I wonder how this happened

[Hawk-A-Loogey]

im not an X's and O's guy and never even played football. But it's hard to logically c how this could have been such a glaring mismatch. Even if u ignore the fact that we smoked a northwestern team that beat Stanford. Maybe that game was a fluke. But we beat two teams on the road (wisky and nebbie) that beat pac 12 teams in a bowl. And we played pretty even with an msu team that beat OSU.

Maybe we just caught our opponents at the right time, with injuries, suspensions, etc. and maybe the injury bug just finally caught up to us

And I do realize that it was a matchup of 2 stars vs 4-5 stars, but really we didn't look like a 2 star team for most of the season.

That game looked like a d1 team vs a high school team. Just hard to c how we so utterly overmatched in all 3 phases of the game when we had such a solid first 13 games against a lot of bowl caliber teams

 

[mlb1399]

I think it's a combination of the B1G West being weak, coming out of the gates really slow while Stanford landed 3-4 quick knockout punches and allowing the game to become too unmanageable too quick. We are a team that plays well in a smash mouth, field position, ball control type of game. We were down by 3 TD's before we knew it.

They also beat us at the point of attack on both sides of the ball. You don't win football games when you don't run block, protect your QB, get pressure on the other QB and get run over in the run game.

 

[NorthernHawkeye]

I realize using comparisons is a tricky thing but it still amazes me.

NW 16 Stanford 6
Iowa 40 NW 10

Both on the same field within a few months of this game.

Yet the Rose Bowl looked like 4A Valley beating 1A Madrid.

Weird.

 

[Hawk-A-Loogey]

I think it's a combination of the B1G being weak, coming out of the gates really slow while Stanford landed 3-4 quick knockout punches and allowing the game to become too unmanageable too quick. We are a team that plays well in a smash mouth, field position, ball control type of game. We were down by 3 TD's before we knew it.

They also beat us at the point of attack on both sides of the ball. You don't win football games when you don't run block, protect your QB, get pressure on the other QB and get run over in the run game.

Yah but if the b1g is so weak how did nebbie and wisky beat pac 12 teams in a bowl? In fact, the b1g had a decent bowl record this year, unlike some classic years past where we went like 1-7 in bowls or whatever

 

[amahawk]

im not an X's and O's guy and never even played football. But it's hard to logically c how this could have been such a glaring mismatch. Even if u ignore the fact that we smoked a northwestern team that beat Stanford. Maybe that game was a fluke. But we beat two teams on the road (wisky and nebbie) that beat pac 12 teams in a bowl. And we played pretty even with an msu team that beat OSU.

Maybe we just caught our opponents at the right time, with injuries, suspensions, etc. and maybe the injury bug just finally caught up to us

And I do realize that it was a matchup of 2 stars vs 4-5 stars, but really we didn't look like a 2 star team for most of the season.

That game looked like a d1 team vs a high school team. Just hard to c how we so utterly overmatched in all 3 phases of the game when we had such a solid first 13 games against a lot of bowl caliber teams

Lack of over all talent and poor preparation of the team and game plan by the coaching staff.

 

[revkev73]

75 yard strike on the first play...stunned an inexperienced and unprepared Iowa team...Stanford, experienced, talented...used that play to launch their all out attack to destroy Iowa's will to fight and defend itself. There were no answers, only blank looks and a lot of reaching by the Iowa defenders.

It was over 21-0 before Iowa knew what was happening...

 

[HawkOptimist]

I think a lot of it was mental. The team left everything on the field in Indy against MSU. They were a few inches away from a once in a lifetime chance to play for it all.

I compare it to the NFL playoffs and Pro Bowl (when the PB was played after the SB). For Iowa, the B1G championship game was the start of the playoffs. You win, you get to keep playing for a shot at everything. You lose, you get to go have fun in a beautiful city...oh, and play a football game too.

Well, they lost in the first round and got the Rose Bowl. Any other year the Rose Bowl is, in fact, the Grand Daddy of them all. But for Iowa this year it was a nice consolation prize.

Say what you will, but watching the team yesterday, you couldn't help buy think that was the case... that they were still hung over from the MSU game. Of course they wanted to win, but the intensity just wasn't there. Game over.

 

[ICWestfan]

I think it's a combination of the B1G being weak, coming out of the gates really slow while Stanford landed 3-4 quick knockout punches and allowing the game to become too unmanageable too quick. We are a team that plays well in a smash mouth, field position, ball control type of game. We were down by 3 TD's before we knew it.

They also beat us at the point of attack on both sides of the ball. You don't win football games when you don't run block, protect your QB, get pressure on the other QB and get run over in the run game.

Have to agree with this.

