Iowa football team tries to avoid a 2nd-straight downfall in a rainfall

Seems it never rains in Southern California

Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before

It never rains in California

But girl, don't they warn ya?

It pours, man, it pours

— “It Never Rains in Southern California,” Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood

Southern California is expected to be the wettest place in the continental United States over the next week.

As fate has it, the University of Iowa is playing the University of Southern California in football Saturday in Los Angeles.

The average amount of November rain in downtown Los Angeles is three-quarters of an inch. Last year, it was a mere 0.14 inches. Saturday? It might pour, man, it might pour.

Forecasts change. Saturday could turn out to be another in an endless number of delightful weather days in L.A. As of Thursday afternoon, however, Weather Channel said the chance of rain Saturday was 100 percent, with one to two inches expected.

One hundred percent seems a bit definitive.

If you’re from here in the sticks and ventured out to Los Angeles for the Iowa-USC game, you might be asking “What in the H-E-double hockey sticks is going on here?”

Renting a car? Navigating the L.A. freeways in that kind of weather? Have a nice day.

Visiting a beach while you’re in the area would be anything but a day at the beach. The sun setting over the Pacific Ocean would be seen only in your imagination.

Avoiding mudslides may be a good idea for tourists from Iowa. At least wildfires won’t interfere with their good times.

As for the game, it’s possible the mass of low pressure spins away from the Pacific coast at Venice Beach and Manhattan Beach and Zuma Beach, and the rain is no heavier than it was at Kinnick Stadium during last Saturday’s Oregon-Iowa game. Maybe it won’t even be as much.

Or … maybe it will be a deluge, making it a somewhat miserable experience for the spectators and less than optimal for the players. Based on last week, the Hawkeyes will hope the game officials keep the footballs as dry as possible, especially before snaps to their punter.

However, the weather could work to Iowa’s advantage. The Hawkeyes are ground-and-pound. The team with the superior air attack in this matchup is, surprise, USC. The Trojans are 10th in the nation in passing with 303 yards per game. Iowa is 133rd at 133.2 ypg.

Football statistics freaks say passing efficiency can decline by 12 percent in rain games. Completion rates drop a few percentage points depending on the rain’s intensity. There are more dropped passes, more fumbles. Wet football, wet footing, wet blanket.

The rain didn’t beat the Hawkeyes last week. Oregon’s final drive did that. The Hawkeyes did score two touchdowns to Oregon’s one last week in the Hawkeyes’ 18-16 loss.

As for field goals, you would think a hard rain would take long kicks out of the equation. However, who knows what to think about kickers anymore? Oregon’s Atticus Sappington made all three of his field goal tries at Iowa, and the Hawkeyes’ Drew Stevens put a 58-yarder between the goalposts and raindrops.

Iowa’s deal is rushing, an even better deal in wet weather. However, the Trojans also can run the ball. King Miller is a freshman who had 129 rushing yards at Nebraska and 127 against Northwestern the last two games. He averages a crazy 7.9 yards per carry. Iowa allowed 7.3 yards per rush against Oregon.

USC quarterback Kayden Maiava is no Mark Gronowski when it comes to rushing, but Maiava has rushed for six touchdowns in addition to passing for 17. Gronowski’s the one liable to take off running from anywhere, though, not Maiava.

Maybe Maiava will be unbothered by the elements, given he passed for 282 yards at Purdue on Sept. 15 in a game that had a 3.5-hour weather delay that featured 1.3 inches of rain. Or maybe the rain gods will smile on Iowa on Saturday in a city that averages about 282 sunny days a year.

Meanwhile, it’s supposed to be a lot drier in Iowa City than Los Angeles on Saturday, and warmer to boot. Instead of staying inside to watch football, maybe we should take advantage of the weather and head to the beach.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com