I'm actually impressed with the amount of Hawkeye fans I've heard from that admit Iowa State out-played the Hawks on Saturday. It was obviously clear to an objective fan that ISU should've won by double-digits, in regulation. But, I'm surprised Iowa fans saw that through their black and gold tinted glasses.
I absolutely love the emotion Paul Rhoads shows after winning a big game. He wears his emotions on his sleeve...Kirk Ferentz, quite frankly, has no emotion.
ISU is a 4.5 point underdog...the Hawks are 3.5 point favorites against Pittsburgh.
The Cyclones need to take this win, and run with it. Too often we've seen ISU completely lay an egg after previous huge victories. If Steele Jantz plays half as good as he played against Iowa, the Cyclones will beat UConn. But, I'm afraid Jantz is going to come back down to earth in his first road game.
I, honestly, don't know what to think about the Hawks. I'd like to think Saturday was more about Steele Jantz's greatness, and less about Iowa's porous defense, but who knows. With a loss, the Hawks would fall below .500 for the first time since that awful 2007 season.
Kirk Ferentz is respected by most Hawkeye fans, but I understand why so many get so frustrated with him. There isn't a coach in the country that's more conservative than Ferentz. It makes it extremely tough to watch, especially when the riverboat gambling Paul Rhoads is on the other sideline.
I've talked to a few people who were surprised Andy didn't take a Bic razor to his head. The guy has too much hair to look to bad with a butch cut. By next Sunday, you probably won't even notice that he lost the bet.
I've been watching SoundOFF for 5 years, now...and I'm confident Sunday's show was the very best I've seen. Even the callers were halfway decent!
RVTV 2012 is only 51 weeks away. I guess we should start planning our route pretty soon.
I'm so fed up with college football realignment talk. It's a shame.
It took a few days for all of the WHO sports team to recover from an epic Iowa vs. Iowa State game and RVTV. Lot of work, but a great week with great people at the stops, and the capper on Saturday was beyond anyone's expectations.
I've heard it called the best game in the CyHawk series and there aren't many people arguing that. Sure, the 2002 game might have featured better players, and maybe it's a little more special to ISU fans in that it happened at Kinnick.
For my own two cents, it's the best college football game I've ever been at in person. Save a bit of a sloppy start with fumbles, both teams played at a high level. I'm always going to marvel at so many unbelievable plays that were made on both sides (though mostly by one Steele Jantz).
Speaking of Jantz, I'll take my medicine here. Granted I wasn't around when Seneca was doing his thing, but I've never been a great fan of bringing in JUCO quarterbacks. Seems like for every great one there are two who just disappear or are never a factor. ISU got themselves a special one. In two games Jantz has made more pressure plays (especially on 4th down) than most quarterbacks will make in an entire season.
I'm neutral in this fight (the only way I'd ever openly root against any Iowa school is if they played my alma mater), but I got to admit that I feel great for Paul Rhoads and the Iowa State community. It's been a rough couple of years and offseason (especially with the Big 12's fractures) and there are still many tough battles ahead in Big 12 play. The passion Rhoads has for this program is infectious and he has really changed the culture in Ames. On my twitter page I (somewhat) jokingly said Iowa State should start working on a lifetime contract extension for Rhoads. If he wins 6-8 games with this schedule that might be warranted.
And the game itself gave the series a shot in the arm at a time when some Hawkeye fans (wrongly so in my opinion) were using the last couple of CyHawk blowouts, along with ISU's conference uncertainty and scheduling issues, to question whether they should continue playing the series. Any question now?
All that said, the UCONN game Friday may end up being bigger than the Iowa game. The Hawkeye win should be a springboard, not the highlight of the season. The Cyclones can't afford to go out and lay an egg. A 3-0 start with the tough non-conference gets them halfway to bowl eligibility. Texas comes to town and the Longhorns have been a mess of late. With a bye week to prepare, 4-0 looks like a realistic possibility.
