Boiler Up

Apparently, as an Iowa fan I was supposed to be discussing bowl possibilities this week. (I wasn't). Good Lord - the team is 3-4! How many times this season have they managed to score more than one touchdown in a game? Twice? Considering they beat a 1-win team in one of those games and got ripped by the Indiana Freaking Hoosiers in the other, I'm not all that impressed.

The offense is - how to put this nicely - still a little "challenged". The defense looked good against the spread option that Illinois runs - an offense which has absolutely gobbled Iowa up in the past couple of years - but they didn't throw the ball a whole lot. When they did, it was generally disastrous for Iowa (or Illinois on a couple of occasions). Purdue is an offense that Iowa is capable of stopping. They've done it before. Hell, they did it last season with many of the same young gentlemen they'll be trotting out on Saturday.

That being said - I have a sinking feeling Iowa is going to come out flat on the road, and by the time they wake up they're going to be buried under an insurmountable deficit - something in the 10 to 14 point range. I'm sure Captain Kirk will take lots of notes during the game and look on stoically while his team plays without emotion in the first quarter.

Iowa is going to need to maintain their steady diet of AY and young Mr. Sims on offense in order to keep their defense fresh. Purdue has been exposed the past two weeks by Michigan and Ohio State as the latest in a long line of Big Ten Pretenders that Joe Tiller has cobbled together in West Lafayette, but Iowa isn't even in the Pretender category.

The spread on this game is hovering around a touchdown, and the over/under is around 45.5. I'd take Purdue and the under.

Random notes:

• Kudos to Dana Brown for his stay at Iowa. Thanks for keeping it classy, buddy.
• Best thing I've read on the message board this week: Matt Carufel is an o-lineman that Iowa went after out of high school. He recently left Notre Dame and seems to have narrowed his transfer choices to Iowa or Mini-soda. One poster posited that a 2010 offensive line of Bryan Bulaga, Julian Vandervelde, Matt Carufel, James Ferentz, and a nameless fifth guy would be ridiculous. Response from an obviously gifted poster: "A line of Blake Larson (sic), Chris Felder, Chris Thomas, Mike Jones, and somebody else could be ridiculous - Unknown, 2003". Until someone is in the starting lineup at Iowa and playing well, I just can't get too fired up about potential recruits. (Except Blake Larsen. Dude won some Leadership awards. And Matt Bohnet. He saw the writing on the wall and transferred to Eastern Michigan in order to free up space for better QBs on the roster. They'll both Always Be A Hawk.)
• Kirk says Tony Moeaki might play this week. I say "BULLS**T" while coughing into my hand.
• Andy Brodell's injury was/is career threatening? Good gravy. I hear it's bad when your hamstring muscle actually tears completely off of the bone.