Halftime Thoughts: Iowa 9, Illinois 7

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Did Marshall Koehn's 46-yard field goal try clanging off the right upright of the goal post not seem fitting for this game so far, even though the kicker's Iowa team has a 9-7 lead?

This should be a one-sided game. Any objective person who watched it — and why would an objective person be watching this game unless their cable system only picked up the Big Ten Network? — would agree.

Iowa's first drive

: Stopped on 4th-and-goal at the Illinois 1 on its first possession.

Second drive

: Took possession at the Illinois 36. Went 3-and-out, and could have had a first-down, but Kevonte Martin-Manley juggled a long pass instead of reeling it in.

Third drive:

Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock dropped the snap, fumbling it away to the Illini.

Fourth drive

: 3rd-and-3 at the Illinois 47, then an incompletion on a pass that was a bit late to tight end Ray Hamilton.

Sixth drive: (The fifth one produced a touchdown) Iowa had a 1-yard completion on 4th-and-2 at the Illinois 22.

Seventh drive

: The missed field goal.

The first-half yardage: Iowa 294, Illinois 108. That's right. Only a safety separated the Hawkeyes from being tied against an atrocious Illinois defense.

Tom Fornelli of CBSsports.com said it well on Twitter:

IOWA COMPLETED A PASS ON 4TH AND 2 AND WAS STILL SHORT OF THE FIRST DOWN

Sorry for the shouting, but he used capital letters, so I wanted to be faithful to his post.

Yes. On 4th-and-2 at the Illinois 22, Rudock's pass to fullback Mason Plewa was a little too low, and Plewa was tripped up before reaching the 20.

It was ugly.

I've never seen 'The Two Jakes.' It was the sequel to 'Chinatown,' which I did see, but that's of no interest to you.

Anyway, Rudock and tight end Jake Duzey were pretty sweet on Iowa's second-quarter touchdown drive. The 44-yard pass from Jake to Jake to start the 67-yard possession was one of Iowa's sweetest plays of the year.

On the next play, Rudock hit Duzey for 13 yards just as the QB was about to get sandwiched by two Illini pass-rushers.

So who got the 1-yard touchdown pass. A different tight end, Ray Hamilton. It was the senior's first TD catch of his career, so I doubt Duzey begrudged him.

Two plays summed up the first quarter. Well, more than two, but we'll use two here because they were a striking contrast.

Iowa had a 3rd-and-9 at the Illinois 35 on its second possession. Rudock's long pass to Martin-Manley could have been caught, but was instead bobbled. That enabled Illini cornerback Eaton Spence to break up the play, and the Hawkeyes punted.

Two Illinois possessions later on 3rd-and-7 at the Iowa 31, Wes Lunt threw deep for true freshman Mike Dudek. In one-on-one coverage against Hawkeye cornerback Desmond King, Dudek made a fabulous catch, getting his knee and hip down in the end zone before his elbow landed out of bounds.

If I get a touchdown to go ahead 8-7 at any time in a game, I then go for two points to try to go ahead by a field goal. Being ahead by a safety is just as precarious as being ahead by an extra-point kick.

It's Game #10. Iowa's special teams, other than Marshall Koehn's kickoffs, aren't great. The kickoff-return unit was woeful against Minnesota. It and the punt-return unit didn't look too smooth in the half when it came to the fairly important duty of fielding kicks.

The end of Koehn's streak of seven straight made field goal tries didn't help matters, either.

The Pinstripe Bowl has representatives here. I know that game thrills no one out there in Hawkeyeland. And the only way the game has a chance of getting Iowa is if the Hawkeyes lose out to finish 6-6. A 7-5 Iowa goes to Jacksonville, Nashville, somewhere else.

But so what if it's in the south Bronx and it's a super-expensive trip to see a game with ridiculously little significance, even in the world of college football. It's New York!

That's why I didn't go into sales.

The composition of press box denizens continues to change.

There are two seats in the front row for SmilePolitely.com. Smile Politely is self-described as Champaign-Urbana's independent online culture magazine. Interesting name, no?

Says the magazine: We have our biases, and we're unapologetic about them. And our strongest bias is that we think Champaign-Urbana is one of the best places to live in the U.S.

Wherever you go, you'll find someone who feels that way about where they live. But they can't all be right, can they?

I've made a few trips to the University of Illinois over the years. OK, a lot. But until Saturday, for some reason, I never knew there was a cemetery across the street from Memorial Stadium.

It's probably my dislike and/or fear of all things death-related.

Anyway, Mount Hope Cemetery is just west of the stadium. Insert your jokes here.