A look ahead to the contest between Northwestern and Iowa tomorrow.

The Hawkeyes had a few opportunities to close the game out against Purdue last weekend in West Lafayette. In a game where Iowa had a few spots of momentum it was, the defense that couldn’t hold it together for four straight quarters.

Purdue scored 38 points and accumulated almost 450 yards of total offense.

That was the most points Iowa had given up all season and the most yards it had given up since the Wisconsin game.

This weekend, the Northwestern Wildcats will make the four hour trek west and come into Iowa City being the leaders of the Big Ten West. Sitting at 5-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play, the Wildcats have the inside track of representing the division in the Big Ten Championship in a few weeks time.

When asked about the outlook of the division the rest of the way, as well as the Iowa and Purdue going on just before its games against Notre game kicked off, Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald offered little insight into that.

“I was watching for a little bit, but no I’m not aware of our status.”

Northwestern offensive lineman Tommy Doles said after the Notre Dame game that the end goal is still insight and a key to getting closer to their goal starts this weekend against Iowa.

“We set out to win the West this year and that’s what we’re planning to do,” Doles said. “We’re going to learn our lessons from this game and then put it away really fast, because we have a big one coming up next week.”

A big one, indeed Mr. Doles.

It is of note that Iowa is still ranked eight in the country in total defense. Even before last week when Iowa’s defense was still in the top five, top ten is nothing to snuff about. Iowa gives up around 284 yards per game. The only other Big Ten defense ranked in the top-20 is Michigan. Michigan gives up a measly 216 yards per game.

On the ground, Iowa is the fifth-ranked rushing defense in the country allowing just over 86 yards a game to its opponents.

At times this season, the Wildcats have entirely abandoned the run. There was a three game stretch in September and into October where Northwestern did not mount more than 32 yards of rushing offense in any of its games. The past few weeks, on the other hand, the ‘Cats have tallied 418 yards of rushing offense and a total of seven rushing touchdowns.

The passing defense for Iowa ranks in the top 40 nationally. Not as fantastic as its rushing defense, but still better than over two-thirds of the other programs in the FBS.

Northwestern has had games where it passes for over 400 yards and games when it passes for under 150.

Offensively for the Hawkeyes, they will be back at home. The Kinnick crowd is sure to give them an extra boost when at times the past few weeks they haven’t been able to find one. The defense will also be back on its own turf and ready to get to Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson.

Iowa and Northwestern will kick off shortly after 2:30 p.m. You can listen to coverage of the game at KRUI’s Mixlr page.

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With winds gusting up to 45 miles per hour, moving the ball through the air had to have been difficult, some had thought. While it was not the passing attack that worked for the Hawkeyes this week, it was the defense that came up with the big plays all throughout the course of the game.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (6-1, 3-1) defeated the Maryland Terrapins (4-3, 2-2) 23-0 in a defensive grudge match.

The Hawkeyes held Maryland’s offense to 47 passing yards and only 68 rushing yards on Saturday for a grand total of 115 yards. The output was the lowest yard total Maryland has had all season. The next closest was when it had a resounding 220 yards of total offense against Michigan.

The defense pitched its first shutout since 2016 when it blanked Illinois in November of 2016.

“They’ve (defense) have been playing really well overall and pretty consistently,” Head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “But today was a really unique challenge… but preparing well and then you have to play with really good discipline.”

One of the true stars of the defense was defensive end Parker Hesse. Hesse tallied five total tackles, one sack and two total tackles for loss.

“We definitely (wanted) keep the zero up there,” Hesse said. “That’s something that’s kind of a feather in your cap.”

Defensive lineman A.J. Epenesa had a sack of his own, and safety/outside linebacker Amani Hooker picked of an opposing quarterback for the second time this season.

Defensive Lineman Anthony Nelson also recovered a fumble in the endzone for a touchdown.

Offense was a different story for the Hawkeyes.

Quarterback Nate Stanley wasn’t his sharpest. He threw for only 86 yards on 22 attempts. He had a touchdown pass to Brandon Smith and an interception as well.

The rushing attack, though, proved to be the best, and easiest, way to move the pigskin against the Terrapins on Saturday.

Ivory Kelly-Martin led the way with 98 yards on 24 carries. Chipping in was Mekhi Sargent with 54 yards on ten carries and Toren Young with 21 yards of his own.

“When you’re in the Midwest, you’re going to have days like today where it’s windy and tough and all of that,” Ferentz said. “If one thing is not going well, you’ve got to find something else that’s going to kind of propel you forward.”

