including quarterback Kolton Browning, who threw for over 2500 yards last year. They were not a great rushing team in 2010 and they run a spread, up-tempo offense. They were 101 out of 120 in points scored last year and 97th in points allowed, but all of their stats are a bit slanted due to playing three FBS heavyweights. They will play a tough schedule again this year; they open at Florida State then are on the road at TCU the week before they come to Iowa City. Iowa 34, LA-M 17

October 1st, BYE

October 8th, Iowa at Penn State: Iowa has beaten Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions seven out of the last eight meetings. Penn State still has as quarterback quandary (Bolden or McGloin), they have questions on the offensive line for the third season in a row, they also have questions on their defensive line, too. ESPN tabbed both lines as 8th best in the Big Ten during their unit rankings in June. All that being said, Iowa has quite a few questions on defense, too and this is one of the toughest road environments in all of college football. While James Vandenberg has played at The Shoe, which will help, this is going to be a tough out and at some point, Iowa’s dominance over Penn State has to taper off, doesn’t it? Penn State is at Indiana the week before playing Iowa. Penn State 24, Iowa 17.

September 15th, Northwestern at Iowa: How about that for a back to back? Games against teams where one program has dominated the other in recent years. Northwestern has beaten Iowa in five of their last six meetings and that’s too darn many. QB Dan Persa returns as do eight other offensive starters, including leading receiver Jeremy Ebert. They return seven starters from a defense that wasn’t very good last year (other than against Iowa). They don’t have much of a running game and they’ll need one to take some pressure off of Persa. However, Persa might be the perfect fit for this offense; he’s simply a witch. He completed more than 75% of his passes last year and he can pick up the killer 3rd and 6 with his feet, too. That being said, the law of averages has to kick in at some point and I just don’t want to contemplate another loss at home to the Wildcats. They host Michigan the week before playing Iowa. IOWA 30, Northwestern 27 .

So there is half of the season, and I have Iowa at 5-1 at the turn. What’s left on the schedule, in order: Indiana, at Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, at Purdue and at Nebraska. I have been feeling 8-4 all spring and the early portion of this summer. That would mean a back half record of 3-3 at this point…and as I wrote this, I was still uncertain as to which way I was going to go….but I made up my mind.

>>>>Click here to read Part II.<<<<
-

PHOTO GALLERIES

April 3rd
April 2nd
March 31st
March 27th

Following a third straight bowl victory to close out the 2010 season, the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2011 will rely on a veteran offensive line to lead the way while Coach Kirk Ferentz and his staff work to replace a number of key seniors at the majority of other positions.

The Hawkeyes finished 2010 with an 8-5 record and in a tie for fourth in the Big Ten with a 4-4 mark. The Hawkeyes played one of the nation’s toughest schedules. Iowa played seven ranked opponents and won four of the matchups. The seven ranked foes are the most ever for a Kirk Ferentz coached Iowa team.

Iowa closed last season with a 27-24 win over 12th-ranked Missouri in the Insight Bowl, making the Hawkeyes one of four teams in the nation to win a bowl game following each of the last three seasons. Iowa has posted 28 wins over the last three seasons, including January bowl wins following the 2008 and 2009 campaigns.

Ferentz is beginning his 13th season as head coach of the Hawkeyes. He is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year honoree. The Hawkeyes were 80-45 (.640) in the first 10 years of this century (2000-09). That’s the most Iowa wins, ever, in a decade. Since a 2-18 start to the Ferentz era, the Hawkeyes have gone 87-42 (.674). Iowa has competed in nine bowl games over the last 10 years (6-3 record) and six of those contests were January bowl games, with two being BCS contests. Iowa is now 14-10, all-time, in bowl games. Ferentz’ six bowl victories tie for third most ever among Big Ten Conference coaches.

The 2010 season can best be described by misfortune at inopportune times. Iowa won five of its first six games including impressive wins over Iowa State, Penn State and Michigan. Following a last-minute one-point loss to Wisconsin, Iowa responded with consecutive wins over Michigan State and Indiana to improve to 4-1 in league play. Three losses, by a total of seven points, followed against Northwestern, Ohio State and Minnesota. The three-game losing streak in league play was something to which Iowa fans were not accustomed. The win over the 12-ranked (BCS rankings) Missouri team restored faith in how good the Hawkeye program really is.

