Sunday, October 25, 2020

Big Ten Network Unveils New Logo and Brand Identity

 


 CHICAGO, Ill. – Today, the Big Ten Network unveiled a new logo and brand identity with the kickoff of the 2020 Big Ten football season. The transformation is intended to provide brand consistency and highlight the network’s position as the home for Big Ten Conference events, news and storytelling.

 “Since the Big Ten Network was created in 2007, our mission has been to serve as THE destination for fans and alumni on all things Big Ten,” said Big Ten Network president, François McGillicuddy. “The new look leans heavily on the iconic “B1G” mark, which has come to represent the athletic and academic success of our 14 Big Ten universities, and underscores the nature of who we are and what we do.”

 The new network logo, as well as numerous school and sport-specific variations, will be implemented across all linear and digital platforms, including game broadcasts, studio shows, social media platforms, original programming and marketing applications. The logo was created by Pentagram, which also developed the Big Ten Conference logo.

 The rebrand was developed in conjunction with both the Big Ten and FOX Sports, as well as external feedback encompassing research focus groups across multiple cities in the Big Ten. As part of the overall campaign, Troika will also produce a Big Ten Network brand campaign, launching with this 30-second spot on Friday, Oct. 23.

  A revamped Big Ten Network+, featuring live streams of non-televised events and replays of televised events, is scheduled to launch in the coming weeks. One immediate change fans will notice this fall is the introduction sport-specific packages. Users are now able to choose a subscription based on sport in addition to the existing school-specific and league-wide options.  

  About Big Ten Network: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, Big Ten Network is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 1,700 events across all platforms, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. The Fox Sports App is the digital extension of the Big Ten Network, delivering live games and on-demand programming to Big Ten Network customers via the web, smartphones, and tablets. Network events include football, men’s and women’s basketball games, dozens of Big Ten Olympic sports and championship events, studio shows and classic games. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation’s finest universities, including the Emmy-nominated The Journey. The network is in more than 60 million homes across the United States and Canada, including carriage by all the major video distributors, such as DIRECTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, Charter Spectrum, Comcast Xfinity, Altice USA, Cox Communications, Mediacom, RCN, WOW!, and approximately 300 additional video providers across North America. Big Ten Network is also available through the majority of streaming providers, including AT&T TV NOW, YouTube TV, Hulu Live, Sling TV and fuboTV. For additional information, please visit www.btn.com.

Black Team Sweeps 200-Free Relay to Win Intrasquad Meet

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The Black team swept the 200-freestyle relay to win University of Iowa swimming and diving team’s annual Black & Gold Intrasquad Meet, 115-101, on Saturday morning at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.

With the score tied at 101 heading into the final event of the meet, the women’s relay consisting of Kelsey Drake, Macy Rink, Maddie Black, and Kennedy Gilbertson posted a winning time of 1:33.66. The men’s relay of Aleksey Tarasenko, Mateusz Arndt, Will Myhre, and DJ Rogers put an exclamation point on the black win, posting a time of 1:22.86.

 The Gold team started the meet off with a sweep when Julia Koluch, Zoe Mekus, Alexa Puccini, and Sarah Schemmel touched first in the 200-medley relay in 1:43.54.  The men’s relay of Ryan Purdy, Daniel Swanepoel, Seth Miller, and Drew Harris won the men’s race in 1:29.34, giving the Gold team a 14-0 lead.

The Black team also got victories from Rink in the 200 free (1:49.60) and 500 free (4:58.05), Arndt in the 200 free (1:37.58) and 500 free (4:27.62), Maddie Ziegert in the 50 free (23.93), Mallory Jump in 200 IM (2:01.74 and 100 fly (53.94), Tarasenko in 100 free (44.38), Aleksanda Olesiak in 100 breast (1:03.56), Myhre in 100 breast (54.34), and Sam Tamborski in diving.

The Gold squad got wins from Seth Miller in the 50 free (20.60), Anze Fers Erzen in the 200 IM (1:50.85), Jonatan Posligua in diving (91.00), Lauren McDougall in the 100 free (51.25), Julia Koluch in the 100 back (56.41), and Purdy in the 100 back (48.42) and 100 fly (48.90).

Freshman Sarah Ballard sprinted to a win in the diver 50 free in 30.04, while Michael Huebner won the men’s diver 50 free in 25.56.  Manager Jon Titlbaum got the final Gold win, during the manager goggle toss to even the score at 101.

The Hawkeyes’ 2020-21 schedule will be released when available.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Tigers Are Runners-Up At RVC Meet

MONTICELLO — The surging Tipton girl’s cross-country team brought home a runner-up finish at last week’s River Valley Conference meet. The Tigers began the season ranked No. 10 in the preseason rankings in Class 2A. The Tigers are now No. 3 and head to this week’s state qualifying meet with momentum.

The Tigers placed second in the team race with 74 points. Class 2A top-ranked Mid-Prairie won the meet with 24 points. The Golden Hawks had four of their five scoring runners place in the top-10 led by Danielle Hostetler who won the race in 18:44. Monticello placed third, two points behind THS with 76 points. The rest of the top-5 team finishers were Class 1A No. 1 Iowa City Regina fourth with 107 points, and Northeast, fifth with 163 points.

Tipton was led by a pair of Elite All-Conference selections. Senior Kallie Wallick led THS finishers with a 9th place finish in 20:14. Wallick is ranked as the No. 24 runner in Class 2A. Alivia Edens placed tenth in 20:21. Edens is ranked as the No. 19 runner in 2A. Rebecca Hinderaker was next, earning all-conference honrs with an 11th place finish in 20:31. Hinderaker is ranked No. 22 in Class 2A.

Addie Nerem earned honorable mention all-conference honors with a 23rd place finish in 21:21. The Tigers had two more finishers in the top-30. Coryn Wallick missed all-conference honors by one place, placing 26th in 21:40. Chloe Klabo placed 29th in 21:47. Other Tipton finishers were Alyssa Mente 33rd in 21:58 and Alli Nash 51st in 23:49.


Knights Compete At RVC Meet

MONTICELLO - The North Cedar Knights competed at the River Valley Conference meet on Tuesday, October 13. There, both North Cedar teams had enough runners to score as a team. On the girl’s side, North Cedar scored 177 points. Mid-Prairie won the girl’s team title with 24 points while Tipton was a distant second with 74 points. Monticello was right behind the Tigers in third place with 76 points.

Danielle Hostetler won the girl’s race with a time of 18:44. Hunter Jones was the top Knight finisher, placing 15th in 20:45. Kiley Chapman also placed in the top-25 finishers with a 22nd place finish in 21:16. Other North Cedar finishers were Karly Cerda 63rd, Sarah Redhage 64th, and Jillet Spahr 68th.


Beavers Collect A Pair Of Top-50 Finishes

MONTICELLO — The Wilton cross-country team had a pair of runners at the RVC meet last week. Wilton did not have enough runners to score in the team race. Ava Barrett placed 48th in 23:28 to lead Wilton finishers. Hannah Rogers was right behind her in 49th place in 23:33.

Durant had one runner compete at the meet, but she did not finish.


State qualifying meet sites now known

DES MOINES — Late last week, the 2020 assignments for this week’s state qualifying meets were released. State qualifying meets are on Thursday at 4:00 p.m.

In Class 2A, Tipton will travel to Jesup. Teams with the Tigers were Anamosa, Beckman, Waterloo Columbus, Crestwood, Jesup, New Hampton, North Fayette, Northeast, Oelwein, Osage, Starmong, Union, and Waukon.

In Class 2A, Wilton will run at Williamsburg. Teams with the Beavers were Camanche, Cardinal, Central Lee, Danville-New London, Eddyville-Blakebsburg-Fremont, Louisa-Muscatine, Mid-Prairie, PCM, Pella Christian, Springville-Central City, West Liberty, West Marshall, Williamsburg, and Wilton.

In Class 1A, North Cedar and Durant will travel to Cascade for their meet. Teams there are Belle Plaine, Bellevue, BGM, Calamus-Wheatland, Cascade, DUrant, Easton Valley, English Valleys, Highland, HLV, Hudson, Iowa Valley, Isaac Newton Christian Academy, Lone Tree, Marquette, Midland, North Cedar, Prince of Peace, and Rivermont Collegiate.

The state cross-country meet in Fort Dodge will be on Saturday, October 31 with the Class 1A and 2A classes. Classes 3A and 4A were moved to Friday, October 30.


River Valley Conference Meet

Monticello, IA

Tuesday, October 13

Girl’s Team Scores: 1. Mid-Prairie 24, 2. Tipton 74, 3. Monticello 76, 4. Iowa City Regina 107, 5. Northeast 163, 6. Anamosa 170, 7. Cascade 170, 8. North Cedar 177. No Team Scores: Wilton, Durant, Bellevue, West Liberty.


