“Certainly is great to be back in Kinnick itself, this is the first time we’ve been there this spring, and even better to be there with fans. It’s great to have live people in the stands,” Kirk Ferentz said. “That provided a little bit of electricity for everybody. I think certainly we’re hopeful it’s a sign we’re moving in the right direction as country.”

The biggest storyline heading into the first of two open practices was the competition at the quarterback spot between Deuce Hogan, Alex Padilla and incumbent starter Spencer Petras. Petras got the run with starters first, throwing a dart of a completion and an interception before tweaking his left knee evading pressure in the pocket. Petras did return a short time later and was highlighted with long completions to Tyrone Tracy under pressure.

Out of the three quarterbacks today however, it appeared Alex Padilla gave the most consistent performance. Seen by many as the third quarterback behind Petras and Hogan, Padilla threw two touchdowns on the day (one was called back due to penalty) and scrambled for another in the controlled scrimmage. Even with the struggles with pass protection from the offensive line, Padilla consistently found receivers in rhythm and ran when necessary.

Deuce Hogan, who has become a fan favorite without ever playing a down of game action, showed flashes of his moxie in the scrimmage portion of today’s practice as well. The freshman made some throws that impressed, with a deep crossing route to Quavon Matthews and an on-the-run throw to his left to Alec Kritta. However, it appeared that Hogan still faces some issues that all young quarterbacks face, making one or two reads then using his legs, touch on passes, and so on.

“Spencer [Petras] still has a clear advantage from experience and he’s doing a nice job. After that, it’s wide open, we’ve rotated pretty liberally and we may talk about that rotation moving forward here,” Ferentz said. “I’d probably say Alex [Padilla] and Deuce [Hogan] are probably the closest to each other at this point. It’s way too early to call it.”

Another area that many have keened in on is the battle for both starting offensive tackles spot. With Alaric Jackson off to the NFL and Mark Kallenberger retired, the competition to protect the edges is the most wide open it’s been in quite sometime under Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes stuck with Pella-native Nick DeJong at right tackle and junior Jack Plumb at right tackle. Others that are expected to compete are Mason Richman, who played at left guard with the starters Saturday morning, and Cody Ince, who is out for the remainder of the spring with a lower leg injury.

Perhaps the unit that played it’s best ball on Saturday morning was the defensive line, especially impressive for a group that is replacing stars such as Davyion Nixon and Chauncey Golston. Earlier in the spring season, defensive coordinator Phil Parker said he believed that Iowa’s defensive line could go 10 deep, and with the play of reserves such as Lukas Van Ness, Jake Karchinski and walk-on Louie Stec, that vision could become a reality.

“Louie is getting work and has been getting work all spring, he’s an extremely tough guy,” Ferentz said. “He’s taken good advantage of the opportunity he’s gotten and he’s working hard, he’s not the tallest guy in the world, but he’s got good leverage and is tough to move.”

Wide receivers have also been a big question mark for Iowa throughout the 2021 spring practices as the Hawkeyes look to replace Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Brandon Smith, a pair of four-year starters who helped reignite the Iowa offense under Brian Ferentz. Tyrone Tracy is the bell cow of the group, but after Nico Ragaini, it’s a rather young group for Iowa.

“After Tracy and Ragaini, it’s really interesting. It’s a land of opportunity for everybody, including the two newcomers,” Ferentz said. “We saw some flashes from guys today, they don’t have that consistency in their play yet, but they’ve shown they’re capable of helping our football team.”

Iowa’s next open spring practice will be on Saturday, May 1st at 9:30 AM, with the gates opening to the public at 8:30 AM.

The post Iowa Spring Practice: QB’s duel, youth arrives, and defense shines appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Iowa amassed a 17-0 lead early in the first quarter. A muffed punt and fumble recovery gave Iowa two quick opportunities to score. A seven-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Smith and a 15-yard rushing touchdown by Tyler Goodson got the Hawkeyes out in front early.

From the second quarter on, Northwestern controlled the game. Northwestern scored two touchdowns in the second quarter. Iowa made one field goal, but with time expiring in the first half, Caleb Shudack missed a 52-yard field goal attempt as the ball hit the upright.

Northwestern would go on to score halfway through the third quarter and take a 21-20 lead. Neither team scored for the rest of the game.

 Turnovers continued to be a problem for the Hawkeyes. Instead of fumbles, interceptions plagued the Hawkeyes. Spencer Petras threw three interceptions, all in the second half. Two of those interceptions halted drives in Purdue territory. The third interception sealed the victory for Northwestern within the last minute of the game. Petras seemed to struggle in the second half of the game after getting off to a hot start in the first quarter.  

“These games are really close, but we just need better execution,” said Petras. Petras finished with a line of 26 completions on 50 attempts for 216 yards and one touchdown and three interceptions.

