Recruiting, Rhabdo and Drive-by's..Oh My!!

Sooooo...the ol' blog stats say that our last visit was on October 30th of 2010.  That seems to line up nicely with the demise of the Iowa football season.  Yeah, so I'm a fair weather blogger.  Deal with it.  But, since not much has happened since we last left you...wait, what?  13 players??  Really??  And while we are on the subject of the 13 hospitalized players, can we stop referring to them as the Rhabdo 13?  They are not a gang of Depression era bank robbers for Christ's sake.  

That is about all I am going to say about that topic.  It is a dead story.  All of the players are expected to be able to participate in spring practice and all are recovering fully.  However, just when you think it's safe to go back in the gym, CBS's drive by "journalist" Dennis Dodd releases yet another Pulitzer worthy pile of excrement.  The article essentially says that Iowa players could transfer and not have to sit out the year that the NCAA usually requires due to their hospitalizations.  Yes, Dennis, I suppose you are right.  The Iowa players could transfer.  And you could be a card carrying member of the Nazi Party.  At this point it seems we both have the same amount of evidence to back up our claims.

On to more important and less mind numbing news of Iowa note, National Signing Day came and went and seemed to be pretty kind to the Hawks.  Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids Gazette totally dominates this topic and it's all in one place, which is good cause I'll be damned if I am going to be like the pimply faced geeks out there trolling the Internet just to find totally irrelevant facts about a group of high school....OMG JOHNNY LOWDERMILK'S DAD PLAYED IN THE NFL!!!!! 

Until next time....

Michigan State at Iowa: This Sparty is a Sausage Fest

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio gave the big middle finger to morality, discipline and leading by example when he allowed jailed Spartan defensive back Chris L. Rucker to immediately rejoin the team and make his own decision on whether to join his teammates on the trip to Iowa City.  Guess what Rucker picked??  Rumor has it Rucker may not start, but he will definitely see some playing time.  Hawk fans might remember Rucker as the guy that Marvin McNutt posterized for last season's game winning touchdown as time expired.  I remember Chris L. Rucker like this...

Twenty, twen-twen....

What's that?  Ohhhh not Chris Tucker, Chris L. Rucker....ok, now I get it. Well, that changes everything.  Damn you, Dantonio.  Damn you.  Seriously though, we here on the Farm were able to get our hands on Chris L. Rucker's prison photo.  I know what you're thinking, "That stuff is public information, what's the big deal?".  Well, trust us, this is a never before seen look at what prison is really like.

Oh the humanity.  Made to drag around that ball and chain all day and night, come on guys, he's a felon...not married!!!  Heyyyyyy-OOOOO!! I kid, I kid...you guys have been great.

Anywho, I would get into a serious breakdown of the game, but we all know you don't come here for information.  I think Iowa finally puts together a complete game, and I think Michigan State's luck finally runs out.  

Iowa 36 Michigan State 20

We Could All Use A Laugh.

Let's face it, that game sucked.  And, even though one might think that going "timeout, QB sneak, timeout" with about 10 seconds left to play is rather hilarious, the way the Hawks dropped that contest has many Iowa faithful measuring rope.  Well my fellow Hawkeyes, I have a special treat for you from our furry little friends at Iowa State.

"In your face, Texas!"

I know, right?  Postgame celebrations have gone wrong before, but never this awesomely wrong.  Okay, let's have a caption contest.  Just post yours in the comment box.  Funniest one wins something totally sweet.  Trust me. 

Hawks vs. Badgers

As we get ready for our final annual contest with our little cheese-eating brothers to the east, I thought it would be good to go over a few things before we lock the Heartland Trophy up in the Iowa football offices for who knows how long. Hopefully, when the league expands the schedule to 9 conference games, we will be awarded with a protected rival game against the Badgers. I don't know about ya'll, but Purdue doesn't really do it for me:-) But enough of that for now...

