Iowa climbs to 1-0, as do all eleven remaining Iowa opponents in Week 1

Did you notice that the only two Big Ten teams to lose in Week 1 will not face the University of Iowa in 2010? Otherwise, the Big Ten Conference went 9-2 in Week 1 of the 2010 College Football season.

• Purdue doesn't play Iowa until 2011. The Boilermakers lost @ Notre Dame on Saturday, 12-23, as Brian Kelly won his debut as the new Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach.


• Coach Ron Zook and Illinois don't play Iowa in 2010. Heck, they will not play in '11 or '12, with the new schedules to accommodate division play and the entrance of Nebraska Cornhuskers into the Big Ten. Missouri beat Illinois 23-13 in St. Louis making Zook's seat a little bit warmer today, after the Fighting Illini played solid in the first half.

#4 Iowa beat Eastern Illinois 37-7 to open the 2010 College Football season at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. The Hawkeyes looked good in the opener this season, after last season's 17-16 near upset at the hands of University of Northern Iowa. Highlights of the season opener for Iowa:

• Six true freshman played limited roles on special teams and in reserve roles.


• #2 TE #39 Brad Herman (pictured above), a 6-5 junior, had a solid game with three receptions, including a 35 yard catch on the opening TD drive for Iowa to put Iowa into the Blue Panthers red zone..


• Senior reserve running back Paki O'Meara put Iowa ahead 21-0 with a blocked punt and 42 yard return. Herman later got a hand on a partially blocked punt later in the game.


• Senior QB Ricky Stanzi was 18-23 for 229 yards and one TD. More important, no INTs.


• Sophomore RB Adam Robinson ran 24 times for 109 yards and 3 TDs.


• Overall, there were mistakes made and the coaching staff will likely have some film to get all three areas of the game improving for the second game. It is typically observed in College Football, that teams improve the most from Week 1 to Week 2. This should be no different for Iowa and all 119 FBS programs in 2010.

Will Eastern Illinois win the Ohio Valley Conference in 2010? If so, the Blue Panthers will win a date again in the FCS playoffs, like 2009. How many Iowa fans will be rooting for the Blue Panthers the rest of the way? By the way, the UNI Panthers open the 2010 season this Saturday at home with Missouri Valley Football play vs. North Dakota State, who upset Turner Gill's debut as head coach at the University of Kansas, 6-3. Upsets are popular these days in Lawrence... just ask the Jayhawks basketball fans!

Heck, last year, BYU upset Oklahoma in the season opener 14-13. #18 Oklahoma opened with a team from Utah again in 2010, but Utah State isn't BYU. The Sooners out lasted the WAC's Aggies 31-24 and will host Florida State in Week 2. Are the Sooners really going to be a factor in the 2010 BCS race?

Did anyone catch the highlights of Ole Miss's season opener in Oxford for coach Houston Nutt's team? Well, FCS Jacksonville State, with a true frosh QB at the helm upset the Rebels 49-48 in 2OT. The Rebels defense doesn't look SEC like in 2010.

The 2010 Iowa Hawkeyes Schedule

• Sept 4 - Iowa 37, Eastern Illinois 7 - Hawkeyes open 1-0 for the tenth straight season!


• Sept 11 - vs. Iowa State (1-0) - The Cyclones opened the 2010 season with a 27-10 win Thursday night at home over the Northern Illinois Huskies to begin their second season under coach Paul Rhoads. The Cyclones offense looked solid, though the defense is rebuilding for the Cyclones and NIU's young QB didn't perform well in the Huskies loss to the Cyclones.


• Sept 18 - @ Arizona (1-0) - The Wildcats offense rolled on Toledo in Ohio 41-2 Friday night in coach Mike Stoops homecoming to his home state. The Wildcats will tune up for the date vs. Iowa with a home opener vs. The Citadel (1-0), an FCS program. By the way, the Bulldogs won their opener 56 - 14 over the Chowan Hawks.


• Sept 25 - vs. Ball State (1-0) - The Cardinals won Thursday night at home over the SE Missouri State RedHawks 27-10. Ball State will face Liberty and will travel to West Lafayette @ Purdue before a date in Kinnick Stadium in Week 4 vs. the Hawkeyes.


• Oct 2 - vs. #19 Penn State (1-0) for Homecoming - The Nittany Lions started slow in the first quarter, but the debut of promising true freshman quarterback Rob Bolden should lead to a lot of excitement in Joe Paterno's 45Th season at the helm at Penn State. The Nittany Lions went on to beat Youngstown State 44-14 to open the season. Next up: @ #1 Alabama ... nothing like a strong Week 2 test for the true frosh QB? Kent State (1-0) and Temple (1-0) will wrap off OOC play, before the Big Ten opener in Iowa City for the Nittany Lions.


• Oct 9 - Iowa's bye week for the 2010 season.