Shoot, I think they said Stanford had 27 sacks all season and they had 9 against Iowa? WTF is that? It was almost like they reverted to 2014 form for this game.

 

[mlb1399]

Yah but if the b1g is so weak how did nebbie and wisky beat pac 12 teams in a bowl? In fact, the b1g had a decent bowl record this year, unlike some classic years past where we went like 1-7 in bowls or whatever

Those are good points. I think we've always done well when playing middle tier teams in a power conference.

 

[DUpHawks]

Stanford beats us 10 times out of 10, unless McCaffery breaks his ankle getting off the bus before one of the games.

They are just that much better than us. Had we played in the B1G East, we're likely an 8-4 type of team. We were never *that* good.

 

[revkev73]

The talent difference on the field was astounding and astonishing...

For most of the season Iowa masked its lack of talent with a weak schedule, heart, team play, conservative game planning, and close wins...

Get behind a talented and experienced team early...turn out the lights...Iowa does not have near the talent to overcome that...it isn't their game.

We are kidding ourselves to think we are in the upper levels of talent among the big boys...we aren't. Stars win...most often...

 

[DUpHawks]

Yah but if the b1g is so weak how did nebbie and wisky beat pac 12 teams in a bowl? In fact, the b1g had a decent bowl record this year, unlike some classic years past where we went like 1-7 in bowls or whatever

USC finished 8-6, fired their coach, and were smoked twice by this same Stanford team. They also beat the shit out of the UCLA team that lost to Nub. Did you watch that game? UCLA looked freaking horrible. There is no comparison between any of those teams and the one that just dismantled Iowa. That's why making sweeping generalizations about conferences based on bowl results is just stupid.

 

[Hawks_Rock_12]

I realize using comparisons is a tricky thing but it still amazes me.

NW 16 Stanford 6
Iowa 40 NW 10

Both on the same field within a few months of this game.

Yet the Rose Bowl looked like 4A Valley beating 1A Madrid.

Weird.

(Tenn. 45 NW 6) (Bama 38 MSU 0) (Stanford 45 Iowa 16) the bowls games exposed our conference this year. If PSU goes down today we finish 5-5

 

[Scott559]

Bowl games can be strange events, Look at the results of most of the bowl games played the last couple of days, Most all are very lopsided games. I thought Stanford looked fully dialed in from the opening kickoff, Iowa looked a step behind the entire first half, Sure some is actual talent, Is Clemson head and shoulders more talented than Oklahoma? Many times I believe the space between the ears has much to do with it as well. This was Stanford's 3rd Rose Bowl in 4 years, They know the "Rose Bowl experience", They got ready to play a football game, Looks like the Hawks enjoyed the Rose Bowl experience and Oh yeah, We get to play a game as well.
So IMO while debating talent, Schedule and all the X's and O's is all very legit, I think the game was won or lost from each team's perspective mostly because of their mental approach to getting and being ready for the actual football game.

 

[DUpHawks]

I realize using comparisons is a tricky thing but it still amazes me.

NW 16 Stanford 6
Iowa 40 NW 10

Both on the same field within a few months of this game.

Yet the Rose Bowl looked like 4A Valley beating 1A Madrid.

Weird.

The outlier game was Stanford/NW, not the Rose Bowl. Stanford looked HORRIBLE in the opener. I remember thinking at the time that they would struggle to win 6 games this year. Remember also that they only went 7-5 last year.

They clearly raised their level of play about a million notches since then.

 

[DUpHawks]

75 yard strike on the first play...stunned an inexperienced and unprepared Iowa team...Stanford, experienced, talented...used that play to launch their all out attack to destroy Iowa's will to fight and defend itself. There were no answers, only blank looks and a lot of reaching by the Iowa defenders.

It was over 21-0 before Iowa knew what was happening...

Iowa has tons of experience all over the roster. Inexperience is not a valid excuse for what we saw.

 

[revkev73]

If Iowa played Stanford 10 times...how much cash would you bet, that Iowa could beat them once?

 

[DUpHawks]

If Iowa played Stanford 10 times...how much cash would you bet, that Iowa could beat them once?

Assuming McCaffery stays healthy all the way through every game, and the coaching staffs remain exactly the same on both sides, I would bet literally any amount of money that Iowa would lose every single game by double digits.

 

[revkev73]

Not using lack of expereince as an excuse...but Rose Bowl experience, experience vs USC, et. al. is different than experience vs the Cyclones, Purdue and Minnesota...plodding teams as opposed to playing teams with talent and speed, in the lime-light.

Standford used their experience to knock Iowa out in the first round...the rest was simply running the clock out. Obviously it was much worse than the score...

Iowa was stunned from the get go...go home, lick your wounds...

