We don't have much call to review board games here at BHGP, but when I came across this copy of "Hawkeye- Mania" at a yard sale, I had to make an exception. Let's dive in, shall we, and play the most popular University of Iowa-themed trivia game of 1984!

The Board

There's a striking resemblance between the board of Hawkeye-Mania and that of Trivial Pursuit. The resemblance is so striking, in fact, that one might hypothesize that Time Check, Inc., the maker of Hawkeye-Mania, simply ripped off Trivial Pursuit in an attempt to cash in on the Trivial Pursuit-Mania that gripped the nation in 1984. The fact that Hawkeye-Mania is copyrighted 1984 would seem to support this theory.

There are five four categories of questions for players to choose from: Football, Round Ball Sports, Potpourri, and University of Iowa. This confirms that even in 1984, Iowa was distinctly a football school, with all other sports relegated to "Round Ball Sports" and "Potpourri".

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So what do we know about Iowa football after spring practice? A little bit more than we did a few weeks ago.

1) The offense is going to need all the practice it can get.

It's a good thing Iowa doesn't play a game until the Northern Illinois game at Soldier Field on September 1st. Iowa had 15 practices this spring to install and get accustomed to Greg Davis' offense. They'll have another 15 practices this summer/fall to continue to improve their understanding of the offense. They'll also have whatever unsupervised team activities they do this summer (hopefully Vandenberg is organizing some drills with the receivers and tight ends). And that's good because based on the evidence from this spring, they're going to need all that time to get up to speed. The offense didn't look very sharp in the open practice -- lots of miscommunication, especially in the passing game -- and other reports from practices suggested that it wasn't just an issue at the open practice. But none of that is surprising -- you expect some growing pains when you change offenses. Chances are good that the offense in September will look much better than the offense in April. Let's just be happy they don't play a meaningful game until then.

2) All aboard the H.M.S. Mandenberg.

There was some hope earlier this winter -- in the wake of James Vandenberg's somewhat topsy-turvy junior season and with the arrival of a new offensive coordinator not beholden to any pre-existing players -- that there would be an open quarterback contest and perhaps a challenger would emerge to threaten Vandenberg's iron grip on the job -- or at least push him to reach another level in his play. After spring ball, one thing is pretty clear: Iowa football will sink or swim with the Mandenberg in 2013. He appears to be well ahead of the challengers -- at this point, we probably just need to hope that he's able to solve the consistency issues that plagued him in 2011.

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(H/T Travis Brownell)

IF YOU'RE NOT A SEASON TICKET HOLDER AND DIDN'T ALREADY ORDER TICKETS FOR THE OPENER YOU CAN NOW. Hawkeye Sports announced yesterday that general public tickets are now available for Iowa's game at Soldier Field against Northern Illinois. Season ticket holders snagged 14,600 tickets and there are a limited number of tickets left.

ANOTHER REASON YOU MAY WANT TO GET TICKETS, TV ISN'T A GUARANTEE. Mike Hlas, of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, writes that there isn't a "traditional telecast set" for Iowa's game against NIU. Last season, Wisconsin traveled to Solider Field to take on Northern Illinois and the game was 'Internet only," aka ESPN3.

NO MORE PRIME TIME LEAGUE FOR U-NI. Citing new NCAA practice hour rules UNI players will no longer participate in the summer hoops league. That means the league will reduce its number of teams to four. The first game of the summer tips off on June 19th.

IT'S EARLY BUT ESPN'S ADAM RITTENBERG ALREADY SELECTS MONTE BALL AS HIS 2012 B1G OPOY. What's interesting is that Rittenberg included James Vandenberg as one that could push Ball for the award. Ball's selection is a no-brainer, he's the returning 2011 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

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We broke down Iowa's performance at each weight in the Looking Ahead series (click here if you missed it), so now it's time to look at the big picture. What are the top five teams from this year's NCAA Tournament losing from their 2012 squads? What are they returning? What are realistic projections for 2013?

