The Wiz of Odds

A Bad Weekend for Big Ten Officials

Here is one of the controversial plays from Saturday's Indiana-Iowa game. Receiver Terrance Turner scores a touchdown that would have given the Hoosiers a 28-14 lead, but the score is nullified by the replay official. 

The reversal helped the Hawkeyes rally for a 42-24 victory, and although Indiana coach Bill Lynch didn't raise a stink afterward, others were doing it for him.

Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star wondered if fans should direct their anger "at an inept group of officials who took 14 IU points off the board with bogus calls on obvious touchdown passes?"

He added: "If IU fans thought they got pick-pocketed at Michigan, this felt more like the Brinks robbery."

Saturday in Iowa City

Yet another cool time-lapse video, this one from Iowa's Kinnick Stadium, shot during Saturday's game between the Hawkeyes and Indiana. Thanks to Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Big Hits

Three big hits from Saturday, starting with Virginia's Chase Minnifield getting decked by Georgia Tech's Malcolm Munroe. Minnifield was not hurt.

Iowa Fans Take Game Day Experience to a New Level

Normally, Iowa fans are into harassing players from the opposing team, but Hawkeye defensive end Adrian Clayborn learned that's not always the case.

An Iowa City woman was arrested last Saturday during Iowa's game against Arkansas State for harassing Clayborn from the stands. Brittney Mears was seated in the front row of Kinnick Stadium behind the Hawkeye bench.

Clayborn told police he was "distracted and annoyed" by Mears' actions and she was eventually removed from the stadium and charged with third-degree harassment, a simple misdemeanor. It's not the first time Mears, left, has targeted Clayborn.

In June, Mears was warned against making contact with the player, but she continued to drive past Clayborn's workplace while staring at him.

In July, Mears allegedly sent Clayborn a vulgar text message. She was charged with third-degree harassment, eventually pleaded guilty and received a deferred judgment of a $100 fine, 10 days of community service and one year of probation.

Come and Drink the Kool-Aid, Hawkeye Fans

Seriously, Division I-AA Northern Iowa is good enough to be a "middle of the pack Big Ten team"? As former Los Angeles Times colleague Chris Dufrense wrote: "Watch out for Iowa this year in the Big Ten, people said. How about winning the Missouri Valley first?"

And this was a Northern Iowa team that played without its top receiver, started two true freshmen at cornerback and was without two of its top three running backs, including the starter.

Iowa

Are the Hawkeyes a team on the upswing? Judging by preseason rankings, it would appear the college football world thinks so. Iowa won 31 games from 2002-04, then went a pedestrian 19-18 from 2005-07. The team rebounded and finished 9-4 in 2008, including a victory over Penn State that denied the Nittany Lions a shot at the Bowl Championship Series title game. The Hawkeyes were the only Big Ten team to win a bowl game, drilling South Carolina, 31-10, in the Outback. Running back Shonn Greene is gone, but the returning members of the offensive line total a Big Ten-best 98 career starts. Thanks to Grant!