Written on September 30, 2006 during the game.

UPDATE (10:20pm): Final score--Ohio State 38, Iowa 17. Ohio State is really, really good.

UPDATE (10:08pm): The third big mistake. Drew Tate tries to throw it through an Ohio State linebacker's hands. He tipped it up to himself. 6 minutes to go and Ohio State has the ball on Iowa's 13. Iowa could have won this game. But they couldn't win it giving away the ball three times.

UPDATE (10:00pm): The second big mistake. Iowa's defense holds. But then Iowa's senior TE Scott Chandler fumbled the ball after a catch on the Ohio State 47. 9 minutes to go.

UPDATE (9:48pm): Touchdown Iowa puts the game within reach at 31-17. Now the defense needs to step up. Iowa's offense has foregone in this game a couple of staples: the naked bootlet rollout and the wide receiver screen. Interesting.

#1 (4-0)  v.  #13 (4-0)

A #1 ranked team enters Kinnick Stadium tonight for the first time since 1992 (Miami). Before that, the last time was Iowa itself, for several weeks during 1985. Iowa has never beaten a #1 ranked team. They are 0-9-1 in their history against such teams (though #1 ranked Iowa did beat #2 ranked Michigan in an instant classic in 1985). Add in the fact that Iowa is also undefeated, has won two of the past four Big Ten Championships, the game is being broadcast nationally on ABC during primetime, and ESPN College Gameday is here, and this is the most hyped game in Iowa City in twenty years. AM radio in Iowa, it seems, has not stopped talking about the game all week. The turnout for ESPN College Gameday's broadcasting in Hubbard Park has been unbelievable.