While Iowa as a team struggled, junior defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon cemented himself as a playmaker on the Hawkeye defensive line. Nixon finished the game with one forced fumble, one-and-a-half sacks, three tackles for losses, and 11 total tackles. Nixon encouraged his teammates throughout the entire game.

“We got to finish. It’s a family thing and if we all come out there together, on the sideline, we got to stay together as a unit and stay together as a team and finish. I need everyone participating. I need everyone hyped up… We came out there for a reason and that’s to get the job done,” said Nixon.

Iowa seemed to give up on their run game late into the game. They rushed the ball 23 times throughout the game and passed the ball 51 times. Head coach Kirk Ferentz said that Iowa did not run the ball effectively.

“Historically, if you look at those numbers it means the outcome wasn’t good… That’s something we are going to want to address because we don’t want to play that way. I’ll go on record saying that we don’t want to play that way, we’re looking for a lot more balance,” said Ferentz. 

In a normal season fans would expect to pack Kinnick Stadium on the home-opener. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, fans were not permitted to attend the game. Only family of players from Iowa and Northwestern could attend. The official attendance of the game was 1432.

“It was a little weird feeling, but that doesn’t matter. We got to go out there and play the game. Fans help. They help a lot with their energy, but we don’t have that right now, so we got to play off our own energy,” said senior wide-receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette.

Starting the season 0-2 was not what many had expected at the start. This loss leaves Iowa as a long shot in the Big 10 West race. This is only the second time the Hawkeyes have started a season 0-2 with Kirk Ferentz as head coach.

The Hawkeyes look to get their first win of the season at home against Michigan State on November 7. Iowa will have one less day to prepare as the team will not have practice on November 3, the day of the upcoming election. Michigan State is fresh off an upset win over in-state rival Michigan. The game starts at 11:00 AM.

The post Hawks lose home-opener to Northwestern, fall to 0-2 to start season appeared first on KRUI Radio.

On the interior, the changes made over the past week is more than many fans would ever think to see in a 40-year time span. Between morale, expression and unity, Iowa football is in a very different place than it was on Thursday, June 4th.

At Friday’s press conference outside the Hansen Football Complex, the word “change” was used again and again and again, but it was used for all the right reasons. Flanked by sophomore safety Kaevon Merriweather, junior running back Ivory Kelly-Martin and senior kicker Keith Duncan, Kirk Ferentz delivered an update on the state of the program.

“We spent Monday in meetings, instead of a workout. The players did most of the talking: it was raw, it was powerful and productive,” Ferentz said. “Everything was on the table, it got somewhat heated and somewhat emotional at times, and I think that’s good.”

The meetings on Monday came after the suspension of strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle, amid allegations that Doyle made racist and belittling comments to black student-athletes. Ferentz did not give a comment on Doyle in fairness to the ongoing investigation.

Many have called on Ferentz to take blame for what happened in his program, and he did so at Friday’s press conference.

“I’m responsible for anything that happens here, that’s my accountability and that’s my responsibility as head coach,” Ferentz said. “So anything that happens to be a failure lands on my desk.”

Another big topic was the nature of the tweet sent out by Kaevon Merriweather on Monday.

When asked about the nature of the tweet, Merriweather went into further explanation.

“The tweet was about the Iowa community, we wanted to let them know that our team is together as one and we expect our fans to be their with us every step of the way,” Merriweather said.

The tweet did result in some backlash as it appeared Merriweather indicated that the team would be kneeling for the national anthem this fall in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

While Merriweather clarified that the team had not made a decision on that matter, Kirk Ferentz said that the idea was not “hypothetical” and that while the team had not officially decided on it, it looks very like that the team will kneel for the national anthem this fall.

As for senior kicker Keith Duncan, as optimistic as he was about the future, he stated that not all of the blame was on the coaches for what had happened in the Iowa program.

“I would take complete blame as players, because a majority of the people in the building are players,” Duncan said. “We need to speak up more, if we see something, I would never put all the blame on Coach Ferentz, he is not able to see all these things, we see everything.”

While Duncan did take some of the blame as a leader, he stated that the unity of the team never wavered.

“I think the unity was always there, I think it was the communication was something that we could improve on,” Duncan said. “We’re a very tight group: players, coaches, it’s a family, it really is. I’m very excited to be on the team, we’re all excited to push forward and see what we can do.”

One of the many allegations made against the atmosphere in the Iowa program was that black student athletes felt like they were “walking on eggshells” whenever they were in the facility, junior running back Ivory Kelly-Martin went further in detail.

“Yes, it felt like that, it was an atmosphere where you did have to look out and watch your back and just had to be on your toes at times,” Kelly-Martin said. “But throughout this week there have been so many conversations had about change and these last couple days in the weight room and on the field, we can see a clear difference between how it is now and how it was before.”

