Welcome to OSI Heat Index, a look at local teams and assignment of a “temperature reading” based on the past week’s performance.
This week, college football and the NFL take over the conversation.
Nebraska Football
Heat Index: 7
Trending: Steady
Ultimately, it’s another week, and another win for Nebraska. The final score didn’t indicate how close the game was through at least three quarters, but give credit to the Huskers for being in the right place at the right time in the fourth quarter to take advantage of some costly Wyoming mistakes.
Still, there were both plenty of positives and plenty of negatives to take away from the win – despite a shaky run attack, the passing game came to life for the Huskers. Even after a terrible interception by Tommy Armstrong in the red zone, the Nebraska came out of the game with five picks of their own. The penalty situation if probably of most concern – at least four of the personal foul penalties against the Huskers are easily preventable, and will need to be cleaned up against Oregon.
The real test starts this week when the Ducks visit Lincoln.
Iowa Football
Heat Index: 9
Trending: Up
The Hawkeyes were dominant in a wire to wire win over in-state rival Iowa State on Saturday. Through two weeks, it looks like this could be one of Iowa’s best offensive teams under Kirk Ferentz.
Defensively, there are still a few things to iron out. The defensive line group has had their ups and downs in the pass rush, but have at least been consistent at stopping the run. It’s still a “bend but don’t break” mentality a lot of the time for Iowa, but Phil Parker also hasn’t really opened up the defensive playbook yet.
Up next, it’s a tricky spot against North Dakota State before Big Ten play opens. Through two weeks, everything looks solid for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa State Football
Heat Index: 2
Trending: Down
It’s looking like a dark year in Ames. Iowa State wasn’t competitive against the Hawkeyes, getting pushed around in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Offensively, ISU had been a one-trick pony so far, with wide receiver Alan Lazard being the lone bright spot on offense. The Cyclones need to find some semblance of a running game in a hurry, and to add to the list of problems, Matt Campbell is “evaluating” the starting quarterback situation this week.
The Cyclones travel to TCU this week to open Big 12 play, before returning home to host San Jose State the following week. Given how they’ve played thus far, it’s not tough to fathom a two or three win season.
Kansas City Chiefs
Heat Index: 7
Trending: Up
What happens when you fall behind 24-3 to San Diego in the second half? You get the chance to mount the biggest comeback in franchise history, of course!
Kansas City was a mess in the first half, but Alex Smith found some swagger after the break and led the Chiefs calmly down the field on several key drives. His 2-yard run in OT sealed the deal for the Chiefs, who were lucky to escape week one with a win.
There were two key momentum swings that seemed to propel the Chiefs – when Chargers WR Keenan Allen went down with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, and a 54-yard field goal miss by Josh Lambo.
