IOWA VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS: FIRST HALF GAME THREAD

Finally.  After many long months of waiting, we finally have another chance to watch a new Iowa football game.  We get to see what Jake Rudock can do at quarterback.  We get to see if Mark Weisman can maul fools for another year.  We get to see what changes have come with Iowa's new coaches and if the buzz about the changes to the offense was actually true.

But mostly it's a chance to see some of our favorite things again: the Swarm.  Herky.  Kinnick.  Those familiar black and gold uniforms.  Hallelujah.

The game is on BTN (or a BTN Alternate channel) at 2:30pm CST.

A NOTE ABOUT GAME/OPEN THREADS:

I understand that game threads are for instantaneous, as-it-happens reactions to the action going in the game itself.  That's great.   And I also understand that Iowa is going to do some dumb things and people are going to get frustrated and they're going to express that frustration.  That's fine.

That being said... what is not acceptable is being a belligerent asshole.  Don't hurl slurs at each other or at players in the game.  For example: Calling a fellow a commenter "a fucking fag" IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.  Calling Jake Rudock "a stupid cunt" if he throws an interception IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.  This is not negotiable.  If this bothers you too much -- go somewhere else.  There's no shortage of places on these here interwebs where you can be a douchebag.  BHGP is not one of those places.

Above all, be civil with one another.  Disagreement is fine, but express it in a way that's not just douchebaggery.  After all, we're watching 20-year olds play a fucking game.  It's entertainment.  It doesn't warrant you calling someone "a fucking idiot" just because he (or she) doesn't share your opinion.

Have fun.  It's college football.

The usual rules apply: no links to illegal online streams, no porn, no religion, no politics, no slurs.  I would also suggest that you exercise caution in posting images or GIFs, since this thread is likely to be very busy and images and GIFs slow things down.  I'm not banning them, but if you want to post a GIF just to make a funny, maybe use a link instead.  (If you want to post a GIF from the Iowa game to discuss something that happened -- that's a different matter.)