IowaLaw's Objective Post Game Analysis: Minnesota

[mr12182]

Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr.-who was old enough to know Lincoln and fight in the Civil War, retired from the Supreme Court when he was 92. FDR came to Justice Holmes house to discuss successors and found Justice Holmes reading the Iliad in the original ancient Greek. FDR asked Justice Holmes why a man of his age would engage in such laborious reading. "Expanding my mind Mr. President."

Don't write off old men. Also, I think you are about to be proven wrong about the QBs. I have a very good reason for my opinion about the QBs.

Old Uncle Teddy,
I can’t find your post about the QB situation. Can you repeat it or direct me to it ? TIA

 

[Old Uncle Teddy]

It seemed like the Hawks had 3 opponents against Minnesota: (i) the refs, which sided with the Gophers on all 7 or 8 close calls; (ii) the Gophers, who really wanted to keep Floyd; and (iii) Kirk's extreme QB stubbornness and ultra conservative mentality. Even against all those odds, the Hawks blew out Minnesota with a 31-14 win. Imagine what they could do with a quarterback (where have we heard that before).

1. Kaleb Johnson For Heisman? If the Hawks hadn't pissed the Iowa State game down their leg, Johnson would be the current front runner for the Heisman Trophy. He's running behind a mediocre OL (Patterson averaged just 3.7 yrds per carry on 18 carries) and lacks the benefit of any kind of passing game whatsoever, yet he's starting to make 20 to 30 yard runs look routine. 21 rushes for 206 yards (10 yards per carry) and 3 touchdowns is a 1st team all-Big 10 performance, especially considering he gets hit behind the line of scrimmage more times than not. It's amusing to think Johnson was Iowa's 3rd string back just 3 weeks ago.

2. McNamara For Most Overrated Portal Recruit of All Time? Budmeyr's million dollar portal steal has proved to be a steal for just 1 person. Seldom in history has a QB's 62 yards passing for a 3.3 yard average and 29 QB rating been misleadingly good. Yet Cade's 2 completions to Ostrenga for 20 yards (1/3 of Cade's total output) were solely the result of Ostrenga miraculously catching a horribly thrown ball that should have been intercepted and Ostrenga catching a swing pass 5 feet behind the line of scrimmage and making something out of it. Ol' Cade completed just TWO freaking passes to WRs all day...ZERO to the team's only legitimate D1 receiver.

3. Higgins for Defensive Player of the Week. All the success Higgins is having couldn't happen to a better guy. He's a stud out there and a legitimate candidate for winning Iowa's second Butkus award in the last 3 years. Nine more tackles added to his tally, a nice interception, and really good pass coverage all day. If you re-watch each game, you'll see Higgins is always around the ball and is at the bottom of the pile more often than anyone you'll see.

4. Dakin for Game MVP. What a difference maker this true freshmen was against Minnesota in a game where field possession made all the difference. More important than his 5 punts for an average of 50 yards was the fact that Minnesota's star punt returner was unable to return a single high booming punt. In addition, 3 of his 5 punts were downed inside the 20, making it really tough for Minnesota to get anything going.

5. Kirk for AARP. 1 min and 30 second to go before halftime in a tie game and Minnesota is driving from Iowa's 10 yard line. Iowa has all 3 of its time outs remaining. 99.9% of coaches realize their opponent is going to score and calls timeout to give themselves a chance to score before the half. Not Kirk. He lets Minnesota run the clock all the way down to 20 seconds left before scoring. Sure enough, Iowa gets the ball back and promptly marches the ball to midfield on their very first play from scrimmage. But because the rocket scientist "didn't really think about it," there was just 10 seconds left and the Hawks didn't have too many options...so they brilliantly threw a 1 yard pass, not even to the sideline, to Luke Lachey, burning 9 seconds. The Hawks end the half in field goal range at Minnesota's 27 yard line with no time remaining. No field goal attempted, no pass to the endzone...just randying around to the locker room trailing 14-7 with their tails between their legs.

