IOWA HAWKEYE in Top 25 ?? Computer rankings say not quite

[IowaNiceHawk]

The Sagarin Computer ranking, as of 10/15 have the HAWKEYES at #28.

Interestingly, Florida State (FSU, or FreeShoesUniv) is at #14, with a 2-3 record.

Iowa State with their 'Big' win over Kansas is at #33.
PennState is #3 in Sagarin poll and MSU is at #24

Northwestern, with a 3-3 record is listed at #40. GO HAWKS !!

 

[ichawk24]

Any single computer ranking is not trustworthy.

The Massey compilation of 100+ computer rankings (this week's compilation is at 64 rankings and counting) has had Iowa in the top 25 for a few weeks.

Currently Iowa is ranked #22. NW #53. FSU #26. ISU #34.

https://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compare.htm

 

[TKingpin]

We MUST win this week or those rankings will change for the worse. Crucial, crucial road game at Evanston.

I thought jNW looked pretty good on Saturday. Hope we can get to Justin Jackson in the backfield before he has room to maneuver.

I just don't see Thorson or any of their WRs beating us over the top. So, it would be nice to see our CBs NOT give a 7 - 10 yard cushion at the LOS. Maybe play a little press coverage and disrupt their WR at the LOS and throw off their timing.

While I think that is what we need to do vs jNW, we are the most stubborn team on making changes to fit your opponent in all of college football. So, I am prepared to allow jNW to complete everything underneath all Saturday long and wear out our defense. I just hope we can stop Jackson this year, unlike last year's frustration-athon.

 

[ichawk24]

Justin Jackson is the biggest issue this weekend.

 

[BioHawk]

While computer rankings are flawed, this one has Iowa about where they belong right now.

 

[IowaNiceHawk]

While computer rankings are flawed, this one has Iowa about where they belong right now.

Computer rankings are flawed, however, having 50 coaches who watch minimal college football and sportswriters who watch less are the
gold standard.

 

[BioHawk]

Computer rankings are flawed, however, having 50 coaches who watch minimal college football and sportswriters who watch less are the
gold standard.

No, coaches doing rankings are just friggin stupid. I give the sportswriters a bit more credit because most do actually follow the games a bit more, although they tend to focus on their own interests and the teams they report on so it is far from an unbiased view.

There is no perfect system (well, other than a playoff system where you have to earn your way in and take all the guess work out of it...but that's another 27 threads) but the coaches poll shouldn't even exist.

 

[SDHawkDoc]

coaches poll is relatively worthless.
writers are at least paying some attention.
a poll is a very different animal from a computer ranking as it emphasizes the art over the science of judgment in who's better.
Over the landscape of college football to this point, Iowa in the 30-40 range seems about right.
Iowa will get closer to the top 25 if they beat the mildcats, but they may still not quite break through depending upon how the rest of the top 35 teams or so fare.
Win the next 2 and they will almost surely break into the rankings, although it will be short lived.

 

[Gridiron24]

I think we're a fringe top 25 team but, in a head to head matchup on a neutral field, I don't see a lot of current Top 25 teams that we'd beat.

 

[scotthawk1964]

I don't worry about rankings, winning tends to take care of all of that.

 

[L Lawliet]

FOUR AND TWO BYE WEEK BAYBBEEEEE

 

[icantfindausernamethatisntused]

At this point in the season, Iowa probably has not played like one of the top 25 teams in the country. However, I think you can definitely see the potential is there for this to be a very good team.

• The offensive line has struggled to open holes for the running game, but a lot of this is due to injuries as well as opponents not respecting the pass. Our OT production has suffered as injuries have resulted in a change from 2 senior OTs to 2 freshman OTs. As Jackson and Wirfs get more reps, I think we will see continuous improvement from the o-line.

• The passing game is currently the most efficient its been since 2010, and this is with a green QB and WRs that were supposed to be the weakness of the offense. There are still stretches where Stanley struggles to find/hit open receivers, so it hasn't been a consistently reliable part of our offense, but with Stanley getting more and more experience I think the coaches are continually gaining trust in him. There's still a lot of room for improvement here.

• Defense has been inconsistent, but the defensive line will only get better as Epenesa and others improve. Several contributors have shown flashes on the d-line, and all but one are underclassmen. The secondary has dealt with their share of injuries, but Hooker has really played well at safety the last few weeks, and I think we have good talent at CB. This isn't a dominating defense, but overall they've been able to hold opponents' scoring in check outside of the ISU game. This group should certainly be good enough to keep us competitive against almost anyone.

 

[IAHawk2011]

Agree with most that Iowa is a borderline Top 25 team right now. With the positive personnel decisions we saw against Illinois (Wirfs, Hooker, and Gersonde hopefully cementing themselves as starters), and the continued development/confidence of Stanley, I think this team could be significantly better than that by year's end.

 

[Phenomenally Frantastic]

This is the week to put a 2015 style beat down on the mildcats.

 

[millah_22]

FOUR AND TWO BYE WEEK BAYBBEEEEE

That’s what I’m talkin about!