They mentioned it in postgame, and the Hawkeyes have not been a good tackling team. Tennessee Tech's little QB gave them fits all game. Jantz killed them because he could actually pass too. Looked a lot like last year with Persa and Pryor, and it's clear this D-Line doesn't have the kind of NFL talent we've been used the last few years right now.
I don't agree with any Hawk fan who says Iowa gave it away. For all their flaws at times, Jantz made play after play every time he was called upon.
The only thing that leaves me puzzled is the final drive in regulation. 1:17 left and two timeouts and they play for overtime. I keep hearing over and over again that it's "Kirk Ferentz Football". I get it, and normally I can see the logic in playing for overtime with a first time starter at QB on the road. But the problem is that James Vandenberg has been nearly flawless. I can't really remember many bad throws or balls that nearly were picked. Plus Mike Meyer had been automatic all game, hitting from as far out as 50 yards. Throw a couple of safe outs or slants, get in that 45-55 yard field goal range, and take a shot.
Andy in the chair after Iowa State football practice, preparing for the buzzzzzzzzzz.
Major General Tim Orr, head of the Iowa National Guard, is on hand to ensure the buzz cut meets military specs. Four-year ISU starter Leonard Johnson is the Cyclones team barber, and part-time stand-up comic.
Leonard wanted to give Andy a "fade", but Andy being uncool, didn't know what that was. It's a 1-guard all the way around.
Major General Orr, a big Cyclone fan, gives the cut a thumbs up as Leonard admires his work. Andy looks a little stunned, though truth be told, he looks pretty good with a buzz. Next time we better insist on a shaved head. Our thanks to Major General Orr and barber Johnson for their help.
Our friends at Fareway came and grilled out for us live at 5 and 6. Jamie Pollard ate a steak sandwich in one commercial break. Fareway meat is good.
The Ghostbusters wouldn't paint their car these colors, but we appreciate them pulling up for the 10 p.m. live and making a lot of noise.
The fire truck makes its fifth appearance at RVTV.
The ISU marching band also showed up for our Football Friday finale. Disappointingly, they didn't ask us to play. I wonder if they missed our promos. We love to jam.
The batons on fire were fun until one landed on our camera cable. It didn't quite burn through the wire, and we managed to finish up with a flare.
The Iowa State ROTC ran the game ball from Iowa City to Ames. They timed it to arrive during the newscast at 18 hundred hours. Naturally, being military, they were right on time. We appreciate how welcome ISU has made us feel on RVTV.
Nevada rolled out the red carpet like few towns in RVTV tour history. It was nice to see all the channel 13 personalities getting a shout-out. I learned they love Erin here. A lot.
I walked to the bucket for a live shot in the 6 p.m. news. I'll confess I wanted to turn around about halfway up the ladder, but so many people were watching, I continued the climb. The Nevada firefighter who went with me couldn't have been nicer. Respect. It sure seemed higher than it looks in this picture.
Cy showed up, along with the ISU cheerleaders and the 2-0 Nevada football team, the marching band, and the Cubs cheer squad.
Chris thought UNI showed up, but after the Nevada boosters gave him a Cubs T-shirt, he knew Nevada's colors. Side note: The Chamber of Commerce provided a great workspace.
One of the few RVTV tour stops where Cyclone fans outnumbered Hawkeye fans, but Iowa showed up strong considering how close Nevada is to Ames.
Early vote: One of the three best RVTV towns ever.
More perfect weather as we reach Madrid. The deck at the Flat Tire, overlooking the bike trail, was a tough place to leave.
Murph & Andy Show live on the deck. No, I 'm not a Brewers fan, but that old school logo is sweet. Brewers should go back to it immediately and for good.
When you think Madrid, you think football. The logical place for the RVTV tour stop was the football field, and to our surprise, the folks in Madrid let us park and play right by the field, less than 48 hours to kickoff.
Only one person has cheesy smile. I'm just realizing I later met woman over my right shoulder at the Tiger Bowl. She's a Hawkeye fan who works at Iowa State. Wait, what?!
This gentleman told me he once won a car on WHO TV 13's Let's Go Bowling with Jim Zabel.
