Iowa/Ohio State

I've posted twice already this season on Iowa, so I figure on the heels of their make-or-break game against Ohio State today, I need to weigh in.

To begin, let me be clear with my relationship to Iowa football and this team specifically. If there is one team that I root for above all others in college sports, it is UCLA. But, I was born in Toledo, Ohio and spent a chunk of my life there, and still have some roots there. Generally speaking, if Ohio State is playing anyone but UCLA in any sport, I am rooting for Ohio State. But, for some reason I fell for this year's version of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Some combination of the uphill struggles they faced all season, with key injuries at key times all over the roster, and the way they handled those struggles put me squarely behind the Hawkeyes in the handful of times I watched them this year. And so, today, without every really making a decision that I was going to do so, I found myself rooting against the Buckeyes and for the Hawkeyes. Hard.

With junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi injured in a key play early in last week's loss to Northwestern (a play call that I severely question, even if Stanzi didn't get hurt on the play - how exactly do you call a naked rollout to the side of an All-American-type defensive end while trying to throw out of your own end zone?), the reigns of the Iowa offense fell to redshirt freshman James Vandernberg, who, frankly, looked completely unable to handle the pressure of the situation last week. How would he be able to handle it playing in the Horseshoe instead of in front of a friendly home crowd? How could he handle it playing against a strong Ohio State defense instead of a more forgiving Northwestern defense?

Add to that problem, the fact that freshman running back (about their only quality healthy back in the last two weeks) Brandon Wegher fell ill before this game and would be held out the entire game, leaving the rushing load to fall to redshirt freshman Adam Robinson, just back from an ankle injury that had held him out of the previous two weeks. The Hawkeyes didn't figure to have a chance.

And, yet, they hung in there. Robinson gutted out a strong performance and kept the Ohio State defense from being able to pin their ears back and attack the quarterback. Vandenberg played well beyond his years and experience (despite a couple INTs), and were it not for a few dropped balls, may have led his squad to a win and a Rose Bowl bid. In fact, some time around the 5:03 mark of the 4th quarter, when Vanderberg threw one of his few mistakes of the game, a duck into double coverage that was somehow tipped up and brought down by senior tight end Tony Moeaki, it seemed like Iowa might be destined to win this game.

However, Ohio State's defense was able to regain control in the overtime period, holding Iowa without a score on their possession, and an Ohio State field goal clinched the win and the BCS bowl spot.

And yet, when I look back on this college football season, the Iowa Hawkeyes will be one of my earliest and favorite memories. They overcame key injuries from the start of training camp through November games. They made the most of a somewhat limited roster, getting huge contributions from freshmen like Vandenberg, Robinson, Wegher, and guard Riley Reiff all the way up to seniors like Tony Moeaki, Pat Angerer and Dace Richardson.

While there are a couple of guys who could potentially flirt with leaving early for the NFL draft (Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Adrian Clayborn and Amari Spievey), there will be enough talent and experience on this team to once again make a run at the Big Ten title next season. And, maybe next season, they won't have to fight the injury bug quite so much.

Hats off to the 2009 Iowa Hawkeyes, quite frankly, a far more enjoyable team to root for than perennial overdog and unimaginative Ohio State.

Iowa/Michigan State

It may not have been everybody's cup of tea, but I just saw the best football game I've seen all season. This Big Ten battle had just about everything I could ask for in a college football game: tough running, clutch quarterback play, phenomenal defensive play on both sides of the ball, big hitting (two players left the field on a stretcher, which is definitely not a good thing, although thankfully both players appear to be okay at this early juncture, but it is indicative of how intense the game was), rabid fans, national championship and conference championship implications and several lead changes down the stretch.

To say that a game in which nothing but field goals were scored for the first 58 minutes ranks as a contender for the best game of the year, would certainly leave most people dumbfounded, but while there were plenty of fireworks in the final two minutes, the first 58 were nothing to laugh off. The Spartan offense struggled at times against a ferocious Iowa defense, but things began to come together late, when with the Spartans down 9-6, Michigan State quarterback hit tight end Brian Lithicum for about nine yards on a 3rd and 18 with the clock running down. However, as Iowa defenders converged on Lithicum, he lateraled the ball to wide receiver Blair White who continued on for 27 more yards. Two plays later Cousins found White in the end zone for a 30 yards touchdown to give Sparty a 13-9 lead, putting Iowa's undefeated season in grave danger.

But Iowa rallied, with quarterback Ricky Stanzi getting big completions to wide receivers Marvin McNutt, Trey Stross and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos to set the Hawkeyes up with a 1st and goal with 15 seconds remaining. Somehow, Iowa was able to get off three plays (all unsuccessful passes into the end zone) and yet still have 2 seconds on the clock for a fourth down play, when Stanzi again found McNutt, this time on an inside slant for the game-winning touchdown.

While this goes down as an excruciating loss for Mark Dantonio and the Spartans, this was certainly an exhilarating victory for Kirk Ferentz's now 8-0 Iowa Hawkeyes, and a completely compelling game for this particular non-partisan viewer.

Iowa now has a remaining schedule in which they have three home games that they should win (Indiana, Northwestern and Minnesota) with a tough road trip to Columbus to face the Buckeyes in the middle. While Iowa still remains a long shot to play in the BCS Championship game, their fireworks tonight kept that dream alive.

Either way, I am not ashamed to admit that I am unabashedly in love with the Iowa defense. Adrian Clayborn is an absolute beast at defensive end, a speedy pass rusher with enough strength to stand up an offensive tackle and play the run as well. Quick, undersized defensive tackle Karl Klug is next to him, often preventing opposing offenses from giving a lot of help to the lineman charged with slowing Clayborn. Throw in Christian Ballard at the other tackle and another athletic freak in sophomore Broderick Binns at the other end (Binns has a special knack for getting his hands up and knocking down passes at the line) and this Hawkeye defensive line (which rarely substitutes) is a handful for opposing offenses, quite capable of getting a pass rush without the need for sending extra blitzers, while effectively playing the run. The dominance of the defensive front, frees up playmakers in the back of the Iowa defense like middle linebacker Pat Angerer, cornerback Amari Spievey and strong safety Tyler Sash to make plays all over the field.

Given Terrelle Pryor and Ohio State's one-game resurgence today, the Iowa/Ohio State matchup in Columbus figures to be a battle for the Big Ten championship.