We are less than two months away from the kickoff of the 2010 College Football Season ...

Hopefully everyone is enjoying the Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness that makes the celebration of the 4Th of July, so special in our country!

One of my great joys is following college football, Big Ten football!

The Big Ten looks to get two teams again in the BCS in 2010!

The University of Iowa (11-2 in '09) will kickoff the 2010 football season on September 4, 2010 at Kinnick Stadium, when the Hawkeyes host Eastern Illinois, a FBS school, that was 8-4 in '09. Iowa opens up back to back seasons with a team nicknamed the Panthers. Many Iowa fans may want to forget the exciting finish of the '09 opener vs. the UNI Panthers, when Iowa defeated UNI by blocking back to back field goal attempts to secure a 17-16 victory.

Clearly, the Ohio State Buckeyes are the team to beat in the Big Ten Conference again. Ohio State will be seeking to capture their sixth straight Big Ten football title in 2010. The Hawkeyes will host the Buckeyes at Kinnick on November 20Th. Over the past five seasons, Ohio State has captured at least a share, twice with Penn State or the outright championship. Iowa last won a share of the Big Ten in 2004, with Michigan.

It should be a great season for Big Ten football in 2010. Ohio State returns a strong team. Wisconsin is coming off a big bowl win, as both Iowa and Ohio State did in BCS bowls. Penn State has some big holes to fill, but is always a team to watch as coach Joe Paterno enters his 45Th year as head coach of the Nittany Lions.

The Big Ten has four coaches on warm seats entering 2010...

1. Michigan's Rod Rodriquez enters his third season at the helm with combined 3-13 Big Ten record and back to back losing seasons, for the first time since the 1962-63 seasons. The Wolverines likely will be bowl bound in 2010. Otherwise, we may see a new coach on the Michigan Stadium sidelines in '11.

2. The Illinois Fighting Illini enter its 6Th season with coach Ron Zook at the helm. Zook's only winning season was in 2007. Over the past decade, the Fighting Illini have two bowl bids, the Sugar (2001) and the Rose (2007). Two BCS bowls or bust over the past decade...

3. The Minnesota Golden Gophers have been to back to back bowl games under coach Tim Brewster, now in his 4Th year. But, over the past decade, the Golden Gophers have only one winning season in the Big Ten (5-3 in '03). It's been a long road, since the 1960 season for the Golden Gophers.

4. The Indiana Hoosiers enter their fourth season under coach Bill Lynch. The Hoosiers have one bowl birth, since 1993, when Lynch lead the Hoosiers to the Insight Bowl, in year one, after replacing the late Terry Hoeppner.

Two Big Ten programs are clearly in the middle of the conference right now:

Northwestern and Michigan State

Coach Pat Fitzgerald enters his fifth season at his alma mater, Northwestern, after taking over for the late Randy Walker. The Wildcats seek their third straight bowl birth, which would be a school record in Evanston for the Wildcats.

Coach Mark Dantonio is entering his fourth season at Michigan State. The Spartans are looking to make a move to the top of the conference, especially with in-state Michigan down at the present time. The Spartans have gone to three straight bowl games under Dantonio, but are still searching for victories.

There's Hope at Purdue again!

The Purdue Boilermakers finished 4-4 in the Big Ten last year in coach Danny Hope's first season at the helm in West Lafayette. A slight dip may happen in 2010 in Big Ten play, but Boilermakers may get back to their first bowl game, since 2007, when former coach Joe Tiller was at the helm. The Boilermakers open the 2010 season at Notre Dame, who will be under first year coach Brian Kelly.

The Big Ten Conference will welcome the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the 2011 season. The holidays will be a little different in the near future...

Robin Tucker

#10 Iowa at #11 Ohio State in the Horseshoe for all the Roses today, 2:30 CT on ABC/ESPN

David vs. Goliath

As defined by ESPN's "College Game Day" today; and others throughout the week leading up to today's game. Iowa has "zero chance" in a game where Vegas calls Iowa as high as a 17 1/2 point underdog on the road today.

The #11 Ohio State Buckeyes (8-2, 5-1 in the Big Ten) host the #10 Iowa Hawkeyes (9-1, 5-1 in the Big Ten) in their famous stadium know as the Horseshoe. The game will determine who the Big Ten representative is in this year's Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, California.

Ohio State is going for their fifth outright or shared Big Ten title in the past five years. Ironically, the Buckeyes haven't played in the Rose Bowl, since 1996, since they have played in three BCS title games. Iowa hasn't played in the Rose Bowl, since 1991. The Hawkeyes haven't beat Ohio State in Columbus, since the 1991 season.

