Hawkeye Report Podcast

The Iowa Hawkeyes picked up their seventh win of the season and we are talking about it with Chuck Long.  We open the show talking about the win over Northwestern and what we are seeing from the Hawkeye offense in this game and in recent weeks. Long discusses the growth that he is seeing from quarterback Hank Brown and the control and confidence that he is playing with right now. We also discuss how the playcalling from Tim Lester has been really strong in the last couple of games, which has led to good scoring opportunities, including that touchdown pass to Tony Diaz. We also discuss the outstanding play of the Iowa defense and how they set the tone against a backup quarterback. Also we talk about how effective Iowa is in those short yardage situation and how it allows them to get stops on third and fourth and short in recent weeks.  After that we take a look at the next opponent for the Iowa Hawkeyes and that is the Purdue Boilermakers. They just fired their defensive coordinator on Sunday. Do those new coach or coordinator bumps really happen? What should Iowa's mentality be heading into this game and will having it at night help with the energy for the team to avoid any sort of letdown? Then we go around the Big Ten and discuss the struggles at Ohio State and Michigan along with the continued success at UCLA this season and the comments made last week by Kirk Ferentz regarding the SEC and ESPN and if there is any truth to them. Finally we wrap up picking several of the top games this week, including Iowa facing Purdue. 

The Iowa Hawkeyes went on the road and picked up their seventh victory of the season on Satuday when they basically dominated the Northwestern Wildcats. Tom Kakert was in Evanston and joins Matt Randazzo to discuss what he saw in the 24-10 victory. We being with the strong start by the Hawkeyes in the game. Iowa scored on their first drive and it was an excellent beginning for quarterback Hank Brown. What did they think of Brown and his play in the game? What about the 100 yard plus performance from LJ Phillips at running back? Is he the answer with Kamari Moulton out? On the defensive side, it was another strong game from the Hawkeyes. How did Iowa get up to speed on the the backup quarterback and prepare for him on short notice? We also talk about Braeden Jackson and the play of Iowa's always strong special teams units.  Then we try to make sense of the race to the College Football Playoff race and Iowa's place in it at this point in the season.

It's the official start of the crossover season for Iowa athletics! That means in addition to Iowa football being a staple of this podcast, we will be talking about Hawkeye men's and women's basketball games. Yes, actual games and those got underway this week.  We open the show talking about Jack Campbell and the update that he issued today on his injury that has him hospitalized in Detroit. Then we flip to Iowa women's basketball. It was an underwhelming first game of the season, but Kyle Husmann breaks down what he saw from Iowa in that game and how they have a promising year still ahead, but it will take some time with a new offense and several new players. We talk about the first game and what's ahead this week, including a trip to UCONN on Sunday.  Then we move to the Iowa men's basketball team, who was also a bit underwhelming in their opening win. The Hawkeyes stuggled shooting from deep and at the foul line. What did Ben McCollum have to say about the first game of the year and the shot selection? What about the Hawkeyes struggles from the foul line? What did we like about Jaidyn Coon and Ty'Reek Coleman in the opener and should we be concerned about the back of Andrew McKeever? After that it's time to preview the Iowa game against Northwestern. The headline matchup is between the Northwestern offense being called by Chip Kelly and the Iowa defense led by Phil Parker. Before we break that down we focus on the Iowa offense going up against the Northwestern defense. Is there a chance that the Iowa offfense could have a good day running the football? How will Parker try to slow down the Northwestern offense?  Finally we wrap up the show picking the top games from a loaded slate of contests, including the winner of Iowa and Northwestern. 

Iowa dominated the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday on both sides of the ball. We talk about it on this weeks edition of the Chuck Long Podcast. Tom Kakert and Chuck Long start the pod by discussing what we saw from the Hawkeye offense on Saturday. Was this the best performance of the season by Hank Brown? What did he do well in this game we breakdown his key third down run play in the first quarter. We also talk about Tony Diaz being a bigger part of the offense and the impact that it had on the team. What did we see from the Iowa ground game? Then we turn to the Iowa defense, who pitched their second straight shutout against Wisconsin. What are they doing well and then we move to discussing the upcoming game against Northwestern. The headline of that game with the Wildcats is the matchup between their offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and Iowa's DC Phil Parker. What will Iowa do defensively to keep Aidan Chiles in check? After that we wrap up with a trip around the Big Ten this past weekend and what happened around the conference. Some really interesting games and results. Finally we pick some game from a loaded slate of college basketball games this weekend. 

It's a post game edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. This week it's a little different with Tom Kakert in his usual spot inside Kinnick Stadium after the game and Matt Randazzo, who was traveling to Detroit.  We have plenty to talk about following Iowa's dominating 30-0 victory over Wisconsin. It was a one-sided win for the Hawkeyes from beginning to end as they held the Badger offense in check all game long and played a solid game on the offensive side of the equation.  We start with the offense, which built a 20-0 lead at the break. Hank Brown was a topic for us on the show as he was 20-24 for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was also an impressive day for the Hawkeye receivers and we discuss what Tony Diaz, DJ Vonnahme, and Reece Vander Zee in particular did in this game. Plus the running back duo of Xavier Williams and LJ Phillips were grinding out yardage to the tune of 140 on the ground.  Then we move do the defense, which was very impressive. The Hawkeye linebackers once again were the shining stars and Jacob Wallace had a really impressive interception. We talk about how they have pitched back to back shutouts against Wisconsin and how they have been able to have three shutouts this season. After that we take an early look ahead to next week and not just Northwestern, but what all of that might mean for the Hawkeyes. Is Iowa still very much alive in the College Football Playoff race? 

