Something Tells Me Football Has Passed Alvarez By...McCarney Keeps Proving His Critics Wrong...Don't Forget, Floyd: Iowa City Is Nice In the Winter

If you ask me, it’s a good thing Barry Alvarez decided it was time to hang up his coaching whistle.

After what I saw yesterday, football has passed Barry by.

Great guy, though.

When ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews caught up with Wisconsin’s coach after the game and asked him why his team lost to Iowa, 20-10, he said he didn’t know.

Later, someone –- maybe one of his assistant coaches –- must have told him.

“In the second half, they flat-out beat us up-front,” Alvarez said of Iowa.

I’m not sure it was Bret Bielema, the former Iowa player and assistant who will be Alvarez’s successor, who told Barry why he lost.

Beliema [pictured alongside the bald Alvarez in the AP photo] couldn’t seem to figure out what to do about Iowa in the last half, either.

Maybe even the first half.

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The victory at Wisconsin was obviously Iowa’s most impressive of the season.

Somehow, beating hapless Illinois, Purdue and Indiana doesn’t seem like a big deal in the Big Ten this season.

Wisconsin was ranked 19th nationally. Going into yesterday’s game, I thought the Badgers were overrated. Afterward, I think they were horribly overrated.

But who's complaining?

Not me.

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Speaking of big victories, how about what Iowa State did against No. 22 Colorado?

Just think, it was a few weeks ago that people were calling for Dan McCarney’s head.

McCarney showed 'em -- just like he's done so many other times.

The man can coach.

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There are plenty of TV viewers who like the work Chris Spielman does as an ESPN college football analyst.

I’m one of them.

But network officials must have been a bit nervous yesterday when Spielman used the word “pissed” during the Iowa-Wisconsin game.

With Spielman [pictured on the left at the top], what you see is what you get.

The former standout at Ohio State and in the NFL again said he could tell whether Iowa was going to run or pass by the way the players were lined up on each offensive play.

You wonder if opposing coaches and players can see the same tendencies when they’re playing the Hawkeyes.

Something tells me Illinois, Purdue and Indiana couldn't.

Maybe Spielman should be coaching.

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Please tell me what Notre Dame is proving by beating Navy for the 42nd straight time.

Why would the Fighting Irish want to continue pulverizing Navy or any other service academy football team year in and year out?

Even though Iowa State had trouble handling Army in a game earlier this season, I think the service academies should start playing Division III schedules because they can no longer compete at the major-college level.

The days of Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard running roughshod over bigtime rivals are long gone.

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Can you believe it?

Michigan State, which beat Notre Dame earlier this season, still isn’t bowl-eligible.

Kind of makes me wonder where Spartans coach John L. [“L” for loser, I guess] Smith [pictured in the green jacket, not to be confused with anything connected to the Masters golf tournament] will be next year.

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Minnesota manhandled Michigan State, 41-18, yesterday without Laurence Maroney –- who had a bad ankle.

I’ll bet Maroney [pictured in the Gopher maroon outfit] will be ready for Saturday’s game at Iowa.

Floyd of Rosedale [pictured] says he’s ready, too.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Floyd is the bronze pig at the top right of this column].

Ready to spend another nice winter in Iowa City, that is.

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Don’t say I didn’t tell you:

Iowa 42, Minnesota 24

Somehow, spending Christmas in Detroit didn’t seem like a lot of fun.

Spending Dec. 26 there for the Motor City Bowl sounded like even less fun.

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