Now, the season begins for the Iowa football team.

Maine and Florida International? Those were scrimmages, games everyone had penciled in as wins. Iowa State? Sure, a challenge from a BCS conference school, but the game was at home, and, let’s face it, the Cyclones aren’t exactly USC (though with the new uniforms, it was a little confusing).

This weekend’s game at Pittsburgh will be the first real test for the Hawkeyes, the first real gauge of where they are at entering the Big Ten season.

“The first two games, we were definitely favored,” junior linebacker A.J. Edds said Tuesday. “We knew Florida International had some athletes but if we just played our defense, we’d be fine. Iowa State, the records kind of get thrown out the window, but it seems like the home team always wins. Pitt is a top 25 team. They’ve got great athletes. We knew this would be a big game for us, our first road game, our last nonconference game.

“Some of the stuff we did in the first three weeks against lesser offenses will be capitalized on when we play better offenses starting this week. If we give up some of the lanes we did against Maine, this Pitt team is going to run the ball down our throats.

“I think it’s a perfect test for us. We’re going out to an environment similar to a Big Ten environment and going against an offense that is similar to a Big Ten offense. It will be a tune-up, really, almost like we’re playing a 12th Big Ten team.”

That’s a long quote (too long for a conventional article, which is why it’s here in my blog), but it hits it right on the head.

This was a game that the preseason magazines were split on. The ones that had the Hawkeyes finishing 5-7 had it as a loss. The ones that had the Hawkeyes closer to 8-4 had it as a win.

A win would be huge.

It would be momentum coming back to Kinnick Stadium for the Big Ten opener against what has been an underwhelming Northwestern team. And that could lead to a 5-0 start to the season before what is expected to be a tough road trip to Michigan State, the start of a brutal stretch of games — at MSU, at Indiana, vs. Wisconsin, bye week, at Illinois and vs. Penn State — that could turn the season southward in a hurry.

While a loss wouldn’t be devastating or totally surprising, it would be a letdown, because the Hawkeyes, while dominant in those wins over Maine and FIU, weren’t hitting on all cylinders on offense against Iowa State. At times, it almost looked like the 2007 Iowa team on the field — dominant defense and an offense incapable of moving the ball consistently. If the offense comes out and struggles again Saturday, all we’ll really know about the unit is that it can move the ball and score points against really bad competition. Nothing more.

And with that tough stretch of games in the meat of the Big Ten schedule, the Hawkeyes need all the wins they can get here in the pre-conference season if they’re going to get back to a bowl game after missing out last year.

This is an important game. This is where the season really begins.

IOWA CITY — Once again, from the parking lot of the Super 8 on 1st Avenue, here are some quick notes from Kirk Ferentz’s weekly meeting with the state media: 

-No changes to the depth chart … Jake Christensen and Ricky Stanzi still listed as co-starters at quarterback, Pat Angerer still listed as the starter at middle linebacker.

-A few hundred tickets for the Iowa-Northwestern game Sept. 27 have been returned. Log on to Hawkeyesports.com or call the Iowa ticket office at (800) IA-HAWKS.

-There are plenty of tickets available for the game at Pitt this weekend if you want to plan a last-minute trip. The expected attendance for Saturday is around 50,000.

-Captains: Matt Kroul, Mitch King, Rob Bruggeman and Andy Brodell.

-Jeff Tarpinian’s hamstring injury still hasn’t healed up. He probably won’t play Saturday, but could be back next week against Northwestern.

-Ferentz on the quarterbacks: “If we were playing today, I think Jake would be our starter.” He added that they’ll let it play out in practice.

-Karl Klug, Mike Daniels and Tony Moeaki won’t practice Tuesday because of injuries suffered against Iowa State. Moeaki suffered a head injury. Ferentz didn’t say what happened to Klug and Daniels.

-Ferentz said this week’s game will be like a bowl game, which he added is great for fans but not great for players and coaches.

-Ferentz and Dave Wannstedt go way back … knew each other in the 80s when Ferentz was at Pitt, Wannstedt, who played at Pitt, had been an assistant there in the 70s. When Ferentz was with the Cleveland Browns and Wannstedt with the Bears, the Browns went to Platteville to practice with the Bears. So, Ferentz and Wannstedt got to know each other better there, too.

-Ferentz on Pitt: “They’re probably a little bit like us in that they do what they do and do it over and over.”

