Week 3 saw the Hawkeyes engage in a defensive battle with the Wildcats of Arizona. Ultimately, Arizona's defense proved stouter than Iowa's as the Wildcats won 16-12. The Hawkeyes are proud of how their defense played, and even most of the offense. However, WR Steven Gartman put in an extremely disappointing performance. He had a single reception for 3 yards, and that came very late in the game. His Heisman hopes have vanished.

Notable performances:
RB Francis Carey: Carey continues to impress. He had 18 attempts for 88 yards as well as 2 receptions for 48 yards and a TD against the strong Arizona defense.
QB Thomas Brown: Brown played ok, but struggled against Arizona's impressive secondary. He went 15 of 31 for 186 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT.
DL Robert Murphy: The big man had 6 tackles and 1 sack.
DL Bryan Bradshaw: The other big man had 5 tackles and 2 sacks.

Up next: The Hawkeyes are 12 point favorites to beat the Wolverines.

Week 4 saw the Hawkeytes worst performance in this young season. The offense never got going and the defense struggled to make stops. As a result, Iowa suffered their biggest loss so far: a 29-15 defeat at the paws of Michigan Wolverines.

Notable players (not really notable performances):
Francis Carey: 89 yards on 19 carries and 40 yards on 3 catches are solid stats, but he also fumbled twice and scored 0 TDs. That is not what we expect from him.
QB Thomas Brown: Brown was under pressure all game long and it affected him. He went just 16 of 35 for 208 yards, 2 INTs, and 0 TDs. He was also sacked 8 times and fumbled twice. He needs to better protected if the team wants to win games.
WR Steve Gartman: Gartman struggled again as he caught only 3 *****, but those 3 catches went for 86 yards.

There were a couple of good things to takeaway on defense. As a team, Iowa forced 3 fumbles (caused by DB Joseph Lui, DL Robert Murphy, and DB George Diehl) and 4 sacks (DL Steve Bass, DL Robert Murphy (2), LB/DE Robert Kiefer).

Next up: The Hawkeyes are 14(+?) point underdogs to the Texas Longhorns. This underdog role is a position they are more comfortable in; let's see if that helps.

Week 5 saw another tough game for the Hawkeyes as they lost 41-14 to the Texas Longhorns. The biggest recurring issues for this team are fumbles and sacks. If Iowa can ever correct those problems, they might just go on a roll. That's a big IF though.

Player stats:
RB Francis Carey: Carey did not look himself. He had 18 carries for only 48 yards and no TDs and 1 fumble. He added 2 catches for 24 yards. Heisman Hopes have vanished.
QB Thomas Brown: Brown played ok, especially for how much pressure he was under from the defense. He went 15 of 19 for 259 yards and 2 TDs and 1 INT with a rating of 91.02. He did, however, fumble twice and was sacked 5 times.
WR Steven Gartman: The star WR had a better outing this time as he had only 4 receptions, but they went for 105 yards and 1 TD.

3 Iowa defenders had 9 tackles: LB Bryan Beyer, DB Joseph Lui, and LB Paul Speight

3 Hawkeyes contributed to the sack total of 5: DL Steve Bass, DL Bryan Bradshaw (3), and DL Robert Murphy

Next up: The Hawkeyes are 7 point underdogs to the Black Knights of the Army.

There were clipboards thrown, chairs chucked, and the couch flipped at halftime of Iowa's week 6 matchup vs the Army Black Knights. The Hawkeyes appeared to still be sleeping in the first quarter of their 20-14 loss. They let Army star RB Andy Davidson run all over them, especially in the first quarter when he scored on runs of 54 and 73 yards. That is not the sole reason Iowa lost though, oh, it most certainly is not.

This young Hawkeyes team is sometimes its own worst enemy. For example: between those 2 long TDs, Iowa's star WR Steven Gartman had a 73 yard TD called back because of a holding call against OL Valentin Gilley. Gilley is known for his discipline, but for some reason he decided he had to hold on this play. That drive ended in a punt.

On another occasion, the Hawkeyes forced an Army fumble, recovered it, then fumbled, and Army recovered. This Iowa team just seemed destined to lose.

One more example of this team hurting itself in this game: Brown passed it backwards on one play, but he was off target. Luckily, the Hawkeyes recovered it.

This was just a dreadful performance for the Hawkeyes. Expect the coaches to put this team through extra drills during practice this week. Now, let's check player stats.

