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IowaLaw's Unpopular (but True) Predictions for 2022


But here is the thing. You can hate the entire game of women's basketball and leave it at that. I whole-heartedly disagree but not the point.

Anyone who watches Iowa knows we get up and down, have phenominal old-school posts who just score and score and score, have shooters (more so incoming with McCabe) and CAITLIN CLARK who is so entertaining. Iowa basketball is not boring to anyone who actually watches the women's game.
 
My prediction... (I'm assuming IowaLaw is a lawyer):

If his arguments in the courtroom are as lame as his arguments on this board, you'd as well flush your money down the toilet as hire him.

The sad part is, there are parts of his postgame reviews that I think are solid. But he trends towards the negative in all things, and every Kirk and Brian do is by default bad seemingly.
 
It is part of the scoreboard but not part of the offense.

Right but a lot of people discount the impact those can have on offensive stats. Just think in those first 6 games how often we started with short fields off turnovers/special teams. We scored a lot off this situations to start with, but it does fill up the stat sheet.

While the defense remained stout, the second half of the season saw them forcing fewer turnovers, resulting in worse field position for an offense that was increasingly broken as the season went on.
 
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Right but a lot of people discount the impact those can have on offensive stats. Just think in those first 6 games how often we started with short fields off turnovers/special teams. We scored a lot off this situations to start with, but it does fill up the stat sheet.

While the defense remained stout, the second half of the season saw them forcing fewer turnovers, resulting in worse field position for an offense that was increasingly broken as the season went on.
If they are special teams or defensive scores, the offense doesn't get the ball...
 
People want Labas to be the savior but they have no clue if he's that good. He might be but there is no proof.

Maybe Ferentz will be nice enough to put him in at the end of a blowout with the 2nd string OL to hand the ball off and then claim he played the backup but the starter is still his guy.

Ferentz antics fool some of you guys but not all of us.
 
2021 is in the books. By all accounts, it was a highly successful year for Hawkeye sports. As of this summer, Iowa climbed as high as 13th in the Director's Cup, which rates athletics programs across the board, thanks in part to conference championships in soccer, gymnastics, wrestling, field hockey and track, and above average football and basketball teams.

So as we turn the page to 2022, Iowa's most objective sports prognosticator, IowaLaw, has a few predictions for the year ahead:

QB Play Will Regress - Having a 3rd year starter returning at QB is a huge advantage, right? Usually. At Iowa, the well known "QB Regression" theory has already been argued ad nauseum. Whether you subscribe to it or not, statistically Petras regressed pretty badly. Kirk anointed him permanent starter in 2020. Spencer struggled and ranked 89th nationally in QB efficiency. He threw 9 tds and 5 ints and couldn't make plays with his feet. Pro football focus tabbed Petras the lowest rated returning starter in college football in 2021. Ferentz decided to stick with him rather than going to the portal. As a result, Spencer finished his second year as starter ranking 98th in QB efficiency. He threw 10 tds and 9 interceptions and again couldn't make plays with his feet. A non-Iowa fan would naturally assume 2022 will require an "open QB competition," right? That would require two things: (i) genuinely taking a look at one of the dozens of QBs in the portal; and (ii) giving real reps to underclassmen. Neither will happen. Barring injury, Petras is Iowa's starter in 2022.

The McCaffery Boys Will Continue Playing Over More Talented Teammates - There's nothing more frustrating to Hawk fans than watching Fran sit guys like Joe Toussaint (52% from the field and 40% from 3, and can defend) late in close games while playing Connor McCaffery (23% from the field and 21% from 3, and the slowest guy on the team) in clutch minutes. What's worse is that his brother Patrick leads the nation in 3 categories: (i) out of control, off-balanced layups attempted; (ii) out of control, off-balanced layups missed; and (iii) points given up on defense after attempting an out of control, off-balanced layup. He still plays ahead of Kris Murray each night, including following Murray's 29 point performance. Murray, Perkins, & Ulis will continue to have limited minutes regardless of their play.

