Oh baby, it's time for football

CHICAGO -- Maybe the summer was too quiet for Kirk Ferentz and his football team. Maybe it was so quiet time actually kicked into reverse.

This theory holds if you consider a question Ferentz took during the open session of Big Ten media days.

"You've now had two straight years of very close games to Ohio State. Are your players looking ahead to that game at all, hoping to improve on that as well?

Yep, no arrests for the Hawkeyes this summer, just workouts. So slow in Iowa in fact that time stopped and Ohio State stayed on the schedule.

No, it wasn't that slow. This is a reminder that it's preseason for everyone. The Hawkeyes and Buckeyes won't meet for the next two years.

Kirk Ferentz handled it nicely, pointing out the fact that if Iowa and OSU did meet, it would be for all the Rotel in the Big Ten championship game.

That's who those guys in the red were on Thursday. Nebraska joins the Big Ten in just more than a month. The thought there is "enough talk, let's do this."

"Is the style of play a little bit different? In some ways yes, in some ways no," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. "Football is football. You're going to win by the basics, the fundamentals. If you're good at those things, you're going to win football games, no matter who you're playing, no matter what conference you're in."

Iowa and Nebraska will announce the theme for a traveling trophy this morning. The two teams meet for the first time since 2000 on Nov. 25 in Lincoln.

"That was my first game as a head coach in '99," Ferentz said. "I think we were ranked about 140th [there are 120 FBS schools, but you get the point] and they were ranked second or third or maybe first. . . . At least the field ought to be a little more level than it was a decade ago."

That's the new guy. There were four other new coaches here. No need for a "Hello, my name is . . ." sticker for Ohio State's Luke Fickell, who will try to guide the Buckeyes through an NCAA inquiry and into their record seventh straight conference title.

"I'm not going to talk about that," Fickell said when asked about OSU's NCAA infractions committee meeting Aug. 12. Jim Tressel resigned this offseason after he failed to notify school officials about possible rules violations. The Buckeyes also lost quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who wouldn't have been eligible for the '11 season after not cooperating with the NCAA's investigation.

OSU athletics director Gene Smith also "didn't talk about that."

Most of you know Michigan coach Brady Hoke. He's knew, taking over for the failed Rich Rodriguez experiement. Indiana's Kevin Wilson and Minnesota's Jerry Kill probably could've used the "Hello" stickers.

Back to Iowa's quiet summer, it went so well that on the drive into Chicago on Thursday morning, Ferentz was asked to hold a baby and pose for a picture at the DeKalb Oasis. He gladly did so with kind of a smile and everything.

The only bit of "noise" for the Hawkeyes was junior college offensive lineman Dan Heiar, who was charged with an OWI after an April car accident that left him in the hospital for weeks. The 6-foot-5, 285-pounder had three years to play two and will redshirt this season. Ferentz also said Heiar, who's finishing missed school work from last semester, will face discipline when he does return.

Fullback Brad Rogers hasn't been fully cleared from the heart ailment that took him off the practice field in late December. The 5-10, 225-pounder is working out under the eye of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics staff.

"It's a serious issue, but a lot of the things that they were really concerned about have been ruled out," said Ferentz, who added that Rogers will have a spot on the 105-man camp roster. "It takes time to run tests and see how he's progressing. It's going on eight months now, hopefully he's cleared and we're moving in the right direction."

The lone academic casualty is defensive lineman Donovan Johnson. He's left school and will attend a junior college, Ferentz said.

Ferentz didn't mention any specific names, but said a few of the offseason surgeries might slow some players at the beginning of camp, which begins with freshman reporting Wednesday and first practice next Friday morning.

The basic theme for the Hawkeyes going into this is "under the radar." Ferentz was exactly that Thursday. He conducted a post-podium news conference with a moderate amount of reporters, mostly local.

His team is unranked. Many of his players unheralded.

"Time will tell," Ferentz said. "I like our team. I like the guys on our team. We have an opportunity to grow and develop, but we have to do that. We've done that better in some years than others."

It's still summer and Iowa is 0-0 and people want to have pictures of their baby taken with Ferentz.

One of those things will change in a about a month.