I'll admit, seeing their success over the last 10-15 years makes me want more out of the Iowa program... especially knowing that former Iowa coaches played a role in architecting that program, the type if players they win with, and their style of play.
Has Wisconsin unfairly raised expectations at Iowa?
- Thread starter General Tso
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Maybe at first when they really starting winning a lot. They’re to a point now though that Iowa has never been. At least over a 7-10 season stretch. It’s remarkable what they’re doing so consistently.
Nope, I said at the beginning of the year that nice wins would be to beat Purdue, Northwestern, Minnesota & Nebraska.. intentionality left Michigan, Penn State and Stankin Connie off the list because although it would be super sweet to beat them I would not go as far as to say I would set myself up EXPECT Iowa to beat them.
Yeah they have raised expectations to some degree, but it's not a question of fairness. Its not a bad thing either. This program and staff better work harder to succeed at a higher level and not wallow in complacency.
I like KF, but they are so much better coached than Iowa. Have been for awhile. They have an identity, recruit to it and coach it well
I don't buy this. They may game plan and adjust better during games, but Ferentz is about as good as it gets when it comes to fundamentals. And yes, I'm aware of the O-line issues.
Maybe defensively. I wouldn’t look at the offense
No, they just did what we couldn’t... sustain success. We’ve let multiple 10 win seasons slip away.
Kirk's got pretty good history withO lineman and tight ends. Not so much in regard to the other positions though. I get what you're saying.
No they have not. They recruit at the same level we do and have much more success. There is no reason we cannot be at that level. Fix the O line and running game and I think the Hawks are there. We now have good enough skill position players to compete with anyone.
It is remarkable. Wisconsin is not at any more of a recruiting advantage than Iowa as far as geographical location and proximity to recruits.
What Wisconsin continues to accomplish tells me that the Iowa Hawkeyes have a coaching problem.
I firmly believe KF, though he would like to achieve more, is simply happy with beating down bad non-con opponents to go along with 4 or 5 mid-to-bottom-tier conference programs resulting in "above average" seasons. All the while other programs truly want more and expect more.
Wisconsin has their sh*t together so props to them.
In fairness, the state of Wisconsin produces quite a few more elite recruits than Iowa does. And Bucky cashes in. At least compared to what we do with native Iowans.
I just think WI out-recruits the hell out of IA on the O-line. And they do it with in-state kids. Currently all 5 Badger starters are from WI.
WI is almost twice as populace as IA with no "Wisconsin State" to compete with. They mix and match out-of-state and in-state kids to fill the rest.
Very sustainable model year after year.
WI is almost twice as populace as IA with no "Wisconsin State" to compete with. They mix and match out-of-state and in-state kids to fill the rest.
Very sustainable model year after year.
If you were to shutter Iowa State and double the population of Iowa this would be correct....
In all fairness, Wisconsin was saying the same thing in the 80s about how they wish they were as good as Iowa.
This is the correct answer. Similar programs; but they have more natural advantage in population and competition. The other primary difference is Wisconsin has been able to consistently recruit out-of-state NFL running backs and we have not. That is a program problem that is hard to explain. We should have two 4 star type backs on every team.
And UNI. I've said it before but it's also part of the reason the WIAC is so good in DIII, in that all of their instate players that don't want to leave go DIII or walk on at Wiscy.
Might be small potatoes, but it adds up and gives them a huge advantage with local recruits.
No, it’s not unfair at all.
We just have a really stubborn head coach and an AD who doesn’t hold him accountable.
Iowa’s program should not be this much behind the hoor from dairyland. It just shouldn’t.
We just have a really stubborn head coach and an AD who doesn’t hold him accountable.
Iowa’s program should not be this much behind the hoor from dairyland. It just shouldn’t.
I really think the difference is identity. I really don’t think we have one. And in my opinion it’s hard to have a strong identity if you aren’t great in the run or the pass. That separates Iowa and Wisconsin.... offensively they have an identity they can excel in. We don’t really excell at anything on offense.
