Halftime thoughts: Iowa 38, Northwestern 7

IOWA CITY - The total yards are Iowa 298, Northwestern 55. The Hawkeyes have five touchdowns. The Wildcats have five first-downs.

Any questions?

The narrative changes again

.

I've been using that word 'narrative” way too much lately. I think it makes me sound smart. Consider it retired for the next six months.

But the narrative, er, perception of Hawkeye football changed back to something favorable in the first half. Iowa was surgical on offense and defense, thundering to a 31-7 lead.

The Northwestern defense that stymied Penn State and bent without breaking in a home upset win over Wisconsin? It was dismantled by an Iowa offense that did what almost everything it wanted running and passing.

Louis Trinca-Pasat.

Three first-half sacks.

It will take a fantastic performance today for someone to wrest the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Week award away from the senior defensive tackle.

Ninety-five percent of the time,

I don't understand why teams win coin-tosses and opt to start the game on defense.

Northwestern did that here today. Jonathan Parker promptly returned the kickoff 54 yards, and Iowa was off and flying.

I don't care about the wind or the sun or whatever. I want the ball first. If nothing else, grind out a few minutes and get your players into the flow of the game instead of being on their heels from the get-go if a play happens like Parker's, and if the opponent scores on its opening drive ... especially at the opponent's home.

In the first quarter,

the Hawkeyes did what everyone - themselves included, I'd wager. They threw the ball downfield.

On their second possession, Jake Rudock hit Tevaun Smith for 23 yards, then hit on a flea flicker to Matt VandeBerg for 42 yards. On the next drive, it was Rudock to Kevonte Martin-Manley for 43 yards.

Midway through the second quarter? Rudock to Smith for a 31-yard touchdown.

Rudock got sacked four times at Maryland. He hasn't been grazed in the pocket today.

Iowa had seven completions of 30-plus yards over its first seven games. That number soared to 10 in the first half, and helped put the Wildcats in a 31-7 hole.

It's the first of November

. Four weeks from today, this ends for Iowa until the bowl game.

Unless, of course, the Hawkeyes win the Big Ten West and advance to Indianapolis, or they don't win today or again this season.

I'm hearing that this will be the year one or two or three 5-7 teams go to bowls, though, because there could be more bowl slots than 6-win teams.

Who would travel to a bowl to follow a team with a 5-7 record other than family and close personal friends of the players?

I hope it happens. In fact, I'd love to see a bowl with two 5-7 teams play in an empty stadium in a place that doesn't care about the game.

Then, I hope even more bowls are added next year.

Iowa plays Northwood College

of West Palm Beach, Fla., tomorrow in a men's basketball exhibition game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Northwood is coached by Rollie Massimino, the same Rollie Massimino whose Villanova team won the NCAA title in 1985. He will turn 80 this month.

I normally have zero interest in an early-November exhibition against anyone, and I can't pretend to have much in this one. But at least Northwood is a program with a history of excellence.

This is Massimino's eighth season at the NAIA Division II school, and the team is 227-48 in that time. While it shouldn't upset the Hawkeyes, it will at least look like a basketball team.

Northwood plays at Villanova Tuesday night, then goes to Wichita State next Saturday. That will prepare you for Ave Maria and Embry-Riddle in a hurry.