The Trestle Bridge lives up to the hype. Breathtaking in person.
Beautiful day, and a nice crowd in the land of Kinnick. I wore a gold shirt, and had several people say I was "wearing Hawkeye colors". I pointed out gold covers both teams.
Closed eyes, full hearts, can't lose.
Andy's daughter Elin waited until she was on camera to start crying on cue. My son Cade did the same thing on RVTV ten years ago. It was Thanksgiving because 9/11 moved the game to end of the season.
I always wondered how Andy would look as a little girl. Now I know.
This is a collector's item.
Chris joined the ADM band as they played our Football Friday music.
On top of our Bob & Jo's RV. We parked in front of the courthouse.
The Murph & Andy Show from the Brick Street Books & Cafe, which is right next to Nile Kinnick Drive.
These two Hawk fans are standing in front of a really cool bus.
It's Thursday night, the Packers are picking up where they left off, and I thought I'd use halftime for a show and tell on the RVTV Tour 2011.
Day 1 in Pleasantville. This semi-truck showed up and started blasting the Hawkeye fight song. No Iowa fans complained. It's a cool truck.
I can't say enough about Pleasantville. The people could not have been nicer. It's interesting how much small towns appreciate positive coverage. Time and time again, we hear, "Usually the only time we see the media is when something bad happens. Thank you." No, thank you.
RVTV? Perfect time for a lemonade stand! Never pass up kids selling lemonade. Especially when they're this cute.
I was thrilled to meet Bruce Willis.
Not Cast Your Kernel, Cast Your Bean at Smokey Row. Hawks clearly in front of the bean count. Smokey Row brought us breakfast in bed. Well, breakfast in the RV.
Not exactly roughin' it, but we do work long days. Many people are surprised how much goes into putting a few minutes of newscast together. Here I'm pictured with Brandon McCauley, the pride of Nevada. (More on Nevada later.)
Pleasantville had a great turnout, and a fun street party. We stayed out late with some of the nicest guys I've ever met.
Pleasantville Bags Tournament. We were disqualified.
The Trojans cheerleaders in a serious posedown.
This is one cute dog. Go Hawks!
Pleasantville did too much, and then showered us with gifts. My wife wants to move there.
The Iceborg actually believed he had to sleep in this tent, and he never complained.
Thanks to Murph and Andy for the shout out to my college football odyssey, even though they short changed me. I started for Iowa City at 6:15 AM, not 6:30.
In all honesty, it was a lot of work, but a blast. Other than needing an ark at times for all the rain, going to games at Kinnick and Jack Trice was everything I thought it would be growing up. And it made five years of freezing my butt off in Missoula and Fargo worth it.
I guess now I can't wait for the games to matter a bit more. Iowa did what they had to do against a bad Tennessee Tech team. I think the conditions and Kirk Ferentz being the kind of guy who doesn't run up scores kept it from being bigger than 34-7.
If anyone is ripping ISU for going to the wire with UNI just shut up. This is the same program that should have beaten Iowa in 09 and is a year to year contender for the FCS national title. There were several FCS teams that DID upset BCS teams (Sacramento State won at Oregon State 29-28, Richmond beat Duke 23-21). Seldom do the Appalachian State over Michigan upsets happen, but a good FCS team can hang with just about anybody in FBS who isn't a superpower (Texas, OU, etc.). The Panthers will win the Missouri Valley again, but they need Tirrell Rennie to give them more from the passing game to win it all.
The most concerning thing for Iowa State has to be the line play. The defense never got a ton of pressure on Rennie, and the offensive line got flat blown up at times. That said, both lines did step up and make plays late in games. Still, with the Hawkeyes bringing a veteran O-Line and the makings of another good D-Line, Paul Rhoads has to figure some stuff out fast.
