Washington
The Pants Predicts: Iowa vs Washington
The Hawkeyes are back at home with their tail between their legs after getting pummeled by Ohio State last week. Now they try to get back on track with a matchup with the Washington Huskies.
Our friends over at DraftKings Sportsbook expect them to have some success as they have Iowa favored by 3 in this one. The over/under is set at 42.5 total points, which puts the implied final score at 22.75-19.75 (call it 23-20).
Here at The Pants, we’re a bit torn. Of our participating staff, just over half is on the Hawks to get a win. Our average score prediction is Iowa 20.6, Washington 20.2. That puts us back on the under (finally!!) and taking the Huskies with the points.
Feels good to be pessimistic again, doesn’t it Hawkeye fans?
Anyway, here’s a look at our individual predictions for Saturday’s matchup.
SirNicholas33
I’m worried about this game. Really worried.
Washington owns one of the losses in the stat going around regarding travel in league play. You’ve probably seen it – Big Ten teams are 1-8 when having to travel two or more time zones, either east or west. The lone win is Indiana at UCLA.
Here’s the thing though – Washington completely dominated the game they lost, at Rutgers, only to be undone by missing not one, not two, but THREE field goals in a game they lost by 3 (misses from 42, 37, and 55 yards; the 55-yarder was at the buzzer). They outgained Rutgers 521-299. They had zero turnovers. And they lost. This is a good team that has two tough losses (the second loss was the Apple Cup in which they were stuffed on 4th and goal from the 1 in the final seconds of the game).
Now, perhaps their body clocks will be off with the early kickoff. We see west coast-based NFL teams struggle with early kickoffs when they get to the central or eastern time zones all the time, and they’re professionals. We’ve seen it in college – the Stanford team that smashed Iowa in the Rose Bowl started the season at Northwestern (early kickoff, so 9:00 a.m. on their body clocks) and lost by 10.
But if that is the card we have to play in hopes of winning this game…that’s not good, you guys. Not good at all. I do think their run defense is a little suspect and that’s an advantage for Iowa given they have Kaleb Johnson, but this is going to be nip and tuck the whole way. I think Iowa will hang on and win, but I will not be surprised at all if Iowa loses this, they’re 3-3, and any goals for the season are officially gone. Iowa wins, we exhale, then we kick on to the next make-or-break game.
Prediction: Iowa 24, Washington 21
JPinIC
I have to admit, the Huskies have performed better than I expected when they turned over their coaching staff and the vast majority of their roster this offseason. I thought this was a 6-win team and they’ve looked better than that, especially knocking off Michigan a week ago.
I will also say the Hawkeyes have underperformed my expectations on both sides of the ball so far this season. Not by a lot, but the secondary is not as sure as I thought it would be and Cade McNamara’s complete inability to stretch a defense with vertical throws has disappointed.
But at the end of the day, the Huskies are coming off an incredibly emotional win over a top-10 team that defeated them in the national title a year ago. That’s a prime set up for a letdown. Add in that they get to travel across two time zones, where Big Ten teams are 1-8 on the year (the lone win being Indiana at UCLA and Washington being among those to already lose such a game at Rutgers) and this has all the markings of a complete no-show from Washington.
Oh, it’s also at 11am CT/9am PT? Yeah, I think the Huskies really fall off from a week ago. This sets up like a Kaleb Johnson game to me. I expect him to get 20+ touches and turn that into 150+ yards and multiple scores. I still don’t have any confidence in the passing game, but I think we see some things work underneath based off the run and the defense creates multiple turnovers.
Prediction: Iowa 24, Washington 16
Bartt Pierce
This season is not going like I thought it would. The crazy thing is that I never expected us to lose to Iowa State. This season already has a pretty big downer vibe for me; I’m sure it’s because the Hawks don’t typically blow a lead at home like they did against ISU. Ohio State is one of the best three teams in the country. It’s time for the Hawks to stack some wins. Our offense is improved. Phil Parker and LeVar Woods are incredible coordinators. I just don’t feel like this is our year. Please prove me wrong, Hawks. I love you no matter what. It still has a must-win feel to me. A loss at home against Washington and folks are gonna start looking ahead to basketball and wrestling. I’m picking against our boys. It worked for me in 2020. Go Hawks!
