Category: Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa fan goes viral during Game 3 of the World Series

“If you’re a Diamondbacks fan and you want your team to score, maybe you shouldn’t wear an Iowa Hawkeyes t-shirt to the game. Just sayin”

On the day when Iowa announced that offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz wouldn’t return next season. An Iowa fan took center stage during Game 3 of the World Series.

The Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 to take the 2-1 series lead. But apparently, that wasn’t the outcome that one particular Iowa fan was concerned about.

In the last game involving the Iowa Hawkeyes football team, they lost a game to the Minnesota Golden Gophers under controversial circumstances. Standout cornerback Cooper DeJean returned a punt 54 yards for the game-winning touchdown against Minnesota. The only problem is that it didn’t count as the refs ruled that DeJean signaled for a fair catch.

We will let you be the judge of that.

One fan brought up a good point for a team that struggled to score on Monday night at Chase Field. Maybe they should have worn a shirt of a high-powered offense or even a medium-powered offense.

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Iowa OC Brian Ferentz is officially out following the season

Iowa Hawkeyes interim AD Beth Goetz confirms that Brian Ferentz will not return for the 2024 season.

The ‘Drive to 325’ is officially over. After initial reports indicated that Brian Ferentz would not return in 2024, it was later confirmed by interim AD Beth Goetz.

It was well known that in order for the younger Ferentz to return next season, there were two stipulations. The Hawkeyes must win seven games and the offense must average 25 points per game.

The first stipulation would be achieved with the next win by the Iowa football team. With Northwestern, Rutgers, Illinois, and Nebraska left on the schedule, the task isn’t exactly challenging.

As for the 25 points per game stipulation, that felt like a really high bar considering how the team has performed this season. Currently, Iowa is the No. 120 of 133 teams in FBS. They have averaged 19.5 points per game and need north of 30 points per game the rest of the way to achieve that magical 25-points-per-game mark.

With the announcement by Goetz that Brian Ferentz won’t return next season, the search for the next offensive coordinator can begin. Our colleagues at Hawkeyes Wire have put together a list of 10 names to consider.

Hawkeyes QB Cade McNamara announces decision to return to Iowa

Iowa gets some good news about next season.

When former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara opted to leave Ann Arbor for Iowa City during the offseason, many believed that it would help boost the Hawkeyes offense.

In many ways, it didn’t and the injury to McNamara was still a major blow given that Iowa didn’t have much experience behind him to fill the gap. Despite the injury to the starting quarterback, Iowa still has all of their goals in front of them including winning a Big Ten championship.

As far as next year is concerned, McNamara took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to announce his plans for beyond this season. He will be returning to the team next season.

Was not anticipating posting one of these when this year began however, there are some things in life that can not be explained but the best we can do is put our faith in God and follow the path he has chosen for us.

I want to thank everyone for all the love and support. The road ahead is a rigorous one but nothing I haven’t overcome before. I can’t wait to get back to Iowa City to support my teammates for the rest of this season!

I had a vision when I decided to come to Iowa and that vision remains the same. There is still a lot I want to accomplish in the Black and Gold and look forward to bringing it to life in the 2024 season. Go Hawks!

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Iowa needs a strong finish for Brian Ferentz to keep his job

Iowa’s offense needs to step it up if Brian Ferentz wants to return in 2024.

All eyes have been on the Iowa Hawkeyes and offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz this season. There is a stipulation in his contract that he needs to average 25 points per game in order to be retained following the season.

Some have called this “The Drive to 325”. No matter what you call it, this stipulation could put an end to nepotism within the Hawkeyes program and force his father, Kirk, to fire his son at the season’s end.

2023 Results:

Opponent Points
Utah State 24
Iowa State 20
Western Michigan 41
Penn State 0
Michigan State 26
Purdue 20
Wisconsin 15

The first seven games of the season put the average at 20.9, which ranks No. 115 of 133 teams in FBS. Right on pace with last year’s team that finished No. 123 at 17.7 points per game.

Remaining Schedule

Date Opponent
Oct. 21 vs Minnesota
Nov. 4 vs Northwestern (Wrigley Field)
Nov. 11 vs Rutgers
Nov. 18 vs Illinois
Nov. 24 at Nebraska

Based on the number of points already scored this season, the team needs to average 30 points per game the rest of the way to achieve the mark of 325 total points. The loss of Cade McNamara was a tough blow but they weren’t exactly lighting it up with him either.

The other stipulation in Brian Ferentz’s contract was to win seven games and with a record of 6-1, that seems like a foregone conclusion at this point. The remaining schedule isn’t exactly murderer’s row.

The Hawkeyes currently have the inside track to advance to the Big Ten title game out of the West Division. Wisconsin, the team they just beat, was right on their heels but Iowa now holds the tie-breaker.

Iowa would face Michigan, Ohio State, or Penn State in the Big Ten championship game. Those teams are a combined 19-0 and 10-0 in conference play. Ohio State and Penn State will headline Week 8 in college football.

Iowa Hawkeyes are so back to defend Sickos college football crown

Forget about all the other preseason polls. The Iowa Hawkeyes start the season No. 1 and are back to defend their Sickos national title!

WE’RE NUMBER ONE! WE’RE NUMBER ONE!

Sure, you could be like the rest of the sheep out there and care about the opinions and rankings of the media. You could pay attention to the media and coaches polls, but what the heck do they even know about football?

