Iowa vs. LSU in the Outback Bowl

I haven’t seen a lot of LSU this year but I did catch a few games and I was seriously impressed by their skill position talent.  WR’s Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry are both top notch and Jeremy Hill is a terrific RB.  Terrence Magee offers a nice change of pace to Hill in the backfield and while the offensive line is pretty young it is very talented.  All of this would scare me as a Hawkeye fan if senior QB Zach Mettenberger wasn’t injured or if the Tigers had someone with actual experience taking over for him.  True freshman QB Anthony Jennings is Mettenberger’s replacement and while he looks like he could have a fantastic future his inexperience is going to be his undoing against a veteran Iowa defense with over a month to prepare for this game.  After watching Phil Parker’s defense dismantle Nebraska’s inexperienced QB in Iowa’s last game my feeling is that this could be more of the same.  The Cornhuskers had a great running game that Iowa seemed to stuff at every turn and while LSU has far superior WR’s it is a moot point if the defense can confuse the QB.  LSU may make a big play here or there but it will tough for their offense to sustain drives.

All of this means that this game will likely come down to how Iowa’s offense plays against LSU’s defense.  The Tigers are missing the big name defenders they have had in the past like Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu or even Kevin Minter but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good.  The DT’s Ego Ferguson and Anthony Johnson will make it tough to gain yards up the middle and safety Craig Loston is a veteran in the deep middle.  Iowa needs to use its power running against the edges as LSU’s DE’s and LB’s are not very big.  The Hawkeye’s have struggled at times offensively against the better defenses they faced this year and while LSU’s defense is better than Nebraska’s they aren’t in the same league as Michigan St.

If the Hawkeye’s can avoid turning the ball over, play defense like they have most of the year and be efficient on offense they will win this bowl game and I believe they will do just that.  That would be a good thing considering how the Big Ten has looked so far.

 

Quick Hits

–          Black Monday started late on Sunday night in the NFL as the Cleveland Browns fired Rob Chudzinski after only one season as head coach.  This was the WTF moment of lunacy we seem to see every year.  There is always that one coach that gets fired and everyone say “What?”  This year it was Chudzinski, not because his 4-12 record was so spectacular that no one could believe it but because he was just hired last January and he basically had to juggle QB’s all year due to ineffectiveness or injury.  This is why the Browns are the Browns and can’t seem to make any headway.  In the NFL it helps to have some continuity at QB and at head coach.

–          The least surprising firing was that of Mike Shanahan in Washington.  Shanahan sealed his fate a few weeks ago when he benched franchise QB Robert Griffin III which basically made Dan Snyder’s head explode.  Snyder is going to go throw a bajillion dollars at Baylor head coach Art Briles because he already has a relationship with RGIII.  I hope Briles is smart enough to tell Snyder to shove it; there isn’t enough money on the planet that would make working for Snyder worth it.

–          Greg Schiano got the boot in Tampa Bay and GM Mark Dominik followed him out the door.  The Glazer family realized they needed a reboot let’s see if they actually figure it out this time.

–          Jim Schwartz got the axe in Detroit and that’s just what happens when your team takes a step forward a couple of years ago and then takes about 15 steps backwards over the last two years.  I do think the GM should get canned too; Schwartz isn’t the one that has neglected the secondary and the offensive line for years.

–          Leslie Frazier is out in Minnesota and I’m guessing Christian Ponder and Josh Freeman won’t be far behind.  This is what happens when a coach refuses to play the one QB (Matt Cassel) that actually played half way decent (until it was too late anyway).

–          Shanahan is probably going to go home and collect his $7 million salary from Daniel Snyder for a year and then see what he wants to do.  Chudzinski is reportedly due a $10.5 million buyout from the Browns so he can be picky about his next job as an offensive coordinator.  Jim Schwartz will be a coveted defensive coordinator candidate and I’m guessing Jeff Fisher has already made a call because he needs a great defensive coordinator to help him in St. Louis or he might get the boot next year at this time.  Leslie Frazier will also get a lot of calls to be a defensive coordinator for someone.  Greg Schiano is probably headed back to the college game and he may find a mighty soft landing spot at Penn St. once Bill O’Brien takes the Texans job as rumored.

–          Rex Ryan has been retained as head coach of the New York Jets (the bettors took a beating on this one).  Somehow Jason Garrett appears safe in Dallas.  That leaves just Mike Munchak of the Titans and Dennis Allen of the Raiders as coaches that might get fired.  The early dismissal of Gary Kubiak in Houston combined with the five firings on Black Monday/Sunday night means the NFL is already at its average of six openings meaning the Titans and Raiders decisions are a pick ‘em.

