Two possessions into its game with Purdue, Penn State lined up offensively in the shotgun formation for perhaps the first time in Joe Paterno's 35-year head coaching career. They got excited about it. We've had the shotgun in there since the spring, but we were leery of using it. J.J. Moses was a little too giddy over the prospect of facing No. 2 Nebraska on Saturday. I know this is what I live for.
Life's about opportunities.
It's a tremendous opportunity for my football team. The Hawkeyes lost their final eight games of the 1999 season and are 0-5 this year. To make matters worse, the Hawkeyes play a tough schedule that figures to have them rated as underdogs in every remaining game. After Michigan State this weekend, Iowa plays at Illinois, home against Ohio State and Wisconsin, at Penn State, and then ending against an upstart Northwestern team and at Minnesota. That would mean a 20-game losing streak.