The Walk Through -- Powell: 'Little rubber guy'

If you're a Cubs fan, you might have a hazy memory of the "Homer in the Gloamin."

Catcher/manager Gabby Hartnett hit a home run in a nearly dark Wrigley Field to knock the Pirates out of the pennant in 1938. It was late in the afternoon and Hartnett would be the last batter before the game was called due to darkness.

It's a gloamin-y day at Kinnick Stadium. It's raining right now and I don't expect any home runs.

OK, that's enough old sports guy reminiscence.

The weather is going to be sketchy.

UI sports info put this out on Friday:

Important Weather Information for Iowa Football Fans

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- With the possibility of thunderstorms in the Iowa City area, the University of Iowa staff, along with local meteorologists, will be monitoring weather conditions for Saturday's football game at Kinnick Stadium.  As a safety precaution, we are asking fans to be aware of weather conditions and act accordingly.  Following are some basic safety tips:

• Since storms can develop rapidly, the time available to provide warnings may be limited.  It is important to rely on personal pre-planning.
• Utilize weather applications on your mobile device and/or email or text alerts from local television stations.
• If you receive a severe weather message, spread the word to those in your area, especially those who are outside.
• If you hear thunder or see lightning, move to a safe place.  Designated safe areas around Kinnick Stadium are:
  • Recreation Building
  • Field House
  • Carver-Hawkeye Arena
  • Personal vehicle with hard metal top and closed windows
  • Secure any lightweight items (tents, tables, chairs, grills and coolers) that may blow in a wind storm and cause injury or property damage.

Any weather-related updates or changes to normal game day operations will be provided to television, radio and print media, posted online at www.hawkeyesports.com, and www.uiowa.edu and shared on The Iowa Hawkeyes Facebook page through Twitter (@IowaFBLive and @TheIowaHawkeyes)

If necessary, outdoor weather sirens, public address announcements and HawkVision message boards will be used to warn fans in and around Kinnick Stadium.

-- Football stuff:

CB Jordan Lomax has been cleared to play and is available today. Will he play? I don't think so, but who knows.

OG Conor Boffeli tweaked an MCL last week, but is slated to start.

That's pretty much it. I've not heard anything else along the medical front.

-- How much and how Iowa uses WR Damond Powell:

How much does he know? He knows more and more every week. I expect a big jump after the bye week. What are his strengths and weaknesses? I think Iowa coaches also find that out on a weekly basis. Is there a certain amount of loyalty to the WRs who were here before DP? Yes. That's what you do as a coach. Trust is a very real factor. You've been paying attention to Kirk Ferentz's 15 years, right?

As the stakes go up, I think his snaps will go up, either as decoy or weapon. He also has to be up for the moment. That's something I think we're all discovering as we go along. Keep in mind, this is Powell's biggest stage. He's a Toledo high school kid who juco'd in the desert. Biggest stage. It's not automatic.

Powell has shown that Iowa will need him, so the sense of urgency also will go up.

"They're going to need it out of him, because there's no one else like him," Snow College assistant Cole Bayard said. "They'll develop specific set plays for him and those will increase as the games get more and more important."

How do you physically get him the ball? Post, streak, tunnel screen.

Can Powell stand up to it physically? He's maybe 5-10, 180 pounds?

"He can take hits," Bayard said. "We ran the middle screen with him last year. He absolutely got demolished and I thought he was dead. He popped right back up. He's put on weight and muscle and has gotten faster. He knows how to not take a big hit. He can bounce off people. He's a lot more solid than he used to be, but I also think he knows how to avoid hits.

"He's just kind of a little rubber guy. You know how the bigger you are, you hit hard and you absorb it? He's taken big hits and he just gets up and goes."

-- QBs are out on the field, throwing with the TEs.

-- The Texas Bowl is here. Here's a link. This is the bowl's last year of affiliation with the Big Ten. It's formerly the Mieneke Car Care Bowl of Texas. There, I did Google it.

-- Michigan State true freshman QB Damion Terry is not on the dress list.

-- KF on Jake Rudock: Has respect of everyone on team.

-- KF on MSU QB Connor Cook: Hope to give him something to think about.

-- Senior DE Denzel Drone is staring ahead of Marcus Rush for the Spartans.

-- OG Boffeli is with the No. 1s. He's fine and ready to go after last week's MCL tweak.

-- On Lomax: He's good to go, but might not play today. Hamstring is better.

-- DE Riley McMinn remains out with an undisclosed injury (I think shoulder, but maybe not). Iowa is looking for a return after the bye week, which is next week.

-- Some tidbits from Spartan radio:

Mark Dantonio says that they may take the redshirt off of Delton Williams today and get him a few carries. Everyone wanted Delton Williams, who's from Erie, Pa.

Jack Conklin is starting at left tackle. Tony Lippett and Bennie Fowler at wide receiver. Jack Allen at center. Iowa really wanted Jack Allen.

Senior defensive end Denzel Drone is starting in place of Marcus Rush.

-- Weather is calm. Wind is swirling. Right now, it's out of the west, but I don't think it stays that way.

-- Here are a couple of pregame photos courtesy of Gazette photographer Brian Ray: