Hey Debbie
- Thread starter hawktalk2009
- Start date
What a nice added bonus that the Hawks are having an out of left field great year while the cornholers are simultaneously crapping all over themselves in lincoln. Makes for a great college football season.
Kind of like if you took the best parts of 2002, 2007 and 2009 and put them all together.
Keep in mind they are going to come into the league and dominate.
Nebraska is going to win the Big Ten every year, remember?
I've lived in Omaha for 20 years now. I still remember back in 2010 right after Nebby joined some of my coworkers were trying to pair up B1G teams with Big 12 teams for comparison purposes (Team A = Team B based on history, current performance, reputation, talent, etc.). They paired Iowa State with Illinois. This was 2 years after Illinois played in the Rose Bowl. That's about all I need to say...
Iowa beat NU by 32 more points, on the Cats home field. UNL must be crapping their pants at the thought of Sparty coming into town in two weeks.
Funny they talk so much crap and they can't man up after they lose. Either shut the hell up or man up.
FWIW.....this is how teams like TCU and Baylor rack up 60-70 pts on opponents.
The formula is basically:
1. Keep teams from running the ball to use up clock (most of the opponents cannot run the ball effectively anyway)
2. Exploit weak CB/LB/FS pass coverage to make lots of big plays, combined with
weak pass rush, so LB/SS have to cheat up or blitz to gain any pass pressure
If these pass-happy teams play a team like Alabama (or Iowa) that can generate some pass rush and disrupt the timing on the pass plays, these teams go 3-and-out a lot, instead of scoring TDs in 3 to 5 plays per possession....
Neither TCU or Baylor has played teams with a decent record thus far (opponent's records are well below .500). So when they get to OK or OKState, we'll see if they're for real or not. OK should play some actual defense against them...with Baylor's starting QB out, this may be a moot point for them.
Great post Joe.
I think another aspect of Iowa that has gone by the wayside is giving up the short routes on the outside. It's frustrating as hell seeing CBs give so much space and give up an easy 5-8 yards. But I've started thinking more about it and I think it's by plan.
I think it goes back to entire game plan. Keep the clock running. Let the opposing offense get a few yards on first down as long as hey complete an easy pass and the clock runs.
And MN is a team that has been able to run the ball in recent years....AND they play more straight-up defense, not the gambling, blitzing, man-coverage that gets you burned a lot when 1 guy blows a coverage...
Not only that, but the hits add up. Great defenses in the Ferentz Era punish ball carriers at every opportunity, as do all great defenses in the B10. Towards the end of the game, that physical hitting is having an effect on the WRs that is less prevalent in the B12. Same with the running game...B12 defenses aren't used to seeing a fullback in the hole any more. MLBs are geared to be more effective in coverage...a lot of top 20 teams would be overmatched by Iowa's physical style.
Similar threads