6. X Nwankpa for Bust. X is still in the starting lineup, like Kirk promised him when he committed to the Hawks, but now guys like Kael Kolarik and Will Hubert are having the same productivity out there. Just as Higgins is around the ball on almost every play, try to find #1 around the ball on any play. I did, and he was nowhere to be found pretty much ever.

7. Brendan Sullivan for Transfer Portal What Big 10 starting QB in history has transferred into a program desperately in need of a QB has happily sat back and watched the starter take every snap, throw for just 62 yards (almost all thrown within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage) and not get to play a single real series? It doesn't happen. Sullivan has got to be scratching his head because I guarantee he was promised a whole bill of goods before committing to Iowa and those promises have not been kept. Even when up 17 points in the 4th quarter and the game well out of reach, Sully didn't attempt a single pass. In the blowout win against Troy...zero forward passes. When Cade was 13 for 29 for 99 yards against Iowa State...zero snaps.

1. Agree, we lost and he still had a huge game. The passing game failed, badly. Barring injury I think he's a Heisman finalist.

2. That's a dubious distinction that still belongs to that big Larsen kid from Atlantic and, of course, Willie Guy. Having said that, McNamara has been a huge disappointment. Career destroyed by injuries but clearly not the answer. Discuss this further below.

3. Total agreement. The NFL awaits the next wave of Iowa linebackers.

4. He's been practicing with kangaroos, should have a powerful kick. More of a hidden gem than MVP.

5. More on this below.

6. X is going to lose some downs.

Now for the big one.

7. Sully is not only staying at Iowa, but also probably starting the game after tOSU. Highly confident that Sully plays many more downs and in packages we have yet to see against Brutus. Although he's sympathetic for McNamara one might say, KF is said to have had a shit losing brief moment where some of the players could hear him on the sidelines. Another observer that has been at Iowa a long time said KF hasn't done that for more than 20 years. Also, KF is terse and I think he was genuinely pissed, as in things are going to change, to add the gratuitous post-game comment about finding a passing game. Unlike the previous reserves that didn't play, Sully has started and won games in the Big Ten. He's a veteran with a career completion rate around 70%.

My confidence mostly arises from knowledge and corroborated by circumstances. We shall see.

 

[Old Uncle Teddy]

Old Uncle Teddy,
I can’t find your post about the QB situation. Can you repeat it or direct me to it ? TIA

Don't know which one you are seeking. However, paragraph 7 of the post above summarizes my current thoughts and knowledge.

 

[joelbc1]

My belief is that since we went to the cash position that’s taken over as the playmaker.

The safeties seem to play much deeper and not roaming the field like the days of Sash / Greenwood etc

This! Someone actually has watched Phil’s defense the past 5 years…
The “cash back” is the playmaker on defense….and Castro is the playmaker now, as Belton was before him. Phil’s defense made a huge step forward with his introduction of the “cash back” back in the day.

 

[BirdistheWord]

As much as I enjoyed the 2nd half, I've finally thrown in the towel for Cade and I thought he was a great pickup. I watched the replay and he has guys open most of the time but he just won't throw them the ball. I don't understand what he's so frightened of. He FINALLY threw a good pass to Vanderzee who was interfered with and still caught it. From that point on our running game went crazy. But those types of passes were there if he'd pull the trigger. Instead he always looks to Lachey 1st (defenses have figured that out and cover him now) and then (since he doesn't trust his line) is going for the safety valve (which defenses have also figured out). I hope our OC is showing him what a great game he's missing but against Ill St he was looking for those passes and throwing / completing them. But since then...

KF puts an insane amount of stock in avoiding mistakes, not taking risks. Given our lack of WR and QB talent plus poor pass blocking, it’s not likey to change.

 

[Greenway4Prez]

1. Agree, we lost and he still had a huge game. The passing game failed, badly. Barring injury I think he's a Heisman finalist.

2. That's a dubious distinction that still belongs to that big Larsen kid from Atlantic and, of course, Willie Guy. Having said that, McNamara has been a huge disappointment. Career destroyed by injuries but clearly not the answer. Discuss this further below.

3. Total agreement. The NFL awaits the next wave of Iowa linebackers.

4. He's been practicing with kangaroos, should have a powerful kick. More of a hidden gem than MVP.

5. More on this below.

6. X is going to lose some downs.

Now for the big one.