The college football world has kept a keen eye on what’s happened in Iowa City over the last seven days, ideas split among those across the country whether this is something Kirk Ferentz should lose his job over. But, in a conversation with a new player, Ferentz stated that thought is not what’s in his player’s heads.

“I was talking to one of our new players this week, told him it was certainly a tough time to join the program coming in,” Ferentz said. “I was encouraged by his response, he said ‘Coach, I’m excited to be here, and we have a chance to set the bar for college football.'”

The word “change” has never had a bigger meaning for Iowa football than it does right now.

The post Press Conference Recap: “Change” more prevalent than ever in Iowa football appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Iowa football program has alleged issues with racial disparities.

Maybe that’s me being a naive, 21-year old kid. Maybe it’s because I believed that all faculty of the University of Iowa champion themselves on equality (Which almost all absolutely do so). Maybe it’s because as a child and a teenager, the Iowa football program was seen as the gold standard in terms of growing young boys into grown men.

Whatever caused my belief in the program being above what has happened, it was disproved and shattered on Friday night. Allegations came forth that many African-American athletes were the target of racially insensitive comments at the hands of strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle, who was one of Kirk Ferentz’s first hires in the winter of 1998-1999.

Many former African-American athletes, such as James Daniels, Mike Daniels, Jaleel Johnson, Amani Hooker and various others expressed concern about their experiences with Coach Doyle within the program.

One of the concerns included being “difficult for black players to walk around the facility and be themselves”. Quite a few concerns arose about comments allegedly made by Doyle that centered around “putting black players back on the street”.

Most of the allegations came out Friday night. Before the end of the night, Kirk Ferentz released a statement on the issues brought up on social media. By early Saturday evening, Chris Doyle was placed on paid administrative leave, announced by Ferentz in a video released on the football team’s Twitter account.

In the past 24 hours, support has poured in near and far from those that played in the Iowa program over the past 20 years. Outside a faction of people that any story of this subject is going to attract, the way this story has unfolded has spotlighted what is good about conversations involving racism.

There has been great dialogue between players, media and fans about each player’s alleged incidents. Players have provided great detail about their respective incidents, rather than remaining vague and bringing on a “mob mentality”.

The clarity makes it easier for the public to make a clear, conscious decision on this whole controversy. Quite frankly, clear, conscious decisions is something that is becoming forgotten in American life.

In the point-of-view of this 21-year old, it seems everything is driven by where your allegiances lie. Whether the allegiance is in politics, faith, fandom, etc., people don’t think for themselves as much as they should.

What has unfolded in our country the last week and a half has caused me to rethink whether I truly believe in something or I believe in it because that’s what my allegiance tells me to believe.

What’s come out of Iowa City over the past 24 hours is disappointing to see as a normal human being, no matter what you believe in.

I was raised in a lily-white small town a half-hour north of Des Moines. I rarely came into frequent contact with African-Americans before I arrived at the University of Iowa. I was raised to treat everyone as you wanted to be treated, regardless of what they looked like.

I will never be the target of serious racial prejudice and inequality as a white male. But, I’ve learned throughout this experience that listening is more powerful than any spoken word could ever be when it comes to the issue of racism.

The greatest lesson I learned about listening came from (of all places) an interview with heavy metal artist Marilyn Manson in reference to his alleged indirect role with the Columbine High School shooters.

When asked in an interview what he would say to the perpetrators of the massacre. Manson replied, “I wouldn’t say a word, I’d listen to what they had to say, and that’s what no one did”.

The best thing anyone can do today, tomorrow and however long it takes to address these issues in our country, is to listen. What has happened within the Iowa football program is no exception to this.

Listen to what these athletes have to say, maybe it could help you grow too.

The post Douglas: Iowa football controversy spotlights positives of racial conversations appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Iowa blanked Rutgers, 30-0, in front of a crowd of over 61,000 at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. All three phases had great success, but it was the special teams unit that stole the show.

Rutgers punter, Adam Korsak, did all he could to stifle the Iowa offense in the contest, booting seven of his 10 punts inside the 20 yard line. Due to his precision – and plenty of help from his hands team – the Australian marksman downed Iowa inside its three-yard line four times. In fact, when beginning a drive after a Korsak punt, the Iowa offense averaged a starting field position of its own 19-yard line.

“Our focal point was to try and create more space around the back end zone and get a little more room,” Brandon Smith, junior wide receiver, said. “Then we could hit them with some hard plays and deep balls.”

Despite the heroics by the transfer from down under, the Scarlet Knights put on an abysmal display on both offense and defense, handing Iowa its first shutout victory since the 63-0 demolition in Champaign last season.

Nate Stanley led the offense to a dynamic offensive showing, tallying 236 yards and three scores to cap off another solid day for the signal caller. He found junior wideout, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, four times for 113 yards and a pair of scores. The Hawks are now 9-0 when Stanley tosses three or more touchdowns.

