Hawkeye Report Podcast
A collection of podcasts from HawkeyeReport.com
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 774
03/27/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 774
It's another emergency podcast because the Iowa men's basketball team continued their run in the NCAA Tournament. On Thursday evening Iowa basketball, playing in their first Sweet 16 game since 1999, rallied late and finished strong, beating Nebraska and advancing to the Elite Eight when they will now face rival Illinois. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo meet up for another late night podcast following a Hawkeye victory. We discuss the Hawkeyes slow start against the Cornhuskers and how they rallied late in the first half after falling behind by double figures. We talk about the huge shot by Tate Sage at the end of the half and how that was a nice spark heading into half time. Then we discuss how the Hawkeyes kept the game close, but couldn't get the lead for a good chunk of the second half. Then we look at the final couple of minutes, the huge back to back three's from Bennett Stirtz and Sage, along with the huge mistake by Nebraska having four players on the floor to cover Iowa and Alvaro Folgueiras massive dunks late in the contest. Finally we take an early look at the match-up on Saturday against Illinois. We look back at meeting back in early January and what we can learn from it, along with what we think of the game now at this point in the season.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 773
03/23/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 773
A busy edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast covering a lot of topics. We start with Iowa men's basketball and bring on a very special guest and someone that Ben McCollum talk about following the Hawkeyes stunning victory over Florida and that is Kent McCausland. We look back at Iowa shocking the world, or at last the south region bracket, with a huge win to knock out the top seeded Gators. What did McCausland see from the Hawkeyes in the win and how proud is he of Cooper Koch, who he has known since he was a little kid of his great friends and teammate J.R. Koch. He talks about how Cooper has developed this year and gained his confidence. He also talks about his text to Coach McCollum and how he reached out to him on a regular basis after wins and losses. Plus the Sweet 16 win has brought back the group chats with several of his former teammates from the 1999 team and we talked about their run in the NCAA Tournament. Then we move on to Iowa wrestling and we are joined by Tanner Lafever. The Hawkeyes picked up a fourth place trophy in the NCAA Championships this past weekend in Cleveland. What did we think of the performance by the Iowa wrestling squad? They seemed to have finished strong with several wrestlers exceeding their seed. We salute Gabe Arnold for earning All American status at 197 pounds, which is not his natural weight class. We also talk about Mikey Caliendo not shaking hands at the podium being a whole lot of nothing and too much being made of Algelo Ferrarri taking medicals out of the tournament once he lost in the semifinals. We also look ahead at what is going to be the most important off-season of the Brands era. Finally, we visit with Kyle Huesmann from Carver-Hawkeye Arena after Iowa women's basketball team played poorly in back to back games, losing to Virginia on Monday afternoon in double overtime. It was two straight games of subpar play from the Hawkeyes. Do they just play too tight when they are at home in the NCAA Tournament? Did that ugly loss to UCLA just wreck them? We also take a quick look into the future, where we think Iowa will be active in the portal.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 772
03/23/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 772
Iowa fans, it happened. The long nightmare is over and the Iowa men's basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16! Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo are back on the podcast to look back at this historic night in the history of Hawkeye basketball as Iowa knocked off #1 seed and defending national champion, Florida to advance to the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Houston against Nebraska. We look back at how the Hawkeyes did it. How they pulled off the upset as 10 point underdogs in what was basically a road environment. We discuss the huge plays made by Tavion Banks, who led the team with 20 points, even though he struggled from the foul line. We go in detail about the incredible clutch shot in the final seconds by Alvaro Folgueiras to give the Hawkeyes the lead and the even more incredible and emotional scenes afterwards involving Alvaro and his mom, along with Cooper Koch and his dad, J.R. who played on Iowa's last Sweet 16 team. We also spend some time talking about Cooper and his huge three pointers in the second half and how every time Florida made a push, Iowa was there to respond and keep fighting. Plus the great deal of toughness that this team showed, which is going to be a hallmark of Ben McCollum's teams moving forward.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 771
03/21/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 771
In the month of March in college basketball it is about surviving and advancing. The Iowa men's basketball team did just that on Friday evening as they survived and advanced by beating Clemson 67-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Tampa. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo were ready to talk about the game following the victory and had plenty to discuss. We looked back at some of the keys to the game from an Iowa pespective and how they played out exactly how they needed to for Iowa to win. It was the first to 60 would win and that was Iowa and also how the Hawkeyes won the rebounding battle and shot more free throws than their opponent. We discuss the overall pace of the game how it was played just about exactly how we expected going into it. We talks about the standout performances from Kael Combs and Alvaro Folgueiras and how they are x-factors in the games. We also talk about the upcoming game against Florida and the massive challenge that they will present to the Hawkeyes.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 770
