Before is more fun in terms of anticipation. But Sunday can be suffused with happiness, fond recollections, private rethinking of various events and plays from Saturday’s game… In the event of a win. And brief, intense discussions and analyses in case of a loss.

But, in my world, there are other important Hawkeye days, as well.

Monday is the day that the Bg Ten game analyses hit on USA today, right here:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/home.htm

That includes the Big Ten rankings, short articles on how each team did, and links to individual team pages that host game summaries of each game.

I read the Hawkeye sections thoroughly and breeze through the rest of the conference.

Then, on Wednesday, they change the summary articles on the same page and start talking about the upcoming games for the next weekend.

That, of course, requires a completely new reading session.

Of course, any day can have a little more fun added, due to the Big Ten Network, which mentions and analyses Hawkeye games, game play, and next game prospects in varios shows on a daily basis.

So, any day is a Hawkeye day. It’s just that some are little more black and gold than others.

Where the Hawkeye football season winds down, and I retreat into my normal life. No more elevated heart rate on Saturday kickoffs. No more structuring my weekend around Hawkeye TV times.

I don’t totally understand why its only the football team that does this to me. Other than that duck/imprinting thing due to the Hawks winning the Rose Bowl when I was 7.

Which I believe explains why I have such a fierce and irrational connection to their fortunes. There’s nothing mature about it.

It’s the deep loyalty and fragile security of a kid.

Just a big Hawkeye kid…

Many of you who know me may not know that in addition to my many other interests I have a long standing affection or even obsession with the fortunes of this football team. But more background later.

For now I want to talk about James Vandenberg, the “backup” quarterback for the Iowa Hawkeyes, due to the ankle injury to Rick Stanzi. I must warn you that I’m a convert to the Vandenberg for Starting QB club.

Maybe it’s the fact that I had a feeling that he might surprise people in the Ohio State game. Maybe it’s that rocket arm. Maybe it’s the pass he blasted between two defenders right into an Iowa player’s arms. And maybe more.

To quote my brother Arden, who was stuck on I-80, driving from the East Coast back to Des Moines during the game (I had to call him after every big play), “You are pumped about this guy!”

It’s true. And it’s mainly because I haven’t seen an Iowa offense move the chains like this in a long time.

Ferentz says that Vandenberg has “a vibe” that’s reminiscent of Chuck Long. A sort of confident presence. And we all remember Chuck with affection.

James Vandenberg (no longer on the JV) doesn’t look very aggressive. As a matter of fact, he has a sort of Tom Sawyer face… Very much a kind, Midwestern looking boy. But wow, can he crank the ball, and on target!

Stanzi is a great competitor, but everything that I like about him also has a downside. He’s competitive, but maybe too volatile. He’s ambitious, but a sort of risk taker. I also feel that he is a bit erratic, and that a good percentage of his throws are simply uncatchable.

Vandenberg also throws what, to date, appear to be uncatchable balls, but it’s not due to being off target, but due to his amazing pace on the ball. I’m putting the onus for those misses on the receivers, however. Vandenberg’s throw is more like a pro-level pass.

There have been a lot of dropped balls since Vandenberg came to the forefront. Part of that could be seen as a matter of adjusting to a new passer, but we can’t expect Vandenberg to “soften up” his throw that much. He may have to do that in some cases, but, in general, the receivers have to start doing a better job of meeting the ball with their hands and guiding it into their body, rather than letting the rocket throws hit them in the pads.

They need to spend more time throwing and catching with each other.

But, all in all, this is the first time in a  long time that I’ve seen some excitement on the Iowa offense side of the game.

God bless Stanzi, but I’m hoping he’ll consider taking a few more weeks on the crutches