Penn State Will Take Back Wrestling Crown - Hawkeye wrestling has seen a renaissance over the past two years, reclaiming wrestling's #1 ranking and winning national titles. They've done so by recruiting studs from Pennsylvania and transfers and by taking advantage of lax redshirt rules to have an entire roster filled with 5th and 6th year guys. Out-of-state recruiting has stalled and once the 6th year superstars exit, look for Penn State, with its wealth of in-state talent, to reclaim the top of the wrestling world for years to come.

Joey Labas Will Not Throw a Pass at Iowa - Despite the media's recent push to prop up Labas as cause for optimism & to deflect from criticism of Iowa's offense, the fact remains that the guy was 4th string behind one of the worst QBs in the Ferentz era, and Ferentz openly mocked the 3rd string guy at the end of the season. It would be impossible for Labas to somehow pass up two "experienced starters" in 2022, regardless of his skill level. That's a given at Iowa. But looking ahead to 2023, assuming Alex Padilla waits around for a 5th year (apparently his preferred transfer destinations recommended that he stay put), Joey will still be left holding a clip board until 2024. In this day and age, no one sticks around that long if they think they can play elsewhere. Bring on the next scout team legend.

Iowa Women's Basketball Will Remain Boring - It's politically correct to express fake interest in women's basketball now that Iowa has a nationally ranked program with a women's superstar. It's expected to nod your head when the adoring local media (and even some NBA player tweets) say "Caitlin Clark is a top NIL draw, and a transcendental player, regardless of gender." While I'm a firm believer that Clark can score a ton of points (she leads the nation at 26 points per game), I have to ask how many "fans" actually watch her play? I've seen parts of 2 or 3 recent games, and each time I was blown away by the number of bricks the best player in women's basketball puts up (Clark has taken 119 3s and made just 27 of them, which is a Connor McCaffery-esque 22%). Most of her points are scored from the free throw line, which doesn't make for exciting bball. In terms of attendance, 6,000 fans are attending Iowa women's games. I suppose that's good for women's basketball, but when you are talking NIL, isn't it all about advertising? Typically the more visibility leads to higher marketability and people aren't watching these games.

Brian Ferentz Will Receive a Substantial Raise - It's no secret that Iowa ranked 123rd this year in total offense and that teams with far better offenses fired their offensive coordinators after the season. I'm not going to pile on by saying the guy should be fired. But what most won't hear about is that Kirk will give him an automatic pay raise in the offseason exceeding the average household income in the state of Iowa...for his performance. Those who say life's not fair don't coach for their dad.
What can be said about someone who talks about himself in the third person?

When predictions are made, they can be neither true nor false (unless Nostradamus is lying about what he really thinks).
 
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When predictions are made, they can be neither true nor false
what.gif
 
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So when Clark is shooting 8 to 10 feet behind the arc and draining them that is not exciting? Why the hell can’t the men do that?

No one is allowed to except Jordan Bohannon because it is a low percentage shot. Iowa Basketball isn’t Grinnell basketball….and in case you missed it JBo was hitting shots like that for the last 5 seasons.
 
2021 is in the books. By all accounts, it was a highly successful year for Hawkeye sports. As of this summer, Iowa climbed as high as 13th in the Director's Cup, which rates athletics programs across the board, thanks in part to conference championships in soccer, gymnastics, wrestling, field hockey and track, and above average football and basketball teams.

So as we turn the page to 2022, Iowa's most objective sports prognosticator, IowaLaw, has a few predictions for the year ahead:

QB Play Will Regress - Having a 3rd year starter returning at QB is a huge advantage, right? Usually. At Iowa, the well known "QB Regression" theory has already been argued ad nauseum. Whether you subscribe to it or not, statistically Petras regressed pretty badly. Kirk anointed him permanent starter in 2020. Spencer struggled and ranked 89th nationally in QB efficiency. He threw 9 tds and 5 ints and couldn't make plays with his feet. Pro football focus tabbed Petras the lowest rated returning starter in college football in 2021. Ferentz decided to stick with him rather than going to the portal. As a result, Spencer finished his second year as starter ranking 98th in QB efficiency. He threw 10 tds and 9 interceptions and again couldn't make plays with his feet. A non-Iowa fan would naturally assume 2022 will require an "open QB competition," right? That would require two things: (i) genuinely taking a look at one of the dozens of QBs in the portal; and (ii) giving real reps to underclassmen. Neither will happen. Barring injury, Petras is Iowa's starter in 2022.