“I think the offense played great,” Smith said. “Ihmir had two [touchdowns], Tyrone [Tracy, Jr.,] had one. Once we got it all together and built some drives, we were pretty good.” Smith was targeted a team-high seven times, but hauled in just two catches. He did, however, draw multiple defensive pass interference calls against the Knights’ top corner, Damon Hayes.

Rutgers’ struggles on the defensive side of the ball are nothing new, allowing an average of 32.4 points per game in the Chris Ash era. This inability to keep the points down requires audacious efforts from the offensive unit and the talent pool is even shallower in that department.

Starting quarterback, McClane Carter, overthrew his way to a 5-for-15 first half, finding a spot on the bench by halftime. His replacement, sophomore Artur Sitkowski, has a rancid history behind center, notching four touchdowns and 18 interceptions in his forgettable freshman campaign. The underclassman came in for the second half to post 19 passing yards and an interception into the hands of sophomore linebacker, Djimon Colbert.

“Our defense is like a well-oiled machine,” Colbert said. “You can take one part out and put another one in without missing a beat.” Colbert snagged the first interception of his career after some manic pressure by A.J. Epenesa.

Speaking of Epenesa, the former five-star recruit barrelled his way into the contest, recording a sack and four quarterback hurries, as well as opening up gaps for pass rushers like Chauncey Golston, Nick Niemann and Kristian Welch.

“There were a couple plays where [Epenesa] was really after it,” Colbert said. “It was great to see. All positive things.” Epenesa was unusually quiet last week for a player of his caliber, but managed to turn it on against Rutgers after being touted as a future top five draft pick, per Mel Kiper, Jr.

The Hawkeyes pounded the Scarlet Knights both offensively and defensively, but the special teams looked to match Rutgers’ successes as well. Iowa transfer punter, Michael Sleep-Dalton, launched six punts for an average of 48.3 yards each, pinning two inside the 20. Keith Duncan got in on the action, too, nailing all three of his field goals, including two from 40+.

The domination came down to talent and Iowa undisputedly possesses more of it. While the team isn’t built of five-star blue chippers, the Hawks are able to develop what they have into a squad capable of Big Ten success.

“If you come out and play physical every down, they’re bound to get tired of us,” Smith said. Iowa gobbled up time of possession, garnering 38 minutes of ball time. The defense was simply too much, forcing seven three-and-outs and three turnovers.

“We love playing in Kinnick Stadium,” Colbert said. “We love the energy. It’s our job to get off the field. It feels good [to get a shutout], especially early on in the year. It’s a big confidence boost.”

Starting 2-0, the Hawkeyes travel to Jack Trice Stadium for the annual matchup with Iowa State. Both teams ought to be ranked for the first time in the matchup’s history and, in all likelihood, Ames will get its first ever College GameDay.

“They are all tough. There’s nothing easy about playing college football, just ask any player,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “But every preparation is important and they are all going to be challenges. That’s how I look at it. I don’t see any easy outs on our schedule.”

The Hawkeyes look to win their fifth in a row against the Cyclones, a feat not accomplished since they won 13 straight between 1983 and 1997. For now, though, Iowa basks in the glory of yet another Big Ten shutout.

“That’s good news,” Ferentz said on the Hawks’ third conference shutout in seven games. “We’ll gladly take it.”

The post Special Teams Were Special in Hawkeye Shutout appeared first on KRUI Radio.

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/.

The post Defense and Offense Solid as Hawkeyes Prevail appeared first on KRUI Radio.

With only one weekend remaining in the College Football season, most teams have their eyes on the postseason. At 7-5, Iowa will likely be on unfamiliar grounds this year; meaning no Insight or Outback bowl. Out of the three bowls that seem to have interest in the Hawks, only one has ever featured an Iowa team… and that dates back to 1991.

It’s worth noting that out of the eight Big Ten teams eligible for bowl season, Iowa has the second worst record out of the bunch. However, the Hawks should be able to compensate with a proven fan base that is willing to travel. For the first time in a number of years, the Hawks could be playing a bowl game outside of Florida or California… not entirely probably, but definitely possible; although I’m not sure how much of an upgrade New York would be in late December.

Without futherado, let’s check out where the Hawks could play this holiday season:

MUSIC CITY BOWL (ACC VS BIG TEN/SEC)

Why you should want it:

Do you love Iowa football? Country music? Do you want to go to the bowl game without spending bowl game money? Do you hate flying? Well then do I have the bowl game for you! The Music City Bowl is most definitely what many Hawk fans will be hoping to see come December 2nd. Not only is it an easy drive (about 81/2 hours), Nashville will also offer country music prominence that most Iowa fans will love.

