I've Got a Few Ideas On the Classic 'Whodunnit?' at Kinnick Stadium--Who Used Herbicide to Burn 'IOWA SUCKS' Into the Grass? Cyclone or Hawkeye Fans?

Forget the dangerous quarterback draw and the always-surprising statue of liberty play.

Throw out the end-around and the flea-flicker, too.

Somebody used a weapon at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City recently that did a different sort of damage than any of those football plays.

In a classic "whodunnit?" case, officials at the University of Iowa are on the lookout for vandals who used herbicide to burn the words "IOWA SUCKS" into the new grass on the field.

The prank was pulled off sometime after the sod was put down following the Sept. 17 game against Northern Iowa [a 45-21 victory] and before the Hawkeyes played Illinois [a 35-7 victory] last Saturday.

Obviously, there are people who might have figured they had reason to evade security guards and do such a thing that some might call "infuriating," but others might regard as funny:

Maybe it was pulled off by some Iowa State fans, who are still celebrating the Cyclones' 23-3 victory over Iowa on Sept. 10 in Ames.

Perhaps it was done by a few Ohio State followers, who certainly weren't impressed with the Hawkeyes when they lost to the Buckeyes, 31-6, Sept. 24 at Columbus.

Heck, maybe Iowa officials need to look no closer than their own campus. Could it be that a few Hawkeye fans aren't turned on so far with their own team, which takes a 3-2 record [1-1 in the Big Ten] into Saturday's game at Purdue?

Whatever, here's a warning to fans who show up at the next home game--Oct. 15 against Indiana:

Security folks will be checking your pockets for more than beer and whiskey.

They'll be on the lookout for herbicide. So leave it in the car.

And if the vandals are ever found, I have a perfect penalty for them.

They should be fined the amount of money it costs to repair the damage, then be assigned to mow the grass at Kinnick Stadium for the next five years.

That'll teach 'em.

And finally......You thought pink locker rooms were the only issue at Iowa City this fall!