Prediction: Washington 20, Iowa 13
MattReisener
This game feel like a must-win for Iowa if they want to avoid watching this one-promising season go sideways fast. Unfortunately, Washington is far from a pushover. One year after having one of the worst pass defenses in football, the Huskies have a legitimate claim to being the best pass in football at this same metric, leading the FBS in opponent completion percentage (46.7%), yards per pass attempt (4.5), and passer rating (85.31). Even after losing several key players from their national-runner up team, the Washington offense is still formidable thanks to quarterback Will Rogers, running back Jonah Coleman, and a dangerous duo of wide receivers. Given Iowa’s struggles defending the pass this season, the balanced Washington attack could create opportunities for the Huskies to attack Iowa downfield.
Still, the Hawkeyes may have a slight advantage in this game. Kaleb Johnson should be able to move the ball on the ground, Washington’s tendency to commit penalties should play right into the hands of Iowa’s bend-but-don’t-break defense, the Husky kicking game has been shaky this season, and the home crowd should be rocking in this high-profile matchup. Washington may also be susceptible to a let-down after avenging their national championship loss to Michigan last week, which could be compounded by what will feel like a 9:00 AM kickoff for a west coast team. If Iowa can avoid turning the ball over and surrendering big plays, the Hawkeyes should be able to eek out a win.
Prediction: Iowa 21, Washington 20
GingerHawk
Before the season I had this game down as a loss and I’m still debating whether or not to change my mind. The Huskies lost a lot from last year’s national championship runner up team but that doesn’t mean they’re a shell of their ‘23 self. Michael Penix Jr. is off to the NFL but in his place, Will Rogers has already thrown for over 1600 yards, 12 touchdowns, and only one interception. He’s connected with receiver Denzel Boston for 8 of those scores. They’re actually ranked #8 in total defense on the year as well, allowing 256 yards and 13.17 points per game.
Iowa’s offense is much improved but this will still be a battle. Cade needs to take better care of the ball than what we saw last week and be smart with his throws. Lean on Kaleb Johnson and the running game where the Husky defense isn’t as strong. Defensively, this is a prove it game for Iowa’s secondary after giving up more big plays than we’re used to seeing. Throw out last week’s game, nobody else Iowa will face has Ohio State’s receivers. But the Rogers-Boston connection can be dangerous, so this will be an opportunity for Iowa’s pass defense to put those doubts to rest.
I want to believe Washington emptied the tank last week to get revenge against Michigan, and that coupled with the famous 2+ timezone jump and early kickoff will work against the Huskies this weekend. Because I’m a man of my word I’ll stick to my preseason prediction, but I am this close to going the other way.
Prediction: Washington 24, Iowa 21
So that’s how we see things playing out on Saturday. How about you, Hawkeyes fans? Let us know in the comments below.
Washington
Washington records world’s worst air quality for a city after 850,000 Fourth of July fireworks
Washington DC residents breathed in “unhealthy” air for hours after a 40-minute Independence Day fireworks show over the National Mall on Saturday night, with the country’s capital briefly recording the worst air quality of any major city in the world.
The highly emitting display, which the president called “spectacular”, came as the Trump administration rolls back an unprecedented number of pollution controls.
Hourly concentrations of particulate matter rose to 6.7 times their pre-fireworks levels, according to a Tuesday analysis from the company Clarity Movement based on its network of 26 air quality sensors throughout the city in partnership with the local department of energy and environment. Every one of those sensors reached air quality levels which the Environmental Protection Agency deems “unhealthy for sensitive groups” during the event, the researchers found, with some recording even worse levels of emissions.
Levels of particulate matter peaked at 4am on Sunday, approximately five hours after the display concluded, according to the new analysis. It remained elevated for approximately five hours after reaching its peak, the authors found, with city officials issuing a Code Red alert.
“Outdoor air quality is unhealthy for seniors, kids, people with medical conditions,” the alert said. “General public may experience health issues. Limit time outside.”
The south-west region of DC experienced the highest pollution levels, the report’s authors found, probably because of its proximity to one of the fireworks launch sites in West Potomac park, as well as overnight meteorological conditions that trapped smoke over the area.
That highly polluted air probably drifted into Arlington, Virginia, said David Lu, CEO and co-founder of Clarity Movement.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have sensors there to confirm it,” he said. “That’s exactly why expanding real-time air quality monitoring matters. Without comprehensive coverage, communities can be exposed to significant pollution events that go undetected.”