03/18/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 770
It's a huge wrestling podcast to get you ready for the NCAA Championships in Cleveland later this week. There will be nine Hawkeyes hitting the mat in Cleveland and our wrestling expert, Tanner Lafever joins the pod to break it all down. We look at all nine weight classes for the Hawkeyes and he gives his predictions for the finish for each wrestler. Can any Hawkeyes continue the programs streak of putting a wrestler in a title match? Will the Hawkeyes finish in the top four this weekend and bring home a trophy? What do the preseeds say about Iowa's chances of achieving that goal? Then we talk a little basketball....specifically Florida basketball and a potential match-up with the Gators since Tanner is a follower of their program.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 769
03/16/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 769
It's Selection Sunday and that means time to talk about both the Iowa men's and women's teams in the NCAA Tournament this year. We have plenty to discuss and Tom Kakert, Matt Randazzo, and Kyle Huesmann are there to get you up to speed on both Hawkeye teams and their initial path in the NCAA Tournament. First we open with the Iowa men. They made the Hawkeyes wait, but they landed an 8 seed and will be headed to a place where the Hawkeyes just won a bowl game, Tampa. We breakdown the Iowa vs. Clemson game and take an early look at the key players for the Tigers and Iowa's reaction to the matchup. Plus we get a health update on Bennett Stirtz, who was nursing a bruised quad in the Big Ten Tournament. Then we move over to the women's draw. Iowa was a two seed, which was suspected they would be heading into Sunday. We also got a health update from Iowa head coach Jan Jensen that seemed to be positive. Kyle Huesmann gives his thoughts on the Hawkeyes draw this week , including their first and second round opponents, plus the Hawkeyes also also hosting a first four game this year that will lead into a 7/10 matchup with Georgia. Good to have post season basketball to discuss on the podcast. Thanks for listening.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 768
03/13/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 768
The run for the Iowa men's basketball team in the Big Ten Tournament has come to a close. After picking up one win over Maryland, Iowa dropped a close one on Thursday to Ohio State at the United Center in Chicago. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo take a look back at the short run for the Hawkeyes in the Windy City. First, we look back to the initial win over Maryland and how Iowa came back from trailing by 11 in the first half to going on a 21-0 run to basically salt away a victory. We discuss the strong performance and continued hot shooting from forward Cooper Koch and how he has gotten in a groove from three point range in the last two weeks. Second, we look at the loss today to Ohio State and how the Hawkeyes rallied late in the game to have a chance to tie before falling by three points. Our real focus is on some of the interesting comments regarding settling for good versus being great from Ben McCollum and what he meant by those comments. We also talk about the questions we have with some of the decisions made by McCollum, like sideline out of bounds play and calling timeouts when you are on a run on offense. Finally, we look at where the Hawkeyes likely sit heading into Selection Sunday. What seed seems likely right now for Iowa? Who are some possible opponents? Could they face a familiar face in the first round? What locations could Iowa be headed for the first round game?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 767
03/10/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 767
Last week we previewed a very busy weekend for Iowa athletics. Now we open the week by reviewing what happened on the basketball court and on the wrestling mat. We are joined by Tom Kakert, Kyle Huesmann, and Tanner Lafever to look back at what happened, both good and not so good for the Hawkeyes. We start with women's basketball where the Hawkeyes made it to the title game in the Big Ten Tournament with a pair of impressive wins over Illinois and Michigan that certainly secured Iowa a two seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. We also have to discuss the blowout loss at the hands of UCLA in the conference title game on Sunday. We look at what went right in those games this past weekend and the impressive play of Taylor Stremlow and company in their run to the title game. Then we look at the potential two seed options for the Iowa team and why we think that will be where they land and discuss some of the other two and three seeds that Iowa could see in the NCAA Tournament. After that we move on to men's basketball and the Hawkeyes losing in overtime to Nebraska in Lincoln on Sunday afternoon. What happened in this game? Why was Iowa able to rally from down ten late in the second half to tie the game and send it to overtime? What about the performance of Kael Combs and Cooper Koch, who both scored 18 points in the loss. How did the game get away from Iowa in overtime? After that we discuss the men's team and the NCAA Tournament. Is Iowa in the Big Dance? How good should they feel going into the Big Ten Tournament and do they have more work to do in Chicago? What seed could they be looking at? Then we head to the mat and get Tanner Lafever's view of the first NCAA women's wrestling championships that took place this past weekend in Coralville. Iowa ended up finishing a close second in the event. What matches swung the event away from the Hawkeyes and we take an early look at the Iowa team next year, which should be very strong. Finally we wrap up discussing the Iowa men's wrestling team, which took fourth in the Big Ten meet in State College this past weekend. Who impressed for Iowa and wrestled above their seed? We rundown how Iowa's nine NCAA qualifers performed in the event this weekend.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 766