7. Sully is not only staying at Iowa, but also probably starting the game after tOSU. Highly confident that Sully plays many more downs and in packages we have yet to see against Brutus. Although he's sympathetic for McNamara one might say, KF is said to have had a shit losing brief moment where some of the players could hear him on the sidelines. Another observer that has been at Iowa a long time said KF hasn't done that for more than 20 years. Also, KF is terse and I think he was genuinely pissed, as in things are going to change, to add the gratuitous post-game comment about finding a passing game. Unlike the previous reserves that didn't play, Sully has started and won games in the Big Ten. He's a veteran with a career completion rate around 70%.

My confidence mostly arises from knowledge and corroborated by circumstances. We shall see.

Yep, you don’t have to look that hard between the lines to know that Kirk is getting pretty impatient with Cade. Sully didn’t get here until what, June? I’m sure they’re working as hard as possible getting him up to speed, but throwing him out there before he’s ready could have really bad consequences. And, two of the best defenses we face all season (OSU and ISU) are in the first 5 games.

The bye week came at a good time.

 

[Garzatough85]

#1- Travis Hunter says hello.
#2- Iowa better get their passing game fixed, and fast. If you think fOSU isn't going to put 9 in the box, I have some bridges I'll sell you.

Sadly I want Cade to get knicked up just enough so KF is forced to sub in anyone else!!
This process he runs for QBs is absolutely asinine!!

 

[sober_teacher]

KF puts an insane amount of stock in avoiding mistakes, not taking risks. Given our lack of WR and QB talent plus poor pass blocking, it’s not likey to change.

There were so many things wrong with the passing game, people who thought it could be fixed in one offseason were doomed to disappointment.

I’ve already been surprised and impressed by the improvement we’ve seen in the run game, and by the OL overall.

 

[BirdistheWord]

Not a tough schedule thus far…but we have come a long way:

Check out:
First Downs
Scoring Offense
Total Offense

You will be surprised at some of the teams we are ahead of. Still a long way to go but starts to put the BF nightmare behind us.

NCAA College Football FBS current team Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA FBS Football leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

 

[Old Uncle Teddy]

Not a tough schedule thus far…but we have come a long way:

Check out:
First Downs
Scoring Offense
Total Offense

You will be surprised at some of the teams we are ahead of. Still a long way to go but starts to put the BF nightmare behind us.

NCAA College Football FBS current team Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA FBS Football leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

That is probably a 50 team advance in the running game.

 

[JerseyCityHawki]

It seemed like the Hawks had 3 opponents against Minnesota: (i) the refs, which sided with the Gophers on all 7 or 8 close calls; (ii) the Gophers, who really wanted to keep Floyd; and (iii) Kirk's extreme QB stubbornness and ultra conservative mentality. Even against all those odds, the Hawks blew out Minnesota with a 31-14 win. Imagine what they could do with a quarterback (where have we heard that before).

1. Kaleb Johnson For Heisman? If the Hawks hadn't pissed the Iowa State game down their leg, Johnson would be the current front runner for the Heisman Trophy. He's running behind a mediocre OL (Patterson averaged just 3.7 yrds per carry on 18 carries) and lacks the benefit of any kind of passing game whatsoever, yet he's starting to make 20 to 30 yard runs look routine. 21 rushes for 206 yards (10 yards per carry) and 3 touchdowns is a 1st team all-Big 10 performance, especially considering he gets hit behind the line of scrimmage more times than not. It's amusing to think Johnson was Iowa's 3rd string back just 3 weeks ago.

2. McNamara For Most Overrated Portal Recruit of All Time? Budmeyr's million dollar portal steal has proved to be a steal for just 1 person. Seldom in history has a QB's 62 yards passing for a 3.3 yard average and 29 QB rating been misleadingly good. Yet Cade's 2 completions to Ostrenga for 20 yards (1/3 of Cade's total output) were solely the result of Ostrenga miraculously catching a horribly thrown ball that should have been intercepted and Ostrenga catching a swing pass 5 feet behind the line of scrimmage and making something out of it. Ol' Cade completed just TWO freaking passes to WRs all day...ZERO to the team's only legitimate D1 receiver.

