Hawkeye Talk with Jimmy Hawk

15-6 may not impress too many people across the country, but the Hawkeyes got a nice road win in Madison. Iowa is in the driver’s seat to win the Big Ten West, but they need to keep winning. PJ Fleck is rowing into town on Saturday with a passing game almost as statistically unimpressive as Iowa’s. Can the Hawkeyes win a second border rivalry game in as many weeks? Yes, in a low scoring game, of course!

There were so many strange plays in Kinnick on homecoming that it felt like a Halloween game. Nonetheless, the Hawkeyes got the win 20-14, although it seemed like it should have been 34-14. It was great having Kaleb Johnson back running the ball like last year. Next up is a road game in Mad Town. Do not go downtown after the game. I learned that lesson years ago, as Badger fans are the worst in the Big Ten!

Cade McNamara tore his ACL on the second possession of the game for the Hawkeyes. Big Deacon Hill came in and did enough to help secure a win with a lot of help from MSU turnovers and excellent special teams play. Next up are the Boilers. Jeff Brohm is at Louisville now, but this looks like a pretty good offense, coming off putting up 44 points against Illinois. Go Hawks!

The statistics tell the story of an offense that couldn’t do anything right and a defense that was on the field all night. Four first downs. A total of 76 total yards of offense. Just 14 and a half minutes time of possession. Can the Hawkeyes shake it off and get a win against the Spartans? Can the offense make strides after one of the worst performances of the Ferentz era?

The Hawkeyes started slow, but the offense got it going, gaining over 250 yards on the ground. The rushing game looked good, while the passing game had some struggles. Will Cade be healthy and ready to sling it on Saturday? Can Iowa pull off an upset in a White Out at Beaver stadium!?

It was close to a runaway win but execution failed the Hawkeyes on a few big plays. The Cyclones tried to come back, but the Hawkeyes stuffed the Cyclones on a 4th and 1. The “elite” Matt Campbell is 1-6 against the Hawkeyes. Kirk Ferentz had a rough 0-4 start against the Cyclones but is 14-6 since the slow start. Is Jack Trice Kinnick West? Go Hawks!!

The Hawkeyes are 1-0 after beating Utah State on a hot Saturday at Kinnick. After a big first quarter for the offense, some troubling trends emerged, mostly around running the football. It’s just week one, so it’s not time to panic yet. A 2-0 start with a win over Iowa State is just what the doctor ordered. Can the Hawkeyes go into Jack Trice and come out with a sixth win in a row in Ames?

The Utah State Aggies invade Kinnick Stadium on Labor Day weekend, where they will run into a buzzsaw of a defense and an improved offense. Will Cade be ready to go? Will we see what QB2 looks like? How many yards for Kaleb Johnson? Which receivers will shine, and will we see plays down field in the passing game? Excitement is in the air with football returning, and it’s exciting to soon be able to see new players perform. I discuss my agenda in Iowa City and how to manage the forecast of a HOT day in the sun.

The Iowa offense needs and deserves a healthy Cade this football season. He seems like a great guy, leader and football player and is the key to Iowa getting to ten plus wins. More football discussion in this episode, and what is the buzz about Fran’s basketball team? There are a lot of new guys and a lot of intriguing players on this year’s men’s basketball team. I keep being more and more intrigued. Can the front court be better than last year based on number of guys? Could they go small ball with Peyton at the 4 and have four three point threats on the court at the same time?

In episode 4.2, I predicted wins and losses for the first six games and had the Hawkeyes at 5-1. This episode covers the last half of the season. Will the momentum continue with three trophy games in the last six games? Will PJ Fleck drop to 0-7 against Captain Kirk? Go Hawks!