It has been a rough week for Iowa football fans...a rough month really. The week started off Sunday when it was announced that Iowa would play Missouri in the Insight Bowl. There is nothing wrong with Missouri or the Insight Bowl, but when playing Nebraska was a "sure thing" it is kind of disappointing that we'll have to wait another year to begin the rivalry.
Then there was the whole DJK thing. I've already written about how I feel about DJK, but didn't really mention the impacts it would have to the team for the bowl game. My hope is that mentally, it won't have an effect on the team. It's just one player that won't be there. Maybe it'll actually have a positive effect as I suspect (as do many others) that perhaps DJK wasn't the best of teammates in the locker-room. There's no denying however, that DJK was a play-maker on the field and other plays are going to need to step up.
Sandeman will most likely be the starter opposite of McNutt. He has had a nice career at Iowa, but has had a few injuries slow him down. Last year he had an excellent showing in the Orange Bowl and another big day in a bowl would be a great way for a senior to go out. Keenan Davis has mostly played behind McNutt, but could see some time in DJK vacant spot. He will also likely be the number 1 kick returner. I'm not sure who else fills in there...maybe Paul Chaney.
The last piece of bad news Iowa fans got this week was that Christian French committed to Oregon yesterday. French was one of the more highly-touted recruits out of the state of Iowa this year. He went to Cedar Rapids Kennedy but is not originally from Iowa so didn't grow up a Hawkeye fan. Still he had Iowa on his list and it's not often that an instate kid slips out of Iowa's grasp unless he grew up a Cyclone fan.
So now it's time to move on. There is still a chance to finish this season on a positive note with a bowl win over a ranked, 10-2, Missouri team. There are still some more recruits out there with Iowa on their radar. And, there isn't much reason to worry about DJK ever again.