Week 1 of 2019 College Football

Minnesota Golden Gophers beat the mighty South Dakota State Rackrabbits 28-21 out of FCS on Thursday night in a game that came down to three or so critical plays.

Rankings are from the AP Poll.

Friday
Tulsa at #18 Michigan State
#19 Wisconsin at South Florida
UMass at Rutgers
Purdue at Nevada

Saturday
Florida Atlantic at #5 Ohio State
South Alabama at #24 Nebraska
Howard at Maryland
Akron at Illinois
Indiana vs Ball State
Idaho at #15 Penn State
Northwestern at #25 Stanford
Middle Tennessee at #7 Michigan
Miami (OH) at #20 Iowa

The Big Ten should be a salty football race in 2019.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (9-4 in 2019) are picked any where from first to sixth in the Big Ten West for 2019.

The 21st season under Kirk Ferentz, dean of College Football coaches begins on Saturday, as the Iowa Hawkeyes host Miami-OH (6-6, 6-2 in the MAC in 2018) with a 6:40 PM kickoff on FS1 at Kinnick Stadium.

The Hawkeyes are a 22 point favorite, with an over/under is at 58 points at one point, this past week.

Iowa Hawkeyes 35
Miami-OH 13

The spreads and over/under appear right heading into the 2019 season at Kinnick Stadium.

Jay Norvell was a member of the 1985 Iowa Championship Football team, under fifth year offensive line coach Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes won a critical game at Purdue in 1985.

The Hawkeyes won a #1 vs. #2 showdown earlier in the season against Michigan. On the final play of the game, the Hawkeyes kicked a game winning field goal to win 12-10.

Jim Harbaugh enters his fifth season, as head coach at Michigan in 2019. Many have the Wolverines #1 in the Big Ten, and a possible College Football Playoff contender?

Jay Norvell is in his third season at Nevada, as head coach. Congratulations on his Week 1 win against Purdue, with a walk off game winning field goal, by a freshman placekicker.

The 2019 season should be a great season for the Iowa Hawkeyes win, lose and unlike the 1985, where a team could draw.

We don't see the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff in 2019. The Big Ten should be very salty week after week.

Welcome to the 2019 College Football season.

Game Day: Iowa vs. Nebraska @ Lincoln for the Heroes Game V on Black Friday

Lincoln, NE -- Who brings more Leadership to the finale of the 2015 regular season in this Big Ten match up, in Lincoln?

It is Rivalry weekend in College Football ...

One of these teams will pull off history on Black Friday, #4 Iowa vs. Nebraska @ Lincoln.

• Is it the Hawkeyes seeking to remain unbeaten and hit 12-0 for the first time in program history?
• Nebraska has never won back to back games in Memorial Stadium against Top 10 opponents, but a win today would accomplish such a feat and will give Nebraska a 3-0 record to close out 2015, after their first 3-6 start, since 1958.
• Iowa's best team in the modern era, ironically was the 1958 program, under College Hall of Fame coach Forrest Evashevski, who won the last Rose Bowl Game for the Hawkeyes and was named National Champion by the Football Writers of America (FWAA).
• By the way, even with a loss, the Huskers will likely make history, as the first 5-7 team to go to a bowl game in program history, as coach Mike Riley kicks off year one at the Nebraska
• For Kirk Ferentz, he has gone from the hot seat after a disappointing 7-6 season to end 2014 to what could be the most successful Hawkeye season, in program history.
• Nebraska has won five national titles (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997), but it is Iowa ranked #4 in the current College Football Playoff poll, with a win goes into the Big Ten Championship Game one game away from securing a slot in the playoff for the Big Ten Conference.
• It has been 30 years, since Iowa was ranked #1 in College Football. It has been 30 years, since Iowa has won the outright Big Ten title in football, but that game doesn't happen, until December 5th, so there are a lot of interesting elements going on, as Iowa vs. Nebraska @ Lincoln unfolds on Black Friday today.

What to watch in the Heroes Game V in Lincoln Nebraska?