Top-10 Finishers:

1. Danielle Hostetler (MP) 18:44, 2. Sydney Yoder (MP) 19:22, 3. Jaden Yoder (MP) 19:22, 4. Annalee Bartels (ICR) 19:26, 5. Mitzi Evans (MP) 19:40, 6. Emma Althoff (MONTI) 19:41, 7. Emma Ostwinkle (CAS) 20:10, 8. Karle Kramer (MONTI) 20:13, 9. Kallie Wallick (TIP) 20:14, 10. Alivia Edens (TIP) 20:21.


Individual Team Results:

TIPTON (74): 9. Kallie Wallick 20:14, 10. Alivia Edens 20:21, 11. Rebecca Hinderaker 20:31, 23. Addie Nerem 21:21, 26. Coryn Wallick 21:40, 29. Chloe Klabo 21:47, 33. Alyssa Mente 21:58, 51. Alli Nash 23:49


NORTH CEDAR (177): 15. Hunter Jones 20:45, 22. Kiley Chapman 21:16, 63. Karly Cerda 27:24, 64. Sarah Redhage 27:25, 68. Jillet Spahr 29:19.


WILTON (NTS): 48. Ava Barrett 23:28, 49. Hannah Rogers 23:33.


DURANT (NTS):

Tigers Take Second At RVC Meet



MONTICELLO — The Tipton boy’s cross-country team placed second at last week’s annual River Valley Conference meet. The Tigers scored 61 team points and placed second to the host Monticello Panthers who scored 55 points. The rest of the top-5 saw Mid-Prairie place third with 89 points, Bellevue place fourth with 116 ponts, and Northeast place fifth with 126 points. Four boy’s cross-country teams from the RVC were ranked at the time of the meet. In Class 2A, No. 2 Tipton and No. 5 Mid-Prairie were joined by Class 1A No. 4 Bellevue and No. 15 Cascade.

The Tigers were led by three Elite All-Conference selections with a pair of top-10 finishes. The Tigers were led by RVC runner-up Caleb Shumaker who ran to a finishing time of 15:53. It is the second straight meet for Shumaker with a time under 16:00. Shumaker is ranked No. 1 in Class 2A. Bellevue’s Brady Griebel won the individual River Valley Conference title winning the race in a time of 15:48. That time is a new conference record. Griebel is ranked No. 3 in Class 1A. The rest of the top five went third, Jamison Stutzman from Mid-Prairie in 16:34, Dylan Darsidan from Camanche, fourth in 16:38, and Payton Griebel from Bellevue, fifth in 16:45. Stutzman is ranked No. 15 in 2A and Darsidan is ranked No. 3 in 2A. Payton Griebel is ranked 21st in 1A.

Also in the top-10 were Cody Bohlmann 7th in 16:56 and Ty Nichols 8th in 17:12. Troy Butler collected all-conference honors with a 19th place finish in 17:46. All three Tiger runners are ranked in Class 2A. Ty Nichols is No. 18, Cody Bohlmann is No. 19, and Butler is No. 28.

Two more Tigers placed in the top-30 finishers. Bob Ryan placed 25th in 18:11 and A.J. Thumma placed 28th in 18:21. Other THS finishers were Brody Deerberg 57th in 19:28, Caleb Jedlicka 72nd in 20:18, Andy Shumaker 84th in 20:57, and Carson Glick 85th in 20:57.


Knights Compete At RVC Meet

MONTICELLO - The North Cedar Knights competed at the River Valley Conference meet on Tuesday, October 13. There, both North Cedar teams had enough runners to score as a team. The Knight girl’s placed eighth and the boy’s team placed 11th in the final team standings.

On the boy’s side North Cedar scored 316 points. Monticello won the boy’s team title with 55 points while Tipton was second with 61 and Mid-Prairie was third with 89. Bellevue’s Brady Griebel won the meet in a time of 15:48.

Jacob Spahr was the top North Cedar finisher, placing 73rd in 20:20. David Redhage was right behind him in 76th place in 20:29. Marshall VanOort placed 95th in 23:22 to give the Knights three runners in the top-100 finishers. Other North Cedar finishers were Joe Riedesel placing 101st and Leighton Tjaden placing 109th.


Durant and Wilton Have runners at RVC meet

MONTICELLO — Two area cross-country teams competed at the River Valley Conference meet in Monticello last week. Both Durant and Wilton both had runners at the meet, but neither had enough to score in the final team races.

For Wilton, the Beavers had two runners place in the top-70 finishers. Jake Walton led WIlton finishers, placing 46th in 19:13. Brody Brisker also was at the meet and placed 61st in a time of 19:57.

For Durant, the Wildcats had four runners place in the top-100 at the meet. Xander Fleming placed 70th in 20:12 to lead Durant. Braden Wagner placed 79th in 20:43 followed by Nathan Mommey 81st in 20:46 and William Richardson placed 100th in 27:40.


State qualifying meet sites now known

DES MOINES — Late last week, the 2020 assignments for this week’s state qualifying meets were released. State qualifying meets are on Thursday at 4:00 p.m.

In Class 2A, Tipton will travel to Jesup. Teams with the Tigers were Anamosa, Beckman, Waterloo Columbus, Crestwood, Jesup, New Hampton, North Fayette, Northeast, Oelwein, Osage, Starmong, Union, and Waukon.

In Class 2A, Wilton will run at Williamsburg. Teams with the Beavers were Camanche, Cardinal, Central Lee, Danville-New London, Eddyville-Blakebsburg-Fremont, Louisa-Muscatine, Mid-Prairie, PCM, Pella Christian, Springville-Central City, West Liberty, West Marshall, Williamsburg, and Wilton.

In Class 1A, North Cedar and Durant will travel to Cascade for their meet. Teams there are Belle Plaine, Bellevue, BGM, Calamus-Wheatland, Cascade, DUrant, Easton Valley, English Valleys, Highland, HLV, Hudson, Iowa Valley, Isaac Newton Christian Academy, Lone Tree, Marquette, Midland, North Cedar, Prince of Peace, and Rivermont Collegiate.

The state cross-country meet in Fort Dodge will be on Saturday, October 31 with the Class 1A and 2A classes. Classes 3A and 4A were moved to Friday, October 30.


River Valley Conference Meet

Monticello, IA

Tuesday, October 13

Boy’s Team Scores: 1. Monticello 55, 2. Tipton 61, 3. Mid-Prairie 89, 4. Bellevue 116, 5. Northeast 126, 6. Cascade 159, 7. Anamosa 168, 8. Camanche 173, 9. Iowa City Regina 210, 10. West LIberty 301, 11. North Cedar 316.


Top-10 Finishers:

1. Brady Griebel (B) 15:48, 2. Caleb Shumaker (TIP) 15:53, 3. Jamison Stutzman (MP) 16:34, 4. Dylan Darsidan (CAM) 16:38, 5. Payton Griebel (B) 16:45, 6. Jasper Nietert (MONTI) 16:56, 7. Cody Bohlmann (TIP) 16:56, 8. Ty Nichols (TIP) 17:12, 9. Andrew Butt (CAM) 17:17, 10. Zach Chapman (MONTI) 17:24.


Individual Team Results:

TIPTON (61): 2. Caleb Shumaker 15:53, 7. Cody Bohlmann 16:56, 19. Troy Butler 17:46, 25. Bob Ryan 18:11, 28. A.J. Thumma 18:21, 57. Brody Deerberg 19:38, 72. Caleb Jedlicka 20:18, 84. Andy Shumaker 20:57, 85. Carson Glick 20:57.


NORTH CEDAR (316): 73. Jacob Spahr 20:20, 76. David Redhage 20:29, 95. Marshall VanOort 23:22, 101. Joe Riedesel 27:49, 109. Leighton Tjaden 29:00.


WILTON (NTS): 46. Jake Walton 19:13, 61. Brody Brisker 19:57.


DURANT (NTS): 70. Xander Fleming 20:12, 79. Braden Wagner 20:43, Nathan Moomey 20:46, 100. William Richarson 27:40.

Tigers Dominant In Opening Round Win Over Rockets

 TIPTON — The Tipton Tigers scored a 49-14 Class 2A postseason opening round win last Friday at home. The Tigers beat Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 49-14 to advance to the next round this Friday. The Rockets came to town with an identical record as the Tigers (3-3), but the two teams were vastly different. It was clear that the Rockets hadn’t played a team with as big of a team as the Tigers across both sides of the line. The Tigers never trailed in the ball game and overwhelmed the Rockets with 35 first half points to help in the win. The victory was the first postseason win for THS since a win over Wilton in the 2007 season 21-20 at Wilton. Tipton has lost in the postseason four times since 2010, twice to Iowa City Regina, once to Williamsburg and once to Waukon. The Tigers last played Mid- Prairie in the postseason in the 2008 season. THS lost that game 35-14.