The McCaffery Boys Will Continue Playing Over More Talented Teammates - There's nothing more frustrating to Hawk fans than watching Fran sit guys like Joe Toussaint (52% from the field and 40% from 3, and can defend) late in close games while playing Connor McCaffery (23% from the field and 21% from 3, and the slowest guy on the team) in clutch minutes. What's worse is that his brother Patrick leads the nation in 3 categories: (i) out of control, off-balanced layups attempted; (ii) out of control, off-balanced layups missed; and (iii) points given up on defense after attempting an out of control, off-balanced layup. He still plays ahead of Kris Murray each night, including following Murray's 29 point performance. Murray, Perkins, & Ulis will continue to have limited minutes regardless of their play.

Penn State Will Take Back Wrestling Crown - Hawkeye wrestling has seen a renaissance over the past two years, reclaiming wrestling's #1 ranking and winning national titles. They've done so by recruiting studs from Pennsylvania and transfers and by taking advantage of lax redshirt rules to have an entire roster filled with 5th and 6th year guys. Out-of-state recruiting has stalled and once the 6th year superstars exit, look for Penn State, with its wealth of in-state talent, to reclaim the top of the wrestling world for years to come.

Joey Labas Will Not Throw a Pass at Iowa - Despite the media's recent push to prop up Labas as cause for optimism & to deflect from criticism of Iowa's offense, the fact remains that the guy was 4th string behind one of the worst QBs in the Ferentz era, and Ferentz openly mocked the 3rd string guy at the end of the season. It would be impossible for Labas to somehow pass up two "experienced starters" in 2022, regardless of his skill level. That's a given at Iowa. But looking ahead to 2023, assuming Alex Padilla waits around for a 5th year (apparently his preferred transfer destinations recommended that he stay put), Joey will still be left holding a clip board until 2024. In this day and age, no one sticks around that long if they think they can play elsewhere. Bring on the next scout team legend.

Iowa Women's Basketball Will Remain Boring - It's politically correct to express fake interest in women's basketball now that Iowa has a nationally ranked program with a women's superstar. It's expected to nod your head when the adoring local media (and even some NBA player tweets) say "Caitlin Clark is a top NIL draw, and a transcendental player, regardless of gender." While I'm a firm believer that Clark can score a ton of points (she leads the nation at 26 points per game), I have to ask how many "fans" actually watch her play? I've seen parts of 2 or 3 recent games, and each time I was blown away by the number of bricks the best player in women's basketball puts up (Clark has taken 119 3s and made just 27 of them, which is a Connor McCaffery-esque 22%). Most of her points are scored from the free throw line, which doesn't make for exciting bball. In terms of attendance, 6,000 fans are attending Iowa women's games. I suppose that's good for women's basketball, but when you are talking NIL, isn't it all about advertising? Typically the more visibility leads to higher marketability and people aren't watching these games.

Brian Ferentz Will Receive a Substantial Raise - It's no secret that Iowa ranked 123rd this year in total offense and that teams with far better offenses fired their offensive coordinators after the season. I'm not going to pile on by saying the guy should be fired. But what most won't hear about is that Kirk will give him an automatic pay raise in the offseason exceeding the average household income in the state of Iowa...for his performance. Those who say life's not fair don't coach for their dad.
A) easy to tell by your completely negative posts you are a Democrat.
B) you're wrong on every point
C) since u have penis envy of coaches sons, I suggest therapy to work thru your daddy issues.
 
The sad part is, there are parts of his postgame reviews that I think are solid. But he trends towards the negative in all things, and every Kirk and Brian do is by default bad seemingly.
He's doing this trendy thing in social media nowadays where he makes comments and predictions with an intentionally negative slant and undertone so that it comes off as more "controversial" and "hot take-ish", which means more of a chance for debate and arguing and sucking people in so to speak.

There's YouTube channels like CinemaSins and Nerdrotic where their whole schtick is to take stuff like movies and TV shows and tell you why it sucks and that you're wrong for thinking otherwise ("even though you're entitled to your opinion", they'll add), even if they're being facetious about the things they're saying.