03/05/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 766
As promised, we have a whole lot of Hawkeye Wrestling to discuss this week on the podcast and no one better to do that with than Tanner Lafever, our great wrestling writer. This weekend the Iowa women's wrestling team will be looking for their third straight national title, but it will also be the first NCAA championship in the history in the history of the sport. It might come as a suprise to some folks to know that Iowa is actually not favored this weekend. We break down the key weight classes heading into the event that takes place in Coralville this weekend. Who are the main competitors with the Hawkeyes in the team title race? Which weight classes might swing the team title race? Do the Hawkeyes have a significant advantage with the two best wrestlers in this event on their side? Then we move over the Big Ten Wrestling championships, which will be held in State College, PA because Penn State needs more of an edge in this event. Kidding....kind of. We discuss the strange seeding that took place this week in the preseed and why it has created quite a controversy heading into the event that takes place Saturday and Sunday. Is Iowa really projected to finish seventh? How many wrestlers will the Hawkeyes qualify for nationals and will this be a complete runaway for Penn State?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 765
03/04/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 765
We are headed into conference tournament season on the podcast and that means we have plenty to discuss. We open the week with an in-depth discussion with Kyle Huesmann about Iowa women's basketball as they look to win the Big Ten Tournament championship later this week in Indianapolis. Before we preview the games on the court, there was news off the court for the Iowa women on Tuesday as Ava Heiden was named first team All Big Ten. Forward Hannah Stuelke repeated as a second team selection and Chit Chat Wright landed on third team honors. Senior Kylie Feuerbach was named to the all defense team and Addie Deal was named to the all freshman squad. We discuss all of those players and their honors on the show. Then we move on to the actual games and Iowa's draw for the event in Indianapolis. How far with the Hawkeyes advance? How incredibly deep is the field of teams in this event? Can anyone touch UCLA? After that we look at Iowa's potential NCAA Tournament seed. This past weekend the Hawkeyes were named as a two seed and #6 overall by the selection committee. Are they pretty much locked into the two seed line heading into conference tournament play? Could they potentially reach a one seed? Which teams could be headed to Iowa City for NCAA Tourament play?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 764
03/02/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 764
Welcome to the month of March! That can mean only one thing, a whole lot of talk about Iowa men's and women's basketball. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo recorded the pod on Sunday night and the primary focus is on the men's basketball team. We open discussing the bad loss on Satruday to Penn State. Iowa had a five point lead with 4:30 left in the game and only scored two points the rest of the way. What led to the struggles of the Iowa offense late in the game? What do we think of the lineup choices made by the Iowa coaches in the final minutes, along with Ben McCollum saying his assistant coaches handle substitutions during the game? Then we discuss the Hawkeyes struggles on defense on Saturday, allowing Penn State to shoot 64% for the game and 72% in the second half of the contest. Why have they tended to struggle on defense at times? After that we discuss Iowa and the Big Ten Tournament. Are the Hawkeyes now out on getting the double bye in Chicago? What would the path look like? We also look at the Hawkeyes NCAA Tournament chances. Obviously they took a hit, but is Iowa still in the field of 68? We move on to the Iowa women's hoops team, who wrapped up their regular season on Sunday with a convincing win at Wisconsin. We talk about the strong play on Sunday from Chit Chat Wright and particularly Taylor Stremlow. We also quickly looked ahead to the Big Ten Tournament and is Iowa locked into a two seed in the NCAA Tournament? Finally we wrap up the show with a few notes from the NFL Combine in Indy and the strong performances from several Iowa players.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 763
02/24/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 763