3. Higgins for Defensive Player of the Week. All the success Higgins is having couldn't happen to a better guy. He's a stud out there and a legitimate candidate for winning Iowa's second Butkus award in the last 3 years. Nine more tackles added to his tally, a nice interception, and really good pass coverage all day. If you re-watch each game, you'll see Higgins is always around the ball and is at the bottom of the pile more often than anyone you'll see.

4. Dakin for Game MVP. What a difference maker this true freshmen was against Minnesota in a game where field possession made all the difference. More important than his 5 punts for an average of 50 yards was the fact that Minnesota's star punt returner was unable to return a single high booming punt. In addition, 3 of his 5 punts were downed inside the 20, making it really tough for Minnesota to get anything going.

5. Kirk for AARP. 1 min and 30 second to go before halftime in a tie game and Minnesota is driving from Iowa's 10 yard line. Iowa has all 3 of its time outs remaining. 99.9% of coaches realize their opponent is going to score and calls timeout to give themselves a chance to score before the half. Not Kirk. He lets Minnesota run the clock all the way down to 20 seconds left before scoring. Sure enough, Iowa gets the ball back and promptly marches the ball to midfield on their very first play from scrimmage. But because the rocket scientist "didn't really think about it," there was just 10 seconds left and the Hawks didn't have too many options...so they brilliantly threw a 1 yard pass, not even to the sideline, to Luke Lachey, burning 9 seconds. The Hawks end the half in field goal range at Minnesota's 27 yard line with no time remaining. No field goal attempted, no pass to the endzone...just randying around to the locker room trailing 14-7 with their tails between their legs.

6. X Nwankpa for Bust. X is still in the starting lineup, like Kirk promised him when he committed to the Hawks, but now guys like Kael Kolarik and Will Hubert are having the same productivity out there. Just as Higgins is around the ball on almost every play, try to find #1 around the ball on any play. I did, and he was nowhere to be found pretty much ever.

7. Brendan Sullivan for Transfer Portal What Big 10 starting QB in history has transferred into a program desperately in need of a QB has happily sat back and watched the starter take every snap, throw for just 62 yards (almost all thrown within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage) and not get to play a single real series? It doesn't happen. Sullivan has got to be scratching his head because I guarantee he was promised a whole bill of goods before committing to Iowa and those promises have not been kept. Even when up 17 points in the 4th quarter and the game well out of reach, Sully didn't attempt a single pass. In the blowout win against Troy...zero forward passes. When Cade was 13 for 29 for 99 yards against Iowa State...zero snaps.

Great post!

 

[BirdistheWord]

That is probably a 50 team advance in the running game.

Yes, we are 11th in rushing offense and 122nd in passing offense (even ahead of Michigan)

 

[Old Uncle Teddy]

Yes, we are 11th in rushing offense and 122nd in passing offense (even ahead of Michigan)

Was our rushing offense lower than 61 after four games? It surely was.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Do I detect some "if you give a mouse a cookie" going on about our offense?...............

 

[IowasLaw]

@BirdistheWord - if Deacon Hill, a DIII quarterback, is the standard by which you hold Big 10 quarterbacks on Top 25 teams, you're probably going to want to raise your standards.

@Beattheohiostate - notwithstanding the name that sets you up for a lifetime of misery, you are spot on. The Hawks stand virtually zero chance at beating a team like OSU with a hobbled, weak armed QB given Iowa's OL play. The only chance at an upset is to hand over the keys to Sullivan, at least for this game, to move the pocket and make plays with his feet & arm (as opposed to Cade...who has one attribute...confidence).

@desihawk - alas, any Hawk fan who dared to critique Kirk or his boy wonder over the years is labeled a "Cyclone fan" or "Nebraska fan" regardless of whether they have ever watched a single one of their games.

@Rambler Hawk - I could do an entire post on the WR play. From the lack of snaps for Iowa's best WR threats (Brown & Wetjen running a combined 5 routes...while a true freshmen with butter fingers starts and plays the entire game) to the lack of play calling designed for WRs, I wouldn't know where to begin.