Iowa will head to State College next week for a top-25 tilt against Penn State. Coverage will start shortly after 2:00 p.m. central time. Listen to all of KRUI’s remote broadcast on the Mixlr page.

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Iowa started two freshman corners in their first game on the road of the 2018 campaign. Both seemed to be up for the challenge. Riley Moss had two picks in Saturday’s game in Minneapolis, and Julius Brents had one interception as well as two pass break ups to help propel the Hawkeye defense and keep momentum on Iowa’s side for the majority of the game.

“Both those guys got picked on a little bit but they kept fighting, kept competing,” coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I thought they played better as the game went on.”

Sophomore safety Geno Stone also had an interception late that sealed the win for the Hawks with less than a minute to go.

Iowa held Minnesota in check for a good portion of Saturday’s game. The Iowa defense ended the day with five sacks, three coming from the big lineman Anthony Nelson.

Gopher quarterback Zack Annexstad went 17-33 for 218 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions. Wildcat quarterback Seth Green also went 1-2 with 16 yards and a pick.

On the other side of the ball, Iowa looked dominant early offensively. The Hawkeyes got off to a hot start as quarterback Nate Stanley threw a strike to T.J. Hockenson for a three yard score on their first drive, and scrambled around in their second drive to find wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette for a 60 yard touchdown making it 14-0 to start the game.

Iowa later sent shockwaves throughout the stadium when they decided to run a trick field goal on the Minnesota four yard-line: a direct snap to T.J. Hockenson resulting in his second score of the game.

Despite how easy Iowa made it look on some drives, the Hawkeyes made some costly mistakes that set up Minnesota with great field position. The Gophers did a good job capitalizing on those mistakes, keeping this one competitive for a majority of the game.

Nate Stanley threw an interception late in the first half which led to a Golden Gophers touchdown, making it 28-17 going into the half. Stanley was also stripped later in the game, setting up Minnesota on the Iowa three yard-line. Minnesota went on to score and make it a one possession game, 31-24. The Hawkeyes weren’t phased, as they continued to fight and close the game out.

“The turnovers are important,” Ferentz said. “We’re not doing a good enough job on turnover margin at this point… The good news is that we played through the mistakes today.”

Stanley finished overall with a solid game, going 23-39 with 314 yards and four scores through the air, accompanied by the one interception.

“Early I think we just got the passing game going a little bit,” Stanley said after the game. “Saw some things that we liked, and just continued to take advantage of it.”

Iowa looked solid in their first road win of the season. They will look to carry this momentum into next week when they head to Memorial Stadium to battle the Indiana Hoosiers next week.

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Iowa City, Ia.- The Hawkeyes reaffirmed something that many of us have already known: They have a good defense.

The Hawkeyes (3-0,0-0) defeated the Northern Iowa Panthers (0-2,0-0) in dominant fashion by a score of 38-14.

All together, the defense held Northern Iowa to only six yards of rushing. While the usual suspects showed up, there were some other players that got on the stat sheet as well.

“Our defense just in general, especially the front seven, linebackers and then the guys up front, I think we’re developing some depth,” Head Coach Kirk Ferentz said.

18 Hawkeyes recorded tackles during the contest. Linebacker Kristian Welch led the way with eight tackles and a fumble recovery. Michael Ojemudia chipped in five tackles of his own and his first career interception late in the first half.

Cedric Lattimore, A.J. Epenesa and Brady Reiff all recorded a sack against the Panthers. Epenesa now leads the Hawkeyes in the sack department with four sacks on the year.

On the other side of the ball, Nate Stanley threw for a season-high 309 yards and two touchdowns. On the receiving end of one of those touchdowns was tight end Noah Fant.

That touchdown was the fourteenth touchdown reception of Fant’s career and moves him into the top spot for receiving touchdowns by a Hawkeye tight end in program history. Fant’s 14 touchdown receptions ties him for ninth all-time.

The tight end has been a staple at Iowa for years and Fant believes others should take note.

“They got to want to cover our tight ends,” Fant said. “Tight ends are a big part of our offense. Not only me but T.J. (Hockenson) also. We just got to try and find holes in the defense.”

The Hawkeyes will begin conference play Saturday night against the Wisconsin Badgers (2-1,0-0). Kickoff will be shortly after 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live at http://mixlr.com/kruifm/.

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Jimmy Nash recaps the contest between the Hawkeyes and the Wildcats.

IOWA CITY, IA- In a tale of two halves, near record breaking performances, and senior night. The Hawkeyes emerged victorious.

Iowa (13-18, 4-14) defeated Northwestern (15-16, 6-12) 77-70 at Carver Hawkeye Arena on Sunday night.