I was perusing Hawkeye Nation this morning and found a magnificent morsel of a statistic and it must be repeated. Wisconsin has NEVER beaten an Iowa team that went on to win 8 or more games!!! In fact, only 6 of Wisconsin's all time victories came against an Iowa team that finished above .500. That is astounding!!! The overall series record currently favors Iowa 42-41-2. Some will try to convince you this is a very competitive series, however, I feel the numbers are quite deceiving. Before Hayden Fry came to town, Wisconsin enjoyed a 34-21-1 series advantage. Hayden then went 15-0-1 against Wisconsin until losing in '97 and '98. Ferentz bobbled the baton a little going 0-3 out of the gates, but since the proverbial switch was flipped in 2002, we have won 6 of 8.

What does this all mean? Well, I'm pretty confident we are not going 2-4 the remainder of the season and finish 7-5. Therefore, if you are a fan of history, Wisconsin pretty much has no chance of winning this weekend.

This is the same Wisconsin team that plays Ohio State tough every year. It's the same Wisconsin team that always has a huge offensive line. It's the same Wisconsin team that is going to blow open huge holes for their backs to rush through. It's the same Wisconsin team that is going to dominate the trenches. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Not... Gonna... Happen...

Power vs. Power, I tilt the scales to Iowa's defensive line as they pin their ears back and put Tolzien on his back and/or running for his life. I love this game because it's a throwback to the days of old. There will be none of this read-option, spread, run first QB type dumb offense. Both teams know what is coming and it's going to be glorious!!!

Andy's prediction: Iowa wins 31-14

At the beginning of the year I put out 3 stretch goals for the Hawks and midway through the season, they are all still attainable. We will have to buck history to accomplish them, but lets take another look.

1) Iowa has never beaten both Michigan and Ohio State in the same season.
1 down 1 to go.
2) Iowa has never won 3 consecutive bowl games.
A win this weekend makes us bowl eligible.
3) Iowa's best 3 year run is 31-7 from 02-04 for a winning percentage of .816.
Dating back to 2009 we are streaking at 25 wins compared to 7 losses. Another 6 wins ties the mark. A bowl victory sets a new standard.

The next few months could be pretty special. Let's enjoy the ride

ON IOWA!!! GO HAWKS!!!

Follow Us On Twitter!!

That's right, folks, the Farmer went and got himself a Twitter account!!  I don't know about you guys, but I think this "social networking" thing really has legs and I am glad that we here on the Farm are getting in on the ground floor.  What's that?  Really?  Years...you say?  Oh well, better late than never.  Anywho, you can follow @ANFsticker...or however you do that.  You figure it out.

Badger Badger Badger Badger

I'm pretty sure that Wisconsin is my favorite opponent to play. Mainly because it means we finally get to break out this gem:





Unless it is basketball season. Then it's all about Santa:

Michigan Prediction

Michigan is a very strong running team. Iowa is very good at stopping the run. I give the edge to Iowa's defense. I'm not trying to be a homer, but I don't think Michigan is going to be able to move the ball against the Hawks.

Iowa is still the ONLY team in the FBS who has not allowed a rushing touchdown. If they can prevent Michigan from rushing across the goal line, that would be a pretty amazing accomplishment.

Denard Robinson goes by the nickname "shoelace". However, by the end of this game he might be in a neck brace. I predict he will be severely roughed up by our front four and we all know Sash will be head hunting.

I feel this game is going to go one of two ways... Iowa is either going to win big or the game will be similar to last year's contest with lots of back and forth scoring and the Hawks winning by a slim margin. I'm predicting a blow out statement game with the Hawkeye defense being the difference.

Offensively, I feel Stanzi will throw for over 300 yards for the first time this year with 3 TD passes. Adam Robinson will have another solid outing rushing for 110 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no fumbles. Robinson could also pose a huge threat to take a screen pass for huge yards if Michigan wants to blitz a lot as they did against MSU. Iowa has thrown a few screens this year and they have all gone for good yardage.

I also hope Iowa will call some quick hitters getting the ball into the hands of McNutt and DJK letting them make plays with their feet. This will neutralize the Michigan blitz and open up the running game.

Andy's prediction: Iowa wins big 41-13.