Sunday’s Seven: College Football Weekend in Review

1. Some Northern Iowa fans were and are mad at the Hlog for a dumb, inaccurate post that was here for about a day last week saying Maine had been 1-0 vs. the state of Iowa in football. UNI routed Maine in an NCAA Division I-AA playoff game in 2001.

Well, the Hlog isn’t and has never been a UNI-hater. But I fully understand and appreciate Panther fans feeling like they get short-shrift in statewide coverage. They often do. If it’s any comfort, my mistakes are equal-opportunity employers.

UNI lost 41-17 at 16th-ranked Brigham Young Saturday, but represented itself a lot better than most FCS teams against FBS teams. UNI will be just fine this season. Again. I expect to cover an FCS playoff game in the UNI-Dome this year. Again.

2. Speaking of FBS-FCS, FBS (I-A) teams won 31 of 32 games against FCS teams in Week 1. The only FBS loser was Chuck Long’s San Diego State team, to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Not good, Chuck.

3. I watched a lot of the Illinois-Missouri game Saturday night. Mizzou is again really good. Illinois did well just to stay somewhat close to the Tigers. Illini quarterback Juice Williams, by the way, could be the Big Ten’s best offensive player.

4. Florida International, Iowa’s next “opponent,” gained all of 139 yards in its 40-10 loss at Kansas. The Jayhawks threw 52 passes in that game.

5. Utah rushed for only 36 yards at Michigan and still got a 25-23 win. Of course, Michigan also rushed for 36 yards. The Wolverines’ new spread offense has miles to go with their current personnel.

6. Ohio State kicked five field goals against Youngstown State in its 43-0 win. The last one was a 54-yarder in the fourth-quarter to close out the game’s scoring.

7. Watch out for Northwestern this season. The Wildcats mowed down Syracuse, 30-10 with a balanced offense (6.3 yards per carry, 6.1 yards per pass attempt) and sturdy defense. Syracuse isn’t good, but the Wildcats have terrific veterans at the skill positions on offense.

Forget the Maine

Crafty JackCosgrove and the Maine Black Bears are airborne as I write this, heading home to Orono to regroup and prepare to give the Monmouth Whoevers the beatings of their lives next Saturday.

Bring on Florida International. The Golden Panthers are getting ready to stun the Kansas Jayhawks tonight in Lawrence. And by stun, the Hlog means lose by less than 55 points.

Because the Hlog did such a thorough job scouting Maine the last month, Iowa undoubtedly was the best-prepared team in America this week. With a just a week to prep for Florida International, the Hlog can’t promise the same results.

Oh, sure it can. Another 46-3 type win is in the offing for Iowa, and you all know it. Then the real season begins.

By the way,  Utah over Michigan isn’t a true upset. The Utes are good. The Wolverines? Not so much.

More thoughts on the Saturday slate tomorrow after a little time to size up everything.

HLOG LIVEBLOGGING FROM MAINE-IOWA

The Hlog will be liveblooging from the Maine-Iowa game. See the link elsewhere on Gazetteonline.com

Get Your Florida International-Iowa Tickets While They Last

So the Maine-Iowa football game Saturday is a sellout.

This should come as no surprise to anyone.  Why anyone would miss out on this rare opportunity to see the Maine Black Bears is beyond the Hlog’s comprehension.

But now isn’t the time to be stuck in the present. Although, now actually would be the only time to be stuck in the present.

Anyway, Florida International brings its very special brand of football to Kinnick Stadium next Saturday. If you miss this game because it’s a sellout before kickoff, shame on you.

And if your football fever is something that not even more cowbell can cure, you may want to hurry over to Stubhub.com. As of 6 p.m. Friday, Stubhub had 138 Florida International-Iowa tickets on sale for $20 or less.

Get ‘em while they’re “hot.”

http://www.stubhub.com/iowa-football-tickets/iowa-vs-florida-international-9-6-2008-521094/

Tom Arnold is Definitely Not an Auburn Fan

Tom Arnold is an Iowa fan first, foremost, and only.

But when he wore the Alabama colors recently at an Alabama practice, he had no problem saying some magical words Alabama fans loved hearing.

Off You Go, Mariotti

 

Jay Mariotti has been the most famous sportswriter in the Midwest for the last decade. The nation knows him because of his television work on ESPN. Chicago knows him as a shrill, the-sky-is-falling, everyone-is-stupid guy who seemed to write page-long columns eight days a week for the Sun-Times.

Talk to any Chicago sportswriter, it seems, and you’ll get a disparaging comment or 50 about Mariotti. A friend of mine who works there has nothing good to say about him, and that person is what I would call very positive in general.

Mariotti quit the paper this week in a huff about something or another, and basically declared his paper and newspapers in general dead. Which gives me hope they’re very much alive.

I’ve had two experiences with Mariotti, one directly and one not. The direct one was more pleasant, even though it put my health in jeopardy.