The air quality across the city could have been even worse in the aftermath of the display if it were not for thunderstorms that struck the city on Sunday evening.
“Despite the scale of the fireworks display, the city’s air quality avoided a worst-case scenario thanks to favorable weather conditions and the timing of the event,” said Lu.
The Fourth of July fireworks show, organized by the Trump-backed non-profit Freedom 250, began at 11pm on Saturday evening. It involved more than 850,000 fireworks launched from 10 sites across the capital, the organizers said. (A typical Independence Day show in DC involves just 17,000 shells.)
Trump on social media called the show “the Most Spectacular Fireworks Show I have ever seen, and I’ve seen them all”.
The fanfare came as the region was baking under an extreme heatwave, which brought triple-digit temperatures to the city hours earlier. For a time after the fireworks show, the city recorded the worst air quality of any major city in the world, according to AirNow, the Environmental Protection Agency website that reports air quality measurements from its monitoring stations.
Asked to comment, a White House spokesperson, Taylor Rogers, said: “It was the largest and greatest firework display in the history of our country to properly celebrate America’s 250th birthday! Every year, fireworks on the Fourth of July cause short-term spikes in air quality across the United States, including Washington, DC. This was not unique to the 250th fireworks celebrations in our nation’s capital.”
The Guardian has contacted Freedom 250 for comment.
Americans shoot nearly 300m lb of fireworks into the atmosphere every year, according to the American Lung Association, letting off lung-harming gases such as sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
The Trump administration has, since re-entering office, engaged in a wide-ranging assault on pollution controls, exempting polluting facilities from emissions regulations, boosting coal power, and halting the consideration of the value of lives saved when restricting fine particulate matter and ozone. On 4 July, the president also pardoned nine individuals convicted of violations related to the Clean Air Act, including people found to have tampered with emissions control equipment in cars or selling parts to bypass air pollution standards.
The Washington Commanders are looking for a bounce back performance from their offense, and they’ll need their wide receivers to take a step up to do so.
Terry McLaurin is the clear No. 1 option at the position, but after him, there are several questions about how the rest of the room will shake out. The No. 2 spot is wide open, and there are several players who could fit the role and others in David Blough’s new scheme. Analysts Santana Moss, Logan Paulsen and Fred Smoot broke down the position on one of the most recent “Command Center” podcast episodes, and as one of the franchise’s all-time best receivers, Moss had a few thoughts on the group. Here’s his assessment on three wideouts and how they could fit into the offense.
“Knowing that he can play both outside and inside, I would think with some of the guys and their size and their experience, I would mainly probably see Antonio attack that middle. I think his route running ability is already to the level of some of these guys who have already played at this level. And just showing me that you don’t look like that this is new to you … He ain’t scared to go out and compete against these guys. To me — and we don’t know anything; we’re just sitting here speculating and assuming — I’d say he’s a slot guy out the gate.”
“I think if I had to just say if I look at that paper, and I asked any coach in this building by name how they think this guy played…if you tell me that Burks played well this offseason, he would be my No. 2 out the gate. He would be my No. 2 wide receiver because one: he brings size, he brings speed, he brings a gear at that size that a lot of people ain’t comfortable checking … You got a guy with size, leaping ability, the catch radius and can run.”
“They talk about how he was one of those guys from Day 1 that could play every position, and that’s stemming from him being a quarterback. Quarterbacks learn the game a little different from just a regular skill position guy. Luke came in here, and he knew X, he knew Z, he knew Gator. When you have those intangibles and you have that kind of mindset when it comes to playing that position, they can use him where they want to use him. That’s why I said he’s a great committee guy. He’s a guy that I know I’m gonna have on special teams as a returner, and guess what? If he’s not the starter, I’m okay with that because I know I’m going to ask more of him if somebody needs to take a breather.
WASHINGTON — The Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., is featuring Georgia among its participating states. The fair had to close for several hours Friday because of the heat, but reopened to visitors.
Georgia’s booth showcases the state’s No. 1 industry: agriculture. The display focuses on peaches, peanuts, Vidalia onions and poultry.
One fairgoer said Georgia’s agricultural offerings were a surprise.
“I was not aware that you did eggs in Georgia. I should have figured that out since Waffle House is pretty much in every town, but that was a learning, and then, of course going along with eggs is chickens,” the attendee said.
All states are represented at the fair, though not all are participating directly.
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