Following a busy weekend of Iowa sports, we have a whole lot to discuss on this edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert, Kyle Huesmann, and Tanner LaFever are on the show to start the week covering everything from men's and women's basketball to women's wrestling and a little Iowa baseball. We open the show with the biggest win of the weekend by the Iowa women's basketball team. It was the Ava Heiden show on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye as the Hawkeyes knocked off highly ranked Michigan by double figures. Kyle Huesmann was there and gives his thoughts on the victory on Senior Day for the Hawkeyes. We also look at where the Iowa women will be seeded in the Big Ten Tournament and could they be trending towards a two seed in the NCAA Tournament? Then we move to the wrestling mat and start with the Iowa women winning their regional this past weekend and advancing all ten of their wrestlers to the NCAA championship meet, which will be held next weekend in Coralville. Tanner LaFever was matside for the event and gives us his in-depth rundown of the action and what the national meet might look like in less than two weeks time. We also discuss the Iowa men's wrestling team and their loss down in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Sunday evening. It was a one-sided affair going against the Hawkeyes. What is the state of this Iowa team right now heading into Big Ten's in State College in less than two weeks? What will the Iowa lineup look like at that point? Then we move on to Iowa men's basketball. The Hawkeyes lost a tough one on the road on Sunday at Wisconsin. Iowa led at half, but then struggled to score and get stops in the second half of action. We discuss why this is a massive week for the Iowa men's team facing Ohio State and traveling to Penn State. We also look at how Iowa needs to play if they are going to have a shot against the better teams in the conference. Finally we wrap up with Kyle Huesmann looking back at Iowa's baseball team taking two of three over Florida Atlantic, but potentially losing one of their top pitchers in the process.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 762
02/20/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 762
We are basketball heavy this week on the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Following the Iowa women's team winning their road contest at Purdue on Thursday night, we are joined by Kyle Huesmann to break it all down. Iowa played without Hannah Stuelke in the win due to an upper body injury. We discuss what the injury might be and how players like Journey Houston stepped up in her absence. We also discuss the terrific game from Ava Heiden against Purdue and the hot shooting from Taylor Stremlow in the first half of the game. Then we discuss how the Hawkeyes are sitting when it comes to the Big Ten Tournament. Are they in good shape to be a top four seed and earn that extra bye for the event in Indianapolis. We also look at where they sit when it comes to the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Is Iowa still in good shape to be a top four seed in a regional and host their first two games of the tournament? After that we move over to men's hoops and take a look back at the first big win over a ranked opponent with the Tuesday victory over #9 Nebraska. What went into that win and why was the defense the key. We also spend a few minutes of the Fred Hoiberg vs. Iowa fan post game incident. Then we look at Iowa basketball and their path into the Big Ten Tournament. What do they need to do to make sure they get a top eight seed in Chicago? Can two wins get there there? After that we explore the Hawkeyes potential path is in the NCAA Tournament. Are they now trending towards a seven seed in the Big Dance? Finally, we talk Iowa baseball for a few minutes with their big series coming up down at Florida Atlantic.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 761
02/16/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 761
It's a bit of a therapy session for Iowa Basketball fans on the podcast. We are joined by Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo to look back at what was a bumpy week for the Hawkeyes on the court with a pair or tough losses. We look back at the losses to Maryland and then the 21 point loss at the hands of Purdue. After a six game win streak, the Hawkeyes are struggling. What has gone wrong in the last two games? Is it a struggle from the Iowa offense or defense? Which one needs to be fixed first? Are Hawkeye players deferring too much to Bennett Stritz and have they lost confidence in their shot? We look ahead to the game on Tuesday against Nebraska and the return of Pryce Sandfort to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Then we also look ahead to the remaining schedule and discuss what Iowa might end up with record wise in the final six games. Finally we talk about the Hawkeyes NCAA Tournament resume so far. What stands out as good and what is going to be a discussion point from the committee? What seed to we think the Hawkeyes will end up with in the NCAA Tournament?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 760
02/12/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 760
It was a busy Wednesday night for Iowa basketball as both the men's and women's teams were in action. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes it was not a clean sweep for the two squads. We open the podcast talking about the Iowa men's basketball team suffering what is certainly their worst loss of the season, a 77-70 defeat at Maryland. It was a strange box score from the game where Bennett Stirtz was terrific, scoring 32 points, dishing out 6 assists, and having zero turnovers. But, the second half shooting from the outside was part of the story on how the Hawkeyes lost this game, going just 3-16 from three in the second half. We discuss that and how the Iowa team needs more consistent second and third options on offense if they are going to defeat teams heading into March. Then we move over to the women's side of the equation where the Hawkeyes ended a three game skid with a win over Washington in Iowa City. We visit with Kyle Huesmann from Carver-Hawkeye Arena to get his thoughts on the victory. We also discuss the Iowa defense really stepping up, Hanah Stuelke dominating the class, and Chit Chat Wright playing a terrific game, particularly shooting the ball from three point range. Finally we wrap up the podcast talking Iowa men's and women's wrestling with Tanner Lafever. We look back at the men's team and their performace last weekend at Ohio State and the lack of offense from the Hawkeyes on the mat becoming a growing problem. Then we look ahead to this coming weekend. It's senior night on Friday against Michigan. Can Iowa win that meet? How close will it be? After that we discuss a huge winning weekend for the Iowa women's wrestling team last weekend in Coralville. Tanner was on site for it and runs down the high level drama that took place. Coming up shortly will be the NCAA Regionals for women's wrestling and he looks at the potential lineup for the Hawkeyes and where they have some tough decisions to make.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 759
