Signing Off

For the second week in a row, NU folded like a cheap table in the fourth quarter.

What mystifies me is how the team can possibly believe a four-point deficit is call for throwing the ball, down after down after down. Iowa was down by 14 at the end of the first quarter, and it didn't stop running the ball. You know why? Because you have to run the ball. Even if it's not getting you anywhere. You have to run the ball to set up the threat that you could possibly run it at some other time in the future. If you keep passing, the defense can rush four, drop seven and pound you to death. Which is what Iowa did. And Purdue.

Fitz was right to chide us about speculating on the bowls. They're not going anywhere.

Wow.

This is the worst the team has looked all year. And it comes just three quarters after the team looked like it was at its best.

4th and 20 from the 10.

2:54 left.

Iowa 28, NU 17.

Going down to the field.

Sherrick, Sherrick, Sherrick

McManis gets burned yet again on a pump fake. This time Christensen finds Johnson-Koulianos for 30 yards, down to the 10.

Sims runs it in from 8.

Murray tacks on the extra point.

Iowa 28, NU 17. 3:47 to go.

This game is following exactly the same script as last week's loss.

It's also kind of following the same script as NU's 28-27 win against Iowa two years ago. We'll see what the denouement turns out to be this time.

U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi

NU still won't run. Bacher throws incomplete to Lane. Then he throws to Sutton, who bobbles it into the hands of an Iowa defender.

1st and 10 Iowa at the NU 30.

Ineptitude abounds

Christensen finds Cleveland's ankles on 3rd down, forcing a punt. Peterman goes for the fair catch at the 19, but he gets knocked into. 15-yard penalty.

1st and 10 at the NU 34. 5:16 to go.

Stick a fork in them?

Bacher throws another pick. Why the Cats don't run the ball is beyond me.

6:50 to go.

Iowa ball at its own 46.

The Inevitable

Christensen does a pump fake. McManis bites. Christensen goes up top to Stross for 53 yards down to the NU 7.

Sims runs for 2 to the 5. 2nd and Goal.

Christensen gets 1 on the keeper. 3rd and Goal from the 4.

Christensen throws it out of end zone, but a pass interference call places it 1st and G on the 2.

Sims dives in. Murray adds the extra point.

Iowa 21, NU 17. 7:44 to go.

Gentlemen, start your engines.

Making nothing out of something

Follow this play sequence:

Start Iowa 32.
Sutton run for no gain.
Bacher to Peterman for 7 yards.
Holding call brings it back to the 35.
Bacher sacked for loss of 9.
Punt.

Impressive, no?

Iowa ball, 1st and 10 at the 15, 10:05 to go.

TURNOVER

David Ngene swallows Christensen, forcing a fumble. Marshall Thomas falls on it at the Iowa 32. That was NU's sixth sack on the game.

12:14 to go.

Trading Punts

Iowa can't make anything out of its drive and punts. NU gets 1 yard on three plays, with Bacher throwing to nobody on two occasions.

Iowa ball, 1st and 10 at the 27. 13:10 to go.

End of the Third Quarter

And Iowa's driving. The Hawkeyes have the ball, 2nd and 2o, at their own 49. Right after the pick, Christensen found Johnson-Koulianos longname for 32 yards. Then a hold moved them back 10 yards.

I can't seem to remember the last time NU went into the fourth quarter with a 17-14 lead. Oh, yeah. It was last week. And the Cats lost 35-17.

A lot of adjectives go through my mind when trying to describe this team. Bowl-worthy (which I think is not a real word) is not one of them.

Buckle up. This quarter could mean the season.

Just like in Tecmo Super Bowl

The Cats try a flea flicker. Bacher weaves it into triple coverage. Shockingly, an Iowa defender makes the pick. 1st and 10 Iowa at its own 27.

Kim Thompson can not be interfered with

Bacher airs it out to Thompson, who has either been interfering or interfered with all day. Thompson makes a spectacular catch for 27 yards. NU declines the pass interference call on Iowa.

NU ball 3rd and 4 at the Iowa 37. 3:35 to go.

Bacher's pass batted down, and Demos on to pooch punt.

