When it rains...it pours.

Still recovering from that awful, soul-sucking gut punch that the Hawks took on Saturday. For three years, this team has been identified by hard work and an ability to find ways to win close games. Now they have no leadership, no focus, and are finding ways to lose. In case you aren't a fan or weren't conscious this weekend, Northwestern stunned the Hawks 28-27 despite the fact that Iowa had the ball and a 13-point lead with three and a half minutes to play. Five things that, despite our first half dominance, led to our eventual downfall:

1) Absolutely no rushing attack in the second half. Young was bottled up even though he ran over, around, and through that defense in the first half. If they put 8 or 9 in the box, you have to make them pay for man coverage.

2) Not capitalizing on turnovers. Two interceptions in the second half, a fumble recovery, no points.

3) 3 second half points. Not good enough.

4) No sense of toughness, no inspired play from our senior leaders. Tate, Ferentz, Solomon, Hodge, Greenway, Johnson, Chandler...I'm looking in your direction. Take a cue from Hansel: you can drop three interceptions against Northwestern and still make a big difference by playing smart, tough football, exhibiting leadership when it counts, and bringing the overall level of execution up a notch when you need it.

5) No focus from our receivers. It was a wet, foggy day and certainly the conditions didn't help, but Solomon and Grigsby dropped balls, fell down on routes, couldn't gain separation, and overall didn't have the kind of game they needed to have.

It wasn't a pretty sight. We have absolutely got to regain our concentration before the end of this season. At 5-4 right now, without a win against a D1-A team with a winning record, the Capital One, Outback, Sun, and Alamo Bowls are probably out of the question. If we win out, we're looking at Music City or an outside chance at San Antonio. If we split, we could be headed for Detroit. If we lose out, it will be crushing. But who, even among us diehards, thinks we deserve to play in a good bowl this year?

Enough on the Hawks. It's depressing. Did you like the live 'West Wing' debate last night? I did. Everyone knows that since Aaron Sorkin left the show and the ill-advised cast turnover happened, the show has had to rely on gimmicks to keep viewers interested (and I'm saying that as a loyal fan of the show since the first episode. I've always liked it, up until everyone left). But this was a good gimmick. It would be stunning if any real political debate actually happened for a non-fiction election. It would certainly divide the electorate, but at least we would know what, as opposed to whom, we were voting for. And I think that would be a good thing.

Finally, before I get back to work: This is a priceless story. Hilarious. Now, I am all for getting in trouble if you deck someone in a nightclub bathroom, but I think the public sentiment, at least among men and NFL fans, is going to be strongly swayed by the, shall we say, illicit activities that these women were engaging in right up until when one of them did a little urban renewal on the victim's grill. I think it's safe to say these ladies are finished as Carolina Panther cheerleaders, but I'm certain that their careers as b-list sexed-up pseudo-celebrities are about to begin, and that's probably a lot more fun, and involves about the same amount of clothing. So everybody wins. Except the girl who got her mug busted. As for you two cheerleaders, you have 15:00 of fame. You are now on the clock.

More tomorrow.
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