Everyone knows that the only ranking that matters is, of course, the Sickos Committee poll. Voted on by their 93,000 followers, the Sickos Committee released their official preseason top-30 ranking!

There is a certain badge of honor that comes with being a high-ranking member of the Sickos Community. It certainly does not make you a bad team, there are actually a good amount of ranked teams who will do quite well this year. It just means that you are truly upholding the standard of college football.

Everyone knows that the NFL is king for the best football played in the world, but there’s just a certain element missing from the league. It’s almost too polished in a sense. College football is the perfect mix of good football, alongside the goofiness. If you are a fan of one of the top-ranked teams, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

That my friends, is what being a college football sicko is all about. Without further ado, here’s a complete breakdown of all 30 ranked teams in the Sickos Committee preseason poll.

Top three kickers in the Big Ten for 2023

Big things are expected of Parker Lewis, but does he make the list of top kickers? #GoBucks #B1G

The Big Ten is usually fairly strong in the kicking department, but not this season as there are more than a few new faces. All three of the players chosen for this list are arguable and you could move them around as you see fit. I wouldn’t argue much, but there is some big-time potential on this list.

It is tough to discuss special teams without Iowa, so its kicker was an obvious selection and Ohio State is expecting big things from its transfer from USC. The last selection was a consistent leg from Illinois that deserves more recognition. That’s enough of a preview, let’s dive into the top three kickers in the Big Ten.

Florida, Oklahoma, LSU, and Iowa athletes nominated for ESPY awards

LSU and Iowa will battle it out again, but this time they won’t be wearing basketball shoes or playing on the hardwood.

2023 ESPY award nominations have been announced and Florida, Oklahoma, LSU, and Iowa all have athletes nominated for awards. The 2023 ESPYs will air live on Wednesday, July 12, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC from Los Angeles.

LSU and Iowa will battle it out again, but this time they won’t be wearing basketball shoes or playing on the hardwood. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese of LSU will vie for position against Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers, and Julio Rodríguez of the Seattle Mariners for the Best Breakthrough Athlete award.

Gymnast Trinity Thomas of Florida is nominated for Best Play for her perfect 10 which tied the All-Time NCAA record. She is the only Florida athlete represented in the nominations. She competes for the award against UCLA soccer player Ally Lemos with the perfect corner to tie the National Championship game and two other professional athletes.

Oklahoma Sooners softball and LSU women’s basketball are nominated for Best Team. The Sooners will also be represented as softball player Jordy Bahl is nominated for Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports along with  Caitlin Clark, Izzy Scane of Northwestern Lacrosse, and Trinity Thomas.

Recipients of the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and the Pat Tillman Award for Service will be announced next week.

Top three tight ends in the Big Ten for 2023

Ohio State football leads the way with the best tight end in the Big Ten #GoBucks #B1G

The Big Ten is packed with talented tight ends and unlike most conferences, the majority of Big Ten teams like to utilize the tight end. We recently discussed the wide receivers in the Big Ten and other than the top two, it was hard to identify a clear-cut number three guy, but the tight end list was hard to compile for the opposite reason.

The Big Ten has five legitimate candidates to be placed in our top three list, but we wanted to stick with a familiar face and some unique transfers that have impressive resumes and are heading to favorable situations. Once again we see the Ohio State Buckeyes represent with a top-tier receiving talent that is on another level from the rest of the Big Ten.

The other two players on this list are transfers, but one with Big Ten experience and the other rolling the dice on his third team, but now it’s time to dive in.

 

2023 Buckeyes Wire Preseason All-Big Ten team: Specialists

There are some intriguing specialists in the Big Ten and one special Buckeye returner. #GoBucks #B1G

The 2023 college football season is right around the corner and the Big Ten is loaded with top-notch talent and predicting who will end up on the All-Big Ten has proven challenging. Not only was it hard to choose one player over another, but it was also hard to admit that some of Ohio State’s most prominent rivals have some serious dogs on their squad.

This list will dive into the specialists — and as expected — the Big Ten has some dominant specialists that make it very hard to narrow it down to just one at each position. This list may appear biased considering the amount of Buckeyes who made the list, but it would be hard for the most objective fan to deny the insane talent that was chosen.

In the age of the transfer portal, it is possible for a complete dark horse to rise as a frontrunner, but we will do our best to provide the most educated guess based on previous performances and situations.

Twitter applauds as former Iowa golfer Alex Schaake qualifies for U.S. Open after 8-hole playoff

It was a marathon round that didn’t want to end, but when it did, it was with former Iowa golfer Alex Schaake qualifying for the U.S. open.

The day started early for former Iowa Hawkeyes golfer Alex Schaake and, at points, it didn’t seem as though it was ever going to end. On what is known as “golf’s longest day,” he was slated to play 36 holes of golf at Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ohio, in an effort to qualify for the U.S. Open.

His 36 holes quickly turned into 44 as he had to outlast others in an 8-hole playoff. He joins his brother, Carson, in family bragging rights, as Carson qualified for the 2021 U.S. Open.

There were 75 golfers teeing it up with just five qualifying spots up for grabs. Schaake’s final score of 7-under was good enough for him to secure a spot in the U.S. Open, which takes place June 15-18 at the Los Angeles Country Club.

While at Iowa, Schaake was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, four-time Big Ten Golfer of the Week, and the only Hawkeye golfer to ever be a postseason all-conference player four times.

Once the final putt fell, Twitter took to it to celebrate Schaake qualifying for the U.S. Open and representing the Iowa Hawkeyes.

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