• Oct 16 - @ Michigan (1-0) for the Wolverines homecoming game - Wow, sophomore QB Denard Robinson's debut as the starting quarterback helped the Wolverines roll 30-10 over UConn. Next up: @ Notre Dame (1-0) - coach Rich Rodriguez is 1-8 at Michigan on the road, with the lone OOC game was the '08 visit to South Bend, where the Fighting Irish won 35-17. Michigan closes OOC play at home vs. UMass (1-0) and Bowling Green (0-1).


• Oct 23 - vs. #10 Wisconsin (1-0) - The Badgers trip to the desert to face Nevada-Las Vegas was mission accomplished. The Badgers defeated UNLV 41-21 unloading the three headed RB trio of John Clay, Montee Bell and James White. Next up: vs. San Jose State (0-1) in home opener. San Jose State lost 3-48 @ #1 Alabama in season opener, before home visits from Arizona State (1-0) and Austin Peay (1-0).


• Oct 30 - vs. Michigan State (1-0) - The Spartans opened with a solid 38-14 win over Western Michigan with two running backs rushing for over 100 yards, including true frosh Le'Veon Bell. The Spartans will travel to Detroit for a game with Florida Atlantic (1-0) this week, with Notre Dame (1-0) and Northern Colorado (1-0) heading to East Lansing, before the Big Ten opener at home with UW. Florida Atlantic edged UAB 32-31 on the road and is making it's second visit to MI, since the '08 game, when MSU won 17-0.


• Nov 6 - @ Indiana (1-0) - The Hoosiers won their ninth straight home opener with a 51-17 win over Towson on Thursday night. The Hoosiers have a week off, until a road trip to Western Kentucky (0-1) on September 18Th. WKU lost season opener @ #15 Nebraska 10-49. The Hoosiers can move the Big Ten road record in '10 at Sun Belt schools to 2-0 with a win. The Hoosiers will play Akron (0-1) before the Big Ten home opener vs. Michigan.


• Nov 13 - @ Northwestern (1-0) -The Wildcats won on the road in the SEC with a 23-21 victory @ Vanderbilt Saturday night. The Wildcats lost in the Outback Bowl 35-38 in OT to the SEC's Auburn, so the Wildcats were pleased to pick up a win. Week 2 is a date at home in Evanston vs. Illinois State (1-0), followed by a road game @ Rice (0-1) and Central Michigan (1-0) back in Evanston, before the Big Ten opener @ Minnesota.


• Nov 20 - vs. # 2 Ohio State (1-0) - The Terrelle Pryor show debuted for year 3 with a solid 45-7 win over Marshall on Thursday night in Columbus. Week 2 is a big test for the Buckeyes with #11 Miami-FL (1-0), who defeated Florida A&M 45-0, in Columbus. The Buckeyes follow up the game with the Hurricane, with home dates with Ohio U (1-0) and Eastern Michigan (0-1), before Big Ten opener @ Illinois.


• Nov 27 - @ Minnesota (1-0) - The Golden Gophers under their fourth offensive coordinator in four seasons with head coach Tim Brewster pulled off a solid 24-17 road win over the Sun Belt's Middle Tennessee. Next up: vs. South Dakota (0-1), who lost @ Central Florida 7-38, then home dates with USC and Northern Illinois to wrap up OOC.

By the way, the University of Iowa needs to re-think waiting lines into Kinnick Stadium. If a person has a bottle of water in hand, why does the bottle need to be inspected by the same person and in same line that are looking at fan's purses and diaper bags? Sorry, but a simple review of a Quantitative Methods class would suggest a better procedure for all. By the way, carrying water is legal and a quick check of a cap should assure compliance, rather than making lines longer into Kinnick Stadium.

We hope everyone is enjoying a great Labor Day weekend where ever they may be this holiday weekend in the United States.

Sunday, September 5Th Games

• Tulsa at East Carolina, 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 (HD)


• SMU at #17 Texas Tech, 2:30 p.m., ESPN (HD)

C-USA opener for Tulsa and defending champion East Carolina on Sunday of Labor Day weekend, while coach Tommy Tubberville opens as the new head coach in Lubbock for the Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. coach June Jones and the Mustangs of SMU, who had their best season, since 1984.

Labor Day Special Games on Monday, September 6Th

• Maryland at #24 Navy (Baltimore), 3:00 p.m., ESPN (HD)


• Boise State vs. Virginia Tech (Landover, MD), 7:00 p.m., ESPN (HD) / ESPN 3D

Both Labor Day games come from the State of Maryland, with in-state Maryland and #24 Navy squaring off, then the big spotlight game of the holiday weekend, with #3 Boise State facing #6 Virginia Tech, in a classic non-BCS vs. BCS game, from FedEx Field in Landover, MD. The Hokies should take Boise State out, but Boise State should be a tough out.

peace