Tuesdays with Torbee
It was cold. It was windy. It was dreary.
It was kind of awesome.
On a morning when the weather in Champaign-Urbana was less than inspiring, the determined-if-not-sexy Iowa Hawkeyes ground down an overmatched Illini squad that looked like it wanted to be almost anywhere other than Memorial Stadium for Senior Day.
It was a workmanlike performance from the Hawks. One that I will imitate with a very workmanlike bullet item of observations and thoughts heading into the final showdown of the season with Nebraska.
· A few plays from Saturday could be candidates for the turning point in the game, but I’m singling out assistant coach Brian Ferentz for providing the needed spark to ignite Iowa. After Iowa had already gone three-and-out a couple times, Riley McCarron had what looked to be a pass for a first down ricochet off his hands into the waiting arms of an Illini defender, killing another drive in a scoreless game. When the receiver group got over to the bench, assistant coach Bobby Kennedy kicked a bench and lit into them. But the real fireworks came from the younger Ferentz. Looking right at McCarron, he challenged the team’s collective manhood. “What’s the matter? Is it too (expletive deleted) cold? Do you wanna go home or do you wanna play some (expletive deleted) football?” he implored. It was on the subsequent drive (following an Akrum Wadley goal line fumble fighting for a score) that McCarron tore through the Illinois kick return team to put Iowa on the board for good. From our position right behind the bench, it was obvious the energy level and intensity picked up for good after Brian Ferentz’s meltdown. Anyone who says the Ferentz men are just cashing checks and don’t care about winning needs to sit behind the Iowa bench for a game.
· Punter Ron Coluzzi really is a stitch. Media members know he’s one of the best interviews on the team already. Saturday, he was keeping the Iowa fans entertained with his sideline antics. My favorite was when he mimed nearly the entire scene from Animal House where Otis Day sings “Shout!” as it blared over the Memorial Stadium Jumbotron and sound system. He had a large portion of the Iowa fan contingent singing along and clapping. On a semi-related note, it was also pretty funny seeing Iowa’s diminutive true freshman field goal kicker Keith Duncan wrestling with the practice net in gale-force winds. He eventually elicited the help of a lineman to get it back up off the field turf.
· Speaking of Memorial Stadium, man are we blessed to have Kinnick. Even after its relatively recent renovation, Memorial just lacks any sense of character. Something about that stadium (and not just the Illini’s lackluster play) lulls you into a kind of bored stupor. In fact, I’d say that about Champaign-Urbana as a whole. It’s not a dump (hi West Lafayette) but it is just so bland and meh. It’s like if someone put a first-class research university in Ft. Dodge or something. And I don’t mean to disparage Ft. Dodge – it’s a perfectly nice, serviceable community. But you’d think a college town would have more energy and oomph than old Shampoo-Banana.
· Illini fans really don’t seem to like their team very much. There was lots of snarky yelling and gallows humor from the Illinois faithful (the few that bothered to show up, anyway). I will give them this, though: I didn’t hear any boos at all; not even when they punted on 4th and short inside Iowa territory. There was a lot of derisive Bronx cheering for first downs late in the fourth quarter, though. They seem to be in the very deep stages of hostile apathy at this point, and who can blame them?
· Lovie Smith is still a maddening coach. I have been a Bears fan my whole life, so I just had to laugh when Illinois was down 21 points in the third quarter and the Lovie offense continued to slowly huddle, meander back to the line of scrimmage and snap the ball with less than 10 seconds left on the play clock. Lovie’s lack of any urgency or deviation from his initial game plan used to drive me nuts as a Bears fan. I feel your pain, Illini nation.
· Iowa fans travel so well, even to “bad” games. We were still outside in line waiting to get in the stadium when the teams entered the field, thanks to some ridiculously inept security measures at the gates of Memorial Stadium. Despite fireworks booming and a hyped up PA announcer, the Illini entrance elicited only a mild cheer. When Iowa was announced, the Iowa fans in attendance roared loudly. Iowa fans were loud and proud all game (granted, they had a lot more to cheer about) and as always, it was fantastic to see the Iowa players high-five visiting fans and sing the fight song with them after the win.
· Beat Nebraska. It’s kind of funny, my pre-season prediction was 9-3 and if Iowa manages to beat its border foe on Black Friday, I’ll only be one game off that mark. But the way Iowa has clawed its way to this potential 8-4 sure isn’t what I expected. Like many, I’d written this off as a more-or-less “lost season” after the Penn State shellacking. But man, that Michigan win followed up by a 28-0 drubbing of a longtime foe has me rethinking my stance on the “disappointment level” of 2016. If Iowa manages to take down the Huskers and finally win a bowl game for the first time since 2010, I think I’ll look back on this season mostly fondly. I still may never forgive Gary Barta for scheduling FCS juggernaut North Dakota State, though. Talk about a no-win situation.
Follow me on Twitter @ToryBrecht and @12Saturdays.