Overreaction Monday: Iowa Football Still Undefeated

It’s that time of the week again. Monday morning. Back to the grind. Another long week ahead. Wait, what am I talking about? This is not just another week.

It’s game week baby! High school football was back in action across the country over the weekend, college football has officially started, and we had a future Iowa opponent in action. Best of all, we have wonderful, marvelous, glorious football to look forward to on Saturday. Can. Not. Wait. As we work toward game day, here’s your Monday morning reboot.

1. Eno Benjamin is good at football

Like really good. The 4-star back out of Wylie East HS in Texas did a little bit of everything in his season opener Friday. For starters, 156 yards and a pair of rushing TDs. Throw in a couple of 2-pt conversions and I feel pretty good. Oh, and one more thing...

Benjamin was the only player on his squad to throw a pass. He threw two, both were completed for a total of 37 yards. Here’s a quick highlight reel from week 1. Yes, that was all in week one. Get this kid on campus. Like now.

2. Ivory Kelly-Martin better?

With all the talk about how fantastic Eno has been at pulling in other recruits and the hype that surrounds a player of his caliber, it’s easy to forget he’s not the lone RB commit in Iowa’s class of ‘17. Don’t sleep on Ivory Kelly-Martin out of Illinois’ Oswego East HS (in the SW burbs). Thought Eno had a nice stat line? How does 222 yards and 4 TDs sound? On 24 carries. For you math majors, that’s just shy of 10 yards per carry (9.25) and a TD every 6 touches. Again: Sign. Me. Up.

3. I still REALLY want Oliver Martin at Iowa

There were plenty of other great stat lines floating around from Iowa commits, including this one of QB Peyton Mansell doing his best CJB impression:

But the one that stands out to me is from the crush that keeps playing hard to get with Iowa. Local product, Oliver Martin, had an OK start to his season. 151 yards on 8 grabs with a pair of TD catches. Oh, and like Eno, he can pass - Martin threw for a third score in week 1. His stock is not falling.

4. CJ throws first TD in Kinnick before opponent shows up and other Back Porch Takeaways

If you live in Iowa, it was hard to miss the hype surrounding the Back Porch Revival. By all reliable accounts, the event was a success. It marked the first ever concert in (historic) Kinnick Stadium and had some pretty big names on hand. Perhaps none bigger than CJ Beathard. The Iowa QB/Heisman hopeful/superhero joined his brother, Tucker, on stage and tossed out a TD for some lucky fan.

Also, and this one isn’t really even toeing the line of Iowa sports related, but Ashton Kutcher can still crush a beer like he’s a freshman at Iowa.

5. NDSU has more wins than Iowa

College football officially got underway Friday with Cal and Hawaii, but the matchup most Hawkeye fans had their eye on over the weekend (if they weren’t enjoying the music in Kinnick) was North Dakota State hosting Charleston Southern. The Bison escaped with a win and their #1 ranking in FCS, but I’ll admit I sighed a breath of relief. NDSU is good, but they aren’t the same team they put on the field last year. They’re breaking in a new QB and after watching Saturday night, it’s safe to say they don’t have Doyle. Charleston Southern also looked solid and their RB has some serious game, but if they had a kicker Iowa would be playing a team in week 3 that wasn’t undefeated. As it stands, the Bison will likely roll into IC on September 17th with a 0 in the loss column. I expect them to leave with a 1.

6. Iowa Football’s Video Department is Legit

Disappointed Iowa wrapped up their Iowa Edge series recapping all of last year’s games? Don’t be. All signs point to them continuing to pump out excellent stuff. If you’re looking to kill 20 minutes on Monday morning (wait, did we already do that? Damn, well it is game week, what’s another 20?) have a look. Really good stuff.

7. Brett Greenwood Scholarship

If you haven’t had enough videos for one morning, why not try one more? Fair warning, I’m pretty sure someone is slicing onions on the other end of the camera. Greenwood is everything Iowa fans want to brag about in a player and the scholarship is a great way to make that legacy last forever.

That’s all I got. It’s game week people! Keep it together for a few more days. We can do this, together.