02/10/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 759
It's another busy week on the Hawkeye Report Podcast. This week we open with some Iowa men's basketball talk. We look back at the Hawkeyes win over Northwestern on Sunday and what we learned from the team in that victory. Iowa has now won six straight in conference play, how has Bennett Stirtz led the way and which other players are standing out? We look at where Iowa stands in the NCAA NET and what stands out as good in their resume at this point and where can they improve it as we head to the middle of February. Then we take a look at Stirtz and the season that he is putting together and how it compares to other great Iowa basketball point guards in school history. Then we move over to Iowa women's hoops as the on the other end of the equation with three straight losses. We discuss the huge upcoming game against Washington on Wednesday evening and if Jan Jensen might be considering a lineup change for this game and what it might be. We talk about how critical this stretch will be in terms of the Hawkeyes hoping to stay in line to be a host for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Then we dive into the start of the Iowa baseball season. Kyle Huesmann gives us a great breakdown of the upcoming season for Rick Heller and the Hawkeyes. We breakdown each position group heading into the season and also take a look at the early season schedule for the Hawkeyes.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 758
01/27/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 758
The Big Ten Conference has officially released the football schedule for the 2026 season and the Iowa Hawkeyes now know who their opponents will be each week in the final nine weeks of the season. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann hop on the podcast to discuss the very latest on this news. Iowa opens their Big Ten schedule with what most would consider to be their three toughest games of the season, including road games at Michigan and Washington and in the middle is a visit from Ohio State. We talk about the entire schedule for the Hawkeyes and how it is laid out this year. Which games are the most challenging beyond the first three games? How do we see the season playing out for Iowa at first look? Then we move on to women's basketball. The unfortunate season ending injury to Taylor McCabe is now offical. We get Jan Jensen's reaction to the news and that Addie Deal will be moving into the starting lineup. Plus we preview the next two games for the Hawkeyes, at USC and UCLA. After that we move over to men's hoops. Wednesday evening the Hawkeyes will be playing USC in Iowa City. We take a look at that contest and the upcoming road trip to the west coast. Plus we look at how the analytics sites are viewing the Hawkeyes next ten games, which is pretty favorable. Finally we talk about the news that the Iowa women's soccer coach is leaving for Michigan. What's the impact and why is Beth Goetz the perfect AD to hire a replacement given her soccer background.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 757
01/26/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 757
It's a special Sunday evening edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann are on for just over thirty minutes talking exclusively about Iowa women's basketball following the Hawkeyes convincing 91-70 victory over nationally ranked Ohio State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. We discuss the hot start for the Hawkeyes, clicking right out of the gate from the floor and continued to play solid basketball, particularly when it comes to scores in the paint from Hannah Stuelke and Ava Heiden. There was also a downside to the game for Iowa and that was one the headlines. That was the possible significant injury to Taylor McCabe, who left the game just 23 seconds into the contest. What did Jan Jensen say after the game about her status? One player who really stepped up in that opportunity was Addie Deal. The freshman scored a career high 20 points in the contest and filled that void. Will she get the opportunity to move into the starting lineup if McCabe is out longer term? How does that impact Iowa's rotation moving forward? We also discuss the strong play of Chit Chat Wright, who has been an outstanding point guard and also shooting very well from beyond the arch. Then we wrap up looking ahead to next week as the Hawkeyes head to the west coast for a pair of very tough games. The first face USC, who has been up and down, and a week from Sunday they face the #1 team in the conference in UCLA.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 756
01/23/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 756