–          The one other big job out there is The University of Texas job about to be vacated by Mack Brown.  Very little has been said about candidates since Brown made his resignation public and I give Texas credit for letting him coach the bowl game without the constant chatter of his replacement.  Texas has the money and the ego to aim high at guys like Jim Harbaugh, Chip Kelly and Nick Saban but I think they are going to find that even though the paychecks at Texas would be bigger the Texas job isn’t better than the jobs they already have.  This is how I see it playing out; Texas hires someone from the B-list (Mike Gundy, Bo Pelini, Les Miles, good coaches but not on Texas’ A-list), said coach is there 3-4 years but fails to live up to Mack Brown’s legacy and then Texas replaces that coach with a guy like Chad Morris (current offensive coordinator at Clemson) after he has had a head coaching job for a couple of years.  As they say it coaching “it’s better to be the guy replacing the guy who replaced the legend”.

The Hawkeyes go to the Outback Bowl

As optimistic as I usually am about the Iowa Hawkeyes going into the season even I didn’t think I would be typing that headline at the end of this year.  Finishing 8-4 is a pretty impressive improvement from last year’s 4-8 record but it is actually the play on the field that I was most impressed with overall.  Most people (myself included) thought Iowa would beat Northern Illinois to start the season and when the Hawks couldn’t pull it off it looked like we might be in for a long year but NIU was pretty impressive all season (until the MAC Championship anyway).  Losing to Ohio St. and Wisconsin was to be expected and Michigan St.’s turnaround from last year was even more remarkable than Iowa’s.  If Mark Dantonio hadn’t made the boneheaded decision to put Andrew Maxwell into the end of Notre Dame game they might be facing Florida St. for a National Championship.  Those are Iowa’s four losses, no inexplicable loss to a terrible Purdue team or getting beat by a Northwestern team simply because they couldn’t figure out how to stop them.  The Hawkeyes came out on top of rivalry games against Iowa St, Minnesota and Nebraska, the trophy case looks a little better these days.  With the recent news that LT Brandon Scherff is returning next year for his senior season the future looks a lot brighter.

I openly questioned whether Kirk Ferentz could get the Hawkeyes turned around one more time but Ferentz did what Ferentz does, he stayed the course believed in what he was doing and didn’t let the noise get to him.  There was never a “hot seat” for Ferentz, his contract made sure of that, but he didn’t just sit around collecting his paycheck and hoping things would get better.  He made staff changes (Bobby Kennedy and Chris White) that helped add to the new blood from last year (Greg Davis, Brian Ferentz and Levar Woods).  The attrition that had hurt the team from previous years seems to have stopped and for the most part this team stayed healthy throughout the year.  I’m looking forward to what this staff can do with some continuity amongst themselves and continuity of the roster.  Bringing back a starting QB that played pretty well, a stable of RB’s, three offensive line starters (including a future top 10 pick at LT), and a solid group at TE should help make the offense next year pretty good.  Finding some playmakers at WR will be priority #1 during bowl prep and spring practice for Greg Davis.  Phil Parker came into his own as a defensive play caller at the end of the season and his blitzing during the Nebraska game was a thing of beauty.  Next year he has to deal with replacing those three outstanding LB’s but hopefully he’ll get some pass rushers at DE pretty soon.  I have to admit I am thoroughly impressed by the turnaround of the Hawkeyes and I’m looking forward to the Outback Bowl and beating LSU.  It won’t be easy (WR’s Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry will keep Phil Parker up nights I’m sure) but I think the Hawkeye’s pull it off.  The new QB for LSU could be a wildcard, he’s talented but untested and against a veteran defense that has weeks to prepare I’m feeling optimistic but then again don’t I always.

 

 

Quick hits

–          This Iowa basketball team is fun to watch.  You never know who’s going to step up to help out Devyn Marble.  Marble is the constant but everybody from Zach McCabe to Gabe Olaseni to Peter Jok has stepped up at one time or another.  That might be this team’s best asset because it doesn’t matter how much game film you watch it’s impossible to game plan to stop nine different guys.  The Hawkeyes go to Ames to take on a ranked Iowa St team on Friday the 13^th.  The first time in 26 years the Hawkeyes and Cyclones will meet as ranked opponents (that was the stat I heard the other night during the broadcast, I assume it’s accurate).  Big game, both ways.

–          The Seattle Mariners gave Robinson Cano a 10 year $240 million deal.  Cano is a soon-to-be 32 year old second baseman whose power is likely to be affected by his move from Yankee Stadium to Safeco Field.  The idiocy of MLB teams astounds me sometimes. The only time a team has signed a player to a 10 year contract and not ended up regretting it was when the Yankees signed Derek Jeter to a 10 year deal…he was 26 when they did it.  The only time a player should get a 10 year contract from a team is if Mike Trout hits free agency when he’s 26.  Well done Seattle you just signed yourself up for mediocrity for the next decade.  Enjoy paying Cano $24 million dollars when he’s 40 years old.