Tipton rushed for 312 yards on 30 carries and averaged 10.4 yards a carry in the game. Four different Tigers scored rushing touchdowns in the game. Levi Daniel led the Tigers with 129 yards on nine carries with two touchdowns. Payten Elijah got close to topping the 1,000 yard mark for the season with his 73 rushing yards. He added two more touchdowns, one in each half, to his team high 13. Seniors Bandon Hines and Lake Anderson added short scoring runs of 1-yard and 4 yards. Elijah passed for 43 yards and a touchdown and was 5-for-6 in the game. Anderson caught two passes and Carson Charves had a touchdown reception. Defensively, Tipton was led in tackles by Kaleb Nerem with nine, Skyler Schmidt and Austin Hubler with five each and Charves with 4.5.

The winner of the Tigers-Golden Hawk game will win Class 2A Pod No. 12. After this Friday’s games the 2A field will be down to sixteen playoff teams. Like the Rockets, Mid-Prairie is out of Class 2A District 7. The Golden Hawks have a good running back in senior Kayden Reinier who was second in district 7 in rushing with 1,190 yards and first in rushing touchdowns with 17. Another name to follow is senior quarterback Vinny Bowlin who has nearly 1,300 yards of total offense. Clarke Latchem is the top Mid-Prairie receiver with 248 yards. The Golden Hawks come into the game with a record of 4-3. Mid-Prairie beat Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 55-0 during the regular season and has wins against Central Lee, and West Burlington. The Golden Hawks beat Central Lee 49-7 last Friday. The Golden Hawks rushed for 332 yards and 6 touchdowns as a team with an 8.7-yard per carry average. Two Mid-Prairie rushers had over 100 yards and Mid-Prairie passed for 91 yards.

Tipton scored the first points of the ball game on their second possession of the game in the first quarter. A Lake Anderson 4-yard run gave Tipton a 7-0 lead and momentum. The Tigers defense stuffed the Rockets on the ensuing EBF possession, forcing a three and out, ending the drive with a punt. The Tigers needed only two plays to score after a 20-yard punt return by Caden Schmidt and a big play on the first play of the drive, a 39-yard scamper by Carter Hill to get the Tigers in the red zone. The next play saw Levi Daniel score on a 2-yard run to give THS a 14-0 lead. That score stood after one quarter of play.

Tipton would extend their lead to 35-0 by halftime after scoring 21 points in the second quarter. Quarterback Payten Elijah had a 10-yard touchdown pass to Carson Charves and a 43-yard touchdown run in the quarter. Senior Brandon Hines also found the end zone in the quarter and had a good game with 44 rushing yards on five carries.

The Tigers scored a touchdown in each of the two second half quarters to match the 14 points the Rockets scored in the second half.


Tipton 49, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 14

Friday, October 16

At Tipton

1 2 3 4 Final

EBF 0 0 6 8 14

Tipton 14 21 7 7 49


Scoring Summary:

1st Qtr - TIP - Lake Anderson 4-yard run (Eli Jauron kick)

1st Qtr - TIP - Levi Daniel 2-yard run (Eli Jauron kick)

2nd Qtr - TIP - Carson Charves 10-yard pass from Payten Elijah (Eli Jauron kick)

2nd Qtr - TIP - Payten Elijah 43-yard run (Eli Jauron kick)

2nd Qtr - TIP - Brandon Hines 1-yard run (Eli Jauron kick)



Individual Statistics (Tipton Statistics Only):

Rushing: Levi Daneil 9-129, Payten Elijah 9-73, Brandon Hines 5-44, Carter Hill 3-60, Lake Anderson 2-10, Griffin Naderman 2-(-4).

Passing: Payten Elijah 5-for-6 43 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT’s.

Receiving: Lake Anderson 2-28, Carson Charves 1-10, Caden Schmidt 1-6, Carter Hill 1-(-1).


Defensive Statistics:

Tackles: Kaleb Nerem 9, Skyler Schmidt 5, Austin Hubler 5, Carson Charves 4.5, Carter Hill 3, Nile Schuett 3, Lake Anderson 3, Levi Daniel 2, Payten Elijah 1.5, Colton Miedl 1, Jaxon Schott 1, Eli Jauron 1, Braden Bartels 0.5, Landon Holub 0.5, Brandon Hines 0.5, Grady Glick 0.5.

Tackles for Loss: Austin Hubler 3, Carter Hill 1.5, Carson Charves 1.5, Levi Daniel 1.5, Lake Anderson 1.5, Nile Schuett 1, Skyler Schmidt 0.5, Payten Elijah 0.5.

Sacks: none.

Fumble recoveries: none.

Interceptions: none.


Kicking Statistics:

Kicking: Eli Jauron 8-343 yards.

Kick Returns: Nile Schuett 1-9.

Punts: Payten Elijah 1-24 yards, 24.0-ave.

Punt Returns: Caden Schmidt 3-40.

‘The Heartland’ Returns This Fall

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced on Wednesday that “The Heartland Show, presented by Iowa Corn” is returning during the football, basketball, and wrestling seasons in 2020-21.

The Heartland is produced by the UI Athletics HawkVision staff, and will include nine football shows during the fall. The 14 winter shows will feature men’s basketball in each edition, with women’s basketball and wrestling each being featured in seven of the shows.

The Heartland provides a weekly all-access look at the Iowa programs during the fall and winter. Features will include Hawkeye student-athletes, coaches, and staff members in their daily activities within the Hawkeye programs.

The show will air on the following outlets at different times during the week, beginning Wednesday, Oct. 21:

 

Mediacom MC 22:                                       Wed., 6 p.m./Fri., 6:30 p.m./Sat., 10 a.m.

KCWI Des Moines:                                       Saturday, Noon

CFU Cedar Falls:                                           Thursday, 7 p.m.

KCRG-D2 Cedar Rapids:                              Wed., 6 p.m. thru Dec. then returns to 7 p.m.

KCRG Cedar Rapids:                                    Sunday, 10:35 p.m.

KGCW Rock Island:                                     Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

KYOU Ottumwa:                                          Sunday, 10 p.m.

Big Ten Network:                                         Thursday, 7:30 a.m.


In addition to the television series, “Hawk Talk with Kirk Ferentz presented by VUE Rooftop” makes its 2020 debut tonight. Hawk Talk will air each Wednesday during the football season from 6:30-8 p.m. (CT) on participating affiliates of the Hawkeye Radio Network and on KCRG 9.2. Due to the pandemic, the show will be held remotely this year and not on location at VUE Rooftop.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Iowa Football: Kirk Ferentz Weekly News Conference Transcript

 KIRK FERENTZ: Good afternoon. Appreciate your coverage of the team. Good news right now is that it is game week. I don't know if any of us thought that was ever going to happen, so certainly we're excited about that -- the fact that it’s going to take place.

I think for all of us, not only in sports but just in life, it's been an interesting path for sure, a strange path. And the bottom line is as we move forward, it's going to stay abnormal for sure, and everybody is going to have to just stay very vigilant in the program and outside, and we're all going to have to continue to adjust and adapt as we move along. That's certainly been a big part of the last several weeks and several months. Don't see that changing a lot.

Certainly we had our challenges during the summer from a training standpoint, and then when the season got pushed on August 11, that really was a low point from a football standpoint for our team. It was obviously a significant change when the season got reinstated, and I can't say enough about the players and what they've done since that time.

That being said, we still have serious concerns about our conditioning level and have had through this entire time just because of the lack of consistency and getting the guys in early. For the most part I don't think it was until last week where we really felt were at a level where we could practice as long and as hard as maybe we would like to. At least we were able to build up to that point, but all that being said, all along the way, the players worked hard, they had a great attitude, and they're clearly excited about having a chance to play football, and we're excited about having a chance to coach them again.

That part is all good, and I’m really proud of the guys' efforts.

As we shift our sights to Purdue, the first thing I want to do is extend on behalf of everybody in our program, our best wishes to Coach Brohm. Very sorry to hear that he got hit by the virus and hoping that he has a very quick recovery. It's just a reminder just how real this is. It's everywhere, so nobody is immune from it, but certainly wish him the best as he moves forward.

We can only have one captain go out for the toss, but we have five, Keith Duncan will represent the special teams, Chauncey Golston, Nick Neimann on the defensive side, Mekhi Sargent, and Tyler Linderbaum on offense.

Like every first game, it certainly presents unique challenges. This one is a little bit different. I can't remember the last time we opened up with a Big Ten game in the opener. That's going to be different for sure, raises the stakes. This season is very different playing nine straight Big Ten opponents.

Going into Purdue we're going into this first game with a lot of unknowns certainly, but one consistent thing you can say over the last three years since Coach Brohm has gotten there, he and his staff have done a great job. They've always had talented players and they've got some very talented players right now.