Why you should not want it:

For Hawk fans hoping for a tropical winter vacation, this bowl game is not for you. While it will be warmer than Iowa, it won’t be paradise by any means. Other than that, there’s not a ton to complain about… Nashville seems like a prime location to get the masses of Hawk fans rolling in. Look for Nashville to be monsooned with Iowa folk if the dominos fall right.

The Hawks would likely be matched up a humdrum SEC team in Nashville: either Kentucky or a the coachless Texas A&M Aggies. While this may seem favorable, I’m not sure how confident I would be going against the spread attack of the SEC. Although, it would be great for the young secondary to see.

Destination Rating: 9

HOLIDAY BOWL (PAC 12 VS BIG TEN)

Why you should want it:

Who wouldn’t want to visit beautiful San Diego in the dead of winter? There are not many places that could beat San Diego in terms of a destination spot for cold weather teams. This place is a tourist’s dream and is only a short two hour drive to LA. Definitely the destination for Hawk fans who want to see the warm weather.

Why you should not want it:

Flying out and staying in Southern California is definitely a pretty penny. On top of that, Iowa would probably see themselves matched up with a quality Pac-12 opponent, meaning they would be closer and would probably out number Iowa fans. SDCCU stadium has a somewhat bad reputation as a venue. All of this goes without mentioning what happened the last time Iowa played in Southern California. Still stings a little.

A likely matchup in this one would be a Washington Huskies team that is only one year removed from a visit to the College Football Playoff. The thirteenth ranked Huskers would be a tough matchup for the Hawks as the load of the offense would probably fall on the run game.

Destination Rating: 6.5

PINSTRIPE BOWL (ACC VS BIG TEN)

Why you should want it:

If you’re a Hawk fan wanting to see a postseason win over anything else, this is your game. The Pinstripe Bowl is likely the least prestigious bowl the Hawks are being associated with right now, which would likely mean a lesser opponent. I’m not sure how many Hawk fans are dying to see NYC, but maybe I’d be surprised. Playing in Yankee Stadium could be cool, although I’m not sure how many people it could hold.

The Hawks would likely square off with an ACC basement dweller at Yankee stadium if this were to happen. I would personally root for Boston College to be the matchup as two of the country’s finest linebackers would square off (Harold Landry/Josey Jewell). On the other hand, we could also see Virginia in a game that would probably be a punter’s showcase. Let’s hope for BC or even North Carolina State.

Why you should not want it:

New York in December? Better bring the Carharts, Iowa. This would be a cold one. Not to mention the Big Ten basketball tournament is set to be held in NYC a short two months after bowl season. It adds a little insult to injury when you consider this was the last bowl game Iowa State played it. It gets even worse when you realize a Greg Schiano led Rutgers team beat the Clones by two scores. That being said, this seems to be as low of a bowl game as the Hawks will fall to.

Destination Rating: 5

The post Previewing where the Hawks could be playing this bowl season appeared first on KRUI Radio.

One month ago, the College Football world told itself that the 4-team playoff would be filled with ease once again. At the time, the SEC, ACC, Big 10, and Big 12 conferences each presumed to be represented by their champion. Only the Big 12 conference’s presumed representative is the same as prior with the top of the rankings left to chaos. Oklahoma continues to hum past the remainder of the Big 12. The following list withhold the schools who were in the top 6 a month ago and still are today: Alabama. That’s it. The cast of teams surrounding the dominant

Alabama squad has shifted a great deal week by week. However, the phrase of “dominant” cannot be attached to Nick Saban’s team following last weekend’s contest. Upsets shake the world of College Football once again.

Throughout the previous month, the shapings of the playoffs have begun to take form. No team outside of Wisconsin and Central Florida makes out of the regular season unscathed. #1 Alabama fell to #6 Auburn in the Iron Bowl. The same outcome befell #2 Miami as they lost to an unranked Pittsburgh. Just two weeks prior, #9 Washington fell. #1 Georgia steamrolled #10 Auburn and #3 Notre Dame exposed by #7 Miami.  #6 TCU battles and loses to #5 Oklahoma. And lastly, #6 Ohio State received a beating in Iowa City to the unranked Hawkeyes.

Penn State fell off the planet after being ranked second in the nation a month earlier before losses against #6 Ohio State and #24 Michigan State. Upsets have completely ravaged the top 10 of the College Football rankings week after week.

Playoff Ramifications

Despite all of these upsets eliminating teams from playoff contention, eight teams still have a chance at making the playoffs. This amount of teams is the highest by such a large margin in the history of the playoffs. The following teams are currently contending for the top 4 spots: Clemson, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Auburn, Alabama, Miami, Georgia, and Ohio State. Among these, there are no certains. None whatsoever. Here are all the likely possibilities.