I made a mistake betting on Iowa, not having seen Stanford play, drawn in by Iowa's "new way" of playing, new talent...that didn't work out. Plus, injuries to Canzerri, CJ, Lomax, O-line were still much worse than I was aware of...Iowa talked like all was well...it wasn't.

 

[Lone Clone]

(Tenn. 45 NW 6) (Bama 38 MSU 0) (Stanford 45 Iowa 16) the bowls games exposed our conference this year. If PSU goes down today we finish 5-5

The bowls are probably the best of a bad group of ways to determine the strength of the conferences. For instance, in past years the BiG teams frequently were matched against higher-ranked teams; this year, I think all of them were matched against lower-ranked teams.

And there's the injury question. A team that loses a key player (or two or three) isn't the same team in most cases. How many games does Iowa win if Beathard goes down?

Does Oklahoma make the playoff if Baylor, TCU and Okie State have healthy quarterbacks when they play them?

 

[DUpHawks]

Not using lack of expereince as an excuse...but Rose Bowl experience, experience vs USC, et. al. is different than experience vs the Cyclones, Purdue and Minnesota...plodding teams as opposed to playing teams with talent and speed, in the lime-light.

Again, this is just a ridiculous argument. Stanford won their first Rose Bowl appearance in 20 years against Wisconsin 4 years ago. By your rationale, they should have lost that game by 4 TDs because they had no experience playing on the big stage. It's just stupid. If Iowa had played Purdue yesterday, we blow them out. Again. The quality of the opponent matters, not what date the game is or what kind of flower is drawn at midfield.

 

[DUpHawks]

The bowls are probably the best of a bad group of ways to determine the strength of the conferences. For instance, in past years the BiG teams frequently were matched against higher-ranked teams; this year, I think all of them were matched against lower-ranked teams.

And there's the injury question. A team that loses a key player (or two or three) isn't the same team in most cases. How many games does Iowa win if Beathard goes down?

Does Oklahoma make the playoff if Baylor, TCU and Okie State have healthy quarterbacks when they play them?

Get the fuk off our board, you dipshit Clown asshole.

 

[revkev73]

Iowa "could" beat Stanford...not often, but if Iowa got a lead, even 3-0...so it could grind...get a turnover...block, run and tackle with a bit more confidence. Iowa getting behind, quickly, to this talented of a team, was the nightmare start for which Iowa has no answers.

 

[revkev73]

Experience against talented teams matters. Stanford has Rose Bowl victory experience as well. Iowa has a historical experience of futility in the Rose Bowl. Read the pre bowl articles about how Iowa's win (yesterday) would get rid of the demons of the past.

Bottom line...Stanford is outstanding, played outstanding...to their credit.

 

[DUpHawks]

Iowa "could" beat Stanford...not often, but if Iowa got a lead, even 3-0...so it could grind...get a turnover...block, run and tackle with a bit more confidence. Iowa getting behind, quickly, to this talented of a team, was the nightmare start for which Iowa has no answers.

We were thoroughly owned on both lines of scrimmage, and McCaffery ran through us like a hot knife through butter. That isn't going to change with a whopping 3-0 lead.

 

[DUpHawks]

Experience against talented teams matters. Stanford has Rose Bowl victory experience as well.

They didn't when they one their first one 3 years ago.

It's a horrible argument.

 

[Hawks_Rock_12]

The bowls are probably the best of a bad group of ways to determine the strength of the conferences. For instance, in past years the BiG teams frequently were matched against higher-ranked teams; this year, I think all of them were matched against lower-ranked teams.

And there's the injury question. A team that loses a key player (or two or three) isn't the same team in most cases. How many games does Iowa win if Beathard goes down?

Does Oklahoma make the playoff if Baylor, TCU and Okie State have healthy quarterbacks when they play them?

You do know both Iowa and NW had a higher ranking than Stanford and Tenn. but neither was favored to win their games. Rankings don't mean a damn thing. Btw this is big boy football all teams have injuries there's no point in talking about them.

 

[ghost80]

I realize using comparisons is a tricky thing but it still amazes me.

NW 16 Stanford 6
Iowa 40 NW 10

Both on the same field within a few months of this game.

Yet the Rose Bowl looked like 4A Valley beating 1A Madrid.

Weird.

Comparisons can be tricky but no one should have looked to NW as a comparison between these 2 teams.

Stanford played NW clear back week 1, on the road, in a non conference game. That game meant absolutely nothing. Great teams develop and get better as the season progresses. That is harder for teams to do when they don't play a schedule that forces them to do that.