@DJ_Kool_Herk - finally, someone gets it! The key to success is and has always been about limiting randying around on offense and defense.

@Old Uncle Teddy - I hope you're right that the most stubborn man in football has suddenly changed his philosophy on quarterback seniority being the be all end all in playing time and that he actually takes performance into consideration following the Ohio State game.

 

[sober_teacher]

@BirdistheWord - if Deacon Hill, a DIII quarterback, is the standard by which you hold Big 10 quarterbacks on Top 25 teams, you're probably going to want to raise your standards.

@Beattheohiostate - notwithstanding the name that sets you up for a lifetime of misery, you are spot on. The Hawks stand virtually zero chance at beating a team like OSU with a hobbled, weak armed QB given Iowa's OL play. The only chance at an upset is to hand over the keys to Sullivan, at least for this game, to move the pocket and make plays with his feet & arm (as opposed to Cade...who has one attribute...confidence).

@desihawk - alas, any Hawk fan who dared to critique Kirk or his boy wonder over the years is labeled a "Cyclone fan" or "Nebraska fan" regardless of whether they have ever watched a single one of their games.

@Rambler Hawk - I could do an entire post on the WR play. From the lack of snaps for Iowa's best WR threats (Brown & Wetjen running a combined 5 routes...while a true freshmen with butter fingers starts and plays the entire game) to the lack of play calling designed for WRs, I wouldn't know where to begin.

@DJ_Kool_Herk - finally, someone gets it! The key to success is and has always been about limiting randying around on offense and defense.

@Old Uncle Teddy - I hope you're right that the most stubborn man in football has suddenly changed his philosophy on quarterback seniority being the be all end all in playing time and that he actually takes performance into consideration following the Ohio State game.

Idk how you can look at the first four games and think the OL has been poor.

For where this offense was after four games last year vs this year the difference is quite frankly far exceeding my expectations.

 

[Beattheohiostate]

Does X suck?
Can we just admit it?

I wonder if X were an unrated walkon playing exactly as he has played if he'd have ever seen a game-time snap. Even the best coaches can fool themselves and refuse to see what's right in front of their face . . . kinda like some voters who only see what they wanna see instead of the really ugly, orange, deranged reality.

 

[SnootHawk]

It seemed like the Hawks had 3 opponents against Minnesota: (i) the refs, which sided with the Gophers on all 7 or 8 close calls; (ii) the Gophers, who really wanted to keep Floyd; and (iii) Kirk's extreme QB stubbornness and ultra conservative mentality. Even against all those odds, the Hawks blew out Minnesota with a 31-14 win. Imagine what they could do with a quarterback (where have we heard that before).

1. Kaleb Johnson For Heisman? If the Hawks hadn't pissed the Iowa State game down their leg, Johnson would be the current front runner for the Heisman Trophy. He's running behind a mediocre OL (Patterson averaged just 3.7 yrds per carry on 18 carries) and lacks the benefit of any kind of passing game whatsoever, yet he's starting to make 20 to 30 yard runs look routine. 21 rushes for 206 yards (10 yards per carry) and 3 touchdowns is a 1st team all-Big 10 performance, especially considering he gets hit behind the line of scrimmage more times than not. It's amusing to think Johnson was Iowa's 3rd string back just 3 weeks ago.

2. McNamara For Most Overrated Portal Recruit of All Time? Budmeyr's million dollar portal steal has proved to be a steal for just 1 person. Seldom in history has a QB's 62 yards passing for a 3.3 yard average and 29 QB rating been misleadingly good. Yet Cade's 2 completions to Ostrenga for 20 yards (1/3 of Cade's total output) were solely the result of Ostrenga miraculously catching a horribly thrown ball that should have been intercepted and Ostrenga catching a swing pass 5 feet behind the line of scrimmage and making something out of it. Ol' Cade completed just TWO freaking passes to WRs all day...ZERO to the team's only legitimate D1 receiver.