A lot to discuss this week on the Chuck Long Podcast following the Iowa football loss to Minnesota, 13-10. We open the podcast with a long discussion about the situation at quarterback this past week. What did Long think of the performance of starter Jeremy Hecklinski? What did he see from some of the throws and were there some mistakes due to inexperience?  Then we move on to Hank Brown and his play after coming into the game in the second quarter of the game. What did we think of his early drives, including before halftime and not gettting rid of the ball so Iowa could have attempted a field goal? We talk about his second half performance the two good throws that he made that led to the Hawkeyes only score and his missed throw to DJ Vonnahme that could have been a big play.  What would Long do moving forward at the position and why?  Then we preview the game against Wisconsin and how they have become a vastly improved team this year after seeming to be headed towards a coaching change coming into the season. After that we look at some of the games this past week in the Big Ten and how it impacted the conference race and we eventually pick the games coming up this week. 

It's our usual post game podcast following the Hawkeye game. It's Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo reviewing a tough loss to Minnesota. The first time that the Hawkeyes have lost to the Gophers in Minneapolis since 2014. We dive into the big reasons for the 13-10 loss to Minnesota. That starts with an unusual number of turnovers by the Hawkeyes, including three interceptions and one fumble, plus a blocked punt. We breakdown the turnovers that occurred and the impact it had on the Hawkeyes performance.  Of course the biggest topic after the game was the quarterback position. Jeremy Hecklinski got the start, but he was pulled in the later stages of the second quarter. Hank Brown replaced him and played the rest of the game. What did we think of the decision to remove Hecklinski when was taken out? Should they have given him at least a full half of football?  Should they have given Hecklinski another look in the second half? How did Brown play in this game? We also discuss an impressive effort from the Iowa defense, putting out numerous fires in this game and keep the Hawkeyes in the contest. We talk about the players that impressed us in the game and they performed. 

It's a jam packed mid-week edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann start the pod by talking about the stunning announcement from Kirk Ferentz at his Tuesday press conference that Jeremy Hecklinski would be the starting quarterback at Minnesota. Not stunning for who he picked, but how it played out at the presser.  Then we discuss the actual decision, how it played out, and what it means moving forward. Is this Iowa's best chance to finish strong in the final six games? Could there be a path back for Hank Brown? Then we preview what we know and have seen from Minnesota's football team this year. Who are the key players to watch on both sides of the ball and what stands out to us heading into the game? After that we move on to men's and women's basketball and the secret scrimmages. First we talk about the women's secret scrimmage and Iowa beating a ranked opponent in Oklahoma State. What did we learn and what's ahead for the Hawkeye women? We then move over to the men's basketball side of the equation and how the Hawkeyes were able to beat St. Louis University in a secret scrimmage. What did we hear about the scrimmage? Who stood out for Ben McCollum's team? Finally we wrap up making our predictions for the top college football games this weekend, including the Iowa game at Minnesota. 

It's a very busy edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann are with you on the show and we are covering Iowa football coordinators speaking to the press and media day for the Iowa men's and women's basketball teams.  We open talking about the Iowa football team and coordinators talking to the media during the bye week. We open with an extended conversation about the quarterback position moving forward and what offensive coordinator Tim Lester had to say about it on Tuesday. We also talk about what we would do, but also what we think Kirk Ferentz and Tim Lester would end up doing. Could Hank Brown be out for another game?  Also, what did Phil Parker have to say about his defense and the six sack pass rush that showed up last weekend in Seattle. Could we see this new look Raider package coming back into play with linebackers bringing pressure to opponents? Finally we talk to special teams coordinator Chris Polizzi talk about Boston Everitt, Caden Buhr, and the challenge of having to change jersey numbers during the game.  Then we head to women's hoops and Kyle  talks about what he thinks of this year's squad. Will there be challenges with having just 11 players on the roster. What is the potential of this year's team and what might the starting lineup look like this year? How will it look with a different offense and who could thrive in it? Lastly, we talk about Ben McCollum's squad, who held their media day on Monday morning. What did we learn about the team and which players have been impressing starting out this summer? What will the keys be to the season for the Hawkeyes and why might they be headed towards a team that shoots a lot more three point field goals this year?

Iowa moved on 5-1 on the season on Friday evening when they dominated Washington, 41-24 in Seattle. This week on the Chuck Long Podcast, we have plenty to discuss regarding the Hawkeyes and particularly the quarterback position. With Hank Brown out due to a shoulder issue, Jeremy Hecklinski stepped in and shined.  We look back at his performance and how he stepped and played very well. What do the Hawkeyes do moving forward at the quarterback position when Brown is healthy? We talk to Long about what he would do and what we think Kirk Ferentz will end up doing and why this situation is a good problem to have in college football. We also do a little x's and o's talk with what Tim Lester has been doing with his use of pre-snap motion and how that it creating problems for opposing teams and how they are using Tony Diaz to do it and how they are using tight ends in motion to create opportunites in the run game.  After that, we talk about the defense and Phil Parker dialing up some new pressure looks. How they used linebackers to get more pressure and why they will need to do that moving forward.  How should Iowa handle the bye week with their players? Rest some players or full speed ahead with work?  Then we talk about another wild weekend in the Big Ten and what we make of it. Finally we wrap up with the show by picking games that we can actually watch fully this weekend with the Hawkeyes on a bye week.