For the record, I think only three of that top five -- Penn State, Minnesota, and Iowa -- are legit title contenders. I don't think anyone else has the depth or the studs that those teams have to compete for a title. But Oklahoma State has a shot if everything breaks their way and I included Cornell out of respect for their strong showings in recent years.

Iowa's point total was almost entirely a product of five wrestlers -- Matt McDonough (125), Tony Ramos (133), Montell Marion (141), Derek St. John (157), and Bobby Telford (HWT). Those five accounted for 89% of Iowa's 107.5 points at the NCAA Tournament. The good news is that almost all of those points are returning in 2013 -- Iowa's only significant departure is Montell Marion at 141. Iowa returns 89.5 points in 2013 -- but we know that won't be enough to win an NCAA Championship most years (and almost certainly not with Penn State returning with a still-loaded team). So the question becomes: where can they make up points?

Don't look to McD. He contributed 27 points in 2012 and the only way he's going to improve that figure is by picking up 2-3 more pins, which will be hard to do. If he can match that 27-point total in 2013, we should be satisfied. Ramos added 18.5 points and a 3rd place finish in 2012 -- can he do better? Maybe. Oliver's expected departure from 133 could move Tony into the #2 spot at the weight (behind Ohio State's Logan Stieber), since he's had significant success against virtually everyone else at the weight. He should be a good bet to at least match his '12 efforts. Iowa figures to take a hit at 141; no matter who ultimately fills that spot, it's probably not reasonable to expect him to duplicate Marion's NCAA runner-up finish. Just making the podium and getting double-digit points would be a good outcome. (One area where Dwieza or Ballweg may be able to improve on Marion: bonus points.)

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[Earlier editions of the Pro Combat series can be found here: Iowa, Indiana, Michigan]

The 1990s: an era universally recognized as the apex of American culture, an era when Nirvana broke down the doors of the music industry, when CompuServe and Prodigy brought the miracle of internet message boards into homes everywhere and when Pepsi was, for a brief, miraculous time, clear. Most importantly, it was an era when Nebraska football reigned supreme. To celebrate the dominance of the Cornhuskers in that illustrious decade, Nike is introducing ProCombat uniforms that recall the days when Nebraska was really good at football.

"Nebraska fans are largely stuck in a state of permanent nostalgia for the days when Tom Osborne roamed the sideline, so I thought it was appropriate to incorporate several classic '90s element in the design," said Nike head designer Christopher Polyblend. "It was a bit tricky from a logistical standpoint -- we had to get permission from several corporations before we could go ahead: Vuarnet, Zubaz, Doc Martens, HyperColor and, of course, Mr. Adam Duritz -- but I think the final effect was worth it."

"We think we really captured an era when Nebraska was great at football, and when America apparently didn't care so much about how it looked."

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FIRST, A MOMENT PLEASE.

Beastie Boys - Shake Your Rump (via emimusic)

IS BRIAN FERENTZ TROLLING US, HARD? Newly added offensive line coach Brian Ferentz hinted last week on Twitter that more members of the Hawkeye coaching staff may join the Twitterati. Just recently, we've seen Chris Doyle take to Twitter and use the easy image upload function to display pictures of Hawkeys working in the gym. But, Brian hinted another coach may utilize the social media tool.

@Culbertson4431 You will not be seeing our players on Twitter - but expect to see a few more coaches joining the ranks soon. #HeadCoach

— Brian Ferentz (@CoachBFerentz) May 3, 2012

SPEAKING OF CHRIS DOYLE. He's now a master of strength and conditioning. No word on if that means he'll now wear something like this:

Doyle's honor will be given by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association. It's the "highest honor given in the strength and conditioning field." He'll receive a "blue MSCC Jacket on Thursday evening, May 10, 2012," in Florida.

ONE DUDE MAKING THE MOST OF HIS TRAINING TIME IS BRANDON SCHERFF. He's only a sophomore and possibly Iowa's next offensive lineman to hear his name called on the NFL Draft's first night. That's high praise surely but Scherff is an athletic freak. He played QB in high school and now he's breaking records in Iowa's weight room. Again, he's only a sophomore.

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