Back to back days of shows for the Hawkeye Report Podcast. This one was not an emergency podcast, but it might as well be one as the Iowa women's basketball team held on for an overtime win at Maryland. What made it more dramatic than it needed to be was the Hawkeyes blowing a 17 point lead with 3:15 left in the fourth quarter before outscoring the Terps in overtime, 12-5 on their way to a seven point victory. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann headed to the podcast shortly after the game and broke it down from all the angles. We open looking at the end where Iowa somehow got off the deck after blowing that 17 point advantage and held it together in overtime to get the win. We discuss that while the blow lead might get a lot of attention from fans coming out of this game, the bottom line is Iowa won on the roat at a Top 25 team and that will matter when we get to March. We also dive into the big plays from this game. That includes Journey Houston coming up huge early in the fourth quarter to help Iowa build a lead. Also some huge free throws in overtime from Chit-Chat Wright and a massive game on the glass from Hannah Stuelke as well. Plus Taylor McCabe finding her three point shooting stoke and how important that will be moving forward. We also look ahead to Sunday's game against Ohio State and where Iowa might sit from an NCAA Tournament seed perspective heading into that game. Finally, Iowa has officially landed their Aussie punter and we discuss that latest roster move for the Hawkeye Football program.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 755
01/22/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 755
It's another busy edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast with Tom Kakert and Tanner LaFever covering a lot of ground on all the winter sports. We open the podcast actually going back to a fall sport, football. The Hawkeyes may have wrapped up thier portal work on Wednesday when they landed Ohio State defensive back transfer Cody Haddad. We talk about how he might fit into the Iowa secondary and the impressive haul and re-working of the safety position this off-season. Then we moved to Iowa men's basketball with a discussion of the Hawkeyes win on Tuesday evening over Rutgers. We also look back a bit at the win over Indiana on Saturday. Our main focus was on the win over the Scarlet Knights and how Tate Sage and Isaia Howard really stepped forward to save the day for the Hawkeyes. Plus we look ahead to the off weekend and why this break comes at a really good time for the Hawkeyes before they get back to action next Wednesday. After that we take a brief look at the Hawkeye women's hoops team and their big game on Thursday evening against Maryland. We look at how Iowa has a tough stretch against ranked opponents that started this past weekend against Michigan State. Then we move on to the final portion of the podcast and talk Iowa men's and women's wrestling. We open with the men's squad and the continued drama off the mat and how Tom Brands responded to it on Tuesday of this week. We look back at the one-sided loss to Penn State and preview Iowa traveling to Nebraska this Friday. We also updated a busy weekend last weekend for the Iowa women's wrestlers and how they are racing towards the nationals portion of the schedule.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 754
01/16/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 754
It's another very busy addition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. This time it's Tom Kakert and Tanner Lafever talking Iowa athletics on the podcast. We open the show discussing Iowa hiring a new special teams coordinator. It's a name that you probably heard here on the pod when Levar Woods departure was announced, Chris Polizzi. We look at his background discuss why this is a good hire. Plus we mention that Iowa appears to be closing in on a punter who is from the land down under and has the same trainer as Tory Taylor. Then we discuss some potential late additions to Iowa's portal class that are on campus this week. What impact could they have and who are new targets at positions of need. After that we look back at Wednesday nights game at Purdue. How did Iowa play in that game and what led to the game being very tight from start to finish. Which Iowa players stood out in the game? What was the factor in the second half that led Purdue to hold on for the victory. Finally we do a complete and total breakdown of the upcoming Penn State at Iowa wrestling meet that takes place at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday evening. We take a look at each match-up at every weight class and if Iowa is favored against Penn State in any of them. Also, we take a look back at the national duals last weekend for the Iowa women's wrestling team and the surprising loss in the semifinals by the Hawkeyes.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 753
01/13/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 753
It's another busy week of Iowa Hawkeye athletics for us to review and preview on the podcast. We are joined by Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann to break it all down this week. This week we start with Iowa women's hoops. Huesmann was in Evanston and Bloomington this week to cover the Hawkeyes two road victories. Neither were pretty, but they were victories and he talks about how they got there in those games and the way they rallied on Sunday in the victory over Indiana. Plus we look ahead to this coming week that begins a very challenging stretch of basketball for Jan Jensen's squad, including home games against Oregon and Michigan State. After that we slide over to men's basketball where Iowa has dropped two straight, one on the road at Minnesota and on Sunday a home defeat at the hands of Illinois. Why slow starts have become a real problem for the Hawkeyes and they couldn't quite dig out the hole, particularly against the Illini. Is Ben McCollum going to have to work the refs more aggressively in conference play? How big is this week with road games upcoming against Purdue and Indiana? When was the last time that a Ben McCollum team lost three in a row? Hint it's been longer than a decade. Finally we transport ourselves into the transfer portal, where it was a busy couple of days for the Hawkeyes. More importantly it was positive and productive one. We look back at Iowa landing a pair of players on Friday afternoon. Both were their top targets with interest in the portal, including a wide receiver and a safety. Then on Sunday Iowa lands a safety, running back, and another wide receiver. Are they done?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 752
