The Pylons -- Iowa State

A look at the look of Iowa-Iowa State (Why "pylons"? That's what everyone is reaching for.)

1. Bulaga saga

The 6-6, 315-pound junior ended up at the hospital midweek, so he only practiced Sunday and Tuesday this week and might've been limited for those. Coach Kirk Ferentz officially counted out Bulaga, who had made 20 consecutive starts, Friday morning. All signs point to this being minor, but for Iowa State it might as well be a broken leg.

The trio of Dace Richardson, Kyle Calloway and Riley Reiff will handle the tackle spots. There is some experience here, but there also are caveats. Richardson is making his second start, which now equals the amount of seasons he missed with a bad knee. Calloway, a three-year starter, is returning to the lineup after suspension, but missed a lot of camp with an IT band strain. Reiff, a redshirt freshman, would see his first college football action in a stadium filled with folks who aren't exactly wishing him success.

Continuity, cohesion, those are missing from Iowa's offense right now. QB Ricky Stanzi is the only offensive starter with more than only two consecutive starts.

2. Where should you point the binoculars?

RB -- Freshman Adam Robinson is the starter. He replaces Paki O'Meara after he fumbled in the second half against Northern Iowa. Robinson did most of his work in the second half and finished with 15 carries for 63 yards and a TD. He averaged 4.2 yards a carry. If he can do that for 20 carries today, that's a winning number for Iowa. Another note, I don't think Jeff Brinson and Brandon Wegher get carries today. Too young and on the road, that's not usually when Ferentz rolls out unproven freshmen.

OL -- Besides Bulaga, G Julian Vandervelde will make his '09 debut after missing camp because of an early-summer arm surgery. Last week's guards, Dan Doering and Adam Gettis, had their teachable moments. Both gave up a sack in a dreadful first half for Iowa's offense.

WR -- Sophomore Marvin McNutt got time and got the ball early last week, catching five balls for 48 yards. He had a drop and opened the door for junior Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. The Hawkeyes' leading receiver the last two seasons caught one pass for 22 yards. We'll just have to see how this goes this week.

LB -- Iowa's linebackers will be on the field a lot today. ISU's no-huddle spread focuses on finding the bad matchups and jamming personnel changes. Iowa routinely asks its LBs to cover WRs. That particular skill will be front and center today.

3. Who's number _?

Iowa State quarterback Austen Arnaud (4) is a player the Hawkeyes really wanted, but they lost out to an Iowa State legacy. You can see why Iowa wanted him. He's 6-2, 224, has a great arm and can run. In ISU's opener, he rolled up 227 passing and 78 rushing.

ISU RB Alexander Robinson (33) is ISU's main gun at RB. He had 83 yards last week and has a 4.4 yards a carry for his now three seasons in Ames. WR Marquis Hamilton was Arnaud's main target last week, catching four balls for 97 yards and two TDs.

LB Jesse Smith (54) apparently said something "motivational" for the Hawkeyes in a video on the Des Moines Register site. I haven't seen it, but that's a neon no-no. But hey, sometimes that's motivation to back it up.

ISU's D-line is undersized, but it's been productive. Nose guard Nate Frere (62) had three sacks last season; end Christopher Lyle (55) had five and end Rashawn Parker (29) has eight career.

ISU kicker Grant Mahoney (21) has more career field goals made (19) than Iowa's Daniel Murray (14).

Don't discount ISU's kick and punt returners -- CB Leonard Johnson (23) and David Sims (1). Johnson set an NCAA mark with 319 KR yards vs. Oklahoma State last year. Sims had a 60-yard KR vs. North Dakota last week.

4. The headphones come off if . . .

QB Ricky Stanzi tries to force it. Last week, you could argue that Stanzi might've done that more than once. He says it's trying to make a play. His coaches would say, it's taking risks. As it turned out, Stanzi was right. He didn't throw any picks and Iowa couldn't run the ball last week. It was on Stanzi to make something happen.

Iowa coaches value execution. They're going to need to see more of it today.