Alvarez has expectations,Barta does not!
LOL, no, but their program has lapped good old Kirk and Brian several times though!
What exactly would be "unfair" about it. The teams have roughly the same resources, the recruiting bases overlap (the schools are only 175 miles apart) and both teams were "bad" prior to the 80s but have a track record of success since.
The biggest diff (as pointed out by others) is our AD is a pussy and Alvarez is a bad ass.
The biggest diff (as pointed out by others) is our AD is a pussy and Alvarez is a bad ass.
To be fair, it’s hard to recruit when there just isn’t much to sell. It’s not like Wisconsin always had great, highly-recruited RB’s. They had to work at it and establish something to sell. Once they landed James White and Melvin Gordon, it broke the dam open.
I hope Goodson and Gavin Williams can be that for us, but if their time here is wasted behind poor OL play, then it’s going to be really tough to sell much to future RB recruits.
2.5 million more people and only one Power 5 University in State. Plus, they are very close to Chicago, even more so than Iowa. Lots of talent to draw from that follows your team.
It was that way when Iowa kicked their ass every year too. Iowa went from 1977 to 1997 without losing to Wisconsin
Please. Iowa is not significantly farther from Chicago (223 vs 147 miles) and we've had no trouble getting some good players out of Wisconsin. This isn't 1970 where kids know nothing outside of their home state. Scroll through Wisconsin's roster...you'll see Florida, California, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, New York, Colorado, Texas, Georgia...and that's just up to number 17
Lame excuses.
This comparison irritates me every season. There is no reason why Iowa cannot be just as successful as Wisky.
And before you start with population statistics, remember Wisconsin prior to Barry Alvarez’s arrival?
And before you start with population statistics, remember Wisconsin prior to Barry Alvarez’s arrival?
Well, did you also count the number of Wisconsin kids? I think half, if not more, are from Wisconsin.
It's not about knowing what other scools exist. Lots of kids want to play for their favorite, local school. And, there's a lot of pressure from friends, family, and others to do so. I think in large part this is how we lost Melvin Gordon.
Mack Brown when at Texas admitted once, "We don't have to recruit so much as select." Of course, you have to know how to use the talent, but if you never get it in the first place you are SOL from the start.
Wisconsin has raised and exceeded the bar!! Coaching matters!! What is disappointing to me is KF has the talent and because of game day coaching loses games they could possibly win... We need a OC who can not only call a game but make the necessary adjustments during a game to win it.
Yes, we do have an identity. We make excuses for everything from recruiting to coaching. That's, our identity.
If you do not think Wisconsin has an advantage in, oh let's say recruiting linemen and TE's from in State, you are delusional. Their top Ten homegrown linemen are better than our top 5, consistently. And they do not have to share them with a little brother.
My bigger issue is with scheduling. Wisky has leaned forward and scheduled Alabama, h/h with LSU and Notre Dame, etc.
We have leaned in with UNI, NIU and multiple directional acronyms. I just think Wisconsin thinks far bigger today. Yes they have an advantage with only 1 D-1 school and 1 NFL team in state, but this is bigger than football. I'd bring basketball into the discussion.....We do kick their asses every day of the week on the diamond however!
We have leaned in with UNI, NIU and multiple directional acronyms. I just think Wisconsin thinks far bigger today. Yes they have an advantage with only 1 D-1 school and 1 NFL team in state, but this is bigger than football. I'd bring basketball into the discussion.....We do kick their asses every day of the week on the diamond however!
About 2 years ago I made posts saying Wisconsin was now "elite" and got mocked for it. It seems people now agree.
Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma are consistently top tier programs.
OSU, Georgia, LSU, Wisconsin are probably next tier. Maybe I'm leaving somebody out, as I took all of 30 seconds typing this.
Recent Football success does not point to it, but Texas.
An elite school competes well in more than one sport. OSU, Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon and Wisconsin fit that bill and are on an upswing and have the revenue to keep moving up. Michigan should be there, but recent history says no. Maybe Alabama, but they are a one-trick pony.
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