If Clemson, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Auburn all win in their respective conference championship games, each of them will compete for the playoffs in no particular order. This particular scenario plays out with Alabama being the first team out of the playoffs. Alabama losing to Auburn head to head and Auburn winning the SEC championship defends this scenario. If Clemson loses, Miami will make the national semifinal game in Clemson’s place. If Wisconsin or Oklahoma lose, however, the outcome may not be so simple. Alabama may take one of those places, so Ohio State or even potentially Georgia could retain the spot. If Auburn loses to Georgia, Georgia simply replaces Auburn in the playoffs. However, of all these contingencies, as a lifelong sports fanatic since birth and self-proclaimed expert since, the following is my prediction for the playoffs.

#1 – Auburn. After beating Georgia and Alabama in three weeks with both teams being ranked one at the time and defeating a #7 Georgia again in the upcoming week in the conference championship, Auburn rises the number one slot in the playoffs.

#2 – Clemson. First, this Saturday, Clemson will defeat Miami for the ACC Championship. Second, I cannot put Clemson at number one in the nation for only two reasons. Syracuse and schedule strength. The lone loss in Clemson’s repertoire is facing Syracuse. A loss against Syracuse is inexcusable. Despite Clemson defeating Auburn in a head to head matchup and Auburn having two losses to Clemson’s one, Auburn has proven in the last three weeks and will continue to prove once again this week that Auburn is the hottest and the best team in the nation.

#3 – Oklahoma. The Sooners hold strong in a rematch against TCU in the Big 12 Championship game and retain their previously given slot from the College Football Playoff Committee. Oklahoma deserves to be in the Playoffs but does not own the resume to be placed higher than here.

#4 – Alabama. The Big 10 will miss out of the playoffs for the first year. A two-loss Ohio State Big 10 champion will not make the playoffs as a two-loss Big 10 champ in Penn State missed out on the playoffs in 2016. Wisconsin has not faced a single worthy opponent all year and Ohio State has faced Oklahoma and Penn State as well as rivalry games against Michigan and Michigan State. The Big 10 will do as the Big 12 has done multiple times and beat itself out of the playoffs. This leaves Alabama to enjoy a rematch of the Iron Bowl against Auburn in the National Semifinals on New Year’s Day.

This Saturday will without doubt deliver with multiple conference championship throughout the day. Oklahoma-TCU at 11:30 CST on FOX. Georgia-Auburn at 3:00 CST on CBS. Clemson-Miami at 7:00 CST on ABC and Wisconsin-Ohio State at the same time on FOX. Each of these games will determine College Football Playoff selections with the official ranking show occuring on Sunday, December 3rd at noon.

The post Chaos Brews for College Football Playoff Committee appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Iowa showed us first hand how hard football can be.

The Hawkeyes looked lethargic for the second straight week as they dropped their home finale to the Purdue Boilermakers 24-15.

“Told our team you win as a team, you lose as a team, and certainly tonight that’s the case,” said head coach Kirk Ferentz. “We lost as a football team.”

Mistakes cost the Hawkeyes big time in this one.

On the first Purdue possession, Iowa forced the Boilermakers to punt from their own 40-yard line, but Amani Jones and Nick Niemann met in the backfield, resulting in a roughing the kicker call. Purdue maintained possession and later scored on a D.J. Knox five-yard touchdown reception.

The roughing call was the first of six penalties called on the Hawkeyes. Most penalties were costly, including a couple false starts that stalled drives.

In the second quarter, a pooch punt from Stanley pinned the Boilermakers inside their own three, and senior Nathan Bazata recorded a sack-safety on Purdue quarterback Elijah Sindelar. Iowa trailed 7-2 at the time, and it marked the third straight game in which the Iowa defense scored before the offense.

Purdue kicked off from the 20 and the ball bounced out of bounds near the Iowa 30. By rule, the ball was placed 30 yards from the point of the kick at the 50.

The Hawkeyes took advantage of the field position and marched on a nine-play scoring drive. Stanley found Matt VandeBerg on fourth and five for a gain of 18 that set up a two-yard touchdown run for Akrum Wadley.

At the half, Iowa led 9-7, even though the offense had not looked great.

The Hawkeyes elected to receive the game’s opening kickoff and go into the wind in the first and third quarters, allowing them to get the wind to finish the game. This gave Purdue the wind to start they third quarter. The Boilermakers found a matchup they liked and exploited it.

Manny Rugamaba lined up against Purdue senior wide receiver Anthony Mahoungou most of the first half, and Purdue was adamant on not throwing the ball towards Josh Jackson. Instead, Sindelar targeted Mahoungou three straight plays.

Rugamba allowed an 11-yard catch, was flagged for pass interference, and then was beat deep for a 42-yard touchdown pass. Purdue led 14-9.

After the Iowa offense went three and out, Colten Rastetter’s short punt set Purdue up at the 50. Sindelar stayed away from Jackson and targeted Mahoungu again.

