It’s time for another edition of “Spencer’s Sunday Thoughts” – a weekly column focused on college football headlines in Iowa, the Big Ten, Big 12 and beyond. Here’s what’s on my mind this week:
Hawkeye fans, let me introduce you to my friends “Frustration” and “Disappointment”
Oh, you’ve already met? And you say you’re actually well acquainted?
After how this season has gone, it’s no surprise that you are.
Another week, another opportunity for Iowa to break that long losing streak to ranked teams – and in the end, another opportunity missed as the Trojans scored the final 19 points of this game and sent the Hawkeyes to a 13th straight loss in such a scenario.
If games were only one-half long, Iowa would’ve had this one in the bag. The Hawkeyes got off to the fast start they were looking for – scoring touchdowns on three of their four first half possessions.
Mark Gronowski led a 7 play, 69-yard march on the opening drive of the game, finding success in the passing game on a rainy day – capping it off with an impressive throw and catch to Dayton Howard on 4th & goal. The Hawkeyes’ signal caller would record the touchdown hat trick in the game – running for a score on the next drive, his 13th of the season, and then catching a touchdown pass from Reece Vander Zee on a trick play with just over three minutes to play in the half.
For as good as the vibes were going into halftime – they changed majorly in the second half. Iowa managed just 108 total yards after halftime – while USC had 180 yards alone in the third quarter. Not only did the Iowa offense disappear, the defense struggled to stop Jayden Maiava and the talented receiving duo of Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane.
Even with the disastrous second half, the Hawkeyes still had chances in the end to pull a rabbit out of the hat. A desperation pass from Gronowski to Kaden Wetjen on 4th down late in the game was ruled incomplete by a toe, as Wetjen caught the ball but was barely out of bounds. Then, with a chance to get a stop and get the ball back – an unnamed Iowa assistant coach was called for Unsportsmanlike Conduct, giving USC a first down and the ability to run out the clock.
If you follow me on X, you saw me summarize the game thusly
I’m not a “blame the refs” type of guy – it’s a loser mentality, but if you saw the game, you know a number of missed calls – including a missed facemask on a Kamari Moulton run that preceded a “bad bounce” interception in the third quarter definitely had an impact. I also took issue with how the broadcast presented the final 15-yard penalty that iced the game for USC – all we saw at home was footage of Lincoln Riley jumping around and celebrating – not what led to the penalty being called. That’s bad form, and as someone who takes pride in painting the whole picture for listeners as best I can, you can’t just ignore an important moment like that, especially when it ends the game.
Disappointment, frustration, maybe even anger will likely dominate the mindset for Iowa fans for the rest of the season. They’ve lost four games by 15 total points, and had the lead in three of the four losses. Now, for the Hawkeyes it’s about finishing out this season strong and – and most importantly for this week, avoiding a bad loss to Michigan State on Senior Day.
Big Ten notes:
There were really no surprises in the Big Ten this week. The top three teams (Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon) all won in convincing fashion, even if the Hoosiers needed a big third quarter to pull away from Wisconsin.
Michigan kept trying to hand the game at Wrigley Field to Northwestern on a silver platter, turning the ball over five times in their 24-22 win, but a walk-off field goal was the difference in the game.
Right now, it still looks like Michigan and USC have the inside track to be the fourth team from the Big Ten into the College Football Playoff. USC plays Oregon this week, while Michigan gets a game at Maryland before they get a crack at top-ranked Ohio State over Thanksgiving weekend.
National Notes:
The SEC had a ton of drama this week – with #3 Texas A&M coming back from down 27 points at halftime to beat South Carolina 31-30, while #11 Oklahoma went into Tuscaloosa and beat the Crimson Tide by two points. Fifth-ranked Georgia dominated #10 Texas 35-10, handing the Longhorns a third loss on the season.
In the ACC, #16 Georgia Tech had to rally to win 36-34 at 1-10 Boston College, while #19 Virginia beat Duke on the road. 20th-ranked Louisville’s CFP chances took a hit, with a one-point loss to Clemson at home on Friday night.
Lastly, the race to be the top-rated “Group of Five” team in the CFP rankings continues to be a fascinating thing to watch, as one week after Memphis lost to Tulane after being the Go5 representative in the committee’s first rankings, fellow AAC-mate USF lost at Navy by three points.
What stood out to you this week? Send me an email – spencer@kgymradio.com or find me on social media to continue the conversation.
Spencer Wagen is the host of “Spencer on Sports”, weekdays from 4-6 PM on 1600 ESPN. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @SWOnTheRadio
