Overreaction Monday: Your Weekend Roundup

Here we are again. Another weekend come and gone and another Monday rearing it’s ugly head. Time to decide if you’re a glass half empty or glass half full type of person. For the negative Nelly’s out there, this weekend was yet another without college football and we’re staring down another long week without a Hawkeye football game to look forward to at the end of it all. Worse yet, we don’t even have the Olympics to keep us semi-distracted. For those of you who like to look on the bright side (I assume you’re the morning people who are walking around my office with a smile on your face and no coffee in sight), this Monday marks the last Monday where we have no college football to look forward to in the coming days. We’re to the part of the NFL pre-season where you might actually catch a starter or two if you miss the opening series. And your pals here at BHGP will be helping you kill time at work as you watch the clock tick away to September 3rd.

From here on out, we’ll be recapping the weekend’s takeaways each Monday. Everything you see here should be taken literally and absolutely. There will be no overreactions on our part. We are level-headed Hawkeye fans. Especially when there are no games being played.

1. Hawks in the NFL are the best in the NFL

Iowa may not lead FBS programs in number of players in the NFL (Iowa was sitting at 31 at last check, which would put them outside the top 15), but I think we can all agree they are the best in the NFL. Take for example, Tevaun Smith. He’s making himself right at home in the endzone in Indy (as if he wasn’t already).

Then there’s former Hawk James Morris. He’s spending his days knocking QBs out in the league. Personal fouls be damned.

Even guys that didn’t spend their whole careers as Hawkeyes are making names for themselves. Brandon Wegher is holding strong in Carolina while AJ Derby is looking to lock down a spot with the Patriots behind a couple of OK tight ends.

2. Shocker, Iowa is underrated

You may have heard, Iowa had a pretty decent year last year. Also, they have one or two players from that team coming back. Apparently, the loss of Drew Ott, Jordan Canzeri, Tevaun Smith, et al is enough to drop the Hawkeyes 8 spots from their final AP ranking of 9th in 2015 to their new home at #17 to kick off the 2016 season. Michigan, meanwhile, jumped into the top ten. Presumably because they bring back so many more starters :/ And OSU, with a roster full of guys who were high school seniors last year, is already anointed as the King of the Big Ten. Makes sense.

3. There is a drinking problem in Iowa City

It was the second to last weekend in August and the first with the class of 2020 on campus in Iowa City. If you really want to kill some time at work this week, check the police blotter. If you look close enough, you’ll find the first Hawkeye casualty of the year. RS Freshman LB Nick Wilson was picked up Saturday night/Sunday morning for OWI. First offense for Wilson so I’d expect a short suspension and, fingers crossed, an Uber account in his future.

4. Oliver Martin will be a Hawkeye

Or a Fighting Irish. Or something. The West High senior made his way over to Kinnick for practice Friday night. He followed that up with an offer from Notre Dame on Saturday. I think the kid is genuinely just enjoying the process, but much like my high school romantic encounters, the more Martin flirts with other schools, the more I want him at Iowa.

5. Iowa State Fair is the best state fair... In Iowa

As the Olympics came to a close Sunday, so too did the Iowa State Fair. If you didn’t make it over, you missed out on quite a bit. There were farm animals, tractors and rednecks. Iowa’s other two regent institutions were also represented. UNI had a nice little booth and the University of Iowa had the state’s football trophies on display.

6. Hope you got your tickets

I’m sure you’ve seen by now, the night games at Kinnick this fall have sold out, as have student tickets to all games. If you’re looking to make the NDSU or Wisconsin games, I’d suggest you get on it pretty quickly. Fewer than 2500 tickets remain available for each and NDSU has reported selling out their entire visitor’s allotment. Despite the changing world we live in with the comforts of watching games at home, it’s funny how quickly people seem to jump right back on the bandwagon when the sun is shining.

7. Mongolian Beef

Lastly, in a world where everyone seems to be protesting something, the Olympics brought us a protest with some real, uh, meat on its bones. Not at all Iowa related, but I couldn’t resist passing along the gem that is the Mongolian wrestling coaches stripping down to the underwear in protest. Some things cannot be unseen. You’re welcome.