Peterman, who is also running for Jesus, downs the punt at the 1. Matt is on the record as saying he wants to have Peterman's baby.

That's what we call a sack lunch?

The much-maligned NU defense stands up to Iowa's ... much-maligned offense. After batting a ball down on 1st down, John Gill sacks Christensen for a 2-yard loss. And then they send everyone and Rejaie Johnson gets to Christensen for a 10-yard loss, making it 4th and 23.

Then Iowa's punter, who is evidently running for Jesus now, punts the ball 76 YARDS for a touchback.

NU ball at the 20. 5:20 to go.

A series of unfortunate events

Lane catches a ball for a first down, but it's called back because of pass interference on Thompson.

The next play goes way short of the sticks, as Bacher sticks it into Rasheed Ward for 11 yards on 3rd and 25.

BUT Villarreal moves his field goal tally to 1 of 3 on the day by putting a 42-yarder through the uprights.

NU 17, Iowa 14. 7:00 to go.

C.J. needs to find more purple

His intended receivers on this drive, far as I can tell, have been Sutton's feet, a hash mark, the paint at the back of the end zone and the sky.

The play distribution? 6 passes, 2 runs. So much for balance.

NU 14, Iowa 14. NU ball at the Iowa 21, 3rd and 10. 8:16 to go in the quarter.

The Breaks Keep Coming

Bacher throws a ball to the hash mark, but Iowa gets called for pass interference, on an obviously uncatchable ball.

Whatever. NU ball on the Iowa 32. 8:50 to go.

Iowa looks like a team that wants to win

And NU doesn't. Reggie Cleveland just jumped 100 feet in the air to snag a pass from Christensen for a 26-yard gain. All Deante Battle could do was watch.

Iowa driving, 3rd and 1 at the NU 25. 11:45 left.

Albert Young runs for the first down, which is followed by Paul Chaney making a terrific catch on a ball that was at least a foot over his head.

On the next play, Young, shakes, bakes, and brings Iowa even with NU.

You had it coming, boys. Now what?

Food for Thought

Why do the Cats continually move away from the things that make them successful?

In the first quarter, which they dominated, they ran the ball 13 times and passed 20, a fairly good balance. In the second quarter, in which they let Iowa back into the game, they ran 6 times and passed 11. And one of those runs was a sack, which is, technically, a pass play.

Sutton had 11 rushes for 65 yards in the first quarter. 4 for 31 in the second.

Why, when Bacher isn't having one of his "good" days (he has 2 scores, but he's only 17 of 30 and on some passes he's just looked awful) do they not GIVE THE BALL TO SUTTON?

Sorry for raising my voice.

Quick hits: Yards: NU 269, Iowa 121.
Time of Possession: NU 17:40, Iowa 12:20.

This game should be 21-0 at least.

NU 14, Iowa 7. Seven minutes away from kickoff.

Last drive

Iowa kicks it out of bounds, so NU starts at the 35. Sutton runs for 9. Then Bacher air mails one to Iowa's Mike Klinkenborg. But he drops it. Sutton runs for 18, down to the Iowa 38 with :16 to go. NU has 2 timeouts.

Bacher to Ward for 6. 2nd and 4 at the 32. :13 left.

Bacher for Thompson, knocked away by Fletcher, but he's been called for pass interference. 1st and 10 at the 17. 0:08 to go.

Bacher throws to Tonjua Jones, but it's a little too long. 34-yard field goal attempt by Villarreal is blocked.

At the half, it's NU 14, Iowa 7.

Unbelieveable.

Throw out the stat sheet

Iowa is driving. They've gone 40 yards on 6 plays and have a 3rd and 8 at the NU 20. Christensen keeps throwing to a guy with a long name (Derrell Johnson-Koulianos) and my fingers are starting to hurt. Christensen goes up top to Stross, over McManis' head. Iowa, despite being horribly outplayed in all aspects of this game, are within a touchdown.

NU 14, Iowa 7 - :49 left

Up against it

NU 3 and outs and has to punt from its own 5. Demos does that rugby thing I hate so much and it works out, further raising my bile level. It goes 55 yards and is downed at the Iowa 40.

Just when Christensen puts it on the money

His receiver drops it. 3rd and 10 becomes 4th and 10. But Iowa's punter is running for president, evidently, because he downs the ball at the 3.