In the first half, Iowa shot lights out scoring 45 points while Northwestern scored 28. In the second half, Iowa scored 32 points while Northwestern scored 42.

“It was nice to have one of these games going into the Big Ten Tournament,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said. “We knew that we needed this performance to show what we were capable of doing.”

At one point in the first half, Iowa led by as many as 22 points. That lead got that high thanks to the three. Guard Jordan Bohannon has six 3-pointers in the first half. The team made nine 3-pointers throughout the entirety of the first half.

“I said you have to get your swag back.  He was doing a good job of running the offense (the last few games), but he needs to be aggressive like that for us to win,” McCaffery said.

Going into the break, Iowa was shooting over 48 percent from the field and controlled the rebounding battle.

Iowa built the lead back to 22 in the second half after Northwestern started the half on a little run.

Scottie Lindsey was the only real offense that Northwestern had the entire night. Lindsey launched a Carver Hawkeye Arena record-tying nine 3-pointers in the night’s contest. Lindsey finished the game with 32 points, a career-high for him.

“I was proud of my guys for continuing to fight,” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said. “With all the injuries it would’ve been easy to just lay down and let Iowa run away. We kept fighting.”

The charity stripe is really where Iowa gained its advantage.

Iowa attempted 23 shots from the line and made 17. Northwestern attempted only seven free throws and made three.

Jordan Bohannon was four of five from the line tonight. He was chasing a record.

Bohannon made his 33^rd and 34^th consecutive free throws in the first half to tie Chris Street’s school-record. He went to the line to attempt the front end of a 1-and-1. He intentionally missed it.

“That was something I have had on my mind the last couple of games and the last few months,” Hawkeye guard Jordan Bohannon said. “I talked to my brother and we had the same agreement that it wasn’t my record to have.”

Iowa will head to New York City to faceoff against Illinois in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. (CT).

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The Iowa Softball team is on a role. I give a quick recap and a look ahead.

The Iowa softball team was on the brink of bringing out the brooms at Pearl Field Sunday afternoon until Rutgers put a stop to those plans. The Scarlet Knights scored to runs in the seventh inning and shutdowns the Hawkeyes in the bottom of the seventh to secure a 2-0 win.

The Hawks don’t have to hang there heads on this one. After a career high for strikeouts for freshman Allison Doocy, the bats came alive on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a four-run fourth inning. The Hawkeyes later tacked on the winning run in the sixth on a Claire Fritsch sacrifice bunt that scored outfielder Cheyenne Pratt.

Head Coach Marla Looper was pleased that the rally took place.

“We squared balls up and started to put the ball in play. We forced some action,” Looper said.

Onward to Sunday.

The Hawkeyes were shutout by Rutgers pitcher Shayla Sweeny (9-13). After scattering four hits and getting on base via the walk, the bats couldn’t produce in the key situations.

“We didn’t have many people on base, but when we did, we had chances,” Looper said.

After taking two out of three games in the series, the Hawkeyes move to 14-24 on the season and 7-7 in conference play.

The team welcomes in in-state rival Iowa State (16-30) for a non-conference clash on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m.

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After paying an obscene amount for parking and slamming a couple of brats down our throats, a must, we made the trek across North 4th Street and up into our seats to watch the four games on our slate.

Butler and Winthrop, a matchup in the South Region, was the first of our four games. A slow start by both teams was quickly forgotten after Butler pushed the pace and really started to flex its muscles. Butler never trailed in the game and ended up leading by 19 at one point in the second half. Winthrop made their run in the second on the shoulders of 5-foot 7-inch guard Keon Johnson.

For me, Butler was just too strong for Winthrop and overpowered them most of the game. While Winthrop did not ever go away, the talent of the Butler Bulldogs was no match for the Eagles.

Minnesota and Middle Tennessee State was the more exciting game of the session. MTSU came out firing and was composed the entire game. They came out firing from three-point range and never looked back. Reggie Upshaw and Giddie Potts picked up were they left off from in last years tournament.

Watching Minnesota’s offense in the first half was difficult. Setting their offense up took too long in the first half and I felt that they never felt as if they were in trouble towards the end of the shot clock. Credit that to MTSU’s defense. The Gophers were playing more east-west than north-south. That is what decided that game.

Purdue came out like gang-busters in the first half. Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas took advantage of their height the entire game and really forced Vermont to zero in on them. In turn, Vincent Edward found himself open and filled up the score sheet for a total of 21 points.

Vermont simply did not have the size to match with the bigs of Purdue. Swanigan and Haas wore down the Catamounts bigs and propelled the Boilermakers to the Round of 32.