They're very well-coached, and they have a clear identity of what I think they want to be as a team. If you look back at his track record, they've always been a very explosive productive offensive outfit, and that's certainly the case. That's what we expect from this year's Purdue team, as well.

Offensively they have a system in place. They've been doing it for a long time and they've been extremely successful. They throw the ball as well as anybody that we'll face, and they have two of the better receivers that we've probably ever gone against at any one time.

I think back to last year about Minnesota coming in here with a quarterback that could really throw it and two outstanding receivers. But beyond that, a really good group of skill players. And Purdue has good running backs, they have other receivers that are really good, but they have two that are as good as you'll find anywhere in the country. That's going to be a real big challenge for our defensive team and our team in general.

And then it's interesting on the defensive side and special teams side they have two new coordinators there. Not only is it a first game, but we're looking at film of players playing in different systems and what we're going to see this week coming up. On the defensive side, Bobby Diaco, an Iowa grad, has done an outstanding job in his career coordinating defenses, and now he's at Purdue. And then the special teams coordinator came from North Texas, and he's had a very successful career, as well.

On both sides a lot of unknowns. We have a chance to see some of the players that are going to be back, but we're going to be playing different schemes, so we have a lot of projecting in that regard.

One thing of note on the special teams, Rondale Moore is a returner as well, besides being a great receiver. Had a 28-yard punt return against us two years ago, the biggest one we gave up that season. He's a very dangerous player in that regard, too.

That's kind of a little bit of a nutshell there.

The bottom line is, we're playing football and that's the best thing right now. I'm sure it's not unique. I know all the way through this it's not going to look the same, the crowd won't be the same, home or away, very different experience that way. It's just been an unusual path for everybody involved in college football.

Common denominator is we're all excited to have a chance to get on the field and compete. That's the exciting part. We're looking forward to the challenge on Saturday, and also just want to thank our fans. I know they won't be in the stands, but I'm sure they'll be watching, and we should just continue to appreciate their support of our team.

Q. I had a question kind of about the late-week testing process, and that's when do your players get tested, on Fridays and then Saturdays? And is there a fear of fake positives or false positives -- kind of like what happened with Nick Saban last week?

KIRK FERENTZ: Sure, our routine is that we all have a set time during the course of the week that we get tested, and then on Friday my understanding is it's obviously going to have to be before we travel. So it'll be Friday and Saturday morning. I assume at the hotel on Saturday. I haven't looked that far down the road.

But that being said, the question about the false positive, it's always a remote possibility. I think I heard somewhere in the last 24 hours that right now we're conference-wise about 98.9 percent accuracy. So no system is 100 percent perfect that I'm aware of. I think certainly we're all learning daily and continue to learn daily, but just my brief knowledge of this whole thing looking across the country, I don't think anybody has got a better system in place right now, including in the NFL, than what we have.

To me it's been the game changer that's allowed us to start practice. I think it was on September 30 when we started testing. It's what allowed us to start practicing, to limit the contact tracing issues that were causing so many problems and so many challenges.

That's been a big game changer, and it took a long while for us to get there. It was a long bumpy road to get there, but to me at least it's allowed us to have a chance to go forward. That being said, there's no guarantees on this thing. It's just I'm guessing the President has got pretty good security and pretty good insulation. Anybody can get it; that's just one reality unfortunately that we've all come to realize.

Q. Are you guys traveling bus or charter? How healthy are you guys? Is everybody going to be able play that you expected to play this weekend?

KIRK FERENTZ: As far as I know we're chartering. That's the plan right now.

Injury-wise I'm really not going to disclose anything right now. It's like any game -- we have some guys that are out. Once we get through the first game I'll talk a little bit more about that. Other guys wait and see, so we'll see how this week goes.

You throw the virus in on top of it, who knows who's going to be there on Saturday.

Q. You had mentioned in your initial comments the concerns about conditioning and maybe kind of starting to be able to practice the way you want to. Just curious what do you think the level of play is going to be not just with your team but just around the other teams starting in the Big Ten, based on maybe what you saw in some other conferences that started late but before you?

KIRK FERENTZ: I haven't watched a lot of football, but some of the football I've seen I've actually been kind of surprised. I thought there might be more turnovers, more missed tackles, all that kind of thing. We'll keep our fingers crossed. I think our guys have practiced well. I thought we gained some ground a week ago. That was really the kind of end of our preseason, if you will. It's hard to say. It's really hard to say.

But one thing that became very apparent when we started talking about practice and actually practicing, it was so different than what we would normally do in August just because of we were at. We had to be guarded, cautious just how long we were out on the field, how many things we did with our players, just for a fear of breaking down.

All that being said, we still had more soft tissue issues than we would like to and we've even had some surgeries on bones in a foot, those kinds of things. More younger players. I don't know what you attribute that to. But there's a reason why you train. There's a reason why you train, and it allows you to practice better, and hopefully practice allows you to play better. One thing about that topic, everybody has dealt with the same challenges.

Q. One follow-up on that. A lot of teams I know in some other conferences earlier in the season struggled a bit on special teams, and if you notice that, did that at all change anything that you did in preparing your special teams, maybe giving a little more emphasis to it given the odd practice structures that you've had since spring, summer, and fall?

KIRK FERENTZ: I think that's early-season football, whether you have camp or not. A lot of times, turnovers, penalties, those kinds of things are bad news for us. Any time you enter a season or any time you play in a bowl after a delay, I think those are always weighing heavy on your mind. We try to make sure the players are mindful of that. I think we've done the work to be solid in those areas, but you never know. They have a returner, and that makes it even -- there's a lot of things that can happen just if you're not quick that can really change and impact of the game.

Q. We get these updates every week from the sports information office on how many tests and how many positive tests, negative tests were received by the athletic department. Can you roughly estimate what percentage of your players and staff have had COVID, and what you've heard maybe around the country?

KIRK FERENTZ: I think I just heard Florida is having further issues. First of all, this is a very real thing. I think everywhere around the country you're seeing it happen, you're seeing games cancel. The fact that the NFL has had some issues the last couple weeks, it just illustrates nobody is immune to it. NBA had the best setup because they could create a bubble, but to expect to do that with a college football team I don't think is realistic.

We've had our share of numbers, and I won't get too specific, but we've had our share. The one thing I would share with you and talk freely about this is I think when we got the news on August 11, I thought our players dropped their guard, and maybe we did as coaches, as well.

But I think a lot of it is a mental attitude. It's not that you're going to out-tough the virus. I don't mean it in that regard. I'm not talking about that. But what I'm talking about is just being smart about what you do. Again, nobody is immune from this, but I think all of us can try to do some things to give ourselves a chance to be somewhat protected or at least minimize the risk. And I think when the news of August 11 got passed, I think everybody just had a little bit of an, Ah, hell attitude. Like what the hell? That was a hard thing to go through. I think we also went through a period back in June where for a lot of our players I'm not sure it seemed real, and then we got some guys that tested positive.

But since we've come back and gotten going when the season got rebooted, I think everybody has been as vigilant as they can. We've had very little activity in that regard. Very thankful for that. And all that being said, I know the one thing I know is you can't rest, you can't drop your guard, you can't go, okay, we're out of the woods. Just like life, you're never out of the woods, and we're certainly not out of the woods with this virus deal.

Q. Tyrone Tracy said earlier that players are going to have the option to kneel or stand for the National Anthem. Can you confirm that's true, and tell us how that decision came about, I guess?

KIRK FERENTZ: Our players do a great job of listening. I told them I thought it was best just to let it happen, but I guess that cat is out of the bag. But the real story behind that is we've had discussions going back the last couple months. I say we, the leadership group, the leadership group and myself, where we've talked about the subject three different times and shared some information with them and shared a letter from a veteran who felt very strongly about nobody should kneel.

And then I'd fast forward about 12 days ago. We had a Navy seal, 20-year Navy seal who served in two White House administrations and strategic planning, that type of thing, also led missions in South America, the middle east, Asia, give an answer that was very, very different. His spin on it was in his mind it's all about Americans being their authentic selves, doing what they feel is best and stay true to their beliefs.

In his words, that's what people like him fought for, so that our country can enjoy the liberties and freedoms that are very unique to our country. As it comes home to our leadership group, the discussions I listened to and participated in, on three separate occasions were extremely impressive. Everybody was respectful of each other's opinions, and I'm convinced right now that we'll see a variety of stances taken by our team.

But I can also tell you that what I've heard from three separate meetings is everybody is respectful of each other. Nobody is judging each other. Nobody is taking roll, any of that kind of stuff. They're acting like a team should. I'm extremely impressed with the way the guys have handled it.

Q. In the past some of your best performances, some of your team's best performances have come on the heels of some adverse situations. That includes the Penn State and Michigan turnaround in 2016, among several others. What is it about your team, your program, possibly the way you coach, that enables your team to be able to move past those tough situations and put themselves in a position to compete and a lot of times win games after adverse situations?