Michael Ojemudia lined up on Mahoungou to start the drive, but again, Mahoungou had the upper hand and beat Ojemudia for a 35-yard gain. Looking for answers, defensive coordinator Phil Parker sent Matt Hankins out to cover Mahoungou. Two plays later, Sindelar connected with Mahoungou for a 16-yard touchdown pass.

In just over three minutes of game clock, the Boilermakers had taken full advantage of one matchup. In a flash, they led 21-9.

“They’re a wide open offensive football team,” Ferentz said. “The real issue is we gave up some deep balls. And you can’t win doing that either, giving up big plays.”

After the series, Jackson was sent to the right cornerback position to guard Mahoungou, but the damage was done.

The Hawkeyes would struggle on offense and not muster anything in the third quarter. The offense did not score until Stanley hit Noah Fant for a six-yard touchdown completion with less than four minutes remaining in the game. Iowa trailed 24-15 and failed to covert the two-point try.

Purdue recovered the on-side kick attempt and ran out the clock to secure the victory.

The offense has gone completely missing since the 55-point output against Ohio State. Frustration was felt inside Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. Fans booed on a few occasions, and even let out some sarcastic cheers after first downs.

You’ve probably never seen so few fans at a game in Kinnick. Most fans were gone before the midway point of the fourth quarter.

The Boilermakers’ defense is better this year than it has been in years past. They gave Stanley and the Iowa offense trouble from start to finish.

“It’s tough to prepare well for every single look that they have, especially when they have so many of them,” Stanley said. “They played really well all day.”

After the offense gained just 66 yards of total offense last weekend at Wisconsin, the Hawkeyes offense did a little better this week – it’d be hard to do worse – but still looked discombobulated. The Hawkeyes totaled just 14 points on offense and finished with 258 total yards of offense.

It has seemed for the past two weeks that energy was lacking from the Iowa sideline. Players and coaches couldn’t pin it down though. The team showed no signs on dropping off in practice either of the past two weeks.

“No, I haven’t seen anything,” Josey Jewell said. “I thought we practiced pretty well. I thought this week went well.”

It’s also impossible to blame just one position group for the loss. On offense, four different receivers recorded a drop, failing to take advantage of the few opportunities they had for yardage.

Special teams was as frustrating as ever, and it merely started with the early penalty from Jones and Niemann. Rastetter averaged just 29.7 yards on his six punts, albeit, most were into the wind. Regardless, the rugby-style punts couldn’t get much carry.

On the return end, VandeBerg misplayed a couple of punts again today, including a fourth quarter punt that he made a diving attempt on. He couldn’t hold on, and it set up a field goal for the Boilermakers after they recovered it.

“I thought I could field it cleanly, and obviously I was wrong,” VandeBerg said.

The offensive line has also seen better days. Stanley was sacked six times for a loss of 44 yards. Failing to recognize the blitz packages – of which, Purdue has many – led to the demise.

In all, it was just a rough day at the office, and a difficult way to say goodbye to so many impactful seniors.

“Its tough,” Jewell said. “It just shows you have to come out every week. Any team can do anything.”

With just one more game on the schedule, a Black Friday matchup with Nebraska, the Hawkeyes say they’re ready to turn their attention to the Cornhuskers in the short week.

“Your body is going to have to be physically ready,” Jewell said. “Definitely going to need a lot of sleep this week to stay on task. The thing is we don’t have school so guys should be able to put that extra time in.”

Iowa (7-5, 3-5) and Nebraska (4-7, 3-5) will kick off on Black Friday at 3:00pm CST on Fox Sports 1.

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Ranked third in the AP poll and sixth in the College Football Playoff race, the Ohio State Buckeyes came to Kinnick Stadium for the first time since 2010. Having won each of the last five games over Iowa and 13 of the last 14, they had to feel good about being a 20.5point favorite.

The final score? 55-24.

The winner? Not the Buckeyes.

Donning alternate uniforms for the blackout, the Hawkeyes played a complete game in every capacity – offense, defense, and special teams – as they not only knocked the Buckeyes down, but knocked them out cold.

From the game’s first play, you knew something was up. Amani Hooker picked off Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett and took it back 30 yard for a pick six.

Seven seconds gone. Seven Hawkeye points.

“It certainly helped and got our fans even more juiced up,” said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. “They were ready to go.”

Barrett responded, and led the Buckeyes down the field on the next possession, hitting Terry McLaurin for a 29-yard touchdown pass.

The teams traded field goals and were tied at 10 after one quarter.

From that moment on, a switch was flipped, a switch nobody knew the Hawkeyes had.

Iowa outscored Ohio State 21-7 in the second quarter and took at 31-17 lead to the locker room. Nate Stanley through three touchdown passes in the quarter, one to T.J. Hockenson and two to Noah Fant.