01/08/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 752
The transfer portal is open and the Iowa Hawkeye Football team has been busy shopping for players, and yes, losing a few on the way. We discuss that and more on the Hawkeye Report Podcast. First, we talk some Hawkeye Basketball. We open discussing the Iowa men's team having a shot to tie the game at Minnesota, only to miss three shots and lose by three to the Gophers. Tom Kakert was in Minneapolis for the game and discusses what he saw and the conversations he had with Ben McCollum and the players after the game, including the Hawkeyes dealing with illness among several team members. Then we preview the huge game on Sunday against the Fighting Illini. They are the biggest team in all of college basketball and Iowa will have to deal with those size issues. We also talk about the rivalry between the two schools and how important this game is with Iowa having to travel to Purdue and Indiana next week. Finally, we dive into the transfer portal talk. We discuss the players who have left the Hawkeyes, including the surprising departure of Koen Entringer and Brian Allen. Then we discuss the players who will be joining the Iowa program later this month and equally as important, we have a list of potential targets that are still out there and we break all those down, plus how much room is still left on the roster.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 751
01/01/2026
Hawkeye Report Podcast 751
It's a post bowl game edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo join up to talk about the Iowa football team beating Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl, 34-27 on New Year's Eve. It was a strong performance for the Iowa offense, led by Mark Gronowski and featuring huge plays in the passing game from DJ Vonnahme and others along the way. We talk about the fast start, led by a huge run by Gronowski and the huge trick play early in the second half to put points on the board. Plus we discuss the defensive effort of the Hawkeyes, who did a pretty solid job against Diego Pavia and in the first half in particular, Iowa put plenty of pressure on the Heisman Trophy runner-up in the game. We also discuss the game changing strange play on a Vanderbilt punt along with one poor decision that we think Iowa made that took possible points off the board. Finally we look ahead to the portal and the next season also gets a quick look at the end of the podcast.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 750
12/28/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 750
It's a very special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast as we record from Tampa prior to the ReliaQuest Bowl. We are pleased to be joined by the two gentlemen who will be calling the game agianst Vanderbilt, Gary Dolphin and Pat Angerer. It's a wide ranging conversation talking a lot of Iowa football, starting with our memories from this bowl game with Dolphin ready to call his seventh bowl game from Tampa and Angerer having played and won the 2009 then Outback Bowl over South Carolina. We walk down memory lane discussing this bowl game. We talk about the state of the Iowa program under the leadership of Kirk Ferentz and why the program continues to have success year after year and we look back at this season of Iowa football. We look at the culture in the Hawkeye program and why that is such a key to the success of the team and the program under Ferentz. Then we preview the keys to the game against Vanderbilt and what they have to do to slow down their quarterback Diego Pavia. Also, what does Iowa have to do on offense to have success in this game. Finally, we share some great Norm Parker stories and the link that he created between Kirk Ferentz and Tom Izzo.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 749
12/23/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 749
It's our year end wrap-up Hawkeye Report Podcast. Of course we will probably do one or two more before the end of the year, but this is our wrap on the entire season for all the various sports that we cover. We are joined by Tom Kakert, Kyle Huesmann, and Tanner LaFever to discuss the various sports and beats that we cover. We start with Iowa football and earning the Joe Moore Award on Monday and why it's a special award for this group and for Kirk Ferentz since Moore was his former high school coach and mentor. We then highlight some of the top stories from the Iowa football season, including LeVar Woods moving on, the close losses this season and other storylines this year. After that we move on to Iowa men's basketball and the stories of this past year, including the firing of Fran McCaffery and the hiring of Ben McCollum, along with a massive roster change. After that we move on to women's basketball and the stories from last season, which was the first for Jan Jensen leading the program. Plus, Kyle gives us an update on Emely Rodriguez and her status with the team. Kyle also talks about his other beats and the stories of Iowa baseball, women's soccer and field hockey. Finally, Tanner discusses the top stories for Iowa men's wrestling, including an individual title for a Hawkeye wrestler. He also gives us the top stories for the Iowa women's wrestling team, who won a national title for the second time. Plus what's ahead for both wrestling squads.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 748
