Tomorrow, OSU’s departing seniors will trot onto the field turf for the last time at the Horseshoe. If Cameron Heyward has his way, new Iowa QB James Vandenberg will share that same experience.
I won’t spend too much time on Iowa this week, other than to caution overconfidence on the part of Buckeye players and fans. Unlike the paper tigers from State College last week, Iowa has proven itself to be a good team, certainly the best- or next-best in the Big 10. “Team” being the best descriptor of the Hawkeyes; they’ve been behind in all but one game this year, and come from behind to win in all but one as well. That doesn’t happen to teams that aren’t unified.
Regardless of who starts under center tomorrow, the Hawkeyes will be entering a hostile environment, playing for the outright Big Ten title, and playing for the Rose Bowl berth, which gives them plenty of reasons to come out motivated. There’s a lot of pride on the line for them as well, after being told all week long that their season is over and they have no chance against the Buckeyes. All these factors, along with a QB that had a full week of practice reps for the first time in his college career, means that we shouldn’t be surprised if Iowa pulls off a surprisingly competitive game.
Having said that, though, we shouldn’t give the Hawkeyes too much credit. Iowa peaked early in the season, and had been playing with fire in the weeks prior to their loss. Check out the super-duper-canned-spreadsheet scoring margin chart (dotted lines show the computed trends):
According to the trendlines, anyway, it looks like the most competitive game for these two teams would have been in week 2.
Okay, we’ll cut this one short. This week’s questions:
Will Hurt Coleman get his last INT in the Shoe tomorrow?
Total TDs by Pryor?
Will Daryl Clark suddenly appear on the field at 3:47 p.m., having been knocked by Heyward into next week, last week?
Final Score? (Alternate: ROSES!! or No Roses!)
(el Kaiser here, letting you know about this week’s contest) The person with the closest prediction of the final score of the OSU/Iowa game will win a copy of Rivalries: The History of Michigan vs. Ohio State (link opens iTunes) from the iTunes Music Store. (Yes, you’ll actually have to predict a final score, not just ROSES/NO ROSES)
Released in 2004, Rivalries: The History of Michigan vs. Ohio State is a must-view documentary for Ohio State fans. It’s a fairly balanced look at the rivalry through the years. Former players, coaches and journalists all discuss the greatest rivalry in college sports. If you haven’t seen it, you owe it to yourself to watch it. Over and over again.
Please note: this contest is available only to U.S. residents. It is not necessary, but helpful, if you already have an iTunes account, otherwise you’ll have to make one to redeem your prize.
sportsMonkey’s predictions:
Hurt’s INT: Yes, and he’ll return it all the way to the first round of the NFL draft.
Pryor TDs: 3
Clark: Will show up confused, then immediately get sacked again.
Score: ROSES!!
el Kaiser’s predictions:
Hurt’s INT: Coleman is a ballhawk. He gets two INTs as Vandenberg does his best Stanzi impersonation.
Pryor TDs: 2
Clark: Shows up in a ball of energy, naked, and asks Coleman if he’s the legal guardian of John Connor.
Score: OSU: 31 Iowa: 15 (ROSES!)
STATE COLLEGE, PA — In his postgame press conference, Penn State coach Joe Paterno had no answers for 
Asked if he could make it to a bowl, Paterno said, “Depends. We’ve got a lot of running to do.” And athletic fundamentals aren’t the only focus, as Paterno has plans to bring in a series of motivational speakers to give pregame speeches. “Yeah, we’re gonna try it. I’ve got a rather unorthodox friend – a big bald guy with a cigar – he’ll show up at the bowl at least. We’ll try whatever we can.”