The Hawkeyes finished the season ranked fifth nationally in total defense (332.1 yds.) and rushing defense (101.5). Iowa committed only 11 turnovers all year to rank second nationally.

Individual honors once again followed Iowa’s success on the field. Senior defensive end Adrian Clayborn was a consensus All-American. He was also a finalist for the Lombardi Award, which goes to the nation’s best defensive lineman or linebacker, and for the Ted Hendricks Award, which goes to the best defensive end. Punter Ryan Donahue was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter and quarterback Ricky Stanzi was a finalist for the Unitas Quarterback of the Year Award.

Hawkeyes earning first team all-Big Ten honors in 2010 included Clayborn (DE), Shaun Prater (DB) and Tyler Sash (DB). Clayborn was a senior while Prater and Sash (who declared himself eligible for the NFL draft) were juniors. Second team all-Big Ten performers included Julian Vandervelde (OL), Riley Reiff (OL), Karl Klug (DT), Marvin McNutt, Jr., (WR), Allen Reisner (TE), Jeremiha Hunter (LB) and Brett Greenwood (DB).

The Hawkeyes had another outstanding year in the classroom, as 16 were named to the 2010 academic all-Big Ten team. The total is 45 over the last three years. Brett Morse, Daniel Murray, Jeff Tarpinian and Julian Vandervelde made the elite team for the fourth straight year. Three Hawkeyes (Vandervelde, Tarpinian and Tyler Nielsen) also made the ESPN/CoSIDA District Seven Academic All-America team. That matched the feat of three Hawkeyes making the elite unit in 2008. Under Kirk Ferentz, 17 Iowa players have been named academic all-American 31 times over the last 12 years.

Seniors Shaun Prater (DB) and Marvin McNutt, Jr., (WR) and junior Riley Reiff (OL) are 2011 All-America candidates. Other Hawkeyes expected to gain pre- or post-season honors include Marcus Coker (RB), James Vandenberg (QB), Adam Gettis (OL), James Ferentz (OL), Nolan MacMillan (OL), Tyler Nielsen (OLB), Mike Daniels (DT), James Morris (LB) and Micah Hyde (DB).

Stability is a key ingredient in Iowa’s success. Over the past 32 years, Iowa has had only two head football coaches. The only team in the Big Ten that can exceed that figure is Penn State. Eight league schools have had at least five head coaching changes in the last three decades (Iowa, Ohio State and Penn State haven’t). Only six assistant coaches have left the Ferentz staff in the last 10 years. Of those six, one retired, three went to the NFL and two left to become coordinators. Iowa has had no coaching changes in the past three years. Iowa and Penn State are the only teams in the Big Ten with the same staff over the last two years.

The stability has helped give Iowa a great run over the past last 10 years. An appearance in the 2006 Outback Bowl put the Hawkeyes alongside Southern Cal, Georgia and Florida State as the only teams with four straight January bowl appearances. A total of 78 wins over the last nine years (8.7 avg.) ranks with the nation’s best.

The last nine years have been unprecedented in Iowa football history. This period has resulted in two Big Ten championships (2002 & 2004), four wins in six January bowl games and four finishes in the nation’s top ten. A 22-game home winning streak (broken in 2005) and 36 straight home sellouts are additional indicators of a program rich in tradition and consistency. Four January bowl wins over highly regarded teams from the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast Conferences (Florida, LSU, South Carolina and Georgia Tech) are all notches on the Hawkeye victory belt. The 27-24 win over Missouri in the 2010 Insight Bowl was Iowa’s third straight bowl victory, something previously never achieved.

Ferentz has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year three times. He joins the select company of Hayden Fry, Joe Paterno and Bo Schembechler as the only three-time winners of the award. Ferentz was also named the 2002 Associated Press National Coach of the Year. Ferentz, entering his 13th year with the Hawkeyes, ranks second in longevity among league football coaches. He is tied for third, all-time, in bowl victories among league coaches.