KIRK FERENTZ: I remember hearing Aaron Kampman years ago quoting the late Ed Thomas, his high school coach, about there are two things that can happen when you face a tough situation. You lay down and get in the fetal position or you get up and go back into the fight and you go to work. There is no option.

The bottom line is there is no option, and I think in any circumstance, whether it's a tough thing off the field, a tough thing on the field, it just gets back to reassessing what happened, where are we at, and what do we need to do to move forward. I think the common denominator in at least my 22 years here, and I'll extend it to my time as assistant coach, common denominator is we've had really good players here. Like Andre Tippett, a pro Hall of Famer, but good guys, good people on top of it. And a guy like Andre Tippett who's zoom call with our linebackers 40 years later zooming with the linebackers here this past off-season.

So there's just the quality of people here, be it our players and our coaches, support staff. I think that's been a common denominator, and I think we've all worked hard to assess what needed to be assessed. And then more importantly, how do we move forward, how do we better things, how do we improve things. I stand here today and feel very confident about where we are and feel like we got a great group of guys. I can't say enough about the way our players have handled the last however many months it's been. Left here March 13th. They've done a great, great job. That's kind of something I was banking on all along. We've got quality people here.

Q. Given what happened in June and such, we haven't really seen mass transfers out of the program; is that a good sign for you, and how have you held things together given what happened this summer?

KIRK FERENTZ: Well, you know, around June 6th I think it would have been, I don't do a lot of texting. Obviously I did send a text out to our staff just saying that we had good people in the program, what I just said, we have good people in the program and we'll work through this, and I'm confident in the people that we have, be it our players, support staff, our staff.

And that's exactly what we've done. All the things I've said publicly we've tried to put them in action, and that's the important thing. So we've tried to do a good job of listening, what are our players saying, how were they feeling, and then we've tried to find solutions to make people feel like things are a little better, but better here we can improve things, and we'll continue to do that and continue to listen to our players. That's the important thing.

But I also think they have a healthy respect for what has to be done, and I don't think anybody has lost sight of the fact this is a competitive game. And as I've said publicly at some point, you either measure up or you don't. You make that first down or you don't. You get the stop or you don't. Field goal goes in or it doesn't.

They understand that. I think they have a good understanding of that, and we'll see how it looks over the next nine weeks. It all gets back to the quality of the people, and that's one thing that's never changed. We've got really good people on this football team, and guys that want to do things right and do them together, and that's the thing that helps me sleep every night.

Q. I've been talking to Spencer Petras' high school coach and a teammate of his. Can you elaborate on some of the things he's been doing at Iowa?

KIRK FERENTZ: Well, Mazzy (phonetic) first of all is a great guy, great story. He's got a tremendous story if you've got about an hour to listen to it, on a lot of levels. Spencer is a great kid. He's just done a really nice job. We obviously liked him when we recruited him, and everything he's done since he's been here, he's grown, he's developed, improved with each opportunity, and he's practicing well right now.

So we have every confidence he'll play well this year. He’ll have some ups and downs. He is a first-year player. Everybody does. He'll be anxious and nervous on Saturday just like all of us will. That's competition. But I think he'll do an outstanding job, and he's worked hard. He acts like you'd want a quarterback to act. But it's all genuine. It's not for show or any of that kind of stuff. It's just who he is, and we're just thrilled he's on our football team.

Q. Following up with Spencer right there, he's a new quarterback coming in, but he certainly has a lot of weapons around him. How much has that helped him throughout camp in taking over that starting role where he's got so many weapons at receiver and experienced running backs and a good O-line? How much has that helped him in preparation?

KIRK FERENTZ: I think that's got to help, and then the other part of it is we have to live up to that. We should have a good receiver group, but we've got to go out and play, and I have no reason to think they won't. They've been practicing well. It's a good group of guys. Our tight ends are doing a nice job. I wish we had two more. But we've got two that have played and done a really good job, and they've grown and improved. And hopefully we'll be able to put an O-line together that can protect him and help us be effective in the run game, as well.

So I think we have a chance to have a suitable offense, but it's still got to come together. It's a matter of still working hard and we've got to finish this week up at practice, but I think all the -- we've got some experience at a lot of positions. I left out the running backs. We have three guys that we have a lot of confidence in, some younger guys doing a good job. Now it's just a matter of pulling it together and going out and executing and playing well together. It's a good group of guys, and that's got to help him a little bit.

Q. Offensive tackles with 40 starts at Big Ten schools don't grow on trees; what does Coy Cronk bring to you right off the bat?

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, as much as anything, just what you referenced, the 40 starts, the experience. You talk about a guy like Spencer who's never played, Coy is at the opposite end with 40 games under his belt already. That will be helpful to our team just to -- we lost a really good player in Tristan who's doing really well right now, but when you lose a guy that you could really count on who had that experience level, it's nice to have another guy who's also pretty experienced.

I'm not comparing the two players other than that way. So it's good. It's certainly good. AJ on the other side is a really experienced player, too, and he's done a very nice job throughout this whole preseason preparation. I've got to tell you it feels really strange seeing preseason when guys are taking mid terms during preseason practice and we're wearing winter coats out there to get in your car, so that's kind of strange. But we're thrilled that Coy is here. He's a tremendous young man.

Q. When you look at Purdue and specifically the two receivers, they always seem to have three or four or five that are pretty good. They provide probably a greater challenge than even most that you've faced recently. With your secondary do you anticipate playing five or even six defensive backs throughout the game, and how does Julius Brents kind of figure into that right now?

KIRK FERENTZ: Well, as far as Julius, he's had a really good preseason, so we're excited about that. He's doing really well. Last year he had a hard time getting things together, injuries and different -- just never kind of got in stride, but he's done a good job here this year, this preseason period.

I was trying to think about their two receivers. I was going to say they're the best we've faced except we've faced Landry and Odell Beckham. Those two guys are pretty good, they just couldn't get the ball to them. I'm thinking about Minnesota last year where they did get the ball to both those guys and they had other guys that were good, too, so it's kind of a comparable -- there's a reason why Minnesota scored as many points as they did last year and you look at Purdue and they've got a bunch of guys that can really go at the receiver position. But those two guys are marquee players. We tried to recruit Bell and just didn't have any luck, but what a great player he is, too. We had a hard time defending him last year alone, same thing with Moore the year before that and now you've got a couple quarterbacks that can play.

They're a good -- expect them to be a very explosive offensive football team. And to answer your question, we'll play -- I'm sure we'll play some five and six DB stuff.

Q. It seemed like you had a pretty good battle at guard that Cole Banwart and Kyler Schott ended up getting the starting jobs. What separated them at the end, and are you going to think about maybe using a rotation during the first game to kind of get some of those other guys out there, as well?

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, so Banwart started because I left him off the two deep last time we met, right, and I apologize for that. But yeah, to answer your question, we have some competition going on, and I really don't know who's going to start on the offensive line, but you've got those guys, you've got Kallenberger, you've got certainly Cody in the mix, Justin Britt. So we've got a handful of guys, and I'm not sure what the starting lineup is going to be.

But to your second point, I think, yeah, you'll probably see some rotation going on because I think those guys are so close there's not really a reason not to play some of the guys some multiple reps.

Q. A lot of times you'll kind of joke that you'll sleep well on weeks you've practiced well. Do you think you're going to be sleeping well this Friday night and what are you worried about the most?

KIRK FERENTZ: Well, the one difference is I didn't have to worry about taking a COVID test on Saturday morning, for myself or anybody else. That's a new dimension. And those things you can't control, but I guess we've had people get appendicitis before and things like that, random things. But you're never out of the woods. That's one thing life teaches you.

Certainly the virus has taught us that. But all we can do is worry about what we can control, and as I told -- referenced in the answer to Mike that I'm really proud of our players. There's no guarantees, but I think they've been very mindful about how they're doing things and trying to stay as much out of harm's way as possible.

But as football players and a football team the best thing we can do is try to practice. I thought we had a good day today. It was a first really heavy workday of this week. Hopefully we'll do it tomorrow and hopefully -- just got done watching the film, a lot of things we need to clean up, so hopefully tomorrow a lot of those things will look a little better than they looked today.

We'll be saying that in week nine. I'm guessing this is one of those years where because of the circumstances it probably won't be as crisp as you hope. Hopefully we'll be able to gain ground each and every week and that's going to really come back to how we practice each and every day, whether we're going hard or just out there going light. Either way there is certainly an opportunity to improve every time we're out there.

Q. When you look at some of the young linebackers you have, Justin Jacobs was a guy that you highly recruited, Ohio State came in late, but you were able to keep him; and then Jay Higgins in Indianapolis was a tackling machine his last couple of years. If either one of them have to play and potentially play a lot, do you feel like they can do the job, and what do they bring to the field if they are on the field?

