Kirk's comments on prepping for Jeremiah Smith: "Different kind of players. Lemon just had a great game against us. But you talk about Smith, there are several guys over the last 20 plus years, first guy that comes to mind would be Saquon Barkley, just different guys. They're at a little different level" got me thinking about the best individual offensive talents Iowa has had to defend under Ferentz/Parker.

For me, Saquon and CMC immediately come to mind. Saquon put up 305 yards from scrimmage against us in 2017, and McCaffrey had 277 from scrimmage in the Rose Bowl. Those were against some damn good Hawkeye defenses too.

On the other hand, we've done well against some guys who went on to be names: Josh Allen, Michael Penix, etc.

I’m still pretty young though, so who am I missing, especially from early-Ferentz years, or even before? Who are the best talents you remember Iowa having to game plan for?

Sometimes I think even a coach as good as Phil Parker can only do so much when you run into one of those truly generational guys. I'm really nervous for Saturday.

Over on the r/CFB thread there is some terrible news. It appears NU is canceling several parts of NU's marching band performance for their home games, including the pregame show. If you love The Boom, let's help them out! Here is the original post from the NU people:

>As a member currently in the band: we have known about this for about two weeks now. We are extremely disappointed by this decision. What we have essentially been told is that we will not perform pregame tomorrow, and have not been told if we will perform pregame ever again. What we have been told is we will now be performing an undetermined number of mini concerts instead of pregame. There is so much up in the air because we have been told nothing and information keeps coming to us at the last minute. Additionally, the traditional playing of Go U, Northwestern (our fight song) after a touchdown is seemingly being replaced by an Athletic Marketing selected song.

>Edit: The NUMBalums have put out a statement. This is who they want you to contact to support the band:

>Athletic Director Mark Jackson: athleticsdirector@northwestern.edu

>President Chiang: nupresident@northwestern.edu

>Savanna Wood, Athletics Director of Marketing: savanna.wood@northwestern.edu

>Edit 2: A further statement and template has been released here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16n8ZwqNNYAMbU9EJ1wui6uaPfMhkCrnKqkIVb4YSBvA

I emailed those NU addresses the following message:

Dear Mr. Jackson, President Chiang, and Ms. Wood,

I am disappointed to hear that Northwestern University will not be featuring their band in pregame festivities and at other points during the game. Marching bands with college football is what makes the sport unique.

As an Iowa fan our family never misses Iowa's pregame show (The Boom) and it played a significant part in me falling in love with the game.  I am sure countless Wildcat fans experienced the same in their youth.  Additionally, as I'm sure you all know, Iowa lost a dedicated member of the band this year and it has rallied the community, proof positive that football fans adore their marching bands.

One of our motivations for purchasing tickets to the Iowa at Northwestern game this year was to experience your beautiful new stadium and get to see the iconic NUMB yet again. We have routinely purchased Iowa-Northwestern tickets, even purchasing Northwestern season ticket packages in past years when your program placed restrictions on visiting teams.

I can confidently say without future NUMB involvement the odds of us purchasing tickets to future Northwestern football games would diminish considerably since the primary draw of attending games in person versus the comfort of your home is the atmosphere in the stadium and with no band, what is the atmosphere?  I can also say confidently that without a pregame show, there isn't much point of us arriving inside early and buying food and drinks within your stadium.

The Big Ten is unique with some of the greatest bands in America and your institution has one. To not use that to its full extent is absurd in my humble opinion.

I respectfully ask that the university publicly commit to restoring all of NUMB’s traditional game day involvement at every home game at Ryan Field.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

XXXXXXXXX