The Hawkeyes opened up to a 9-0 start for the first time in the school's history this season. But, in the second quarter last week, the Hawkeyes lost their #1 QB, in Ohio native Ricky Stanzi, and the likely bowl-bound Northwestern Wildcats pulled out the win at Kinnick Stadium 17-10.

It's Iowa in the David role and Ohio State in the Goliath role. If Iowa QB James Vandenberg is looking to make it a solo role for David, then Iowa has no chance on Saturday. Championships are won by teams, not individuals in football. The Big Ten Conference will determine who is heading to the Rose Bowl today. It will be one of the 'eyes. Either Hawk or Buck ...

Iowa needs to Just Do It! The time and opportunity will be there for 60 minutes in Columbus today. As former Iowa head coach J. Hayden Fry used to say, "scratch where it itches." Iowa, especially QB Vandenberg, needs to take what the defense will give. Iowa's defense will have to play some of their best football of the season. Iowa's special teams will have to play the best football of the season, as well.

Iowa football under coach Kirk Ferentz is clearly "not sexy." Opponents often know what the Iowa Hawkeyes are planning to do. The philosophy is fueled on execution and taking care of one's own individual assignment. When Iowa beat Duke in basketball in the 1990s, under former head basketball coach Dr. Tom Davis... the Duke coach talked about the "sum of the parts" the Iowa team displayed that day.

It will take a Team effort today. Solid offense, special teams and defense pulling together and taking care of the their individual assignments and executing the play. Our coaching staff will have to be at the top of their game too. We can't afford a high mix of turnovers, miscues and penalties in Columbus. We need to win the battle of the breaks. We need to put the Buckeyes in poor field position, long downs and force them to march down the field. The defense must come up big! As we know, defense wins championships!

Just Do It Iowa!

peace

I will not likely be seeing this game. I have a conflict, which is part of the landscape of life. I didn't see the game in 1987 either, which was Iowa's first win in my lifetime in the Horseshoe. Let's hope our tight ends step up in today's game.

Robin Tucker

By the way, Iowa is a Nike school, so ... Just Do It!

Despite the disappointing loss, the University of Iowa football team heads to Columbus next weekend for a game that will determine plenty ...

Can Iowa's freshman QB James Vandenberg join USC's Matt Barkley and Purdue's Joey Elliott as QBs that have been a part of teams that have beat Ohio State in 2009?

Barkley was playing his 2Nd college football game vs. Ohio State in Columbus this season, when USC beat OSU 18-15. Joey Elliott and Purdue's 26-18 win was even more surprising, since Ohio State was going for a record win streak on the road.

Now, the game in the Horseshoe this Saturday is for the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl. Ohio State has lost one game in Columbus already. At Purdue, a record win streak was on the line, but OSU came up short. Maybe, the Iowa game can be 'three's a charm' for a Hawkeye team needing a little something, after the loss on Saturday.

Iowa needs to build on five major categories in Columbus:

1. Defense,
2. Special Teams,
3. Turnovers,
4. Field Position,
5. Coaching Adjustments!

Iowa's quarterback situation is what it is. Ohio State's quarterback needs to be forced into mistakes by the Iowa defense. Iowa must avoid beating themselves and giving their opponent a short field, which is how Northwestern won vs. Iowa on Saturday.

Iowa is 9-1, 5-1 in the Big Ten and is still playing for a Big Ten title, despite Iowa's disappointing 10-17 loss vs. Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. Ohio State is 8-2, 5-1 in the Big Ten and is going for it's fifth straight share or outright Big Ten title in five years.

The loss of QB Ricky Stanzi is huge for Iowa. As our the losses of RB Adam Robinson, OL Dace Richardson, WR/PR Colin Sandeman and FS Brett Greenwood have been the past two weeks. The "next man in" motto has always been a part of Iowa football under coach Kirk Ferentz.

Iowa opened the season with the loss of RB Jewel Hampton and CB Jordan Bernstine. The loss of WR/PR Paul Chaney earlier in the season required some adjustments. In Iowa's biggest game to date this season, the Hawkeyes won 21-10 at Penn State, despite missing the play of WR Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, LT Bryan Bulaga and TE Tony Moeaki.

Iowa still has to play out the season and see what happens. Ohio State is playing outstanding football, after a 24-7 win at Penn State this weekend. But, will the pressure of playing in front of the home crowd impact the Buckeyes? Ohio State is still a young team.

The coaching staff and players at Iowa will have to circle the wagons this week. If Iowa can get a lead and build on it, as Purdue did in their upset win, maybe Iowa can find some mojo again? In the past wins at Columbus, the TE came up big. Can we see a repeat of Marv Cook (in '87) and Alan Cross' ('91) magic in the form of TE Tony Moeaki or some other special group of Hawkeyes in 2009?

On Iowa!