3. Higgins for Defensive Player of the Week. All the success Higgins is having couldn't happen to a better guy. He's a stud out there and a legitimate candidate for winning Iowa's second Butkus award in the last 3 years. Nine more tackles added to his tally, a nice interception, and really good pass coverage all day. If you re-watch each game, you'll see Higgins is always around the ball and is at the bottom of the pile more often than anyone you'll see.

4. Dakin for Game MVP. What a difference maker this true freshmen was against Minnesota in a game where field possession made all the difference. More important than his 5 punts for an average of 50 yards was the fact that Minnesota's star punt returner was unable to return a single high booming punt. In addition, 3 of his 5 punts were downed inside the 20, making it really tough for Minnesota to get anything going.

5. Kirk for AARP. 1 min and 30 second to go before halftime in a tie game and Minnesota is driving from Iowa's 10 yard line. Iowa has all 3 of its time outs remaining. 99.9% of coaches realize their opponent is going to score and calls timeout to give themselves a chance to score before the half. Not Kirk. He lets Minnesota run the clock all the way down to 20 seconds left before scoring. Sure enough, Iowa gets the ball back and promptly marches the ball to midfield on their very first play from scrimmage. But because the rocket scientist "didn't really think about it," there was just 10 seconds left and the Hawks didn't have too many options...so they brilliantly threw a 1 yard pass, not even to the sideline, to Luke Lachey, burning 9 seconds. The Hawks end the half in field goal range at Minnesota's 27 yard line with no time remaining. No field goal attempted, no pass to the endzone...just randying around to the locker room trailing 14-7 with their tails between their legs.

6. X Nwankpa for Bust. X is still in the starting lineup, like Kirk promised him when he committed to the Hawks, but now guys like Kael Kolarik and Will Hubert are having the same productivity out there. Just as Higgins is around the ball on almost every play, try to find #1 around the ball on any play. I did, and he was nowhere to be found pretty much ever.

7. Brendan Sullivan for Transfer Portal What Big 10 starting QB in history has transferred into a program desperately in need of a QB has happily sat back and watched the starter take every snap, throw for just 62 yards (almost all thrown within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage) and not get to play a single real series? It doesn't happen. Sullivan has got to be scratching his head because I guarantee he was promised a whole bill of goods before committing to Iowa and those promises have not been kept. Even when up 17 points in the 4th quarter and the game well out of reach, Sully didn't attempt a single pass. In the blowout win against Troy...zero forward passes. When Cade was 13 for 29 for 99 yards against Iowa State...zero snaps.

This was one of the most idiotic post-game analyses I've seen. Full of inaccuracies but also a surface level of understanding the game that seems about 7th grade level.

 

[BirdistheWord]

@BirdistheWord - if Deacon Hill, a DIII quarterback, is the standard by which you hold Big 10 quarterbacks on Top 25 teams, you're probably going to want to raise your standards.

@Beattheohiostate - notwithstanding the name that sets you up for a lifetime of misery, you are spot on. The Hawks stand virtually zero chance at beating a team like OSU with a hobbled, weak armed QB given Iowa's OL play. The only chance at an upset is to hand over the keys to Sullivan, at least for this game, to move the pocket and make plays with his feet & arm (as opposed to Cade...who has one attribute...confidence).

@desihawk - alas, any Hawk fan who dared to critique Kirk or his boy wonder over the years is labeled a "Cyclone fan" or "Nebraska fan" regardless of whether they have ever watched a single one of their games.

@Rambler Hawk - I could do an entire post on the WR play. From the lack of snaps for Iowa's best WR threats (Brown & Wetjen running a combined 5 routes...while a true freshmen with butter fingers starts and plays the entire game) to the lack of play calling designed for WRs, I wouldn't know where to begin.

@DJ_Kool_Herk - finally, someone gets it! The key to success is and has always been about limiting randying around on offense and defense.

@Old Uncle Teddy - I hope you're right that the most stubborn man in football has suddenly changed his philosophy on quarterback seniority being the be all end all in playing time and that he actually takes performance into consideration following the Ohio State game.

Seems like a reach by you Slaw. I hardly am using Deacon as the benchmark. I was merely providing some context. As bad as Deacon was you have to admit that the guy had 1. BF 2. Terrible O Line 3. No WR’s and down top 2 TE’s. He should have never been starting but it was the perfect storm.