For the Iowa foursome at RB, senior RB #33 Jordan Canzeri is 176 yards away
from becoming an one thousand yard runner in the 2015 season. After injuries
impacting the Iowa running backs throughout the season, all 4 backs are healthy.
OC Greg Davis has a bigger task now, how to best use the offensive parts ...

1. The Running Game of each team or the Run Defense of each team ... make your choice. Iowa averages 215 yards per game in B1G games rushing the football, while Nebraska yields only 130.6. On the flip side, Nebraska averages 156.9 yards, while Iowa yields 121. After all, this is Big Ten Football on the last Friday of November, so a running game typically fuels an offense.
2. Passing games will not take a back seat to the running game, not in 2015, not in the Heroes Game. Nebraska averages 243 yards per game, while Iowa gives up 217.3 yards per game. When Iowa is on offense, they average 191 yards off their passing offense, but Nebraska gives up a sizable 280 yards, so what will be on Iowa OC Greg Davis' mind in Lincoln? Pass efficiency edge is with Iowa's C.J. Beathard, who has only thrown three interceptions for the season, while Nebraska's Tommy Armstrong, Jr. threw three interceptions in his last outing, along with three touchdown passes. The Hawkeyes lead the Big Ten in takeaways. Nebraska is tied for dead last, with Maryland.
3. Whose QB plays the better game, with feet and arm? Eye discipline in the back seven, maintaining the edge on the defensive line will be a key on the other side. The game will have a lot of twists and turns, literally. Third downs are B1G. On offense, Iowa and Nebraska are right behind Michigan State with third down efficiency in the B1G. Michigan State came into Lincoln off a bye week. Nebraska is coming off a bye week ... how does that impact QB play and the sync of the offense? Both teams are the healthiest in a long, season. Each is missing a key part, but the quarterbacks are healthy and will likely determine a lot on who the victor will be today.
4. Which offensive line steps up and plays the better game? The Huskers only give up one sack per game, while Iowa is only getting to the quarterback once per B1G game, especially with Nebraska native, senior DE Drew Ott out for the season. The Iowa offensive line has had some breakdowns, giving up two sacks per game, which what Nebraska averages in B1G play.
5. Which linebackers' unit steps up and leads their defense? Two years ago, the linebackers for Iowa came up B1G, as three outstanding seniors played there final B1G game for the Hawkeyes. How much blitz pressure will we see today by Iowa to get some pressure? Could turnovers become an area, like 2013 for the Hawkeyes? Iowa's Josey Jewell and Cole Fisher lead the Hawkeyes in tackles, each as 2.5 sacks. Two members of the secondary lead Nebraska in tackles, a contrast in defenses.



Last year, Nebraska PK #34 Drew Brown, now a sophomore, kicked a field
goal to send the game into overtime, as the Huskers overcame a big lead,
and another Iowa touchdown, to remain in the game, in a 37-34 win, in Iowa City.



6. Don't forget about special teams and the role they can play in a big rivalry game, or the 12th game of the season, whichever this one is, as a college football game? The kicking game and return game was B1G last season. Unlike last season, De-Mornay Pierson-El will not be available for Nebraska. As Nebraska coach Riley said on Monday, it will be a field position game. Nebraska has a very solid kicking game and Iowa will likely work to counter it, with two seniors at kicker and punter.

The Cornhuskers are seeking the seventh win in eight games in the series. The Hawkeyes are seeking the second straight win in Lincoln. Something is going to give on the gridiron of Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska owns a 19-6 record since 1990 in games on the day after Thanksgiving, including a 5-1 record against Okahoma, an 11-4 mark against Colorado and 3-1 against Iowa. Nebraska is 11-3 at Memorial Stadium in that stretch, including 1-1 vs. the Hawkeyes. This year's game marks the first time since 2008 that Nebraska has had a bye week before its Black Friday contest.

It is a tall hurdle for the #3 Iowa Hawkeyes (11-0, 7-0 B1G West) remaining undefeated, as they travel to Lincoln, to face Nebraska (5-6, 3-4 B1G West).

For Iowa to win, can they win a 31-27 type game over Nebraska? 

It was a 10-7 win in 1981, Ferentz's first experience in the series. The last win, and first as a head coach was 38-17, in 2013. It will be Riley's first encounter. In 2008, his predecessor coming off a bye week won 40-31 against a 5-7 Colorado team, coming off a bye week, in 2008.