The nightcap of Iowa State and Nevada was flat out loud. The Cyclones have the best guards off all the teams that played in Milwaukee and it is not even close. Nevada made it competitive in the second half, but Monte Morris and Deonte Burton were incredibly efficient down the stretch.

A de facto home game for the Cyclones, Nevada fan’s came in force but the Cyclone Nation shook the Bradley Center.

Butler will play Middle Tennessee State tomorrow night at 6:10 p.m. central.

Iowa State and Purdue will face-off tomorrow night at 8:40 p.m. central.

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This ranges anywhere from extreme heat, rain delays, snow storms and everywhere in between. If you need parts or accessories for your karting sports just visit streeter basic stationary kart stand. While Mother Nature always has a trick up her sleeve, these events just stick out to me.If you’re planning to travel on a beach and want some adventure just visit fins for snorkeling.

With some research involved, here are some memorable events where the weather has played a role in determining the outcome.

NFL December 31, 1967

The game known as the “Ice Bowl” takes the cake for the coldest NFL game of all-time. The Dallas Cowboys made their way up to Green Bay to face-off against the Packers. The temperature during the game was a high of -13 Fahrenheit and a Windchill of -48.

While the game named the “Freezer Bowl” between the Charges and the Bengals had the lower windchill of -59 recorded, the high was only -9. The “Ice Bowl” still hauls in the trophy for the coldest game in NFL history.

MLB August 12, 1990

The Rangers and White Sox were scheduled to play a matinee against the team from Texas and never got the game started. Why is that you may ask? Major League Baseball postponed the game after a rain delay of seven hours and 23 minutes. While White Sox Owner Jerry Reinsdorf said “the weather man kept saying it’d stop.” No, Jerry, it did not stop. Over an inch and a half of rain fell throughout the course of the day.

NFL December 31, 1998

Mike Ditka and his Chicago Bears played host to his former defensive coordinator and head coach at the time Buddy Ryan and his Philadelphia Eagles in this late season clash.

This game looked like the kind game that you would hear about in a ghost story. In a game coined as the “Fog Bowl”, visibility during the game off the shores of Lake Michigan was just over 15 yards. While Eagles quarter back Randall Cunningham did throw for 407 yards, his team could not find the end zone. The Bears needed up beating the Eagles 20-12.

NFL December 8, 2013

The Lions and the Eagles played in a snowstorm in Philadelphia for this week 14 contest.

LeSean McCoy rushed for 217 yards and two touchdowns as over eight inches of snow fell from pregame warmups all the way through the end of the game. The Eagles were down 6-14 heading into the fourth quarter and stormed back by scoring 28 points in the last frame to move to 8-5 on the regular season.

The Open Championship 2015

As a caddie, I’ve been through some downpours, incredibly hot and humid weather and some wicked wind. So windy that you could not reach the green of a par three.

Watching this British Open was a complete mixed bag of weather. A rain delay derailed the second round of play after the second group teed off. The last group of the day teed off at 7:27 p.m. Play would later be suspended, as expected, due to darkness.

After that debacle, players got back on the course the next day only to even windier conditions than the day before. Players had their ball blown off the green or had their ball oscillating on the green once they had marked it and addressed it. This brings in a complicated rule into play as the USGA states. 

While all sports have had their fair share of weather related debacles, these stood out to me for obvious reasons. While no fan likes a delay or anything to hinder their viewing of the game, the weather helps make the event even more memorable.

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Pop on the television on any given weekday or weekend and chances are there is going to be an intriguing college basketball game on.

When the academics are done and there is nothing else to do in the middle of the day or night, I often find myself partaking in the viewing of men’s college basketball.

As I sat down to brainstorm ideas for this article, I thought about which games stood out to me.

Without further ado, here are the ten most memorable games I have watched so far this college basketball season (in order of date played).

 November 22, 2016      

The teams: Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne Mastodons v #3 Indiana Hoosiers

The result: Mastodons 71 Hoosiers 68

The skinny: Not only are the IUPU schools my favorite group of satellite schools, they also have the most fun name to type. The Mastodons took down the Hoosiers in Fort Wayne and left everyone in awe.

Obviously this was an early season hiccup for the Hoosiers, but for a team that is on the bubble like themselves this loss will come back to haunt them.

December 3, 2016

The teams: #11 UCLA Bruins v #1 Kentucky Wildcats

The result: Bruins 97 Wildcats 92

The skinny: Both teams just ooze NBA prospects. This game was back and forth the entire way and the guard play was outstanding for both teams. Could this be a preview of a matchup in late March or early April? Only time will tell.