Another residual effect of Iowa’s successful program is the fact that Hawkeye players have won the Outland, Mackey, O’Brien, Groza and Doak Walker Awards (and a runner-up to the Heisman) during the Ferentz era. Iowa had numerous semi-finalists and finalists for many individual awards given out following the 2010 season.

The Hawkeyes have sold out Kinnick Stadium in 49 of the last 51 games. The 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010 home attendance average of 70,585 is an Iowa record. The Hawkeyes’ 36 straight home sellouts (2003-08) are a school record. Since 2002, the Hawkeyes have a 49-11(.817) home record, a mark that ranks with the nation’s best.

Iowa fans have an unmatched reputation for following their team. More than 40,000 fans followed Iowa to Soldier Field in order to witness a 2007 season-opening win against Northern Illinois. Hawkeye fans traveling to bowl games have earned a legendary reputation, second to none. Almost 200,000 Hawkeye fans traveled to Iowa’s last eight bowl games (2003 Orange, 50,000; 2004 Outback, 20,000; 2005 Capital One, 30,000; 2006 Outback, 20,000; 2006 Alamo, 15,000; 2009 Outback, 21,000; 2010 Orange, 25,000; 2010 Insight, 15,000). It is no coincidence that Iowa ranks high on the wish list of, virtually, every bowl game in America.

All Iowa games were televised in 2010. In fact, 116 straight Hawkeye football games have been televised. The Hawkeyes appear weekly on national TV networks (ABC, ESPN, Big Ten Network).

The Hawkeyes had an unusually large and outstanding senior class of 25 student-athletes last year. Among the graduates were offensive standouts Ricky Stanzi (QB), Julian Vandervelde (OL), Josh Koeppel (OL), Allen Reisner (TE), Brett Morse (FB) and Colin Sandeman (WR). Defensively, Iowa will be without Adrian Clayborn (DE), Christian Ballard (DE), Karl Klug (DT), Jeremiha Hunter (LB), Brett Greenwood (DB) and Ryan Donahue (P). Another loss was defensive back Tyler Sash, who decided to enter the NFL draft following his junior campaign. The Hawkeyes lost a total of 28 lettermen (14 offense, 11 defense and 2 special teams).

The 2011 Hawkeyes play a 12-game regular season schedule, which includes an attractive seven game home slate. There will be a bye week (Oct. 1st). The home opener is Sept. 3rd, against Tennessee Tech. A highlight on the schedule will be the Nov. 25th contest at Nebraska as the Cornhuskers officially join the Big Ten conference this year. That game, against Nebraska, will be on the Friday following Thanksgiving.

NOTE: The photo is a portion of the cover of the Iowa 2011 Spring Prospectus

Tarpinian Stands Out at Pro Day
Four downs with the defensive backs | TheGazette
Harty: No bad intentions in rhabdo-gate | Hawk Central
dibonas dad hopes report ends accusations
http://hawkcentral.com/2011/03/24/ha…abdo-outbreak/
Local athletes making their mark as Hawks | Hawk Central
It was 55 years ago today, San Francisco beat Iowa in the national-championship basketball game | TheGazette
A top New England prep basketball junior is visiting Iowa State and Iowa this week | TheGazette
Hlas column: Rhabdo gone, squats drill gone, this Iowa football story probably soon to be gone | TheGazette
The Sports Desk — Rhabdo happened and that’s just it | TheGazette
Clayborn: ?They can?t not have football? | TheGazette

MONDAY

Adrian Clayborn has a good day

Also, Christian Ballard ran in the low 4.7 range in his 40. Could be working his way up to a late first round pick, lock for no worse than a second.

MEASURABLES BY POSITION

Quarterbacks
Offensive Linemen
Tight Ends

ONE MAN’S OPINION: Ricky Stanzi, Iowa – “Another tough day for him as his throws were all over the place. Only thing he did well was a quick release. Passes were short and low. He threw a deep ball better than he did at the Senior Bowl but it was short most of the time. Did not improve his chances.” – NFL Combine Pool Report – Joe Reedy, Cincinnati Enquire

Defensive linemen workout on Monday while defensive backs work out on Tuesday.