-A lot of talk about baseball today during Ferentz’s news conference … comparing the QB situation to starting and relief pitching. That’ll be in my story later today.

-Talked to Brett Morse and Jeremiha Hunter for a bit, and I’ll have stories on both later this week. Turns out Hunter, a Pennsylvania native was a high school rival of Pitt running back LeSean McCoy. Hunter says he’s got the good on McCoy and can read when he’s going to get the ball. The two are good friends and actually talked on the phone this week. Morse was a high school quarterback who was recruited to college as an outside linebacker. Now, he’s ended up at fullback for the Hawkeyes. Again, I’ll have more on both those guys later this week.

IOWA CITY — The stats weren’t spectacular for Jake Christensen on Saturday, 4-for-5, 27 yards passing, but his play was as clutch as can be after he came on the field cold at the end of the third quarter of Iowa’s 17-5 win over Iowa State.

Consider the circumstances …

A week earlier, Christensen, who had entered the season as the incumbent starter at quarterback, was booed off the field by his own fans. Booed off the field on a day he completed 8 of 12 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown without throwing an interception. Booed off the field on a day his team won 42-0. That’s pretty harsh. 

After that game against FIU, the game during which he was booed by Hawkeyes fans and lost his starting job to Ricky Stanzi, Christensen met the media, just as he did after every game last season, and answered all the questions head on. At times, it looked like he fought back tears. Showing up in that interview room was as gutsy as anything I’ve seen a college football player do on the field. You have to give him a lot of credit for that. He said all the right things and deferred to the coaches on the question of which quarterback should start. You could tell he was hurting.

Then Monday, he found out he’d officially lost his starting job to Stanzi and would come off the bench — and, perhaps, not play at all — against the Cyclones.

So, what did he do?

“He probably had his best week of practice since he’s been here,” coach Kirk Ferentz said, “which speaks volumes about the way he handled a tough circumstance.”

Then Saturday, after Stanzi struggled through three quarters (5-for-14, 95 yards, 2 INTs), Christensen was called upon to come off the sidelines and enter the game and revive a sputtering Iowa offense that had managed only three points to that point in the game. He completed his first three passes and called an audible that led to a 20-yard Shonn Greene run and, eventually, an Iowa touchdown, the clinching touchdown.

After the game, after he lifted the Cy-Hawk Trophy, Christensen met the media again. He was asked how he’d kept his poise coming off the bench.

“I’ve played 13, 14 games here,” he said. “This was just another walk in the park.”

It couldn’t have been as easy as that, but Christensen handled the situation the way you’d hope. And he’s got his hat back in the ring for the starting job.  

Random thoughts from Saturday’s game

- Iowa’s defense is deep. It was amazing how many people played, in the front seven and in the secondary, and I really didn’t see much drop off in performance. Defensive end Broderick Binns and cornerback Shaun Prater were two reserves who really stood out to me.

- Ferentz had blood on his shirt in the postgame press conference, a spot on his stomach and another smudge on his shoulder. I asked him if he’d gotten in a fight on the field or something and he said something like this: “No. I rubbed up against someone out there, I think. Not sure on that. … No, I haven’t been shot … yet.” Shot? Was he alluding to his 3-6 record against Iowa State before Saturday?

- Three great storylines came out of Saturday, the kind you enjoy writing about when you’re in my position. 1) Christensen coming back a week after getting booed, obviously. 2) Andy Brodell completing his return from the hamstring injury. And 3) Pat Angerer playing really well in his first start at middle linebacker. Angerer’s a great kid who has had nothing but bad luck since he came to Iowa. It’s nice to see him having success this season.

- I’m wondering if Ferentz will continue to use both Daniel Murray and Trent Mossbrucker at place-kicker. He doesn’t seem to mind having them split reps. I’m a believer in the one-kicker system. Don’t know about you? 

- I didn’t get it in my notebook yesterday, but Brett Greenwood dislocated a finger at some point during the game. He had it put back in on the sidelines and went right back on the field. Not sure if that was before or after his interception.

Recruiting watch

(weekly recap on players committed to Iowa)

- Sioux City Heelan running back Brandon Wegher’s team put an emphasis on its passing game early in a 34-0 win over Desison-Schleswig. Wegher, right, still had 227 yards on 24 carries and scored four rushing touchdowns (80, 3, 3, 3). He now has 800 yards in three games for Iowa’s top-ranked Class 3A team.

- Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic running back Brad Rogers had a big second half in his team’s 31-14 win over St. John’s Jesuit. Rogers ran for 105 yards and two scores in the final two quarters. He did fumble once on offense, but atoned for it with a fumble recovery from his linebacker position later in the game. He and teammate Mike Marrow, an Alabama recruit, have been nicknamed the “Bash Brothers.” Gotta love that. Rogers finished the St. John’s game with 126 yards on 25 carries. He has 273 yards and four touchdowns in three games, having missed a game two weeks ago with a bruised left knee.

- Mount Pleasant’s Jordan Cotton carried 14 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns (15, 77, 29) and also had a 31-yard receiving touchdown in his team’s 47-6 rout of Fort Madison. His younger brother Darian, a sophomore, had 129 yards on seven carries and returned an interception 20 yards for a TD.

- No stats available on Cedar Rapids Washington wideout Keenan Davis, but his team beat Prairie 20-7 in sloppy conditions. I do know Washington only had 94 yards passing and committed five turnovers.

- Brett Van Sloten’s Decorah team beat New Hampton, 24-6.

- Drew Clark’s Marion team lost to De Witt, 10-7.

- Solon junior James Morris went nuts again, running for 221 yards on 19 carries. He had scoring runs of 55, 66 and 3 yards for the top-ranked team in Iowa’s Class 2A, which beat Wilton, 48-7.  

In case you missed it while you were out celebrating Iowa’s 17-5 win over Iowa State, Andy Brodell’s 81-yard punt return was No. 3 on ESPN’s Top 10 Plays of the Day on Sports Center tonight.

Watching the replay, it really was a great return. He made two men miss and broke another tackle. You’ve got to be happy for the kid, coming back from injury the way he did.

Funny thing … he’s not exactly a household name outside the state of Iowa. The guys on Sports Center called him Andy Broh-dil. Dill, like the pickle.

More on the blog tomorrow. Try to get some sleep.  

IOWA CITY — Not the prettiest gave for the Hawkeyes, but, as they say, a win is a win. I’m have more in-depth analysis in my game replay on Monday. Until then, here are my grades for Iowa’s 17-5 win:

Quarterbacks (C-)

It was Ricky Stanzi’s first start, and it showed. He missed open receivers and made some poor decisions that led to a pair of interceptions. He did continue to show good pocket presence, but he was rattled. Christensen was solid when he came on late.

Running backs (A)

Shonn Greene was a bull, always falling forward, always fighting for extra yardage. He showed he is capable of carrying the load against a physical defense with his 20-carry performance. He didn’t seem to tire as the game went on. Iowa is going to be able to ride him this season.

Receivers/Tight Ends (A)

On Greene’s long runs, there was excellent blocking downfield by the receivers and tight ends, particularly Brandon Myers and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. And sophomore tight end Allen Reisner is really catching on. He had receptions of 37 and 28 yards, Iowa’s two longest passing plays.

Offensive line (A)

Facing its first true test, Iowa’s offensive line looked good, paving the way for Shonn Greene to go over 100 yards for the third straight week. Iowa’s quarterbacks were sacked only once, and the Hawkeyes nearly pulled off a bubble screen, which is a hard play for the line to execute.    

Defensive line (A)

The Iowa defensive front is as good as advertised. Saturday, the unit didn’t get a sack but put constant pressure on Iowa State’s platooning QBs, Austen Arnaud and Phillip Bates, who were held to 12 yards rushing between them. They Cyclones managed only 73 yards on the ground.

Linebackers (A)

A.J. Edds had 10 tackles, including one for a loss, and he nearly came up with his third interception of the season. Pat Angerer played well in his first career start, and Jeremiha Hunter continued to be a steady presence on the weak side. The front seven is formidable.

Defensive backs (B)

Brett Greenwood, Amari Spievey and Tyler Sash all had interceptions — the first of Spievey and Sash’s careers — but the Iowa secondary had some holes in it Saturday as Cyclone receivers found space, and Bates and Arnaud found them for 252 yards. There is room for improvement.

Special Teams (B)

The positives: Of course, Andy Brodell’s 81-yard punt return for the game-sealing score, a 64-yard punt from Ryan Donahue, a 26-yard field goal from Trent Mossbrucker and three missed ISU field goals. But there also was a shanked, 25-yard punt and a missed field goal. 

