NY Times ranks ISU Football #112 for '09 in The Quad Countdown: No. 1 to 120

The New York Times is counting down the Top 120 teams in FBS, with Iowa State ranked #112 in the article titled The Quad Countdown: No. 112 Iowa State.

Last year, Iowa State's final ranking was #86.

2009 schedule:

• Sept. 3 North Dakota State
• Sept. 12 Iowa
• Sept. 19 @ Kent State
• Sept. 26 Army
• Oct. 3 Kansas State (Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.)
• Oct. 10 @ Kansas
• Oct. 17 Baylor
• Oct. 24 @ Nebraska
• Oct. 31 @ Texas A&M
• Nov. 7 Oklahoma State
• Nov. 14 Colorado
• Nov. 21 @ Missouri
  

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Five Big Ten teams among Top 25 All-Time Final AP Football Poll, including #25 Iowa

SECsports.com has compiled the All-Time Final AP Football Poll. SECsports.com is the official web site of the Southeastern Conference. Eight of the 12 Top 25 teams were from the SEC.

1. Michigan
2. Oklahoma
3. Notre Dame
4. Ohio State
5. Alabama
6. Nebraska
7. USC
8. Texas
9. Tennessee
10. Penn State

Michigan State is #19 and Iowa is #25 to close out the Big Ten Conference teams in the Top 25. Texas A&M is #20 and Colorado is #25 to close out the five Top 25 teams from the Big 12 Conference.

The final six Big Ten teams are Wisconsin at #27, Minnesota at #29, Illinois at #40, Purdue at #42, Northwestern at #51 and Indiana at #76.

Iowa Pre-Fight is listed tied at #79 with Yale in the All-Time Final AP Football Poll.

The final seven Big 12 teams are Kansas State at #38, Missouri at #39, Kansas at #54, Baylor at #56 Texas Tech at #59, Oklahoma State at #60, and finally, Iowa State tied at #116.

Iowa will face #70 Arizona in the non-conference this season in football.

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As we enter the 2009 College Football season, who are the top 25 teams in FBS?

The SouthernPigskin.com doesn't see the Iowa Hawkeyes as one of the Top 25 teams in the nation entering the 2009 season. They have only two Big Ten teams in the Top 25, with Ohio State at #8 and Penn State at #17. Heck, Iowa was 1-0 vs. those two programs in the Big Ten in 2008, with Iowa's 24-23 upset win over the Nittany Lions. The Iowa win knocked Joe Pa's PSU team out of the BCS Championship picture last season.

After a strong 2007 season, will Illinois Fighting Illini rebound, after a disappointing 2008 season under coach Ron Zook? Illinois did get the monkey off their back against Iowa in '08. Iowa had won five straight and will have to wait until '11 until the two teams meet again in the Big Ten in football. Looking at early preseason polls, it looks like Phil Steele magazine is one of the few preseason forecasts projecting love for the Fighting Illini at #19.

How strong will the Wisconsin Badgers be in 2009? After two very solid season under coach Bret Bielema, his coaching was put under question by many after a up and down third season as head coach. Don't look for the Badgers any Top 25 lists at the season's start for 2009.

Another team that has some questions going into 2009 is the Michigan State Spartans. Not likely a Top 25 prospect to begin 2009, but coach Mark Dantonio is a coach who is earning respect among Big Ten opponents in East Lansing.

After a 55-0 loss to Iowa to close out the 2008 Big Ten season at home in the final game of the Metrodome for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, it's hard to think anyone would have the Golden Gophers a Pre-season Top 25 team, but a preseason Knoxnews.com site by John Adams does at #24. The site has three Big Ten teams in the Top 11 with Ohio State at #6, Penn State at #10 and Iowa at #11. Clearly, Mr. Adams didn't use the media guide deletion in his analysis.

We know Ohio State and Penn State will be the Big Ten's consensus Top 25 picks entering 2009. The Big Ten Conference should continue to become more competitive from top to bottom in 2009. But, Northwestern, Michigan, Purdue and Indiana will not be candidate for the Top 25 either.

At this point, Cidsports will use the following composite of teams for our 2009 Preseason College Football Poll...

1. Florida Gators
2. Texas Longhorns
3. Oklahoma Sooners
4. USC Trojans
5. Alabama Crimson Tide
6. Oklahoma State Cowboys
7. Virginia Tech Hokies
8. Ohio State Buckeyes
9. Ole Miss Rebels
10. LSU Tigers
11. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
12. Penn State Nittany Lions
13. Oregon Ducks
14. Boise State Broncos
15. Georgia Bulldogs
16. California Bears
17. Florida State Seminoles
18. North Carolina Tar Heels
19. Utah Utes
20. TCU Horned Flogs
21. Iowa Hawkeyes
22. Kansas Jayhawks
23. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
24. Nebraska Cornhuskers
25. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Other teams: Pittsburgh, Miami-FL, Oregon State, East Carolina, BYU, West Virginia, South Florida, Cincinnati, Clemson, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Auburn, Boston College, Minnesota, Arkansas, Houston

Editor's note: We have a hard time placing Minnesota ahead of Illinois in the Big Ten, let alone Michigan State or Wisconsin. Though the QB situation at MSU and UW is yet to be determined. It should be an outstanding year from top to bottom in the Big Ten again.

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After 20 seasons on PAT natural grass, Kinnick Stadium unveils FieldTurf for '09

In 1989, Coach J. Hayden Fry's Iowa Hawkeyes opened the season on new P.A.T. natural grass vs. Oregon. In 2009, Coach Kirk Ferentz's Hawkeyes will open the season vs. the University of Northern Iowa on new FieldTurf. Kinnick Stadium will unveil a new surface for the first time in twenty years.

Link from Hawkeye Sports site

The Gazette wrote an article on May 29 titled "PHOTOS, VIDEO: New-look FieldTurf unveiled at Kinnick Stadium" by Scott Dochterman.

A look at the old PAT field:

The construction at Kinnick Stadium this past May. Some fans wanted to see more logos on the field. The marketing department unveiled a jig saw picture earlier in the month piece by piece on the official web site for the football program.

The Hawkeyes will look to have a stronger performance than past upgrade seasons, like 2005, 1989 and 1972, when Kinnick Stadium made major upgrades to the stadium, including new press box and sky box seating (2005), returning to natural grass (1989) and putting in an artificial surface (1972).

Of course, improvements in the 1950s at Kinnick Stadium provided some outstanding dividends, as Iowa won two Rose Bowls, during that era. After finishing 5-3 in the Big Ten, 9-4 overall in '08, the Hawkeyes will work to move up the conference ladder this fall for Coach Ferentz and his staff. Iowa's last BCS appearance was after the 2002 season under Coach Ferentz and their last Rose Bowl appearance was after the 1990 season under Coach Fry.

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Lakers advance to NBA Finals tonight: 119-92

Well, the Lakers will return to the NBA Finals again, after winning Game 6 of the Western Conference championship with an explosive 119-92 road win over the Denver Nuggets tonight.

Hopefully, the Los Angeles Lakers will get it done this time around in the NBA Finals! The Finals begin June 4Th!

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It's the mid way point of May; 2009 seems to be flying...

Where's the time go?

Work, family, community, health, recreation...

I need to keep up with blogging, twittering, news, sports, etc.

Social networking is time consuming. Facebook, twitter, etc. Let alone the grind of everything else in life.

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Kickoff to College Football 2009 is nearly 4 months away...

But, Athlon Sports is providing a sneak preview of their 2009 Big Ten Preview and their National Rankings for the 2009 College Football season.

No. 23 Iowa Hawkeyes

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