I thought the EXACT same thing. I've been to Kinnick and I felt like it was a completely different place. I think the 20 something kid from Chicago suburbs who goes to Io_a tends to be a different breed than the kid from Dubuque, if you catch my drift. Seems like the former tends to have a bigge chip on his shoulder than the latter. I almost felt safer at Kinnick than I did at Ryan Field yesterday.

Whoops... you forgot something...

I've never been to Kinnick, so I cannot comment on that. But I will say that Iowa must have the most hipster-doofusish fan base in the Big Ten. Maybe that's just a consequence of who was at the game on Saturday, as suggested above.

Also, maybe it's time for Iowa fans to drop the "just Northwestern" act, as losing to NU has not only become commonplace, but seems to really tick them off, as evidenced by the string of snotty, entitled BHGP posts over the past two days.

Other observations:

Do Iowa fans think they have a rivalry with Nebraska? They've played Nebraska six times since the 40s, and Nebraska has won five of them, yet I saw a bunch of anti-Nebraska shirts on Saturday. I don't understand where that originated.

Iowa's offensive line seemed to have a clear advantage all day. I'm not sure why the running game bogged down late, because earlier they were generating a lot of push and opening huge holes. Robinson is a competent back, but being down to the third-string or wherever they are now has had obvious effects.

Adrian Clayborn is really, really good when he wants to be, which isn't all that often, unfortunately. I don't know whether that's a conditioning issue or a laziness issue, but it would make me extremely nervous if I were an NFL GM.

Persa is a lot faster than he looks on TV. Awful break with the injury, even though I'm a fan of the team most likely to benefit. Would much rather have seen him healthy for the Wrigley game.

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Fire Phil Emery

I used to get pissed by BHGP, but I gotta remember its a blog. They are in the "business" of pandering to their constituencies in the most humorous way possible.

If you watched Persa all season, you knew he was gonna get hurt sooner or later. The kid sacrificed his body all the time. Sometimes you gotta know when to slide. But I'm guessing the strain on the Achilles had alot to do with his running style. All that pressure on the Achilles is going to take its toll.

DVRed the game and watched it last night. The announcers were really on the Io_a players for being winded, but I guess I see it differently. Clayborn was going hard all day at Persa. I think anyone would have been gassed after that. NU's "no huddle offense" (not a "hurry-up", btw) can tire you out... It can make it tough to substitute throughout the game. I would cut him some slack.

I'll bite.

1. Every time Iowa travels to Chicago, whether it's for basketball or football - the local graduates (and hangers on) show up and basically embarass what I would call real Hawkeye fans. Whether it's the late 30's something like me who graduated from there and loves to attend games at Kinnick to the 75 year old farmer from What Cheer, Iowa who has had season tickets since the 50's - the same comparison to Cubs fans/drunk frat boys can be drawn. It actually embarasses me while wearing my black and gold to see that type of behavior. I might be the minority in that situation, but I tend to think I'm level headed. (Shut up IB)

2. BHGP - you have to take it for what it is - a blog. Their schtick is being over the top and it's pretty damn funny but they do know how to analyze when they need to. They came to the same conclusion after Saturday that I did - that basically this was the 4th time this year that the 'vaunted' Iowa defense allowed an opponent to come back on them in the 4th quarter to win a game (IU counted in that number). Laugh at it or avoid it.

3. Nebraska - While there may not be much of a game history of these two, they will be a rival and the fanbases are already at each other. You have to remember Iowa fans are primarily farmers and Nebraska is full of em too so they have grown up not liking one other. It's wierd and well, kinda creepy. On the rivals boards, the first people to usually point out when Iowa loses are some NU fans (not jNWU )

4. Clayborn - My opinion is that he's hurt. He took a nasty chop block in the Wisconsin game (that was called) and hasn't been the same since. From a conditioning standpoint, I think he's working hard but he isn't 100% out there. His production has been low all year - I guess being an All American will draw double and triple teams all the time though and that's hurt him. The more surprising thing is that one other member of the line hasn't really stepped up and take over. That's been disappointing.

5. Persa - Felt bad for him going down. That really was the end of the NU season. I just can't seem them beating Illinois or Wisconsin with a RS FR at QB in his first starts.

I've only really watched two Iowa games closely this year: Saturday against Northwestern, and the game at Michigan. Both games Clayborn seemed to take a lot of plays off, but both offenses are the type that move quickly and wear you down. If he's injured, that would certainly explain some things, and he has flashes where he is absolutely dominating. But as far as exterior rushers go, I think Kerrigan at Purdue and Watt in Wisconsin have been more consistent.

Karl Klug is underrated though. He seems like someone that could be drafted. He played a tremendous game on Saturday.

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Fire Phil Emery

I agree about Klug. His issue is that he is cut from the Mitch King mold where he's probably not quick enough to be a 3-4 end nor big enough to play inside in the pros. He'll probably make a roster and be a bench guy, but in college he's quicker than most interior linemen and causes havoc in there.

This might be contrary to most beliefs but I think Christian Ballard is going to be a better pro than Clayborn. He's been playing DE for 4 years now and will only get better. He's bigger than Clayborn and potentially as quick and can play inside as well. Clayborn will still likely be a good pro, but I think he's more Alex Brown (4-6 sacks) than a top pass rushing end.

Re: BHGP.
I have a buddy who writes one of the four NU blogs, LakeThePosts.com and he tends to be more factual and analytical... approaches it in a very different manner. We have another blog called SippinOnPurple which takes a BHGP take on it, but its much more self-depricating. There are a lot of flame posters on CSFMB that remind me of BHGP... guys that are funny, but enjoy crossing the line. Problem is that many fans don't know the difference between a blog and other news sources. The lines are blurry.