Coaches (A)

Again this week, Kirk Ferentz and his staff handled the quarterback situation beautifully. They pulled Stanzi when he was struggling and sent Christensen on the field, giving him a chance to lead the Hawkeyes to a win. That, and Iowa came to this one ready to play.  

Here is a quick primer for Saturday’s Iowa-Iowa State game, which kicks off at 11 a.m. at Kinnick Stadium:

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH

Stanzi’s start

Ricky Stanzi has looked really good against two bad teams. Can he perform under the pressure of the Cy-Hawk Series and under the microscope he’ll now be under as Iowa’s full-time starting quarterback? The No. 2 guy always is the crowd favorite. Stanzi seems to know that, but he’ll be reminded when he throws his first interception or takes his first sack. 

Line ’em up

The Hawkeyes offensive line appears to have improved since giving up 46 sacks a year ago, but Saturday will be the real test. Iowa State will blitz and stunt and mix packages in the front seven, and it will be interesting to see how Iowa’s offensive line reads and reacts. Center Rob Bruggeman will make the calls. He’s one to watch.

Nickel and dime

Three times now in the past few weeks, Kirk Ferentz has dropped hints that the Hawkeyes might throw in some nickel and dime packages in the secondary once the schedule heats up. Well, it’s going to get hot Saturday, so expect to see a few new formations in the defensive backfield to counter the Cyclones spread-type offense.

Turnovers

Turnovers have played a huge part in the Cy-Hawk Series rivalry over the years. Usually, the team with the fewest turnovers has won the game. For the most part, Iowa’s offense has taken good care of the ball the past 14 games, but the Cyclones lead the nation in takeaways, having forced 10 turnovers — five interceptions and five fumbles — through two weeks.  

Special delivery

Special teams won last year’s game for Iowa State. The Cyclones won the game 15-13 without scoring a touchdown. Don’t expect that to happen again — the winner to be held out of the end zone — but do expect special teams to play a huge factor in this game. ISU already has blocked two punts and a kick this season.  

WHO HAS THE EDGE

When the Hawkeyes have the ball

The Cyclones will test the Iowa offense like it hasn’t been tested. They’ll confuse the offensive line and new QB Ricky Stanzi with different blitzes and stunts, and they’ll stack the line to try to stop the run. That said, they won’t be able to completely shut down Shonn Greene, and Stanzi will adjust as the game goes on. Advantage: Iowa

When the Cyclones have the ball

Iowa defense has been dominant, but it hasn’t faced an offense with as many weapons as the Cyclones will bring into Kinnick Stadium. ISU has two mobile QBs who can also pass and big, physical receivers who will have an edge over the Iowa secondary. Advantage: Iowa State

Special teams

True freshman kicker Grant Mahoney has been near perfect for the ’Clones, making 5 of 6 attempts, and punter Mike Brandtner, an Assumption grad, has landed 3 of 4 boots inside the 20. Iowa has an advantage in the return game, but ISU has been successful blocking kicks. Advantage: Iowa State 

Prediction

Like it has been in year’s past, this is going to be a fistfight. Iowa’s out for redemption after losing a game players feel like they really shouldn’t have lost last season, and, as always, ISU is coming to Iowa City with something to prove. Ignore the 13-point spread.  Iowa 31, Iowa State 27

The Big Ten went 11-0 last weekend for the first time in the history of the conference. But, really, it wasn’t that impressive. The list of victims was almost embarrassing … Florida International, Murray State, Eastern Illinois, Northern Colorado.

This weekend, the number the league is looking for is 3-0. There are three games everyone will be watching. No. 1, of course, is Ohio State-USC, which has been billed as the regular-season game of the year in all of college football. No. 2, Wisconsin’s trip to Fresno State and, No. 3, Purdue’s matchup with Oregon.

Saturday presents another chance for the Big Ten, which has had teams fail too many times in marquee games like this over the past few years. It could be a long weekend for the Big Ten. I’d say 0-3 is much more likely than 3-0.

What do you think? Drop in a comment and let me know. 

I fielded a lot of questions in my live chat today about Ricky Stanzi’s right hand. Rumor on the message boards has it that Iowa’s new starting quarterback broke his hand/wrist yesterday in practice. Those rumors don’t hold any water, Stanzi’s father, Joe, said this afternoon.

