A Great Big Phony
I realize it’s game week and this isn’t an Iowa sports story but it’s so insane you have to dig deep. IMG Academy, in Bradenton, Florida, is one of the most prestigious prep “schools” in the United States…when it comes to sports. “Schools” is in quotes because it’s not so much an “educational’ school as it is a sports factory where kids get a jumpstart on their college careers. How much schooling goes on is questionable, in my opinion.
Anyway, IMG routinely appears on ESPN because of their pipeline to college football. By pipeline I mean the third best player in the nation and five of the top 20 players from Florida attend IMG and are committed to the likes of Alabama, Michigan and Georgia. On Sunday they played a game against a school called Bishop Sycamore and thoroughly housed them, 58-0. IMG blasting their opponents isn’t anything new but as the game played out, it became clear that Bishop Sycamore wasn’t even in the same league as IMG. Like, there was concerns about health and safety.
Well, as it turns out, Bishop Sycamore wasn’t in the same league as IMG because they likely aren’t even a real school, in the traditional sense. It sounds like some sort of football club where guys just out of high school (some of them are apparently even JUCO players) play games against high schoolers. They apparently played a game three days earlier, which they also lost. You have to read the Awful Announcing article on it because it is so nuts.
Also, lol:
ESPN: what D1 prospects do you have?
— Charles J. Moore (@charles270) August 30, 2021
Bishop Sycamore: pic.twitter.com/sBdPukNUDL
A Face From Out West
Iowa has only played Indiana once in the past five years so it’s easy to forget about Jordan Howard and Tevin Coleman running wild against the Hawkeyes in the early 2010s. On Saturday they’ll face another ultra-talented back…but one who only just became an Indiana Hoosier. Stephen Carr was a one-time 5-star recruit that spent his first four seasons at USC. Yes, he played in the Holiday Bowl and rushed for 24 yard and a touchdown against the Hawkeyes in 2019. Now, he’s the Hoosiers' starting RB.
Frankly, Indiana always has a sneaky good RB and that doesn’t really concern me. It’s always the quarterback with godlike elusiveness and the 6’9" WR that runs a 3.2 40-yard yard dash that gives me nightmares.
OK Let’s Laugh at Nebraska
I’m just going to post some funny Tweets in the wake of Nebraska’s 22-30 loss to Illinois:
Through 33 games as a B1G coach:
— Ben Dawson (@BenjaminJDawson) August 28, 2021
Scott Frost 12-21
Tim Brewster 12-21
pic.twitter.com/A7kN0FrmiU
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 28, 2021
Do want to know how bad things are for #Nebraska? Even #Kansas wants a piece.... #RockChalk pic.twitter.com/DE9rMWUyZ2
— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) August 30, 2021
Alright that’s enough.
Ok one more.
Fordham at Nebraska tickets are hot. You can be there for $12 pic.twitter.com/38tYw0qkvL
— PlannedSickDays (@PlannedSickDays) August 30, 2021
Bowl Projections
CFB News: Las Vegas, vs. Washington
ESPN (Bonagura): Outback, vs. LSU
ESPN (Schlabach): Citrus, vs. Florida
CBS Sports: Citrus, vs. Florida
USA Today: Outback, vs. Florida
Action Network: Las Vegas, vs. Washington
The Citrus, or The Artist Formerly Known as the Capital One Bowl, would be a nice get as it has the largest payout of a non-College Football Playoff game. Most of these projections have Ohio State and Wisconsin in the New Year’s Six, meaning that they’ve probably got the Hawkeyes finishing second in the Big Ten West.
Quick Hits
Hurricane Ida has forced Oklahoma’s game at Tulane to Norman. I think the weirdest part of this story is that Oklahoma actually agreed to play Tulane at Yulman Stadium, capacity of 30,000.
Pat Forde, who has made his career out of being wrong, is picking the Hoosiers to win by one on Saturday. I post this here as I enjoy documenting Forde’s wrongness, as I have for the past 15 years.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg has Tyler Goodson as his breakout star (and has Iowa winning the Big Ten West).
CBS Sports has Iowa State as their most overrated team. You just hate to see it.
Fun Stat: Going back to 2010, Iowa is 5-1 against the Hoosiers. Three of those games have been decided by eight points or less. The remaining three, all Iowa victories, have had an average point differential of 21. So basically, this game is either going to be one possession or Iowa is going to blow the Hoosiers out. There will be no middle ground.