Player stats:
RB Francis Carey: The star RB had an average game. He carried the rock 24 times for 80 yards and no TDs, but fumbled twice more. He added 1 catch for 1 yard.
QB Thomas Brown: The signal caller had a strong game throwing the ball as he completed 22 of 36 passes for 251 yards and 2 TDs with 0 INTs. He did fumble once in the three times he was sacked.
WR Steven Gartman: The star WR showed why he was a preseason candidate for the Heisman. He had 8 receptions for 137 yards and 1 TD.
WR Matthew Reid: Reid had 7 catches for 77 yards and 1 TD
LB Bryan Beyer: The star LB was all over the field once again as he made 7 tackles

The Iowa defense combined for 3 sacks: DB Charles Peacock and DL Bryan Bradshaw(2)

Up next: The Hawkeyes are (only) 2 point underdogs to the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Hawkeyes finally earned their second win of the season in week 7. Iowa beat the Kansas Jayhawks 26-13. The Hawkeyes had a solid game, but the real strength was the defense. This Iowa defense picked the ball of twice. The offense was able to turn the first interception into a touchdown and the second into a field goal. However, the biggest contribution of the offense was not committing a turnover. After so many fumbles in previous games, this is a welcome sight.

Player stats:
RB Francis Carey: He had 22 carries for 95 yards and 3 catches for 19 yards.
QB Thomas Brown: He completed 17 of 28 passes for 234 yards and 1 TD with no INTs for a 99.40 rating.
TE Cory Thurman: Thurman had his best game so far. He caught 5 ***** for 102 yards and 1 TD. He also forced a fumble on a punt return.
WR Steven Gartman: He only had 2 receptions, but they went for 43 yards.
The 2 INTs were made by DB Wilfredo Barber and DB Joseph Lui
The team had 2 sacks, both by DE/LB Robert Kiefer.

Up next: The Hawkeyes are 14 (or more) point underdogs to the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

We have noticed an interesting stat for our Hawkeyes almost halfway through the season. Despite being 2-5, this team has outscored its opponents 172-170. This is an amazing stat, and very rare. 3 of Iowa's losses have been by a touchdown or less. Both of their wins were pretty big, especially their first win.

Week 8 had this young Hawkeyes team in a tightly contested matchup with the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Defense was dominant for both sides in this game as there was only 1 touchdown the whole game, and it game in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, it belonged to the Cowboys as they broke the 6-6 tie and would go on to win 16-6. Iowa's defense had one of it's best games of the season, but the offense failed to help them finish the game. Football is a team sport, and everyone needs to contribute if this Iowa team is going to win.

Player stats:
RB Francis Carey: Another mediocre game. 25 carries for 98 yards and 2 catches for 35 yards and also 1 fumble.
QB Thomas Brown: A sub-par outing for Brown. He went 17 of 31 for 275 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs, and had 1 fumble on a sack.
WR Steven Gartman: A strong performance from Gartman. He had 6 grabs for 147 yards.
DL Bryan Bradshaw: He made a few plays in the game with 2 sacks and a forced fumble.
DB George Diehl: Diehl had an interception to go with his 5 tackles.

Up next: The Iowa Hawkeyes host the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers in what is predicted to be a very even Big Ten matchup. Both teams are 2-6 and really could use a win.

Week 9 had the Hawkeyes in a closely contested battle with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Many followers of Iowa felt the Hawkeyes had a great chance at earning the win, but this young team disappointed again. The offense, for the weapons it has, was stagnant. The defense struggled to stop Rutgers' star RB Christopher Northcutt, but they had a stranglehold on the pass attack of Rutgers, holding them to 87 yards through the air.

Player stats:
RB Francis Carey: A subpar performance. 19 carries for only 65 yards and no TDs. He did not fumble though, so that's progress.
QB Thomas Brown: Below average game. 10 of 19 for 196 yards 1 TD, 1 INT, and a rating of 84.54.
WR Steven Gartman: An absolutely dreadful performance. He had 1 catch for 6 yards and a punt return for 13 yards. He fumbled on both of those plays.
WR Matthew Reid: Not overly impressive, but he contributed. 2 catches for 102 yards and 1 TD.
LB Bryan Beyer: Another strong game. 9 tackles and a forced fumble.
The Hawkeyes had 2 players with double-digit tackles: LB Paul Speight (11) and LB James Barragan (10).
DL Bryan Bradshaw: Had the lone sack for the Hawkeyes.

Up next: The Hawkeyes are HUGE underdogs (14+) as they host the UCLA Bruins.

Going into this game against UCLA, the Hawkeyes aren't really being given much hope. Now they will have even less as they have announced several starters will be rested due to injuries. Those players are:

RB Francis Carey (neck and ankle)
DL Robert Murphy (knee)
DL Steve Bass (leg and neck)
DL Bryan Bradshaw (knee)
LB Paul Speight (hand and arm)

All of these players have contributed greatly in games and will be sorely missed going up against the might Bruins of UCLA.

Terrible news kicker, wishing your guys speedy recoveries!