“I texted Ricky a couple times this afternoon, and I would like to think I would know within the hour if there was an injury,” the elder Stanzi said. “When he separated his shoulder (in July), I remember that Friday morning, he actually called me from the training room. I heard from (coach Ken) O’Keefe, I heard from everybody. So, I think I would know.”

So, there you have it. Stanzi’s going to play, as far as his father knows. And if he’s injured and his own father doesn’t know then I’m pretty impressed with the ability of the Iowa football program to keep information in house. Then again, it is Cy-Hawk week, but Joe Stanzi’s story sounded pretty convincing.

The rumor that Stanzi was injured started early today on a Cyclones message board. Supposedly someone from within the Iowa sports information staff sent an e-mail to a relative, who told someone, who told someone, who posted it online. As you can imagine, a rumor like that grew legs in a hurry.   

When talking about the recruitment of Ricky Stanzi on Tuesday, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said Stanzi was a late offer, definitely “not a USC offer,” he said. Stanzi said the coaching staff told him they had to see some throws his senior year before they were ready to offer.

Anyway … here are some other bits on Stanzi that I picked up in the reporting for the story on his aunt we ran earlier this week. (Click here if you didn’t see that story)

- According to his father, Joe, Stanzi was a better basketball player early on in high school. He started getting recruiting letters from D-I schools for hoops when he was a freshman. When he was a sophomore, he decided he wanted to focus more on football, but he still played basketball throughout his high school career.

- Stanzi’s dad said Stanzi took a lot of abuse from opposing fans when he was in high school. The abuse got worse after he committed to Iowa. Sounded like he dealt with it pretty well. I imagine that’s not a totally unique thing for guys who go D-I, a lot of animosity/jealousy out there.

- Stanzi grew up idolizing Tom Brady, which is interesting because, while he isn’t to that level yet, his rise from the depths of the depth chart somewhat mirrors what Brady did at Michigan. Whether or not he’ll go on to win the Super Bowl MVP … I’ll wait to predict that one until after I’ve seen him play a real Division I team. Joe Stanzi said his son read biographies of Brady, Johnny Unitas and John Elway. That’s the demeanor he wants to emulate, his dad said.

- Stanzi didn’t start until his junior year at Lake Catholic High School in Mentor, Ohio. Before that, he played everywhere from linebacker to receiver to defensive back to special teams. He was stuck behind a guy who won a state championship — much like Christensen in that regard. The guy he played behind at QB was Mark Petruziello. Petruziello initially went to Ohio U, before transferring around and landing at John Carroll, a Division III school in Cleveland. Saturday, as Stanzi made his debut, Petruziello completed 21 of 22 passes for 242 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-14 win over Thomas More. Good day for Lake Catholic alums … not such a good day for Lake Catholic. Saturday night, Stanzi’s little brother, Vinnie, and his teammates suffered the worst loss — 36 points — in the history of the program.

- I met a guy this summer who played against Stanzi in high school. At that point, I didn’t know how much of a factor Stanzi would be this fall. I e-mailed the guy the other day after Stanzi’s coming out party against FIU. Here was his reply: “I’m telling you, he is the goods. He’s got a big ole’ pair of nuts that could save Kirk his job!!” This was a guy who played against him in high school and went on to play in the MAC. Take it for what it’s worth.

Like Ferentz said Tuesday, I, too, am not ready to crown Stanzi king. He has looked very good against inferior competition, but he has a lot to prove against ISU this weekend. I do think he’s capable, but he’s not going to look as good this Saturday as he did against FIU. It’s going to be a growing process throughout the season. I’m interested to see how the coaching staff is going to handle having Stanzi as the starter. I mean, are they going to have him looking over his shoulder? Or is it his job for a set number of games, say six, and then they’ll evaluate where he and the team are at? After seeing how they handled Christensen last year, giving him the entire season to grab hold of the position, I suspect we’ll see mostly Stanzi from here on out. But, like I wrote on Tuesday, Ferentz was noncommittal, at best, in confirming Stanzi as “the guy.”

Oh, and I asked Stanzi’s dad … for those of you wondering, it is Ricky, not Rick.

Not sure who took the time to put this together, but the music over Ricky Stanzi’s highlights is pretty funny.