Our Pick: Iowa 31, Nebraska 27

The matchup marks the 28th time in school history Nebraska takes on an opponent with 10 or more victories. However, it is only the the second time the Huskers have faced a 10-win team during the regular season. The only previous time Nebraska has faced a 10-win opponent during the regular season was also in Lincoln on Nov. 21, 1987, when No. 1 NU lost to No. 2 and 10-0 Oklahoma, 17-7.

Oklahoma today is #3 in the College Football Playoff, lead by a former Iowa player, Bob Stoops. They will play the Bedlam game on Saturday in Stillwater for the Big 12 Championship.

Nebraska has not beaten an undefeated opponent in the final game of the regular season since a 27-18 victory over New York University in 1927. Not quite the conference opponent of year's past for Nebraska. 

Iowa seeks to make program history with a 12th win for the first time. Heroes Game V becomes the venue.

That's football ... Iowa Football in 2015.

The 2013 walk off the Heroes Game, as now Iowa junior CB Desmond King, former
LB #31 Anthony Hitchens (pictured) and now senior RG #65 Jordan Walsh return
to the Heroes Game V in Memorial Stadium. Will they get win #2 in the trophy game?

Black Friday: Iowa Hawkeyes now #4 in CFP Poll, as the head to Lincoln for the Heroes Game vs. Nebraska

Iowa City, IA -- The Iowa Hawkeyes (11-0, 7-0 B1G West) learned on Tuesday night that they have moved to #4 in the Week 4 College Football Playoff poll ahead of their final regular season game against Nebraska @ Lincoln on Black Friday.

Kirk Ferentz was hired in 1981, as an offensive line coach ahead of Hayden Fry's third season at Iowa. Iowa's first opponent was Nebraska to open the season. In his first season, returning to Iowa to be head coach, again his first opponent was Nebraska. Now, in his final regular season game of his 17th season as head coach and 26th season overall at Iowa, Ferentz faces a familiar opponent, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. This year, the game is in Lincoln.

Unlike Ferentz, this is Nebraska's head coach Mike Riley's first Black Friday game in the Heroes Game, as a first year coach for the Huskers. The roles have shifted and Nebraska is the home team and the underdog to Iowa.

How will Riley's first game finish out in the Heroes Game?

Will Nebraska upset a Top 5 program at home, as Iowa did in 1981 or will Riley take the role of a program that goes down to a Top 5 opponent at home, as Iowa and Ferentz did in his first season, as head coach at Iowa?

What will be the final record and season result of the 2015 Iowa Hawkeyes?

For Iowa, an interesting question will soon be answered in Ferentz's 17th season at Iowa. It may take 3 or 4 games to know what it will finally be for the Hawkeyes.

Ferentz meet with the media on Tuesday, as he does each week before each Hawkeye regular season game.

It's the 12th week of a one game at a time season for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa has an 11 game winning streak on the line, while Nebraska is seeking to finish November with three straight wins.

"Good teams do it," Ferentz said of the one-game-at-a-time motto.

Not only have the No. 3 Hawkeyes taken 11 games one Saturday at a time this season -- all of them victories -- but they have also seen leadership develop as fast as its win total.

The University of Iowa football program has 16 players on its 2015 Leadership Group, including 13 seniors, two juniors, and one sophomore. Ferentz tweaked the Leadership Group, similar to making a change at quarterback in January, as well, as moving practices to the morning and finally shifting the off day from Monday to Thursday, with the Black Friday game in mind.

The purpose of the group is to assist in formulating policies, and being involved in team decision-making matters regarding the upcoming season. Players are selected by a team vote. The seniors are OL Austin Blythe, RB Jordan Canzeri, DL Darian Cooper, FB Adam Cox, TE Jake Duzey, WR Jacob Hillyer, PK Marshall Koehn, DB Jordan Lomax, DE Nate Meier, DE Drew Ott, LB Travis Perry, FB Macon Plewa and WR Tevaun Smith. The junior class is represented by QB C.J. Beathard and RB LeShun Daniels, Jr., and LB Josey Jewell represents the sophomore class.

