1. Put up or shut up, Big Ten — It’s not something that washes up on your shore on a daily basis, but if you want ESPN to someday perhaps knock on Iowa’s door to do one of those “All-Access” camp shows, No. 8 Michigan needs to be No. 2 Alabama. If the national stage is something the Big Ten wants — and it is — you know the Big Ten needs to compete and beat the SEC. If Michigan loses, it’s another brick in the wall and, bringing it home, it elevates South Carolina over Iowa by virtue of conference.

2. Remember Reese Morgan’s deal? — Iowa defensive line coach Reese Morgan took a pretty good shot on the sidelines at the end of the Aug. 11 scrimmage at Kinnick Stadium. Morgan’s hamstring tore away from the bone, he said. Morgan, 62, might — MIGHT — have a little bit of a limp. He told the story of the hamstring while rolling slightly gingerly down some stairs in the football complex this week.

3. B.J. Lowery has seven sisters — The junior cornerback plays the game with an opportunistic eye. You haven’t seen a ton of it in games, but you will. One play from the preseason that stands out is a strip and fumble recovery after a short pass to freshman Reese Fleming. Where does this come from? He grew up with seven sisters. SEVEN. “I grew up with a bunch of sisters, I have a lot of sisters,” Lowery said with a laugh. “I used to fight with them as much as possible. I could never hit them, but hey.”

– Marc Morehouse