What's that? You didn't know that Iowa running back Shonn Greene had a Heisman campaign? Well, at least two-thirds of the Iowa student section would like to open your eyes.
With Iowa grabbing a national TV spotlight this afternoon as the Hawkeyes try to stifle Penn State's national title hopes, the students instituted a "Greene Out" to plug their beloved RB.
UI students are encouraged to wear green to the Hawkeyes' game against No. 3 Penn State on Saturday in support of Iowa running back and Heisman hopeful Shonn Greene, who is the third leading rusher in the nation. A "Blackout" is scheduled for the rest of the stadium.
"We are embracing the 'Greene Out' of the student section primarily because of the peer-to-peer nature of the effort ... students showing support for another student," Iowa Associate Athletics Director Rick Klatt said. "We like the grass-roots feel of that."
This is all well and good, except for two things:
1. Not only was this just a student section phenomenon, meaning that 60,000 or so fans were not a part of it - but the student section participation appeared limited, with a lot of the kids there opting to participate in the Black Out.
2. Shonn Greene is not a Heisman candidate.
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Perhaps the order on those points should have been different ...
That's not a knock on Greene. Heading into today's game, he had 1,257 yards - third-most in the country - and 11 touchdowns. Great numbers.
But Iowa does not get a lot of national publicity and, should the Hawkeyes lose today, they'll only be 5-5. Those two things take away from the fact that Greene has topped 100 yards in every game prior to this week and scored in eight of nine games - a stat that includes Greene's four touchdown explosion in a win over Wisconsin.
Back to the "Greene Out". This is, to my recollection, the first time that a team has hosted one of these "(Insert Color) Out" performances specifically tailored to one player. Granted, there probably aren't a lot of even borderline Heisman candidates with colors - or varied spellings of colors - for last names.
This is, however, not a good sign for those of you hoping that the Color Out phenomenon was going to die down soon.
Iowa Pushes 'Greene Out' ... Sure, Why Not? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