For example, they'll criticize a scene in a movie that you would think is universally loved and find some clever-in-their-mind way to provide a negative spin on the scene and why you've been looking at it the wrong way this whole time. In Nerdrotic's case, it will usually be about how the creators of the film are trying to push a woke agenda in the scene.

This is essentially what @IowasLaw does. It's all intentional, including the lack of responses by him in his own thread.
 
He's doing this trendy thing in social media nowadays where he makes comments and predictions with an intentionally negative slant and undertone so that it comes off as more "controversial" and "hot take-ish", which means more of a chance for debate and arguing and sucking people in so to speak.

There's YouTube channels like CinemaSins and Nerdrotic where their whole schtick is to take stuff like movies and TV shows and tell you why it sucks and that you're wrong for thinking otherwise ("even though you're entitled to your opinion", they'll add), even if they're being facetious about the things they're saying.

For example, they'll criticize a scene in a movie that you would think is universally loved and find some clever-in-their-mind way to provide a negative spin on the scene and why you've been looking at it the wrong way this whole time. In Nerdrotic's case, it will usually be about how the creators of the film are trying to push a woke agenda in the scene.

This is essentially what @IowasLaw does. It's all intentional, including the lack of responses by him in his own thread.

Hey, I think Cinemasins is hilarious. It’s kinda funny to see people who get upset when they release a new video and think it’s meant as a serious review.
 
No one is allowed to except Jordan Bohannon because it is a low percentage shot. Iowa Basketball isn’t Grinnell basketball….and in case you missed it JBo was hitting shots like that for the last 5 seasons.
Weeeelllll, not all of the last 5 seasons. There was a significant stretch where he couldn't throw it in the ocean.
 
Yeah he's so honest that he might as well be lying.................................................
I think his real identity is…..Colin Cowherd. Because, he’s just offering up an opinion to get attention which is Cowterd’s shtick. Headlines that “shock” you into a click and reasoning that boarders on just aggravating the masses for replies.
 
Many are asking, "when will IowaLaw, also known as Lawstradomis, put together his predictions for 2023?" After all, it was uncanny how spot on he was in his 2022 prognostication and has been known to pick up on the subtle rifts in the Hawkeye universe.

-QB Regression. It happened. Petras was returning for his 3rd year as starter following a 10 win season and touting his attendence at the Payton Manning passing camp / his parents were paying for him to work with a professional passing coach. Most saw improvement in the works. IowaLaw wasn't buying it. He predicted that even though Pro Football Focus had Petras ranked the worst returning starter in college football, Kirk and crew would not dare seek out help in the transfer portal like any other coach would. Sure enough, they did not, and Hawk fans once again witnessed more QB regression. Petras started every game and finished with his worst statistical season yet. He improved in zero areas (despite the above privileges not afforded to most QBs) and dragged down the team with him.

-Too Much PT for McCaffery Boys. It happened. Hawkeye basketball was a Top 10 team led by Keegan Murray, but IowaLaw noted that Fran seems to love playing his kids regardless of their performance and has a blind spot toward guys on the bench. Sure enough, The McCaffery boys saw their minutes increase, with Patrick leading the nation last year in out of control missed layups, causing tension in the locker room, and Toussaint bolted from the team despite being the starting point guard.

-Wrestling Decline. It happened. Hawkeye wrestling was ranked #1 at the time of the OP. They were defending national champs and had a loaded roster of 6 year seniors. Sure enough, the squad struggled mightily, got blown out in both the Big 10 (finishing 3rd) and national championships. Worse yet, even with Spencer Lee using his extra year of eligibility this year, the Hawks just barely squeaked by lowly Iowa State in a dual meet while Penn State continues to rise. The poor recruiting/focus on in-state recruits vs. recruiting Pennsylvania and national wrestlers was obvious.

