Sure, there are other things happening in conference right now, but it's Iowa week dammit, and I've never been so glad to have the opportunity to talk about a team other than my beloved embattled Buckeyes.
Ordinarily, the hump feature is a situational 4th and 3 piece, but in light of Bama's excellent defensive dissertation yesterday, I thought we'd take things in a slightly different direction. When I think of Iowa football in 2010, I think of fourth-quarter collapses.
- Against Wisconsin, the Hawks led 30-24 with 8:35 to play in the Fourth before an eight yard Montee Ball touchdown stole their thunder with just over a minute to play.
- Against Northwestern, the Hawks led 17-14 with over a minute to play in the Fourth before Dan Persa's infamous 20-yard touchdown pass to Demetrius Fields.
- Against Ohio State, Iowa led 17-13 with just over two minutes to play before Terrelle Pryor's infamous 4th and 10 conversion, and Dan Herron touchdown.
- Against Minnesota, Iowa led 24-20 before with just over five minutes to play in the fourth quarter before -- you guessed it -- an interim Gophers squad drove the field to notch its first victory over Iowa in four years.
My apologies to our Hawkeye readers who just vomited a little bit in their mouths. There's a reason I just made you re-live the worst moments of a disappointing season, and it's because I want to ask an extremely important question.
Is there an off the field reason for these late game collapses?
In late-January 13 Hawkeyes were hospitalized with a muscle disorder following a series of grueling offseason workouts. Most of the players interviewed in the wake of the terrifying ordeal admitted that the workouts were "the hardest" they'd ever experienced.
I'm no strength and conditioning expert, but that sounds to me like someone was trying to light a fire under the asses of athletes that tired too often down the stretch in 2010.
So what do you think, was Iowa's conditioning up to snuff in 2010 or was their some other reason for the late game collapses? And will the Hawks be ready to play 60 full minutes of football in 2011?
This week...
MONDAY | Cocktail Party Preview
WEDNESDAY | Is Strength and Conditioning in Iowa City up to Snuff?
THURSDAY | OTE Potluck
FRIDAY | Keeping the Enemy Close - Rival Blogger Interview