Sports
OK, first the good news: We actually talked football. Like the Hawkeyes and positions and all of that comfortable football porridge that we all dig. (You can switch “porridge” with shrimp and grits or whatever you want, comfort food is the point. We’re all going to need some “comfort football” at some point.) Neither of us believes the Cy-Hawk is totally gone for 2020. Oh, we do think there will be football. It might not be the football we recognize, but football. You read ISU athletics director Jamie Pollard’s letter to fans, right? This is a safety dance between health and dollars. It’s both, especially for Power 5 college sports. A lot is at stake, but you already know that. Is the golden age of college sports over? Throwing money at a problem probably can’t be a thing for the near future. If Kinnick Stadium is going to have a Thursday night game, this is the year. Which Big Ten athletics departments might be in the most trouble (with debt)? Why the MAC probably shouldn’t sue the Big Ten (but if it’s that or sell the office furniture, it might come to that). We believe Spencer Petras is the guy. We talk about the differences between the Californian and Nate Stanley. We also see Alex Padilla and Deuce Hogan. I have to get out of thinking 12-game season. Scott zapped me with Tyler Goodson’s totals. I guessed 1,200 yards. Scott immediately said maybe 800 in a 10-game season against great Big Ten defenses. Oh yeah, there is that. (I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around this, as you can tell.) Neither of us believes Kirk Ferentz faces “loss of institutional” control, but neither of us knows what’s in the review. We got gritty with this topic. Thanks so much for the #oniowapod questions. Heard from some new faces this week. You put air in this and we thank you for that. — Marc Morehouse