–          The University of Texas may or may not be firing head coach Mack Brown.  Mack Brown may or may not be stepping down as head coach at the University of Texas. Nick Saban may or may not be replacing Mack Brown as head coach at the University of Texas. Nick Saban may or may not be signing an extension to remain head coach at the University of Alabama.  The only thing I’m sure of is Nick Saban is about to get a lot richer and things are about to get interesting down in Austin.  If new Texas AD Steve Patterson fires Mack Brown and doesn’t get Nick Saban he better make sure he doesn’t end up with Todd Graham as the new Longhorn’s coach because he won’t be the Texas AD for long if he does.  Although I’m sure the Texas job is Graham’s “dream job”, he apparently dreams a lot.

–          The Houston Texans fired Gary Kubiak after they lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, their eleventh loss in a row.  Owner Bob McNair was far more patient with Kubiak than most NFL owners would have been and this year’s debacle certainly called for his dismissal.  McNair mentioned Lovie Smith as a possible name in his coaching search but I would advise him against that move.  The Texans defensive personnel is designed to fit a 3-4 defense and Smith is a Tampa-2 type coach if you need an example of how that doesn’t work just watch a Cowboys game.  Square pegs don’t fit in round holes.  If he wants a defensive coach call Ray Horton in Cleveland otherwise look at Ken Whisenhunt and get him to bring in a 3-4 defensive coordinator.

–          USC got their man in Steve Sarkisian and Washington got an excellent coach to replace Sarkisian in Boise St.’s Chris Peterson.  A lot of people think Washington upgraded and wonder why USC chose Sarkisian when Peterson was also involved in the search.  This is a prime example of coaches fitting their environment.  Sarkisian was the guy USC wanted when Pete Carroll left for the Seahawks but he had just taken the Washington job and he wasn’t about to pull a Lane Kiffin (obviously it would have been called a Sarkisian if he had).  This time the timing was right.  Peterson has turned down numerous jobs over the last several years because of his comfort level at Boise St. but he had outgrown that job.  Washington doesn’t bring the pressure or the media scrutiny that USC has and is a much better fit for Peterson’s low-key personality.  Bravo to both schools on those hires and double bravo to USC AD Pat Haden he has replace Kevin O’Neill and Lane Kiffin with Andy Enfield and Steve Sarkisian in the last year, that’s a good job by an AD.

–          The college coaching carousel hasn’t spun out of control too much this offseason (that could all change when Mack Brown is out at Texas especially if Saban takes the job).  Obviously the USC and Washington jobs were filled quickly and it looks like Boise St. and Wake Forest have filled their vacancies.  Florida and Nebraska decided not to fire their head coaches even though it was a distinct possibility.  Jeremy Foley was correct to not fire Will Muschamp after this season.  Florida won 11 games last year and this year they had an unbelievable amount of injuries.  Muschamp didn’t forget how to coach and I think Florida will be rewarded for their patience.  Nebraska wins a lot of games under Bo Pelini and he certainly shouldn’t be fired based on the results on the field a better argument for canning Pelini is that he is a terrible representative of the University, in short he’s an asshat.  I hope the Hawkeyes have begun a new tradition of beating the Cornhuskers every year.

–          The Texans got the ball rolling on the NFL coaching carousel but trust me it’s just the beginning.  The Mike Shanahan saga in Washington will be interesting and I don’t care what Jerry Jones says now I won’t believe Jason Garrett and his staff are safe until about March.  Leslie Frazier is a goner in Minnesota and I think Rex Ryan is toast with the Jets.  Titans head coach Mike Munchak is probably going to be looking for a nice offensive line coaching job after this season.  I think Greg Schiano in Tampa Bay, Dennis Allen in Oakland and Joe Philbin in Miami are all coaching for their jobs over the last three weeks.

–          If one of the jobs (there should be 5-8) in the NFL isn’t filled by Cleveland defensive coordinator Ray Horton the NFL needs to seriously reconsider its hiring practices.  Cleveland’s defense has been pretty good this year and their offense has rarely helped them out.

–          I’ll be shocked if Michigan St. defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi isn’t a head coach in college football next season but he deserves a better job than UConn or Bowling Green.  Maybe he should wait until next year the Nebraska and Illinois jobs should be open by then.

I should get around to a Iowa/LSU Outback Bowl preview before I go into NFL Draft mode so stay tuned.