Hawkeye students showing yellow streak

So far this week, just from walking around on campus, it appears the general consensus among Iowa students is that the Hawks are wandering blindly into a, “Lion’s den,” so to speak. And the likelihood of the football team coming out of Beaver Stadium on Saturday night victorious is non-existent.

"Oh man, Penn State is going to be so pissed from last year," and, "they're going to be out for blood after what happened last year."

A word to the wise:

Forget about what happened last year. Coach Ferentz and the football team have. Do you think they're sitting around watching last year's game film, patting each other on the back while sipping brandy and smoking cigars like a bunch of good ol' boys? I don't think so.

I would venture to guess that the Hawks are probably hitting it pretty hard this week on the practice field and in the weight room.

The will to seek revenge is stronger than the action of actually getting revenge. Vengeance is driven by anger and hostility. Anger makes it hard to concentrate on the task at hand. Penn State has this notion of revenge going for them, yes. But how far will it actually take them?

Captain Kirk is 6-2 as Iowa's head coach against the Nittany Lions. His only loss at Beaver Stadium came in 2007 when an unnamed quarterback (Jake Christensen) led an ineffective offense into a death trap. And as excited as the Nittany Lions are at a chance to prove last year's upset in Iowa City was a fluke, the Hawkeyes are probably equally, if not more excited to get on that field Saturday to prove just the opposite is true.

Why?

Because they know what's at stake. A 4-0 record, a win against a top-five team, a game in front of a national audience. But perhaps most importantly, Iowa will be playing to get respect. This is such a huge match-up that ESPN chose to send College GameDay to Happy Valley rather than to Blacksburg, Vir., for the annual Miami-Virginia Tech showdown, a match-up of two ranked teams.

Believe me, the Hawkeyes know what the magnitude of what they're up against. Have some confidence in your team, Hawk fans!