Iowa vs. Ohio State

Who would've thought at the beginning of the College Football season that Iowa would be playing a meaningful game in the middle of November? Back in August, I would've said the Hawkeyes would be fighting for their bowl eligibility. Yet here they are, traveling to Ohio State with the Big 10 title on the line.

How quickly things change, though. Two weeks ago I would have told you that Iowa would be playing against Ohio State for an opportunity at the BCS Championship game. But an injured Ricky Stanzi (Iowa QB) and a loss to Northwestern at home, and now things look grim for the Hawks in their quest for the Rose Bowl. At 3:30 EST on ABC, most of the nation will get to see if Iowa has what it takes to bounce back from the rather difficult circumstances they find themselves in (although you poor folks in Nebraska will have to suffer through another meaningless Cornhuskers game).

At the helm for Iowa tomorrow will be James Vandenberg, whose name I can never remember because it is so close to James VanderBeek, one of my wife's favorite actors, starring in such roles as the title character in "Dawson's Creek" and the star backup QB in "Varsity Blues." Vandenberg is a redshirt freshman who looked clearly overwhelmed in his debut in last weeks game against Northwestern. And that was Northwestern! This is Ohio State.

But Iowa has fought bitterly for every win this year with a slew of backups at the RB and OL positions, so perhaps they can do it yet again with a backup QB. In order to win the game, however, they are going to need a big day out of their defense and special teams. And that means either putting points on the board or putting the offense within a few yards of the end zone so that Brandon Wegher can scoot in. And TE Tony Moeaki needs to work harder to get open, because I'm pretty sure that Ohio State is going to have no problem shutting down the Iowa wide receivers.

As much as it pains me to say it, I'm not sure the injury to Stanzi is something the Hawkeyes can overcome against a team like Ohio State. I don't think Ohio State is going to run away with it, but I do think that the cat that is the Iowa Hawkeyes may have already used up all nine of its lives this year. Only one thing I'm certain of: come 3:30, I'll be watching. Sorry, Nebraskans.