Iowa notes: Minnesota's Stoudermire a focus on special teams

IOWA CITY - Iowa's kickoff return unit will against one of the Big Ten's best kick returners on Saturday. That's a major concern for Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz.

Minnesota's Troy Stoudermire, a junior, already is the Big Ten career record-holder with 2,920 kickoff return yards on 114 runbacks. He scorched Iowa two years ago, returning nine kickoffs for 283 yards in a 55-0 Iowa win.

“Special teams-wise, they've got the best kick returner in the conference,” Ferentz said. “There are a lot of good ones, but he's been good for three years now.

“We got a firsthand glimpse of him two years ago. It was just hard to believe how well he did against us. He really went right through us.”

Stoudermire, who began the season at wide receiver but has started the last five games at cornerback, has averaged a conference-best 27.9 yards per kickoff return on 28 attempts. Two weeks ago he returned a kickoff 90 yards against Illinois to the 4-yard line. He has 20 plays of 20-plus yards this season.

Minnesota ranks fourth nationally in kickoff returns 30 yards or more with 13 and is tied second nationally with seven kickoff returns 40 or more yards. Iowa ranks 86th nationally in kickoff return yards at 22.47 yards allowed per return.

Ferentz he may instruct kicker Mike Meyer to avoid kicking the ball to Stoudermire.

“If we're smart we will,” Ferentz said. “It's not like we cover very well. So, that's a sore subject. I can just say he's really a good player. I mean, he's, as I said in my opening remarks ... we've got a lot of good kick returners in our league, but I think he's the best.”

BCS out for Iowa

To no one's surprise, Iowa officially was eliminated from Bowl Championship Series consideration and will not play in one of the five major bowls this year.

The BCS conferences and bowls released a list of 27 teams still available to one of five major bowls. Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State are the Big Ten schools still considered for a prime bowl slot.

To automatically qualify for a BCS bowl, a team in one of the six automatic-qualifying conferences must win its league. Another slot is taken by the best team from a non-automatic qualifying conference provided it finishes in the top 12. The other three slots are considered at-large, meaning a team must finish in the top 14 of the final BCS rankings and win nine games. Iowa is ranked No. 24 in the latest BCS standings.

The Big Ten has had two teams compete in BCS bowls the last five seasons, including Iowa last year. The Hawkeyes were an at-large team and finished No. 10 in the final BCS poll.

No place like home?

Iowa's football team stays in Cedar Rapids at the Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Center on Friday nights before home games. But the football team will have to find another hotel for at least 2011 after the city of Cedar Rapids buys and renovates the hotel.

“Actually we had an option to leave last year and we chose to stay, only because the people that worked there have been so good to us,” said Ferentz, who compared the hospitality to “going to your aunt's house.”

“So we're going to be looking for a home. We'll see what happens.”

The proposed renovation will cost around $25 million and should be completed in fall 2012.

Reisner to stay in I.C.

Senior tight end Allen Reisner plans on sticking around in Iowa City after the season and work out with Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle to prepare for next spring's NFL draft.

Reisner, a senior from Marion, was a Mackey Award semifinalist this year. He has 37 catches for 385 yards and two touchdowns. He has started all 11 games for Iowa. Reisner, who didn't red-shirt, also will graduate in the spring.

“The ultimate goal is to go to the NFL,” Reisner said. “I'll try to do what I can here in the off-season to get faster and whatnot and hopefully go on from there.

“(Doyle is) the best in the country in what he does. I don't know why I would go anywhere else.”