Cade is more accurate, has more moxie but is a massive step down in arm strength .

 

[Old Uncle Teddy]

@Old Uncle Teddy - I hope you're right that the most stubborn man in football has suddenly changed his philosophy on quarterback seniority being the be all end all in playing time and that he actually takes performance into consideration following the Ohio State game.

Well, I disagree with your premise, at least insofar as it pertains to QBs. KF is very stubborn about freshmen QBs, but most coaches have the same rule. There are three exceptions to this general rule. 1. Bottom feeder programs that can afford the "what do we have to lose" attitude. Iowa is not in that category. 2. Topflight blue bloods. This group recruits the 5* DIY NFL QBs. Arch Manning would never go to Iowa at any time in the last 60 years. The same is true of almost all such QBs. The enormous NIL potential at Ohio State is far higher than Iowa will ever be able to match. 3. Blind squirrels. Sometimes you just get lucky. Brock Purdy for example.

Prior to BF becoming OC which QBs do you think should have been replaced? Hell, they tried to give the job to Padilla after the NW game and after Petras was cleared to play. Padilla eventually lost the job by being unplayably bad. I will concede last season. Saw the other two QBs play and there was no reasonable justification for the two other QBs lack of plays when Deacon Hill was also obviously unplayable.

Finally, no BF and KF is back to using two QBs, albeit one in limited packages. If KF were controlled by obstinacy Sully would not yet have seen the field.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Well, I disagree with your premise, at least insofar as it pertains to QBs. KF is very stubborn about freshmen QBs, but most coaches have the same rule. There are three exceptions to this general rule. 1. Bottom feeder programs that can afford the "what do we have to lose" attitude. Iowa is not in that category. 2. Topflight blue bloods. This group recruits the 5* DIY NFL QBs. Arch Manning would never go to Iowa at any time in the last 60 years. The same is true of almost all such QBs. The enormous NIL potential at Ohio State is far higher than Iowa will ever be able to match. 3. Blind squirrels. Sometimes you just get lucky. Brock Purdy for example.

Prior to BF becoming OC which QBs do you think should have been replaced? Hell, they tried to give the job to Padilla after the NW game and after Petras was cleared to play. Padilla eventually lost the job by being unplayably bad. I will concede last season. Saw the other two QBs play and there was no reasonable justification for the two other QBs lack of plays when Deacon Hill was also obviously unplayable.

Finally, no BF and KF is back to using two QBs, albeit one in limited packages. If KF were controlled by obstinacy Sully would not yet have seen the field.

Having watched some of our games from last year, yes Hill was still bad, but it's been lost in the conversation that our passing game wouldn't have looked nearly as bad had both Luke Lachey AND Eric All not gotten hurt (on hospital balls by Hill, but who's asking..........) and lost for the season.

Those two were by far our best receiver options last year. I wonder, would All, (AND DeJean for that matter) have gone to the pros has they not f***ing gotten hurt?

 

[sober_teacher]

Having watched some of our games from last year, yes Hill was still bad, but it's been lost in the conversation that our passing game wouldn't have looked nearly as bad had both Luke Lachey AND Eric All not gotten hurt (on hospital balls by Hill, but who's asking..........) and lost for the season.

Those two were by far our best receiver options last year. I wonder, would All, (AND DeJean for that matter) have gone to the pros has they not f***ing gotten hurt?

To be fair, Lachey was injured when Cade was still playing, and the ball had nothing to do with it.

 

[Old Uncle Teddy]

Having watched some of our games from last year, yes Hill was still bad, but it's been lost in the conversation that our passing game wouldn't have looked nearly as bad had both Luke Lachey AND Eric All not gotten hurt (on hospital balls by Hill, but who's asking..........) and lost for the season.

Those two were by far our best receiver options last year. I wonder, would All, (AND DeJean for that matter) have gone to the pros has they not f***ing gotten hurt?

I think you are spot on about Eric and maybe about CDJ. Unlike Eric there would still have been teams waiting to draft Cooper a year later. The loss of the two best targets was devastating.