-Women's BBall Still Boring. It happened. The Iowa women were riding high, receiving praise from NBA stars, were ranked in the Top 10, and were playing on national tv. IowaLaw said they would still be boring despite the undue hype. Sure enough, their super star media darling continues to shoot worse from 3 than the worst 3 point shooter on the men's team. The rest of the team proved to be pretty average and incredibly unathletic compared to their peers. They were bounced from the NCAA tourney early and this year they started ranked in the Top 5, then proceeded to lose to every opponent with a pulse. Hype without substance is just hype.

-Labbas Won't Play a Down. It happened. Many hoped he would be the savior of the Iowa QBs room. Kirk even said "there will be an open QB competition," and Joey was getting the majority of media buzz after starring on the scout team. IowaLaw saw through it and predicted he'd never take a snap. Sure enough, another season is in the books. While the 2nd and 3rd stringers played at every other position, ol' Brian couldn't even give the kid the courtesy of a single snap. Zero passes thrown in 2 years on campus. Shocker to some, not to those who know the program. The kid will get a chance in the bowl game, but only out of default and against the coach's wishes.

-Brian Will Keep Failing Upward. It happened. Most thought it was outlandish when IowaLaw predicted Brian would not only keep his job after leading the nation's 117th rated offense, but also receive a raise on top of it. Sure enough, that is exactly what happened. Brian picked up a bigger raise following his documented failures than most Iowans make at their jobs in a year, got a promotion, and proceeded to lead the offense straight into the ground.

As a result of this profound accuracy, and by popular demand, IowaLaw will indeed look into his crystal ball and make his 2023 prognostications in the coming weeks.

---@HawkeyeInCentralIowa "How much does everyone want to bet that he’s wrong on all these takes?" Jan 17, 2022.
 
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Many are asking, when will IowaLaw, also known as Lawstradomis, put together his predictions for 2023. After all, it was uncanny how spot on he was in this OP at the beginning of 2022.

-QB Regression. Petras was returning for his 3rd year as starter following a 10 win season and touting his attendence at the Payton Manning passing camp / his parents were paying for him to work with a professional passing coach. Most saw improvement in the works. IowaLaw wasn't buying it. He predicted more QB regression. Sure enough, Petras had his worst statistical season yet, improved in zero areas, and dragged down the team with him.

-Too Much PT for McCaffery Boys. Hawkeye basketball was a Top 10 team led by Keegan Murray, but IowaLaw noted that Fran seems to love playing his kids regardless of their performance and has a blind spot toward guys on the bench. Sure enough, The McCaffery boys saw their minutes increase, with Patrick leading the nation last year in out of control missed layups, causing tension in the locker room, and Toussaint bolted from the team despite being the starting point guard.

-Wrestling Decline. Hawkeye wrestling was ranked #1 at the time and were defending national champs. Sure enough, the squad struggled mightily, got blown out in the Big 10 and national championships, and this year just barely squeaked by Iowa State in a dual meet while Penn State continues to rise. The poor recruiting/focus on in-state recruits vs. recruiting Pennsylvania harder was obvious.

-Women's BBall Still Boring. The Iowa women were riding high, receiving praise from NBA stars and were ranked in the Top 10. IowaLaw said they would still be boring. Sure enough, their super star media darling shoots worse from 3 than the worst 3 point shooter on the men's team and the rest of the team proved to be pretty average. They were bounced from the NCAA tourney early and this year they started ranked in the Top 5, then proceeded to lose to every opponent with a pulse.

-Labbas Won't Play a Down. Many hoped Joey Labbas would be the savior of the Iowa QBs room. Kirk even said "there will be an open QB competition," and Labbas was getting a lot of media buzz after being the star of the scout team. IowaLaw saw through it and predicted he'd never take a snap. Sure enough, another season is in the books. While the 2nd and 3rd stringers played at every other position, ol' Brian couldn't even give the kid the courtesy of a single snap. Shocker to some, not to those who know the program. The kid will get a chance in the bowl game, but only out of default and against the coach's wishes.

-Brian Keeps Failing Upward. Most thought it was outlandish that IowaLaw predicted Brian would not only keep his job after leading the nation's 117th rated offense, but would receive a raise. Sure enough, that is exactly what happened. Brian picked up a bigger raise than most Iowans make in a year, got a promotion, and proceeded to lead the offence straight into the ground.