December 17, 2016

The teams: #6 Kentucky Wildcats v #7 North Carolina Tarheels

The result: Wildcats 103 Tarheels 100

The skinny: Malik Monk proved to me that he is easily one of the best guard at this level by scoring 47 points. Kentucky has the young guns and North Carolina has the veterans. Those two recipes that have made up these two incredibly exciting teams to watch moving forward.

January 4, 2017

The teams: #1 Villanova Wildcats v #18 Butler Bulldogs

The result: Wildcats 58 Bulldogs 66

The skinny: Villanova has a great backcourt in Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.

The Bulldogs are everyone’s favorite Cinderella team a few years ago. The Big East is an underrated conference and it will be a dogfight to see who is on top of the standings at the end of the season (pun intended).

January 21, 2017

The teams: #14 Arizona Wildcats v # UCLA Bruins

The result: Wildcats 96 Bruins 85

The skinny: Arizona came into Pauley Pavilion and took care of business. They have the most underrated freshman in the country in Lauri Markkanen. With Allonzo Trier back from suspension, Arizona is going to make some noise and these two will be leading the way.

January 25, 2017

The teams: #2 Kansas Jayhawks v #18 West Virginia Mountaineers

The result Jayhawks 69 Mountaineer 85

The skinny: The score is not what I was interested in, it’s what comes after the game. West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins gets a $25,000 bonus every time he beats Kansas. While that is certainly a nice lump sum, Huggins donated this bonus to charity. The Mountaineers are another team to look at critically when filling out your bracket.

January 28, 2017

The teams: #2 Kansas Jayhawks v #4 Kentucky Wildcats

The result: Jayhawks 79 Wildcats 73

The skinny: Kansas had an absolutely crazy week towards the end of January. Themselves and Kentucky will be some of the most battle tested teams headings towards the end of the regular

season.

February 4, 2017

The teams: Iowa State Cyclones v #3 Kansas Jayhawks

The Result: Cyclones 92 Jayhawks 89

The Skinny: Iowa State is a team that just does not go away. They can score in bunches and hang around with the best of them. Not to mention, the Jayhawks had a 51-game winning streak at home. Playing in the toughest conference in college basketball, the Cyclones will be prepared for the Big 12 Tournament come March.

February 9, 2017

The teams: #5 Oregon Ducks v #10 UCLA Bruins

The result: Ducks 79 Bruins 82

The skinny: Oregon and Baylor have the most flourencent uniforms in the country and it’s not even close. Anyway, the Ducks have experience and have played well down the stretch in past seasons and have the right leadership in place to make a deep run.

February 12, 2017

The teams: Northwestern Wildcats v #7 Wisconsin Badgers

The result: Wildcats 66 Badgers 59

The skinny: After previously going 14-1 at the Kohl Center, the Wildcats get another resume boosting win.

They have been playing without starting swingman Scottie Lindsey for a little bit and have really clamped down on the defensive end. If you are a member of the Northwestern community, Selection Sunday could be Christmas in March for you.

If I could watch every game, I would. Time does not allow me to do that. The rest of the season is sure to be all fine and dandy.

March Madness is right around the corner. Boy, I can’t wait.

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IOWA CITY, IA- The Iowa Hawkeyes were without their star player Peter Jok as he was sidelined with a back injury.

Other players needed to step up and boy did they ever.

Brady Ellingson led the way off the bench for the hawkeyes with a team high 17 points. Forward Ryan Kriener had 14 points to go along with seven rebounds. Freshman Tyler Cook went 5-9 form the field to finish with 13 points in the contest.

Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta was not too keen on his team’s defense.

“I tried everything I had in my arsenal tonight. It just wasn’t clicking,” Matta said.

Coach Fran McCaffery was impressed with the defensive effort that his team put on the floor.

Iowa had 41 rebounds, five steals, and five blocks in the defeat of the buckeyes.

“For us to defend the way we did… for us to execute the way we did, I think it is a big step for our program,” McCaffery said.

Additionally, the hawkeyes held the buckeyes to 29 points in the first half and 7-22 from three-point range the entirety of the game.

Brady Ellingson, as mentioned, went 6-9 from the field to score his team high 17 points. The hoop truly felt like an ocean to him.

“We ran a play and went off a ball screen and had a good look and let it fly,” Ellingson said.

Those kinds of opportunities were plentiful as the hawkeyes made exactly 50 percent of their shots from the field Saturday night.

The hawkeyes will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey as they will face off against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. central Tuesday night.

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