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Iowa Hawkeyes Looking Like Roses So Far
Published by MoonDog on October 19, 2009
One of the teams not being mentioned much in the mix for the BCS national championship is Iowa, a team that is in control of the Big 10 Conference.
The Hawkeyes could find themselves playing in the Rose Bowl as the Big 10 champions or as one of the teams in the BCS national championship game.
Of the four teams vying for the Big 10 Conference championship and the automatic Rose Bowl berth that comes with it, Iowa is in a much better position to achieve that goal than any other team.
Iowa already has wins over Penn State, Michigan and Wisconsin with a road date against Michigan State this Saturday, followed by home games against Indiana and Northwestern. The Hawkeyes have to travel to Columbus to face Ohio State on November 14, then they’ll finish up at home against Minnesota.
Ohio State dropped a road game to Purdue on Saturday and have remaining games against Minnesota, Penn State at Happy Valley, Iowa, and a road game against hated rival Michigan.
Michigan State is 3-1 in Big 10 play and could ruin the Hawkeyes Rose Bowl hopes with a win this Saturday. The Spartans have a manageable schedule with their toughest remaining game aside from Iowa being a home date with Penn State to close out the season.
Speaking of the Nittany Lions, they still have an outside shot at the Rose Bowl, but it will be an uphill climb. Penn State has road games against Michigan and Northwestern, a home game against Ohio State on November 7 and the final game of the season on the road against the Spartans.
So that takes us back to Iowa, a team no one thought would be 7-0 with a chance to win the Big 10 Conference much less have an outside chance to play for the BCS national championship.
Iowa’s ascent to the top of the Big 10 can’t be based on a flashy offense or a stifling defense because the Hawkeyes don’t possess either.
But Iowa does lead the nation with 15 interceptions and their turnover margin of plus 11 is 12th best nationally. Iowa is the fourth least penalized team among all FBS programs, having committed just 29 infractions in seven games.
Aside from those statistics, Iowa doesn’t do anything remarkably well. Quarterback Ricky Stanzi has produced respectable numbers, but they don’t compare to the nation’s best.
He’s completed 59.2% of his passes for 1577 yards and 11 touchdowns while throwing eight interceptions. Those aren’t exactly the kind of numbers you’d expect to see from an undefeated team ranked No. 7 in the nation.
Despite the lack of pizazz, Iowa has beaten quality opponents along the way to their 7-0 mark.
Iowa State, Arizona, Penn State, Michigan and Wisconsin are in line to make bowl appearances. Among their remaining opponents, Michigan State, Ohio State and Minnesota are potential bowl game participants as well.
With a few more wins Iowa can start making plans for a trip to Pasadena.
Whether that trip will be on New Year’s Day for the Rose Bowl game or January 7 for the BCS national championship game remains to be seen.
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Monday Morning Links on Mon, 19th Oct 2009 06:40
[...] Iowa Hawkeyes looking like roses so far — (MoonDog) [...]