One month until kickoff for Hawkeyes

It's July 31. On Aug. 31, it's Northern Illinois at Iowa. That game pleases me as a sportswriter because a) it has the promise of being competitive and b) it features a player of national acclaim in NIU quarterback Jordan Lynch, who was the subject of this entertaining story on Grantland.com.

He listens to Shania Twain's "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" before games.

Well, once we're a month away from a season, I do two things. One, I plan a week-long vacation between now and the first kickoff. Two, I scour the Iowa media guide for codes, clues, poems, prayers, promises. And as always, all I find our numbers and factoids.

But here are a few of the most-random things possible for your Month Before the Season Starts holiday pleasure:

Iowa defensive coaches Phil Parker and Reese Morgan and Hawkeye linebacker Anthony Hitchens are from the same town. Lorain, Ohio.

I always assumed Morgan was an Iowa native, but he moved from Ohio to Iowa to attend college at Wartburg. He got his master's degree at Northern Iowa. His coaching career began as an assistant at Benton Community High School in 1973. He became head coach at Benton Community in 1978, then took the same job at Iowa City West in 1991. In 2000 he joined the Iowa staff.

Parker was an assistant coach at Toledo for 11 years, and is entering his 15th season at Iowa. When these guys take jobs, they take jobs.

Lorain is 30 miles from Cleveland. Ford Thunderbirds used to be made there. But Ford Motor closed the plant in 2005.

It's jarring to see how little interaction there has been between Iowa and the Southeastern Conference outside of bowl games.

Only once has Iowa ever played an SEC team in the regular-season, the 1987 Kickoff Classic in East Rutherford, N.J., against Tennessee.

The Hawkeyes have played SEC teams six times in bowls. They have played Missouri 13 times and Arkansas and Texas A&M once, but not when those were SEC members.

Iowa has never played Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt or Kentucky.

On the other hand, the Hawkeyes have faced Oregon State 12 times, Arizona 11, and USC and UCLA nine apiece.

Iowa has never played future Big Ten partners Maryland or Rutgers.

The Northern Illinois game will be Iowa's seventh in the month of August. The Hawkeyes are 3-3 in those games.

Iowa has won its last 12 season-openers. It has a one-game losing streak in home-openers.

The Hawkeyes, for all their offensive woes last season, scored on their opening drive seven times.

Iowa hasn't been ranked in the Associated Poll since Week 12 of the 2010 season. If you count Maryland and Rutgers, 10 Big Ten teams have been ranked since then. Minnesota hasn't been ranked since 2008, Purdue since 2007, and Indiana since 1994.

I wasn't aware of this one, but it's kind of wild: The Hawkeyes have had a player selected in every NFL Draft since 1977.

Can you name the player who holds the Kinnick Stadium record for total offense (rushing, passing, receiving yards combined)? I wouldn't have guessed this in my first 40 tries. It was Scott Mullen, with 473 yards (426 passing, 47 rushing) in a 38-31 loss to Indiana in 1999, Kirk Ferentz's first season.

Nile Kinnick isn't just part of mythology. The guy could play. He still holds Iowa's records for punts (16), punt-returns (9) and punt-return yards (201) in a game, and he's tied with Devon Mitchell for the Hawkeyes'  lead in career interceptions with 18. Kinnick played one less season than Mitchell.

OK, that's all. One month to go. Be careful in the sun.