NU 14, Iowa 0. 4:05 left in the half.

Rollin, rollin, rollin

Ride 'em in rawhide. The Cats are slowly punishing the Iowa defense again. 10 plays, 48 yards. But it's getting dicey, because NU has a 4th and 10 on the Iowa 32. Field goal? Pooch punt? Going for it? We shall see.

Field goal it is. From 49 yards. And Iowa calls a timeout to ice Amado Villarreal.

He missed. Short. Iowa ball at the 32. 6:23 to go in the half.

Iow's biggest play

Is a 15 yard roughing the kicker on a punt to give it a first down at the 31. First 1st down on the game. 15 penalty yards as opposed to 10 of offense.

Matt was right

Or approximately so.

NU 11:15, Iowa 3:45

Taking Bets

End of the first quarter. The longest first quarter in the history of man. NU up 14-0.

Here are some staggering stats.

Plays: NU 33, Iowa 9

Yards: NU 196, Iowa 12

Time of Possession: ... don't know yet, but we're taking bets.

Chris: NU 12:00, Iowa 3:00
Matt: NU 13:00, Iowa 2:00
David: NU 12:37, Iowa 2:23

We'll check back when we get the stat sheets.

Iowa's punter is having a phenomenal game.

Knock, knock. Who's there? Another 3 and out for Iowa. Jake Christensen is allerging to play action fakes. On one, he tucked it and picked up three yards on a scramble ... but he had two receivers wide open down the field. Then, on 3rd and 1, he overthrows a wide-open tight end on a roll out off a play action. NU driving, 1st and 10 at its own 30. It's 31 plays to 9 now.

Today we spell domination C-A-T-S

The Cats put together a long, methodical drive that was rewarded with a Bacher play action touchdown pass to SUPERback Mark Woodsum. 13 plays, 75 yards in only 3:58. That makes it 28 plays for NU as opposed to six for Iowa. It's 183 to 3 on yards. Holy moly is the phrase you're looking for.

NU 14, Iowa 0 - 3:32 left.

Fumbling snaps for your own benefit

NU forces another 3 and out. On a 3rd down from the 29, Bacher fumbles Trevor Rees' snap. But then he picks it up and finds Eric Peterman down the sideline for 12 yards and a first down. NU is driving, 3rd and 6 at the Iowa 41. 5:37 left.

Defense! Uhh! Uhh!

NU forces a 3 and out. Then Iowa forces a 7 and out. Stefan Demos punts it into the end zone, but it wasn't his fault this time. Iowa ball at the 20. 8:29 left.

I guess the fade route isn't all evil

NU starts at its own 27, and C.J. Bacher finds Ross Lane on a slant pattern for 23 yards. Lane does a good job shielding the defender, who is right on his back. On the next play, Bacher finds Lane out in the flat. Lane shimmies and fakes Iowa's Bradley Fletcher out of his shoes, picking up 25 down the sideline. Tyrell Sutton bursts through a big hole for 15, down to the 10, and three plays later Bacher finds Kim Thompson in the back corner of the end zone for a score. BUT, Thompson is ruled out of bounds. BUT again, there is a pass interference call, which puts the ball at the 2. And Sutton plunges in, with Mike Kafka under center? And the point is?

NU 7, Iowa 0. 12:29 to go in the first

Kickoff in 6 minutes

Good morning from the Ryan Field press box, where the eastern sun is blinding and new Willie still scares the crap out of me. As we wind down the minutes to game time, here's some tidbits for you: Omar Conteh, the Cats' leading rusher, is a late scratch. Malcolm Arrington will start at outside linebacker instead of "Fast" Eddie Simpson. And goalie/third-string punter Justin Pines will be handling the kickoffs today. Then going between the pipes against Wisconsin-Green Bay tonight. Somewhere, Philip Rossman-Reich is smiling.


Predictions:
Matt - NU 13-10, extremely sloppy game, NU gets lucky in the end.
Chris - Iowa 24-17, Iowa runs all over the Cats.
David - NU 27-14, Cats put a little distance on a team for once.

Thanks for joining us. If ... in fact ... you are.