Iowa State was playing in the NCAA men’s basketball tourney in Auburn Hills, Mich., in 1997, and there was an ice storm. I could have and should have waited for a shuttle back to the media hotel in Troy, several miles down the freeway, but took up Mariotti and another sportswriter on their offer to ride with them.

The other writer, whose name I cannot recall, drove. I didn’t envy him, because not only did he battle the slick road, Mariotti talked animatedly the entire ride and seemed oblivious to the danger we were in. We got to our destination safely, though we had quite the skid in the hotel parking lot. The conversation was friendly and interesting, and I enjoyed it.

The second episode … not so good. In the spring of 1997, I covered a Cedar Valley Cyclone Club banquet in downtown Cedar Rapids. It was a full year before Tim Floyd took the Chicago Bulls’ coaching job, but Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause had let it be known that he had his eye on Floyd to replace Phil Jackson one day.

Here’s what I wrote from that banquet for the Gazette:

McCarney said he spoke to the police chiefs of Ames and Chicago, claiming Ames officers have fired one bullet in 25 years while Chicago officers fire one every 25 seconds.

“Chicago’s a dangerous, dangerous place for your daughter to graduate high school, Beverly,” McCarney told Floyd’s wife.

 

Here’s what Mariotti wrote in the Sun-Times on July 20, 1998, as it appeared Floyd was going to become the Bulls’ coach:

They’ve tried everything to keep Tim Floyd at Iowa State, even gallows humor. At a Cyclone Club banquet, football coach Dan McCarney kidded Floyd that he had talked to police chiefs in Ames and Chicago and had some numbing crime statistics to report.

In Ames, he said, officers have fired one bullet in 25 years.

In Chicago, he said, officers fire one bullet every 25 seconds.

“Chicago’s a dangerous, dangerous place for your daughter to graduate high school, Beverly,” McCarney told Floyd’s wife.

 

Gosh, that looked familiar to me. For the life of me, I didn’t remember Mariotti being at that Cyclone Club banquet. But he must have been, since he heard the exact same thing I did. Or else maybe, just maybe, he swiped that stuff without attributing it to where he found it.

But at least it’s nice to know you’re getting read, even if it is through someone else’s byline.

By the way, the Sun-Times still has Rick Telander and Greg Couch writing columns, and they are two of the best in the business.

Tom Arnold Fires Back: He’s 100 Percent Hawkeye

It turns out Tom Arnold had a good reason for attending a University of Alabama football practice last week. His girlfriend attended the school.

The Hlog had fun with Tom going “Benedict Arnold” on his beloved Iowa Hawkeyes by visiting the practice of another team, but Arnold wants no one assuming his loyalty has shifted. Here is his reply to the Hlog, verbatim:

Okay, slam my work BUT NEVER question my Hawk Loyalty..my G-Friend went to Bama..she’s got a place there, Nick Saban used to coach in the Big 10..so I took my godson, his mom and sisters to a closed practice with the AD to watch and say hello to Nick. (I did remind him of the Capital One Bowl a few years back and he’s a great guys so..:) My godson, who’s the best 8 year old quarterback in Brentwood California, is being forced to go to Alabama (unless he gets into Harvard) by is mother. Of course I’ve pitched Iowa City but as you all know, with women, you’ve got to pick your battles and since he’s only 8..well…and while I’m here, where’s the Hawk Loyalty for OUR COACH??? He could’ve dumped us years ago..could’ve been head coach of the NY Giants, World Champs, but no, he’s loyal, so let’s try to stay off the man’s butt…we’re better than that. Tom

Has Tom Arnold Gone Benedict Arnold on the Hawkeyes?

(Tom Arnold in his Hawkeye-loving days)

Is Tom Arnold the big Iowa Hawkeyes football fan he has always claimed to be?

Arnold used to be sighted at Hawkeye games in Iowa City. He attended at least one Alamo Bowl that featured the Hawks. He trumpted the Hawkeyes on national cable television, brought Fox Sports’ The Best Damn Sports Show Period to Iowa City one Friday before a home football game.

But now Arnold is attending football practice at … Alabama? He says his son will one day play football at … Alabama?

Yes, the “pride” of Ottumwa was at a Crimson Tide practice Thursday in Tuscaloosa. Here is the Birmingham News’ account of the sordid episode:

http://blog.al.com/rapsheet/2008/08/what_was_tom_arnold_doing_at_p.html

Let’s face it. This man has always been flaky. He’s a comedian and an actor. They’re neurotics and narcissists rolled into one. They exist for entertainment purposes only.

But this one has to hurt Hawkdom. Tom Arnold may not mean anything on Oscar Night, but he’s Iowa’s.

Or he used to be, anyway.

Oh, one more thing. Arnold doesn’t even have a son.

Stoops: Oklahoma Was Better Opportunity Than Iowa

In three months, it will be 10 years since Hayden Fry retired as Iowa’s football coach. One myth will turn 10 years old at that time. That’s the one saying Bob Stoops’ first choice in late 1998 was to become Fry’s successor, not the head coach at Oklahoma.

