FRONT ROW: Stoops' return to Iowa a 'business trip'

HEADING TO IOWA: Mike Stoops is not big on nostalgia. Despite his deep roots in the Iowa football program — first, as an All-American defensive back, then as an assistant coach — Stoops doesn’t plan on taking any long walks down memory lane on Saturday.

Not when his football team has its biggest test of the season on its plate.

The Wildcats and the Hawkeyes square off at 12:35 p.m. on Saturday (ABC), with Arizona looking to cement is reputation on a national level against one of the Big Ten’s most consistently physical and well-coached programs (for my money, Kirk Ferentz is the most underrated coach in the nation).

“This [game] is way bigger than me,” Stoops said during Monday’s press conference. “This is about establishing ourselves on the road against a very good team. We have to earn it the hard way.”

Sure, Stoops will likely have a rush of old memories when he steps onto the field as the enemy at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City — an enormous 70,000-capacity facility where Stoops used to play. It won’t be like Kevin Costner showing James Earl Jones the cornfield that hosted ghostly baseball games, but it’ll be a cool moment, regardless.

“Iowa was the biggest program that recruited us,” Stoops said of him and his brothers, Bob and Mark. “We weren’t big-time recruits or anything, so that program really shaped us.”

Check www.gvnews.com on Thursday for a full breakdown of the Iowa-Arizona match-up, including an updated health status on star tight end Rob Gronkowski.

PICK ‘EM LEAGUE: I enjoyed a terrific first week in our Green Valley News pro football pick ‘em challenge, but I couldn’t keep up with one of our ad reps.

Michelle Forehand picked a jaw-dropping 14 winners in the 16 games this week, with one of our readers (username: debfanch) matching her pick for pick.

I got 13 of the games correct, which would typically be good enough to win an opening week, but what can I do? These two were on fire.

I learned never to pick Carolina again as long as Jake Delhomme is the quarterback there. I should’ve known better after that dismal performance against the Cardinals in last year’s playoffs, but I incorrectly assumed that the Panthers (at home, where they went 8-0 in 2008) still had a decent shot to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. Oh, well.

On the bright side, I did finish one game ahead of my dad, and that’s more important than actually winning this league.

It’s not too late to join the party. Go to www.gvnews.com and click the link to register for our pick ‘em league. The more, the merrier!

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747