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, they'll both be there Saturday unless something happens between now and then. My guess is they'll be on the field in some form or fashion, special teams, you never know. But both have been guys we've really enjoyed working with. Jay has only been here a short while, and certainly Justin has been here now for a year plus. Happy with the progress. Happy with what we've seen. I'll throw Barrington Wade in there who's kind of an older guy, kind of forgotten in some ways because of the Cash position. I think he is one of our more improved players playing with a real good confidence right now. I think it's fair to say that all those guys have a chance to be on the field and really pleased with the progress all three of them have made, Jay being the youngest of the group and probably the most to learn still.

Q. You mentioned how this is unusual having a Big Ten game to start off with. Sometimes that even increases the urgency for some players, but I'm curious how that affects your evaluation. It's still a first game, unusual circumstances, but obviously jumping right into a conference opponent.

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, it's just the stakes are a little bit higher because if you want to win the Big Ten West or the Big Ten East, it helps to win those games. That's just simple math there.

It's not like playing a non-conference team. Not that those games don't mean a lot, too, but they don't apply to the conference race. Everything this year being condensed is just that much more significant.

But all that being said, you can't change your approach. Our opener last year, the year before, we were trying to win, trying to play our best football, and that goal remains the same. There's only so much you can do in a given week, no matter who we're playing we want our guys to try to prepare as well as possible. I expect the coaching staff is going to do the same thing and hopefully we'll go out and play as well as possible. The difference this year is there's no really mapping out of the schedule.

It's not like three games, a bye week, four more games, another bye week, all this and that. It's a nine-game march. That's all it is. You don't really have to think too hard about that. Only variable this year is we've got three short weeks, two Friday games and an election-day game. That's a little bit of a wrinkle in there, make an adjustment on that, but it's basically nine weeks straight ahead, don't look back.

 

Monday, October 19, 2020

Column: Scarbrough's Take: Soooie Salute to Sam … and Pickle Ball



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Lyn Scarbrough

Lindy's Sports

When I was growing up in Rock Creek, we didn’t have pickle ball, or at least if we did, I didn’t know about it.

We ate pickles and we played ball. But, we didn’t have pickle ball. (If I’m wrong, hope that some of my Rock Creek friends will straighten me out about that.)

According to Wikipedia, pickle ball is a mixture of badminton, table tennis and tennis, played with a perforated ball, played on a hard-surface court. The goal is to hit the ball over a lowered net and stay within the boundaries.

The game was reportedly started in 1965 by a man named Joel Pritchard of Bainbridge Island, Washington, who along with two friends, constructed the first pickle ball when they lost their badminton shuttlecock … and the new sport was invented.

While the game was originally intended as a backyard game for kids, apparently that has changed. There are pickle ball leagues and a United States of America Pickle Ball Association with official rules. For example, players can’t touch the net with any body part or paddle.

A report on the sport says that pickle ball “has exploded in popularity in senior citizen communities and nursing homes.” That’s probably more my style than those hard surface courts.

And, there’s also Para-Pickle Ball, sometimes called wheelchair pickle ball. One explanation of those rules says that you can’t hit the net with “walkers, canes or portable oxygen concentrators.” Even closer to my style these days.

I’m pretty sure that we didn’t have pickle ball in Rock Creek, and may still not. But, I do know that they have it in northwest Arkansas. I know because my longtime friend Steve Finney has been playing. Not sure if he has his own equipment and uniform, but he does play.

“Some of my friends and I started playing pickle ball in the spring,” Steve explained. “It was a safe activity that we could do together outside and stay connected due to COVID.

“I had heard of pickle ball, but didn’t know the rules or anything about the game until one of my best friends painted pickle ball lines on his driveway and invited us over to play. I thought it was a sport that old retirees in Florida played, but quickly found out that it’s a fun game with strategy, skill and some level of athleticism.”

Not trying to influence Steve and his friends to abandon pickle ball, but they may not want to schedule any matches soon on weekends. New head football coach Sam Pittman is in the process of giving you something better to do.

It’s easy to understand why Razorback fans might have been looking for a diversion. Their football team hadn’t won an SEC game in two years, lost to Group of 5 teams at home and had more empty seats than full ones in the stadium.

And, when the Arkansas administration joined three other SEC schools in replacing head football coaches after last season, they took the road less travelled. While fans of Ole Miss (Lane Kiffin), Mississippi State (Mike Leach) and Missouri (Eliah Drinkwitz) were excited about securing well-known experienced head coaches, most people outside Fayetteville, Ark. and Athens, Ga. were asking, “Sam WHO?” Picking a contestant from the “Masked Singer” television series would have drawn more excitement.

But, it wasn’t that way with diehard Razorbacks.

“Every Arkansas fan knew about Sam Pittman from his time here before,” explained Steve, an advertising executive, who along with his wife Caryn, have three sons who have attended the University of Arkansas. “Under (Brett) Bielema, we had felt his loss almost immediately in offensive line play. But at first, I don’t think people considered him (Pittman) the likely head coaching candidate.”

There was a groundswell of support from his former Arkansas players, especially his linemen, who made an impassioned plea to the university administration to interview and hire Pittman. So it happened.

But even after he and his staff were hired, most “experts” still picked Arkansas to be the worst team in the SEC West, win few if any games, and fare worse that the other three teams with new coaches.

But, what has really happened?

Mississippi State won the biggest shocker of the season, putting up 44 points and over 600 yards passing in defeating national champion LSU in Baton Rouge in the opener. Since then, the Bulldogs have only scored 30 points combined in the next three games, lost all three, and benched quarterback K.J. Costello, who leads the nation in interceptions.

Ole Miss also sits at 1-3, having beaten only Kentucky when the Wildcat placekicker missed an extra point try. Of the 76 teams that have played major college football so far this season, the Rebels defense ranks No. 76 … dead last.

Missouri also has just one win, over LSU when the game was moved to Columbia due to a hurricane and it took 45 points to win that one.

And then there’s Arkansas. You remember, that team coached by “Sam Who.”

They sit at 2-2 with losses to Georgia and Auburn. Against the Bulldogs, they led at halftime 7-5 over Pittman’s former employer. By comparison, Georgia scored 24 on both Alabama and Auburn by halftime. And, against Auburn, despite falling behind early, the Hogs came back, ending on the short end of a winnable ball game.

What about the two wins? They were against Mississippi State and Ole Miss, led by two of those other new coaches.

One week after State put up 44 in Baton Rouge, they put up 30 fewer points at home against Arkansas in a 21-14 loss. And one week after Ole Miss scored 48 points, had almost 650 yards and scored eight times against Alabama, the Rebels couldn’t even score until the third quarter (already trailing 20-0) and were held 200 yards below what they gained against the Crimson Tide.

What’s happened up there in Fayetteville?

Importantly, the head coach wants to be there. It’s hard to over-emphasize how important that is. He was successful and well-liked during his first stop in Fayetteville. He was glad to get back and Arkansas folks were glad to have him.

Pittman and his staff are getting the most out of their talent. It helps to have graduate transfer Feleipe Franks at quarterback after two seasons in Gainesville as the starting quarterback. Treylon Burks is among the better receivers in the conference and Rakeem Boyd is among the best runners. The skilled people on the field for Pittman are good; there just aren’t enough of them.

And, maybe most of all, he has changed the mindset on North Razorback Road. There’s excitement again about being at the game. There’s hope that the game will be competitive, maybe with a win. There’s a reason to be there rather than sitting at home with multiple remote controls … or even playing pickle ball in the driveway.

“It’s still way too early to staring naming streets or constructing statues, but everyone is excited to have Coach Pittman and his staff here,” Finney concluded. “It’s so refreshing to have a coach that is excited to be here to lead our team.”

Steve made no mention of upcoming pickle ball matches, but I read somewhere that there has been discussion about adding the sport to the venues for upcoming Olympic Games, maybe even for the Senior Olympics.

Don’t know if Steve and his friends might want to consider training for that, or even inviting me to think about that Senior thing.

In the meantime, those guys and thousands of their fellow Razorback fans might want to make plans not to miss any home games once COVID restrictions are lessened. You probably want to hold time for postseason bowl games in late December, too.

Sam Pittman looks pretty good now when looking at that quartet of SEC teams with new head coaches.

Soooie, Sam! Soooie!

 

Lindy's Sports columnist Lyn Scarbrough is a contributor to this blog.  He lives deep in SEC country and offers his take on the College Football landscape.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Column: Scarbrough's Take: Defenses … When Will They Ever Learn?


 

By Lyn Scarbrough

Lindy's Sports

 With apologies to Pete Seeger, The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary …

Where have all defenses gone, can’t stop passing?

Where have all defenses gone, not long ago?

Where have all defenses gone?

Offense kicked them, every one.