The second pass to Fant came with less than a minute before halftime and was set up by an interception from Josh Jackson.

Ohio State, who boasts one of the most productive and efficient offenses in the country would get going though, right? Surely the second half would be better.

Not the case. In fact, it was worse.

“You’d better be playing with your foot on the gas because these guys can close the gap pretty quickly, and I think our players understood that,” Ferentz said. “It’s one of those things that if you’re not going full speed, this thing could change quick.”

The Buckeyes failed to score in the third quarter, as Barrett and the offense couldn’t crack the code that was the Iowa defense. Each team punted twice before the Hawkeyes marched into Buckeye territory half way through the period.

On fourth and three at the Ohio State 20, the Hawkeyes trotted out the field goal unit. With an audible, kicker Miguel Recinos was split out wide with the offensive line. Only long snapper Tyler Kluver and holder Colten Rastetter were left in the middle of the field.

Rastetter took the snap and immediate fired it right back to Kluver, who had raced straight up field past a defender. The “pole cat” play gained 18 yards and set up Iowa at the 2.

On the next play, Stanley found Hockenson in the end zone for six, pushing the lead to 38-17 with just under seven minutes to play in the quarter.

On the play, an Ohio State defender had fallen at Stanley’s feet and latched on to his left leg. Stanley settled, and fired across his body to Hockenson, showcasing the arm strength.

“That’s just part of being a quarterback, sometimes you have to make plays when they’re necessary,” Stanley said. “T.J. made a great adjustment. He saw it, he put his arm back inside, and I trusted that he would be able to wall off that defender and make a play.”

There was no looking back at that point. Iowa’s defense forced four Buckeye punts in the third quarter and allowed just 22 yards of offense.

The rout that nobody saw coming was on.

Showing no signs of letting up, the Hawkeyes scored on the first play of the fourth quarter. Stanley hit Drake Kulick with a two-yard pass for the fullback’s first career touchdown.

So Iowa. Five touchdown passes, four to tight ends, one to a fullback.

Stanley finished the day completing 20 of his 31 passes for 226 yards and five scores.

The Iowa defense was no kinder to the Buckeyes than the offense. Jackson intercepted Barrett twice more in the quarter. First Jackson ripped a ball away from Buckeye receiver Austin Mack, then with just under 10 minutes to play, Jackson made an acrobatic one-handed catch that you’ll be seeing on highlight reels for the rest of the season.

At the start of this week, Jackson was being talked about as a potential first round NFL draft pick. His performance against a stout Ohio State team may have solidified that. Jackson leads the FBS with 20 passes defended and leads the Big Ten with five interceptions.

Barrett entered the game with a 25-1 touchdown-interception ratio, the best in the nation. He was picked off four times Saturday.

Recinos added a field goal, and Toren Young scored his first career touchdown to put the finishing touches on the 55-24 blowout victory.

Ohio State did find the end zone once in the second half. Barrett found Johnnie Dixon for a 22-yard score that was set up by a failed fake punt run from Rastetter.

When it was all over, the swarm was on. Fans piled onto the new Kinnick turf for a party at the tigerhawk.

“Last time I experienced that was Michigan, it was a similar feeling,” Jackson said. “It’s always good to have those feelings for later on in life, that’s something I’ll probably always remember.”

More importantly, no gear was lost.

“I kept my helmet on and strapped it up super tight,” Stanley said.

In last season’s upset win over Michigan, Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard had his helmet stolen during the swarm. It was paraded downtown for pictures, a tradition that Stanley would not allow to continue this season.

To see Iowa play that well against Ohio State is nearly inconceivable. The Hawkeyes have been known to play well at Kinnick – they’ve won four of their last five home games versus top five teams – but blowing out Ohio State?

“I didn’t think it was going to be a blowout,” Hooker said. “We knew we could win, we just wanted to come out and fight.”

While the team knew they could compete and play well, even they didn’t think they would have such a dominating performance.

“I definitely thought it was going to be a close game not matter what, whether we won or lost,” Josey Jewell said.

The Hawkeyes outgained the Buckeyes 487-371, holding Ohio State 200.3 yards below its season average.

Fifty-five points is the most Iowa has ever scored against Ohio State, and the 31-point victory is largest margin for Iowa against Ohio State. It’s the most points Iowa has scored versus a ranked opponent since beating No.19 Texas 55-17 in the 1984 Freedom Bowl.

A night no one in Iowa City will soon forger further cements the legend that is Kinnick Stadium in October and November.

Do you have title hopes? Don’t bring them to Kinnick. They won’t make it out alive.

Iowa (6-3, 3-3) travels to Madison next week to take on a top-10 and undefeated Wisconsin (9-0, 6-0) team on ABC/ESPN.

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