Hawkeye Numbers

Christian Ballard 6-4/283 ran 4.70 & 4.75 unofficially
Adrian Clayborn 6-2/281 4.81 unofficial
Karl Klug 6-3/275
Jeremiha Hunter 6-1/239
Allen Reisner 6-2/248 4.97 40 yard dash
Tyler Sash 6-1/210
Ricky Stanzi 6-4/223 4.92 unofficial 40 time
Julian Vandervelde 6-2/301 5.21 40 yard dash

LINKS

Entirely New Game for Klug
Time is Money for Ballard
Clayborn Under NFL Microscope
Marc Morehouse on the NFL Combine
Donahue: “I want to show I’m the best punter”
NFL Combine Not all About Running and Jumping

VIDEOS: Thanks to my friend Steve Helwagen for his help in getting these videos for HawkeyeNation.com

Christian Ballard Interview

Adrian Clayborn Video Interview

Julian Vandervelde Interview

Ryan Donahue Interview

OFFERS: Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Stanford and Wisconsin were among Blythe’s known offers.

STAR GAZING: Blythe received a four star ranking from Rivals.com and Scout.com rated him as a three star prospect. Rivals rated him as the 7th best offensive guard in the nation while Scout tabbed him at #23.

QUOTABLE: ” If you compare Austin to our starting center right now (James Ferentz) at the same age and look at their ages, body structure and size, all that type of thing, Austin is light years ahead. He has an excellent attitude and is a tremendous young man and a great competitor so we are really, really thrilled about him.” Kirk Ferentz on Austin Blythe on signing day.

JON’S TAKE: Blythe verbally committed to Iowa on May 3rd of 2010, the second commitment in the Class of 2011. He would have received more scholarship offers had he waited, but it was a foregone conclusion that he would choose Iowa. He has strong family ties to the University and had been enamored with Kirk Ferentz’s program since childhood.

Blythe played on both sides of the ball during his career at Williamsburg but will make the full time shift to offensive line when he arrives on campus this summer. He possesses excellent size and a great foundation to begin a career on the interior; you will see him as a guard or center. He has great feet and some lateral quickness for a big fella, and you can easily see him getting out on the edge in instances where Iowa runs some Power O and pulls a guard. Iowa doesn’t do a lot of that, but they do a lot of zone blocking schemes where footwork is equally as important.

Blythe’s career as a wrestler cannot be understated. He holds the Iowa High School record for most pins in a career. When you think on the illustrious history of Iowa prep wrestling, that says a lot; close to 150 falls for Blythe. He is the first three time heavyweight champion in the state in more than 20 years, winning a title his last three seasons after finishing second place as a freshman. Wrestling skill pays huge dividends along the offensive line, where leverage is so important, as is pad level. Blythe has a leg up on the competition in that regard. He’ll get a chance to redshirt in 2011 and won’t likely be rushed into the lineup the following year as Iowa is very deep along the offensive line; there are no projected senior starters along the line in 2011, although Riley Reiff may have an NFL decision to make next fall. We’ll save that topic of conversation for another day.

High school honors – - Two-time first team all-state honoree . . . three-time first team all-district selection . . . Ed Thomas Award nominee . . . Career – - helped prep squad to state playoff appearances in 2008, 2009 and 2010, compiling 28-5 overall record . . . team captain as a senior . . . completed career with 123 tackles, 40 tackles for loss, 14 QB sacks and three fumble recoveries . . . had 20 tackles, five tackles for loss and three fumble recoveries as a sophomore . . . collected 40 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and five QB sacks as a junior . . . had 63 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and nine QB sacks as a senior . . . earned state heavyweight wrestling title as a senior, sophomore and junior and finished second as a freshman . . . earned varsity letters in football (3), wrestling (4) and track (4).

Personal – - Born 6/16/92 . . . undecided on a major . . . member of prep Honor Roll and National Honor Society . . . parents are Mary and Curt Blythe . . . high school coach was Curt Richie.