OK, the Iowa-didn’t-make-it-happen part is true, at least according to Stoops.

“I’ve got to be honest,” Stoops told The Oklahoman newspaper of Oklahoma City, “I felt all along that business-wise, this was the best opportunity. And fortunately for me it’s worked out really well.”

Yes, a national-championship, 97 wins, and a team favored to win another Big 12 title this fall could make a coach feel secure in his decision. For a long time – at least until Kirk Ferentz started peeling off the first of three straight AP Top Ten finishes and two Big Ten co-championships, Iowa fans weren’t secure in Bob Bowlsby’s decision to hire Ferentz.

Many felt Bowlsby and his school bungled the interview process and let Stoops slip away to Norman. Some insist to this day that Bowlsby’s first choice was then-Northern Iowa Coach Terry Allen, but came to realize that would have gone over with a thud in Hawkdom.

Stoops does confirm that Iowa didn’t exactly come at him with single-minded determination. Bowlsby and Iowa’s search committee wanted to interview other people, including Ferentz. Oklahoma wanted to talk to just one person, the young hotshot defensive coordinator to Steve Spurrier at Florida.

But ultimately, Bowlsby’s slow-playing of the situation didn’t matter. Stoops said he interviewed at Iowa out of a courtesy to his alma mater. Now maybe he’s saying what he’s saying now because that is what will play best to his Oklahoma base. But it sounds totally plausible.

“Deep down, I truly felt as well that I had done the Iowa thing,” Stoops said. “I felt, though my wife’s from there, I had spent 10 years there. Sometimes, that’s enough. And I loved it. I loved the people.

“But it’s almost like you’re always that kid. It was just time for something different is what my feeling was. And you know what, my wife was supportive. She felt the same way. It’s time for something new.”

There’s no guarantee Stoops would have done any better than Ferentz over the last nine seasons. If he’d had a run similar to Ferentz’s from 2002 through 2004, he’d probably be gone now anywhere. For something new.

But this remains one of the great soap operas in Iowa football history. For more on what led Stoops to Oklahoma:

http://newsok.com/firing-to-hiring-9-days/article/3286061

http://newsok.com/stoops-philosophy-captivated-ous-joe-c./article/3286063

http://newsok.com/stoops-saw-ou-as-better-opportunity-than-iowa/article/3286065

Remember the Maine – 10 Days Till Kickoff

People can change. Most don’t, but it is possible.

Let’s say you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Iowa Hawkeyes football fan. You can’t possibly ever switch allegiances, right? Well, maybe.

But let’s say you are so smitten with the gutty, gritty, savage performance of the Maine Black Bears in their game at Iowa on Aug. 30 that you fall wildly in love with them. How in the world will you afford all those road trips?

Not to worry, future Black Bears backers. The team is offering fans the chance to travel with it to three of its road games from Bangor to Monmouth, Richmond and Delaware.

The following is from the Maine football site at http://goblackbears.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/081808aab.html

Join Maine Football on the road in 2008! Once again this season, Black Bear Club members can be a part of the action when the Maine football team travels. Members are eligible to purchase seats on the team charters and travel with the team, experiencing first-hand the excitement of Maine football. Spots on the team charter are sold on a first-come, first-served basis and include:

**Roundtrip transportation on the team charter.

**Ground transportation.

**Friday evening dinner.

**A ticket to the game.

The cost for each trip is $400 per person. Hotel arrangements are not included and must be booked separately. Flights will depart mid-morning from Bangor the Friday prior to each game and return immediately following the contest. For more information on joining a charter trip, please contact Pat McBride at patmcbride@maine.edu or 207-581-1099.

Available away games are as follows:

DATE … OPPONENT … LOCATION … GAME TIME

09/06/08 … at Monmouth … West Long Branch, N.J. … 1:00 p.m. ET

09/20/08 … at Richmond … Richmond, Va. … 3:00 p.m. ET

10/11/08 … at Delaware … Newark, Del. … 6:00 p.m. ET

Now I ask you, Hawkeye fans, has your team ever asked you to travel along with it to West Lafayette or East Lansing unless you are one of the super-super-super wealthy boosters of the program? No, the Hawkeyes (and all major-college teams) expect you to find your own way to road games. That often means dirty truck stop restrooms, fried fast-food off Interstate exits, and lots of fossil fuels burned.

You don’t get to sit next to a Hawkeye linebacker on a charter flight to Bloomington for the game against the Hoosiers. No, you have to pile seven or eight to an SUV and spend several hours looking out the window at … Illinois. It’s a price many of you are willing to pay, but it’s a steep one.

After Crafty Jack Cosgrove’s uncaged Black Bears bare their teeth in Iowa City, maybe some of you will say “You know what? I don’t really feel the need to come back here next week to see the Hawks play Florida International Airport. I think I’ll follow these doggone Bears to West Long Branch, New Jersey instead. Via Bangor, of course.”

Just 10 days till Maine-Iowa. Sleep is getting more difficult with each passing night.