When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?

Remember when defenses ruled college football? Doesn’t seem like many seasons ago.

But, based on the first three weeks of the 2020 season, it looks like defense has gone the way of the drop kick, the Statue of Liberty play, and the hidden ball trick.

Where are you Knute Rockne and General Neyland when we need you? You know Bill Oliver’s still with us. Hey, Brother, can you help us?

Somebody needs to do something before great defense goes the way of the dinosaur.

There have been a few effective defensive efforts this season.

Missouri stopped LSU four times inside the 1-yard line last Saturday to preserve the second major upset of the defending national champion. Kentucky beat Mississippi State, 24-2, holding Bulldog quarterback K.J. Costello to about 400 fewer passing yards that he got in the first upset of the Tigers in Baton Rouge. And, Georgia, looking like the SEC’s best defense, held Tennessee to minus-1 yard rushing and shut out the Volunteers in the second half.

There may have been a few more, but that’s about it. Maybe with the Big Ten and Pac-12 joining soon, along with the Mountain West and the MAC, somebody will play defense, which has never been the forte of teams out West. But, don’t count on that happening either.

It’s hard to argue with statistics and this season stats tell the story, including about a good many traditional college powers.

Start with passing yards allowed. There are 76 teams that have played at the FBS level so far this season. Among teams that have played more than one game, South Florida is best giving up an average of 149.5 yards. But, the Bulls are 1-3, having given up 52 and 44 points, and rank 67th in rushing defense and 54th in scoring defense. UAB is second, allowing just 152.3 yards per game.

Among SEC teams, none come within the Top 20, but Georgia is at 21st (198.3 ypg). Only four are among the Top 50 – Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Arkansas – losers of nine games combined already. Alabama ranks 70th out of the 76 teams; Florida is 71st; Ole Miss is 73rd; and LSU is 75th. Only Memphis has given up more passing yards per game.

How about rushing defense? Georgia leads nationally, giving up just 38.3 yards per game, including the one negative yard against Tennessee. Mississippi State and Kentucky are also among the Top 10. Six SEC teams have given up over 150 rushing yards per game, including Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas and Florida, who make it into the Top 50. Ole Miss is last (No. 76) nationally allowing 303.3 yards per game.

Regarding total defense, among teams playing more than one game, Georgia leads all teams giving up just 236.7 yards per game and Mississippi State is close to the Top 10, ranking 12th at 285.7 yards per game. How about some of the traditional SEC powers? Nine conference teams have given up over 400 yards per game, including No. 65 Alabama (473 ypg), No. 71 LSU (494.7 ypg), No. 72 Florida (495 ypg) and Ole Miss, last again giving up 641.3 yards per game … and that is NOT a typographical error.

What about scoring defense, the stat that counts the most? Marshall gives up just seven points per game, followed by Oklahoma State at just nine points per game and Brigham Young (11 ppg.). Georgia leads the SEC giving up 12.3 per game, and Auburn is second yielding 22.7 ppg, which is three spots behind UAB (22.3 ppg). Heading in the other direction among SEC teams, Alabama has allowed 30.3 points per game; LSU has given up 32 ppg; and Vanderbilt is next allowing 33 per game. At the bottom nationally … surprise, it’s Ole Miss, giving up 51.7 ppg.

If defenses are bad, offensive numbers should look good and in many cases that’s true.

UCF leads the country with 582.3 total yards per game. Ole Miss flips the chart, coming in second with 573 yards per game with Alabama about 13 yards behind in third. LSU, Florida and Texas A&M are all in the Top 20.

Individual performances are looking like a pinball machine, but not all in winning efforts.

Last Saturday, LSU’s Myles Brennan passed for 430 yards and four touchdowns, but the Tigers lost to Missouri, 45-41. It was the second game where he passed for over 400 yards … and lost. Mizzou quarterback Connor Bazelak threw for 406 yards and four scores.

Sam Ehlinger threw for two touchdowns and ran for four more, but Texas lost to Oklahoma, 53-45. Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler threw for three touchdowns, a week after throwing for 387 yards and four scores, in a loss to Kansas State.

Florida’s Kyle Trask passed for 312 yards and four touchdowns, but lost to Texas A&M, with quarterback Kellen Mond throwing for 338 yards and three scores.

Among individual leaders nationally, Ole Miss’ Matt Corral leads in total offense with 407 yards per game. Costello (Mississippi State), Mac Jones (Alabama), Brennan (LSU) and Trask (Florida) are all among the Top 8. In passing yards per game, Costello leads nationally with 389.3 yards per game, while those other four SEC signal callers are all among the Top 6 there.

In the most ridiculous offensive stat of the season, Alabama and Ole Miss had a combined 1,370 yards total offense in Oxford on Saturday, the most offensive yards in SEC history. But, we haven’t seen the obvious mentioned … that was also the worst defensive performance in SEC history, one of the worst in the history of college football.

So, why is this happening? Have college defensive coordinators been replaced by those cardboard cut-out figures that we’re seeing in stadium seats empty due to the coronavirus?

No, but the virus may be part of the explanation. Offensive dominance isn’t a new phenomenon. Defenses have been on the downslope at a lot of programs in recent seasons, but this season has been unique.

Teams didn’t get to have spring practice or intra-squad games. Offensive and defensive lines that lost key personnel from 2019 didn’t get to drill, work on timing, build camaraderie and become cohesive units. Incoming freshmen who enrolled early didn’t get that extra spring experience with a head start on the season.

Almost all players were away from school during the summer. Players at most every program, including some that were counted on as important contributors, opted out for the season or left to get ready for the next NFL Draft. Some key players have been injured, possibly due to reduced conditioning due to the virus.

Maybe today’s offenses have just surpassed defenses and it will take a while for the stop-‘em units to catch up. That happens periodically in the college game, but after a while the defenses figure it out.

Maybe all of these are true. But, whatever the reasons, defenses are getting torched, and fans at many places aren’t liking it at all.

“Our defense is terrible.”

 “Can’t they recruit better players!”

 “Fire the coach. Fire the staff. It’s time for him to go!”

 “We won’t win another game!”

All understandable. But, here’s some unsolicited advice from the press box.

Be patient. Enjoy this most unusual, most entertaining and most interesting season. We haven’t had one like this before and hopefully, we’ll never have another one again.

When Pete Seeger wrote that song back in the 1950s and the Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary sang it in the early 1960s, it was about flowers and soldiers and things lost, concluding that they are gone to graveyards, every one.

Then, it asks the question, “When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?”

It’s not the graveyard for defenses quite yet. In time, they will catch up with the offenses. Sound defense will be back in vogue and things will be more like they used to be.

But not in 2020.

So we better get used to it for a while. Not sure that Knute Rockne, General Neyland or even Bill Oliver could do anything about it now.

 Lindy's Sports columnist Lyn Scarbrough is a contributor to this blog.  He lives deep in SEC country and offers his take on the College Football landscape.

Friday, October 9, 2020

Tigers Even Record, Capture Second Win In A Row

 

TIPTON – The Tipton football team will head to the Class 2A first round of the postseason this week on a two-game winning streak. This comes after the Tigers used a 24-point fourth quarter to take control of their game with Anamosa in a 34-21 win on Friday, October 9 at home. The Tigers improved to 3-3 on the season and 2-2 in district play. Tipton found out on Saturday at noon that they will be one of 16 host sites for the first round of the postseason. Their opponent will be Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont who is also 3-3 and out of Class 2A District 7.

For the second straight ball game, near the top of the Tiger tackle leaders in the game, have been across its defensive line. Linebacker Kaleb Nerem led THS with 10.5 tackles, adding to his team leading total for the season. Next were senior linemen Nile Schuett with 9 and Austin Hubler with 7.5. Another senior lineman, Jack Boldt had 4 tackles. Not in the stat book was the pressure that defensive end/linebacker Lake Anderson caused, often on the weak side of the Blue Raiders offensive line. The amount of hurries that Anderson caused was just as important in the game.

Early in the game, the Tigers defense let the Blue Raiders know that they were in for a game. Anamosa had the football first and was driving near mid-field when the Tigers got their first big play of the game. Defensive back Payten Elijah read a running play by Anamosa and came across the field 10 yards to cause a fumble on the Raiders ball carrier Trey Klatt, one which the Tigers would recover when Nile Schuett fell on the loose football. Elijah came at Klatt as he was trying to stiff arm Elijah, but Elijah had none of it, colliding with Klatt with his left shoulder hitting the football, jarring it loose and spinning Klatt to the ground. The Tigers were not able to do anything offensively with the ball, and had to punt the football back to Anamosa on the ensuing drive. A holding penalty derailed that Tigers drive, but set Anamosa up at the THS 25. The Blue Raiders had a holding penalty of their own, backing them up to the Tigers 15. Facing a 2nd and 20, Anamosa sold out on the pass with four receivers and quarterback Grahm Humpal in the shotgun. The Tigers faked a blitz, dropping their linemen back in coverage. What Humpal didn’t see was Tiger Lake Anderson coming in on his right side hard and fast. When Humpal did, he had to get rid of the football fast, and when he did, the trajectory of the ball was not high, and Tiger defensive lineman Nile Schuett stepped in front of the ball and intercepted it. Schuett navigated through light traffic attempting to bring him down, and ran down the far sideline, dragging a Blue Raider defender as he crossed the goal line for a touchdown. The pick-6 gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Unfortunately for the Tigers their offense would stall the rest of the half having to punt the ball back to the Blue Raiders in each of their other three first half possessions. Anamosa, would take advantage, scoring two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 14-7 halftime lead.