My head tells me Iowa is going to win this game. But I get this nagging feeling that Iowa State will find a way to pull the upset. I think Rhoads is due and playing at Jack Trice can be a great equalizer. For the Clones it all rests on Steele Jantz. If he plays like he did for the first three quarters of the UNI game against Iowa then ISU may have to think about giving Jared Barnett a rep or two. If he's the fourth quarter Steele Jantz for most of the game, Iowa could be in trouble. The Hawkeyes struggled to wrap up and tackle Tennessee Tech's mobile QB.
RVTV starts tomorrow in Pleasantville! We'll also have our RVTV Blog up, (Link here: http://whorvtv.blogspot.com/ ). Like many of you I've been a fan (from afar) of RVTV for years, so I'm looking forward to joining the madness. Watching Keith's bad movies, listening every night to Andy talk about what bugs him, and Chris' for some reason refusing to wear clothes (see the end of this video http://www.whotv.com/videobeta/25fd4ffc-41d4-4d49-af6c-8754122e07de/News/RVTV-Starts-Monday ) have me a bit nervous though.
Iowa and Iowa State are both 1-0, even though each team took a much different path.
ISU is lucky to have survived against a UNI team that controlled the game for 3 1/2 quarters. Steele Jantz was horrendous in his Cyclone debut, but when his team needed him to make a play, he came through. In the end, that's all that matters.
The Hawkeyes cruised to victory against Tennessee Tech, but the scoreboard didn't tell the entire story. Marcus Coker, looked like he hadn't picked up a football in 9 months. He was running tentative, and he fumbled twice. True freshman Mika'il McCall wouldn't have been in the game if Coker would've held onto the ball. Instead the poor guy breaks his ankle After rushing for an impressive 61 yards in the first quarter, and he's done for the year. An already extremely thin running back core, is now razor thin.
The Hawks will be heavy favorites this Saturday against the Cyclones, but Hawk fans beware, this is setting up as one of those games the Cyclones have become accustomed to winning over the past 12 years. Be leery, hawkeye fans, be very leery.
I just got home from a long day of work, and finished Football Friday on the late side. Walked in the living room at 11:30 p.m., picked up the laptop to write the blog, and my wife Jenny said, "I drank three cups of coffee after dinner to stay awake. If you do any more work, I will scissor kick you in the head."
Dang, it's good to have college football back. Even if it is mostly a weekend of games like Wisconsin beating the snot out of UNLV. Transfer QB Russell Wilson lived up to the hype and made the Badgers look like the team to beat in the Big Ten. Time will tell. Three months time.
Drake never scored at North Dakota. Bulldogs fall 16-0. Drake played a game more recently than any team in the country. Remember Africa?
ISU announced hillside seats are sold out, and more than 36,000 season tickets gone. That's a good show of support with that schedule.
Cyclone fans are going to love the new jumbotron, and Hawkeye fans are going to make fun of how over-sized it looks at Jack Trice Stadium. Iowa State also needs to find a way to keep people from watching it in the parking lot. It's like a giant drive-in movie, with much better sound.
Speaking of drive-ins, after Blues Brothers finally left movie theaters, my buddy John and I would drive just about anywhere and watch it again outdoors. Mission from God.
I don't think I've seen a more obnoxious movie trailer than Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star.
We're breaking in a new newsroom computer system at work, OPUS. It's going to be nice once we're used to it, but right now I feel like I'm trying to write with my left hand.
We shot a promo for RVTV at Jack Trice Stadium. I left with two impressions: 1) The new video board looks great and sounds clear. 2) I can't believe what Chris Hassel wore.
Great move by Iowa State naming the new media workspace at Hilton Coliseum, "The Pete Taylor Media Room". It couldn't be anyone else. Hard to believe Pete's been gone for more than eight years.
Texas A&M files for divorce. Now all the flirting and courting really begins.
Sean Keeler returns to the written page with the cover story for this week's Cityview. It's Sean's college football preview. You can pick up a copy... just about anywhere.
The best way I've heard to remember which division of the Big Ten Iowa's in, and who's in that division is Nile Kinnick was a legend. Iowa's in Legends. Legends is Iowa, and all the teams that start with an M or an N. Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Northwestern.
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