Even though I'll be routing for the Spartans today at noon, I am also cheering on Iowa's improbable running back, Mark Weisman. (That school lost a colorful All-American alumni this week, Alex Karras. I loved reading his autobiography when I was a young man.)
Weisman, who plays a position which few white guys play, has strength as a weight room rat that is very impressive.
It's a great story to hear that only one school offered him a
scholarship--the Air Force Academy--and he has been a walk-on athlete
for the past two years playing and working hard with no free ride for
the Hawkeyes.
That'll change in January when Weisman, a short 235-pound bruiser, will be given a scholarship.
I have two predictions: Weisman will out-gain Michigan State's highly touted (understandably so) Le'Veon Bell--244 pounds with impressive skills. And Iowa will beat the more talented team. It's all about heart. And the sound I will hear is the wheels coming off State's season, which we had such high hopes for.
UPDATE: I was almost right on both. Bell outgained Weisman, who went down with an injury and missed both overtimes, 141 to 116.
But I was correct that the underdog won in double overtime, 19-16.
I'm disgusted. Here are my thoughts.
Poor offensive line play--at the end of the game the left side of the line just caved on the passing plays. Why isn't Dan France playing better? McDonald (the younger brother of Patriot Nick McDonald)? I don't get it. Mark Staten is not doing the coaching job we need him to. Often ineffective play calling. OC Dan Roushar is going to be fired after the season if things don't change. This statement, ridiculous before this game, is now not so silly. A QB who is regressing the past two weeks. Does Coach Warner work on footwork? Tom Brady moves around in the pocket much better, even though Maxwell could beat him in a sprint hopping on one leg. No special play by a special athlete in William Gholston. Where's our interior defensive line presence? Rashad White? These guys should be playing better. And not substituting more quality, proven backups to the stars--Le'Veon and Gholston in particular--really showed up at the game's end. Receivers who should be better. Why does Bennie Fowler even make the field? He consistently drops passes and misses blocks. He missed an important block today in his rare appearance.
There has been a loss in confidence with the MSU QB. No attacking the middle of the field with the passing game. No screens. No misdirection. No effective play-action passing. Not even looking at the TE's. Throwing well short of the first down marker on third down. Poor clock management at the end of the half. Pitiful red zone offense. I thought that on the first overtime when we had second and eight, a Coach Saban would have attempted a pass to a receiver in the end zone, likely covered one-on-one. The heat on the coaching staff is now on high. I think the offensive line and receiver coaches need to be re-evaluated at season's end. We need more from those units, where the talent is better than the performance. I thought we were going to win this Iowa game and lose to the Skunk Bears. Now I think the coaches will open up the playbook and be unpredictable. The silver lining is perhaps we have a better chance of winning in Ann Arbor.
That'll change in January when Weisman, a short 235-pound bruiser, will be given a scholarship.
I have two predictions: Weisman will out-gain Michigan State's highly touted (understandably so) Le'Veon Bell--244 pounds with impressive skills. And Iowa will beat the more talented team. It's all about heart. And the sound I will hear is the wheels coming off State's season, which we had such high hopes for.
UPDATE: I was almost right on both. Bell outgained Weisman, who went down with an injury and missed both overtimes, 141 to 116.
But I was correct that the underdog won in double overtime, 19-16.
I'm disgusted. Here are my thoughts.
Poor offensive line play--at the end of the game the left side of the line just caved on the passing plays. Why isn't Dan France playing better? McDonald (the younger brother of Patriot Nick McDonald)? I don't get it. Mark Staten is not doing the coaching job we need him to. Often ineffective play calling. OC Dan Roushar is going to be fired after the season if things don't change. This statement, ridiculous before this game, is now not so silly. A QB who is regressing the past two weeks. Does Coach Warner work on footwork? Tom Brady moves around in the pocket much better, even though Maxwell could beat him in a sprint hopping on one leg. No special play by a special athlete in William Gholston. Where's our interior defensive line presence? Rashad White? These guys should be playing better. And not substituting more quality, proven backups to the stars--Le'Veon and Gholston in particular--really showed up at the game's end. Receivers who should be better. Why does Bennie Fowler even make the field? He consistently drops passes and misses blocks. He missed an important block today in his rare appearance.
There has been a loss in confidence with the MSU QB. No attacking the middle of the field with the passing game. No screens. No misdirection. No effective play-action passing. Not even looking at the TE's. Throwing well short of the first down marker on third down. Poor clock management at the end of the half. Pitiful red zone offense. I thought that on the first overtime when we had second and eight, a Coach Saban would have attempted a pass to a receiver in the end zone, likely covered one-on-one. The heat on the coaching staff is now on high. I think the offensive line and receiver coaches need to be re-evaluated at season's end. We need more from those units, where the talent is better than the performance. I thought we were going to win this Iowa game and lose to the Skunk Bears. Now I think the coaches will open up the playbook and be unpredictable. The silver lining is perhaps we have a better chance of winning in Ann Arbor.
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