"I'm not sure where our leadership was in April, but it has been growing rapidly since August," Ferentz said. "Typically, any team that is doing well has good leadership."

Ferentz also emphasized that in the Big Ten Conference, there are no easy days. The next challenge for Iowa is a Black Friday battle for the Hy-Vee Heroes Game trophy and Ferentz isn't fooled by Nebraska's 5-6 record (3-4 B1G West).

Here's why:

1. The Huskers have won two consecutive games and need one victory to become bowl eligible.
2. Nebraska received its bye after Week 11, giving it 12 days to prepare for the Hawkeyes while Iowa has eight fewer days to formulate a game plan. 
3. Nebraska rallied for a 37-34 overtime victory last season in Kinnick Stadium after the Hawkeyes jumped to a 24-7 lead in the third quarter.

"The big thing right now is that they're meshing," Ferentz said of Nebraska. "They are coming off two impressive victories, beating Michigan State (39-38 on Nov. 7 in Lincoln) and most recently, Rutgers (31-14 on Nov. 14 in Piscataway, New Jersey)."

The 2014 Hy-Vee Heroes games was a centerpiece of inspiration that led to an offseason attitude overhaul in Iowa City. For the Hawkeyes, that season also included a three-point loss to Iowa State, a seven point loss at Maryland, and a two-point loss to Wisconsin. It culminated with a 45-28 defeat to Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Bowl in a game where the Volunteers led 42-7 heading into the fourth quarter.

"That game (against Nebraska in 2014) is the centerpiece for the discussion," Ferentz said. "It's nothing against them, they did what they were supposed to do. We didn't, and that's our responsibility. It's all about taking ownership. There are a lot of things we didn't do well (in 2014) and the word finish gets thrown out there all the time in sports. It just so happens that was our last regular scheduled football game and we didn't close the season in a strong fashion."

"Our job is to be able to play with those guys, go out and compete with them," Ferentz said. "They recruit well. They've had great teams in the past and they've got a good football team this year. Our challenge is to be ready for them on Friday."

Iowa won 38-17 in 2013, the last game in Lincoln. The Hawkeyes seek to remain unbeaten, as well, as win their second straight in Lincolin.

Nebraska won the 4th Heroes Game in 2014, with a 37-34 OT win in Iowa City
over the Hawkeyes. Since joining the Big Ten in 2011, the Huskers lead 3-1 in
the series. The Iowa-Nebraska game on Black Friday will be the 46th game
overall and the fifth game, since the Huskers joined the conference.

The Huskers practiced for just under two hours Tuesday in the Hawks Championship Center and Gass Practice Facility in preparation for Friday's game against the third-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.

Nebraska offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf spoke to the media after Tuesday's practice about facing the Hawkeye defense.

Iowa junior QB #16 C.J. Beathard and the Iowa offense over the last 5 games.
Over the 2015 season, the Iowa offense has often shown a lot of balance.

"They don't give up many big plays, they're really sound and really solid across the board," Langsdorf stated when asked about the biggest challenge the Iowa defense will bring. "They're well coached and they're always in good position, and you see that week in and week out."

Iowa junior CB #14 Desmond King leads the nation in interceptions, as well,
as Iowa's primary kick and punt returning this season. He is also a finalist
for the Jim Thorpe Award, presented to the top college defense back.

When asked about Desmond King, Iowa's star defensive back, Langsdorf said "I think he leads the country in interceptions. He's always in very good position, he's going to be the guy that we are going to have to really understand where he is and be careful. We don't want to be careless around him."

The top two Nebraska WRs are juniors #1 Jordan Westerkamp and #87
Brandon Reilly. who caught the controversial TD reception in the MSU win.

"I think our guys are playing at a high level. They're playing with a lot of confidence, and we have a belief that we can win the game."

Friday's game at Memorial Stadium (capacity 87,000) is sold out. Kickoff is set for 2:36 p.m. CST and the game will be broadcast by ABC.

Nebraska junior #90 DE Greg McMullen holds down one side of the Huskers
defensive line in 2015. He is one of three returning starters in the DL for NU.