12/19/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 748
It's a semi-emergency edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. We have some breaking news today that long time special teams coordinator for the Iowa football program, LeVar Woods, will be departing the program after the bowl game. Woods will be headed to Michigan State to be their special teams coordinator and also assistant head coach. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo discuss this surprising news and the impact it will have on the Iowa program. We look back at the great success that Woods had in this role and the challenge that Kirk Ferentz will have to fill this role. What are some potential options for the Iowa head coach? Are there some internal options that he could look at to fill the role? We also talk some portal news. Yes, the portal isn't open quite yet, but the is plenty of chatter. We look at some of the positions of need for the Hawkeyes this year and wonder if Iowa will start a youth movement at linebacker this season. Then we move to basketball and discuss the suspension of guard Emely Rodriguez, who did not make the trip to NYC where the Hawkeyes will face #1 UCONN on Saturday afternoon. What are Iowa's chances in that game? Finally we discuss some of Ben McCollum's comments on Thursday regarding what he will be looking to add in recruiting this spring and his thoughts on fouling if you are up three late in a game.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 747
12/09/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 747
It's the latest edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast and we are talking bowl game invites and and a pair of huge in-state basketball games on the schedule this week in Ames. First, we start with the news that the Hawkeyes are going bowiling once again this year. Iowa is heading to Tampa for the seventh time in the Ferentz era and it's a new opponent. This time the Hawkeyes will face Vanderbilt, who had a 10-2 record this season, has scored over 30 points in all but one game this year, and have a Heisman Trophy finalist in Diego Pavia. We look at their season and take an early look at their key players. Also, we look at the bowl season in general. With what happened in the College Football Playoff selections aren't we looking like a new 16 team playoff coming next year? Perhaps even more? Then we are off to talking basketball where it's Cy-Hawk week in the state of Iowa. First we discuss the Iowa men's team, who picked up a significant win on Saturday afternoon over Maryland. What did we think of the victory for the Hawekyes, who shot it well and got out shot from the foul line by a significant margin. Finally we wrap up discuss what was almost a battle of top ten teams when the Hawekye women visit the Cyclones. We discuss the key match-up for the game in the post.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 746
12/03/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 746
It was night one of Big Ten Basketball play for Ben McCollum and the Iowa Hawkeyes and the first road game was not a successful outing as they lost at Michigan State 71-52. On this edition of the podcast, Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo discuss the defeat at the hands of the Spartans. What went wrong for the Hawkeyes and will those issues be a problem longer term this season? We look at the upcoming games for the Iowa men's team as they host Maryland on Saturday and then travel to Ames next week. What would be a realistic outcome for both games and we discuss why it is very important for Iowa to get a win on Saturday over the Terps. Then we move over to Iowa football because it's signing day on Wednesday. We breakdown the class of 18 players and discuss nearly all of them on the podcast. We talk about seven four star prospects and who stands out from that group. We also discuss the new trend with high school players, early enrollment into college and how 11 of these future Hawkeyes will be on campus startng in late January. Also, we talk about the transfer portal, which will become a hot topic in the coming weeks before the portal officially opens up after the first of the year. What are the positions of need for the Iowa football team in the portal this year and could there be spots where some Hawkeye players might be leaving? Finally we talk about the upcoming bowl invite and how it looks like the Hawkeyes could be headed to Tampa later this month to face an opponent from the SEC.
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The Chuck Long Podcast
12/01/2025
The Chuck Long Podcast
It's another edition of the Chuck Long Podcast with the former Iowa All American quarterback breaking down the Hawkeyes latest game. This week it's another win, in fact a rivalry win over Nebraska. We get Long's views on the play of the Iowa offense an how they were dominating the line of scrimmage and were able to run the ball for over 200 yards and pass it effectively for nearly 170 yards in the game. We discuss the plays that were called by Iowa OC Tim Lester and how they were executed by Hawkeye quarterback Mark Gronowski. What did we think of some of Gronowski's throws to the Iowa tight end DJ Vonnahme and wide receiver Reece Vander Zee. We also discuss the Iowa defense and how they also won the line of scrimmage and made the Cornhuskers one dimensional in the game. How did Iowa improve agains the run in the second half and the younger players who stepped up due to injury. Then we are going to discuss the next couple of week as Iowa prepares for their bowl game. Does a coach work a lot with their younger players? How do you handle the reserve quarterbacks as you try to get players out of the transfer portal. We wrap up talking coaching changes in college football and pick some games this weekend.
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