Hawk Talk Daily: Random Thoughts

Oct. 15, 2012

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Random thoughts on the day after a day where it was great to be a duck and a Hawk…

It rained yesterday in Iowa. Thank you, Mother Nature. We needed that. I mean, we really, really needed that and a little more, too…just not on a football Saturday at Kinnick.

It rained yesterday in East Lansing. Thank you, Mother Nature. I’m not sure the Hawkeyes needed it, but what it did do – as Ed Podolak correctly noted on several occasions during Saturday’s broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network – was put a damper on the Homecoming crowd assembled inside Spartan Stadium. Folks, in a game that promised to be every bit as tight as yesterday’s played out to be, you seek every advantage you can…and not having 74,000 dry and fully-engaged fans of the Spartans in the grandstands was an advantage for the visiting team – just like it will be to the Hawkeyes’ advantage next Saturday night when 70,000 fans of the Hawkeyes bring their “A” game and wear the right color in the UI’s annual Black and Gold Spirit Game.

Louis Trinca-Pasat. If I’m passing out game balls, he gets one if recognition of his effort on the game’s final play and on behalf of a defensive line that was superb, absolutely superb. We’re also six days away from our annual celebration of America’s farmer – Saturday is the second annual ANF Day at Kinnick – and T-P’s story is a story about determination and perseverance: Two characteristics he shares with those who work the land for a living. You can read that story, compliments of Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids Gazette: HERE.

Here’s our take on the game: HERE.

Here’s a link to some video of the win and also BTN’s look at Mark Weisman from earlier in the week: HERE.

Here’s a link to a few pictures: HERE

Hy-Vee and the American Red Cross are currently accepting nominations for the year’s “Citizen Hero” from both Iowa and Nebraska. We’ll celebrate these individuals at this year’s Hy-Vee Heroes Game the day after Thanksgiving in Kinnick. A link to submit your nomination is available inside the story about Iowa’s 2011 “Hero”: HERE. And, the way this college football season is shaping up, the Heroes Game may have a rather significant impact on the Legends Division championship and the Big Ten Conference’s bowl game pecking order.

I’m a big fan of Fran McCaffery for lots of reasons including, with no great surprise, that he’s brought to our campus young men like Melsahn Basabe. Melsahn didn’t have the sophomore season he wanted but he did end it with a bang – his performances in Iowa’s two NIT games were strong – and is more determined than ever. You can read about Melsahn’s vision of the year ahead HERE.

Season tickets for Fran’s squad and tickets for Iowa’s game against Northern Iowa in the Hy-Vee Big Four Classic in Des Moines are on sale now. You can order yours online HERE. If your interest is a “mini-season” ticket package or single game tickets, click HERE to learn about when those go on sale.

I heard yesterday that my good friend Marv Hiddleson celebrated a birthday last week. Happy belated birthday, Marv. May there be many more for you.

Yesterday’s win was No. 100 for Kirk Ferentz. I think he’s just one of 18 guys in the history of Big Ten football to reach this number. The list is a who’s who of big-time college football. As I’ve written here many times, I’m very glad that Kirk is our head coach. I also hope he’s our head coach for many years to come and not just because his teams win many more times than they lose.

Fran McCaffery met with the media this week and was as he always is: Candid and to the point. I’d sum his comments up this way: We’re deep and talented. We expect to win more much more than we lose…a task made infinitely more challenging because we compete in the toughest conference top-to-bottom in the country. And, yes, we expect to be playing deep into March. You can watch a video and read about what Fran and the team had to say HERE.

The Iowa Farm Bureau, our great partners on ANF Day at Kinnick and our celebration of America’s farmers, have a great lineup of activities inside Krause Family Plaza next Saturday including, most notably, the opportunity to visit with and secure an autograph from the likes of former Hawkeyes Robert Gallery, Casey Wiegmann, Jared DeVries, Tim Dwight, Brad Banks and Ed Podolak. Gary Dolphin will also be on hand. And, speaking of Casey Wiegmann, look for a nice announcement involving this product of Parkersburg next week. The autograph session begins at 1 and runs through 4:30 p.m. Look for more details about all of the activities of ANF Day at Kinnick on hawkeyesports.com mid-week.

Games like yesterday’s are typically determined by turnovers and special teams. The teams broke even on the takeaways. We won the special teams battle thanks in great measure to the right leg of Mike Meyer, who is morphing into Nate Kaeding right before our eyes. Mike improved to 14 of 15 with his four field goals yesterday and has now made 13 three-pointers in a row. That is Kaeding-like: “Mike has…really turned the corner from a confidence standpoint, maturity standpoint from back in the spring. And just really started performing the way we all hoped he would. He’s been good the prior two years, so we don’t take it for granted, but boy, his execution was flawless,” Ferentz said in his post-game session with the media.

What are you doing this Friday at 8 p.m.? I hope you’re joining me and thousands of other fans of Fran and Lisa’s team at the 2012 Black and Gold Basketball Blowout presented by Herky’s Locker Room. Click on the banner below for more details.

Lastly, I thought I’d give Kirk a break and not mention that he became a grandfather this week. Instead, I’ll join others in congratulating Brian Ferentz and his wife Nicole on the fantastic addition to their family.

GH!