Iowa Hawkeyes Week 1

I'm not going to make to much of a big deal with the Hawks defeating Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon. This was more of a preseason tune up before the regular season begins. No doubt they came out ready to play and make a statement in the first week of college football. The game was flawless however but it was a great way to tune up for the Cyclones next week.

The whole game may not have been perfect, the 1st quarter sure was damn close. Opening drive of the game and Quarterback Ricky Stanzi goes perfect 3 for 3 and capped off with a 1 yard score from Mr. Adam Robinson. The defense, which I think is one of the best in the country, started with a three and out. Second drive again Stanzi goes 3 for 3 and another touchdown from Robinson. They couldn't do no wrong in the first quarter and pretty much the first half. After the first quarter Hawks were up 21-0 after a blocked punt was ran in for the third score by Paki O'Meara who is Robinson's backup.

The second quarter was the only scare for Hawk fans. Stanzi went down on third drive with an apparent leg injury. When I saw the play, it didn't look to serious and it wasn't. However, if Stanzi goes down it's not dooms day for Iowa. Vandenberg isn't a terrible back up and played very well against Ohio State last year when Stanzi was hurt. Vandenberg finished the third drive with a hand-off to Robinson for his 3rd TD. Halftime it was 21-7. The rest of the game was ground and pound ball and take time off the clock. EIU made a mistake throwing a backwards pass that ended up going out of the end zone for a safety and Stanzi got a late TD throw. Final 37-7

Now Stanzi made a few errant passes and over threw McNutt for what would have been another TD. Other than that going 18 for 23 229 1 TD and most importantly no picks is a great way to kick off the new season. I worried with Moeaki gone who would be the go to guy for Stanzi when he needed say a 5 yard completion for a first down. The Hawks used 3 different tight ends and all of them played well and caught a few balls. The man of the day was Adam Robinson. Although he may not have had a big run play, longest was 16 yards, the constant was his feet and body moving forward. I thought on a few occasions he was going down and he snuck away for a few extra yards. He's a guy they need and so far he came through. The defense was solid but never got a turnover and Iowa turned it over twice on fumbles so they are -2 on turnover ratio to start the year. Sash made plays and Clayborn was exactly what I thought he was going to be, a beast.

The week was the best warm-up the Hawks could ask for in terms of getting out the kinks. They turned it over a few times and Stanzi was slightly off on a few patterns. I think that's perfect. You don't want perfection, you want a game to build off for the rest of the season. The Hawks got that and more. Again, I'm not making a big deal about the win because that's a game they should win easily and they did. Next week with Iowa State, whose defense impressed the hell out of me against Northern Illinois, coming to Kinnick. The Iowa-ISU rival is a fun one to watch. The two teams are usually pumped and excited to play each other. I said before if this game was in Ames ISU would have a chance. The game will still be close and the Cyclones won't lay down. Close but Hawks prevail 27-20.

J Call