I had a bad feeling all along on this one. You have an offense that really struggled in the conference championship and a stout defense that wilted in the second half because the offense couldn't sustain any meaningful time on the field. Now in the Rose Bowl Iowa was going to face an offensive giant. The only way to have won last night was to have kept McCaffrey on the sidelines and there was nothing to make anyone believe that the Iowa offense would be able to do their part in making that happen.

The MS blowout pushed me from a "bad feeling" to pretty much knowing this had a strong probability of being a blowout too.

 

[anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba]

How did Wisconsin manage to win all those Rose Bowls and be competitive in ones it lost? How did MSU do it? Somebody in the Iowa Football Mansion might want to find out cuz nobody there has any clue right now.

 

[revkev73]

There are exceptions to every tendency...experience is important...but not a lock.

If you respond to this you are stupid.

 

[revkev73]

It seemed that Iowa used Wisconsin's playbook from the conference title game last year...instead of their playbook from their Rose Bowl games.

 

[Hawk-A-Loogey]

I do realize that logical properties like the transitive rule don't apply in football, and if u apply them u quickly run into a mess of contradictions. Still, even ignoring the NW comparison -- I watched Stanford beat ucla and Stanford was clearly the better team. Still, u never felt like ucla just didn't even to b on the same field. So ok, a nebbie team that we beat in Lincoln was clearly better than ucla as well, and I started thinking b1g can play, and I just didn't c this coming.

Because we didn't look like we belonged on the same planet as that Cardinal team yesterday

 

[93hawkeye]

McCaffrey is a superstar. Tim Dwight kinda speed but with more size and better at making guys miss. J Jewell has been money all year and Fisher has only looked bad vs. Indiana as I remember. Both were made to look silly by McCaffrey yesterday.
Our O line just plain got manhandled. It's not that they just "had a bad day". There is not enough talent there or at RB to be difference makers.
After seeing the Rose Bowl and Mich State's shellacking vs. Alabama, it looks to me like the only B10 team with enough talent to win a NC is Ohio State. That could change in a few years, but it's the truth this year

 

[DUpHawks]

I do realize that logical properties like the transitive rule don't apply in football, and if u apply them u quickly run into a mess of contradictions. Still, even ignoring the NW comparison -- I watched Stanford beat ucla and Stanford was clearly the better team. Still, u never felt like ucla just didn't even to b on the same field. So ok, a nebbie team that we beat in Lincoln was clearly better than ucla as well, and I started thinking b1g can play, and I just didn't c this coming.

Because we didn't look like we belonged on the same planet as that Cardinal team yesterday

Stanford beat UCLA by 21, and us by 29.

Explain the huge disparity there?

UCLA also has future NFL skill players all over the offense (5*, #1 ranked HS QB). Iowa....not so much.

 

[Hawk-A-Loogey]

Stanford beat UCLA by 21, and us by 29.

Explain the huge disparity there?

UCLA also has future NFL skill players all over the offense (5*, #1 ranked HS QB). Iowa....not so much.

Yah good point. Idk I guess I was just thinking 2 of our teams beat p12 teams, and we beat each of them on the road, so I got to thinking "this won't b another rose bowl trouncing". But then it turned out to b a worse trouncing than I ever could have imagined. We were utterly owned in every phase of the game

 

[FBletterman]

I think teams prepare differently with a month to prepare for a bowl game. Stanford really did there homework on us and the fact they had been there 3 of the last 4 years took away much of that overwhelming feelings you get with a bowl trip.

Kirk 3.0 needs to examine his bowl prep our team was totally unprepared mentally to play that game just like last year.

 

[revkev73]

KF needs to be "opposite KF" in bowl prep...

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

Plus, injuries to Canzerri, CJ, Lomax, O-line were still much worse than I was aware of...Iowa talked like all was well...it wasn't.

And there's the biggest reason why yesterday happened. This team was beat to shit more than people realized. When you're beat up, you aren't taking live reps. If you aren't practicing 100% and taking live reps, you aren't competing with a Stanford. Iowa tried to mask it with different combos on the Oline, Lomax was limping a little in warmups, not even close to 100%. You need all hands on deck to win a game like this, Iowa didn't have that.

 

[7227]

Not one Rose Bowl has anything to do with the other, but that game has brought the worst out of Iowa the past 4 times. What's the Hawkeye bowl record of late, 0-4? I need to stop attending because I'm 2-4.

 

[Buffhawk]

Have to agree with this.

Shoot, I think they said Stanford had 27 sacks all season and they had 9 against Iowa? WTF is that? It was almost like they reverted to 2014 form for this game.

It was similar to the year we played USC. We had an outstanding year, then get to the bowl and played like we should not have ever been there. I know the bowls are a reward to the kids for their hard work, but I also remember Kirk saying back then, they lost focus on the task at hand.