Tipton would score the only points of the third quarter on an Eli Jauron 31-yard field goal. Jauron leads district 5 in made field goals. The points got Tipton within 14-10 after three quarters.

The Jauron field goal was the start of a 27-point run of unanswered points for THS in the second half. Tipton scored 24 of those points in the fourth quarter. Payen Elijah’s 1-yard run gave Tipton a 17-14 lead. Long touchdown runs of 75 by Levi Daniel and 65 by Elijah on back-to-back possessions helped the Tigers take control of the game as they extended their lead to 31-14. Jauron added his second field goal of the game later in the fourth quarter from 30 yards out to set the score at 34-14. Anamosa scored late on a Humpal pass to Klatt for 25 yards, but it was too little, too late.

The Tigers rushed for 282 yards in the football game. Payten Elijah led THS with 163 yards and two touchdowns. He is closing in on 1,000 yards for the season. Levi Daniel nearly broke the 100-yard mark for the second straight game, rushing for 91 yards on eight carries with a touchdown. Lake Anderson was second on the Tigers rush attempt list with ten carries in the game.

Anamosa had 300 yards of total offense with 202 passing and 98 rushing yards in the game. Blue Raider quarterback Grahm Humpal was the main Anamosa play doing damage in the game as he passed for 202 yards on 13 completions with three touchdown passes. His yardage put him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season with 1,083. He joined Luke Lambert from Monticello (1,229) and Mike Delzell from Camanche (1,349) as the only three quarterbacks in the regular season to top 1,000 passing yards in the district. Humpal had several favorite receivers in the game with four Anamosa players catching at least two passes. Kole Dietiker led Anamosa with five receptions for 41 yards while Trey Klatt, Anamosa’s season leader, caught four passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Anamosa was led by Klatt in tackles with five and Andrew Morris with five. The Tigers special teams did a good job in covering the Blue Raiders in the return game. Anamosa averaged just 11.3 yards on kick-off returns and just 7.3 yards per punt return in the game.

For the first time, every Iowa high school football team will make the postseason. The regular season has ended, and Friday will begin the march to the UNI-Dome for a select few teams across the state. Four local teams begin play Friday with two teams at home and two on the road. The two at home are Tipton and Durant and the road games are for Wilton and North Cedar.

The Tipton Tigers will host the Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Rockets Friday night. Both teams are 3-3 and come in off of wins in week 7. The Tigers beat Anamosa 34-21 while EBF spoiled the homecoming for Davis County, beating the Mustangs 36-12. The Rockets have won two of their final three games with victories coming this season against West Burlington, Central Lee and Davis County. The Rockets lost to Mid-Prairie 55-0 and Class 2A District 7 champion Williamsburg. EBF, Davis County, and Mid-Prairie all tied at 3-3 in district 7. In their three wins, the Rockets have scored at or near 30 points. In their three losses they have been shutout twice and given up 50 points in two games.

Statistically, the Rockets do not pass the football much as Thane Alexander has only 79 passing yards. The Rockets have rushed for 1,252 yards and 14 touchdowns as a team with a 5.3-yard average. Alexander is the top Rocket rusher with 476 yards and 6 touchdowns. Four different Rocket rushers have over 100 yards on the ground. Defensively, Alexander leads with 36 tackles, Seth Kargoi has 31.5, and Hunter McFadden has 28 stops. The Rockets have six team interceptions.


Postseason First Round Games - Friday, October 16

7:00 p.m. kick-offs


Class 2A District 5 Playoff Opponents

Pod #7 - Anamosa (2-5) at Center Point-Urbana (3-4) - Winner faces Camanche (6-1)

Pod #8 - Union (0-7) at Monticello (4-1)

Pod #10 - West Liberty (3-2) at Maquoketa (2-3)

Pod #12 - Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (3-3) at Tipton (3-3)


Class 1A District 5 Playoff Opponents

Pod #8 - Northeast (1-4) at Dyersville-Beckman (4-2)

Pod #8 - Louisa-Muscatine (1-6) at Durant (3-3)

Pod #9 - Wilton (2-5) at Cascade (5-2)

Pod #10 - West Branch (5-2) - faces winner of Van Buren (1-5)-Mediapolis (5-2)


Class A District 6 Playoff Opponents

Pod #10 - North Cedar (1-5) at Lisbon (5-2)

Pod #11 - Highland (1-5) at Alburnett (4-2)

Pod #12 - Columbus (2-5) at Wapello (3-3) - Winner faces Iowa City Regina (6-1)


Tipton 34, Anamosa 21

Friday, October 9

At Tipton

1 2 3 4 Final

Anamosa 0 14 0 7 21

Tipton 7 0 3 24 34


Scoring Summary:

1st Qtr - TIP - Nile Schuett 15-yard interception return (Eli Jauron kick)

2nd Qtr - ANA - Trey Klatt 53-yard pass from Grahm Humpal (PAT kick no good)

2nd Qtr - ANA - Colton Borst 5-yard pass from Grahm Humpal (Conversion pass good)

3rd Qtr - TIP - Eli Jauron 31-yard field goal

4th Qtr - TIP - Payten Elijah 1-yard run (Eli Jauron kick)

4th Qtr - TIP - Levi Daniel 75-yard run (Eli Jauron kick)

4th Qtr - TIP - Payten Elijah 65-yard run (Eli Jauron kick)

4th Qtr - TIP - Eli Jauron 30-yard field goal

4th Qtr - ANA - Trey Klatt 25-yard pass from Grahm Humpal (PAT kick good)


Individual Statistics:

Rushing: Anamosa - Graham Humpal 18-69, Alex Casey 9-29. Tipton - Payten Elijah 16-163, Lake Anderson 10-25, Levi Daniel 8-91, Carter Hill 3-3, Brandon Hines 1-0.

Passing: Anamosa - Graham Humpal 13-for-25 202 yards, 3 TD’s, 2 INT’s. Tipton - Payten Elijah 1-for-7 (-3) yards, 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s.

Receiving: Anamosa - Kole Dietiker 5-41, Trey Klatt 4-87, Seth Schoon 2-60, Colton Borst 2-14. Tipton - Caden Schmidt 1-(-3).


Defensive Statistics:

Tackles: Anamosa - Trey Klatt 5.5, Levi Ehresman 5, Andrew Morris 5, Colton Borst 4, Aaron Casey 3.5, Nathan Keating 3, Chayse Sams 3, Kole Dietiker 2.5, Connor Andresen 2, Alex Casey 2, Caleb Otting 1.5, Dalton Lovell 1, Ky Kaufmann 1, Justin Tjaden 1.

Tipton - Kaleb Nerem 10.5, Nile Schuett 9, Austin Hubler 7.5, Skyler Schmidt 5, Jack Boldt 4, Carson Charves 3.5, Brandon Hines 3.5, Payten Elijah 2, Caden Schmidt 2, Braden Bartels 2, Lake Anderson 1.5, Carter Hill 1.5.

Tackles For Loss: Anamosa - Chayse Sams 1.5, Levi Ehresman 1, Andrew Morris 1, Alex Casey 1, Kole Dietiker 1, Colton Borst 0.5. Tipton - Nile Schuett 6, Austin Hubler 3.5, Lake Anderson 1.5, Skyler Schmidt 1.

Fumbles: Anamosa - none. Tipton - Nile Schuett 1.

Interceptions: Anamosa - none. Tipton - Nile Schuett 1-17, Payten Elijah 1-15.


Kicking Statistics:

Kicking: Anamosa - Dominic Haas 4-153. Tipton - Eli Jauron 7-294.

Kick Returns: Anamosa - Ky Kaufmann 4-28, Trey Klatt 2-40. Tipton - Payten Elijah 1-27, Lake Anderson 1-6, Caden Schmidt 1-0.

Punts: Anamosa - Seth Schoon 4-108 yards, 27.0-ave. Tipton - Payten Elijah 4-138 yards, 34.5-ave.

Punt Returns: Anamosa - Trey Klatt 3-22. Tipton - Payten Elijah 1-24, Levi Daniel 1-7.