By popular demand, IowaLaw will indeed look into his crystal ball and make his 2023 prognostications in the coming weeks.
Popular demand = voices in your head.
 
Many are asking, when will IowaLaw, also known as Lawstradomis, put together his predictions for 2023. After all, it was uncanny how spot on he was in this OP in January of 2022.

-QB Regression. It happened. Petras was returning for his 3rd year as starter following a 10 win season and touting his attendence at the Payton Manning passing camp / his parents were paying for him to work with a professional passing coach. Most saw improvement in the works. IowaLaw wasn't buying it. He predicted more QB regression. Sure enough, Petras had his worst statistical season yet, improved in zero areas, and dragged down the team with him.

-Too Much PT for McCaffery Boys. It happened. Hawkeye basketball was a Top 10 team led by Keegan Murray, but IowaLaw noted that Fran seems to love playing his kids regardless of their performance and has a blind spot toward guys on the bench. Sure enough, The McCaffery boys saw their minutes increase, with Patrick leading the nation last year in out of control missed layups, causing tension in the locker room, and Toussaint bolted from the team despite being the starting point guard.

-Wrestling Decline. It happened. Hawkeye wrestling was ranked #1 at the time and were defending national champs. Sure enough, the squad struggled mightily, got blown out in the Big 10 and national championships, and this year just barely squeaked by Iowa State in a dual meet while Penn State continues to rise. The poor recruiting/focus on in-state recruits vs. recruiting Pennsylvania harder was obvious.

-Women's BBall Still Boring. It happened. The Iowa women were riding high, receiving praise from NBA stars and were ranked in the Top 10. IowaLaw said they would still be boring. Sure enough, their super star media darling shoots worse from 3 than the worst 3 point shooter on the men's team and the rest of the team proved to be pretty average. They were bounced from the NCAA tourney early and this year they started ranked in the Top 5, then proceeded to lose to every opponent with a pulse.

-Labbas Won't Play a Down. It happened. Many hoped Joey Labbas would be the savior of the Iowa QBs room. Kirk even said "there will be an open QB competition," and Labbas was getting a lot of media buzz after being the star of the scout team. IowaLaw saw through it and predicted he'd never take a snap. Sure enough, another season is in the books. While the 2nd and 3rd stringers played at every other position, ol' Brian couldn't even give the kid the courtesy of a single snap. Shocker to some, not to those who know the program. The kid will get a chance in the bowl game, but only out of default and against the coach's wishes.

-Brian Will Keep Failing Upward. It happened. Most thought it was outlandish when IowaLaw predicted Brian would not only keep his job after leading the nation's 117th rated offense, but also receive a raise on top of it. Sure enough, that is exactly what happened. Brian picked up a bigger raise following his documented failures than most Iowans make at their jobs in a year, got a promotion, and proceeded to lead the offence straight into the ground.

By popular demand, IowaLaw will indeed look into his crystal ball and make his 2023 prognostications in the coming weeks.

---@HawkeyeInCentralIowa "How much does everyone want to bet that he’s wrong on all these takes?" Jan 17, 2022.
Actually you predicted Labas would not throw a pass. And you spelled his name correctly at that time.
 
Many are asking, when will IowaLaw, also known as Lawstradomis, put together his predictions for 2023. After all, it was uncanny how spot on he was in this OP in January of 2022.

-QB Regression. It happened. Petras was returning for his 3rd year as starter following a 10 win season and touting his attendence at the Payton Manning passing camp / his parents were paying for him to work with a professional passing coach. Most saw improvement in the works. IowaLaw wasn't buying it. He predicted more QB regression. Sure enough, Petras had his worst statistical season yet, improved in zero areas, and dragged down the team with him.

-Too Much PT for McCaffery Boys. It happened. Hawkeye basketball was a Top 10 team led by Keegan Murray, but IowaLaw noted that Fran seems to love playing his kids regardless of their performance and has a blind spot toward guys on the bench. Sure enough, The McCaffery boys saw their minutes increase, with Patrick leading the nation last year in out of control missed layups, causing tension in the locker room, and Toussaint bolted from the team despite being the starting point guard.

-Wrestling Decline. It happened. Hawkeye wrestling was ranked #1 at the time and were defending national champs. Sure enough, the squad struggled mightily, got blown out in the Big 10 and national championships, and this year just barely squeaked by Iowa State in a dual meet while Penn State continues to rise. The poor recruiting/focus on in-state recruits vs. recruiting Pennsylvania harder was obvious.

-Women's BBall Still Boring. It happened. The Iowa women were riding high, receiving praise from NBA stars and were ranked in the Top 10. IowaLaw said they would still be boring. Sure enough, their super star media darling shoots worse from 3 than the worst 3 point shooter on the men's team and the rest of the team proved to be pretty average. They were bounced from the NCAA tourney early and this year they started ranked in the Top 5, then proceeded to lose to every opponent with a pulse.

-Labbas Won't Play a Down. It happened. Many hoped Joey Labbas would be the savior of the Iowa QBs room. Kirk even said "there will be an open QB competition," and Labbas was getting a lot of media buzz after being the star of the scout team. IowaLaw saw through it and predicted he'd never take a snap. Sure enough, another season is in the books. While the 2nd and 3rd stringers played at every other position, ol' Brian couldn't even give the kid the courtesy of a single snap. Shocker to some, not to those who know the program. The kid will get a chance in the bowl game, but only out of default and against the coach's wishes.

-Brian Will Keep Failing Upward. It happened. Most thought it was outlandish when IowaLaw predicted Brian would not only keep his job after leading the nation's 117th rated offense, but also receive a raise on top of it. Sure enough, that is exactly what happened. Brian picked up a bigger raise following his documented failures than most Iowans make at their jobs in a year, got a promotion, and proceeded to lead the offence straight into the ground.

By popular demand, IowaLaw will indeed look into his crystal ball and make his 2023 prognostications in the coming weeks.

---@HawkeyeInCentralIowa "How much does everyone want to bet that he’s wrong on all these takes?" Jan 17, 2022.

Sad. But pretty spot on.
 
2021 is in the books. By all accounts, it was a highly successful year for Hawkeye sports. As of this summer, Iowa climbed as high as 13th in the Director's Cup, which rates athletics programs across the board, thanks in part to conference championships in soccer, gymnastics, wrestling, field hockey and track, and above average football and basketball teams.

So as we turn the page to 2022, Iowa's most objective sports prognosticator, IowaLaw, has a few predictions for the year ahead:

QB Play Will Regress - Having a 3rd year starter returning at QB is a huge advantage, right? Usually. At Iowa, the well known "QB Regression" theory has already been argued ad nauseum. Whether you subscribe to it or not, statistically Petras regressed pretty badly. Kirk anointed him permanent starter in 2020. Spencer struggled and ranked 89th nationally in QB efficiency. He threw 9 tds and 5 ints and couldn't make plays with his feet. Pro football focus tabbed Petras the lowest rated returning starter in college football in 2021. Ferentz decided to stick with him rather than going to the portal. As a result, Spencer finished his second year as starter ranking 98th in QB efficiency. He threw 10 tds and 9 interceptions and again couldn't make plays with his feet. A non-Iowa fan would naturally assume 2022 will require an "open QB competition," right? That would require two things: (i) genuinely taking a look at one of the dozens of QBs in the portal; and (ii) giving real reps to underclassmen. Neither will happen. Barring injury, Petras is Iowa's starter in 2022.

The McCaffery Boys Will Continue Playing Over More Talented Teammates - There's nothing more frustrating to Hawk fans than watching Fran sit guys like Joe Toussaint (52% from the field and 40% from 3, and can defend) late in close games while playing Connor McCaffery (23% from the field and 21% from 3, and the slowest guy on the team) in clutch minutes. What's worse is that his brother Patrick leads the nation in 3 categories: (i) out of control, off-balanced layups attempted; (ii) out of control, off-balanced layups missed; and (iii) points given up on defense after attempting an out of control, off-balanced layup. He still plays ahead of Kris Murray each night, including following Murray's 29 point performance. Murray, Perkins, & Ulis will continue to have limited minutes regardless of their play.

Penn State Will Take Back Wrestling Crown - Hawkeye wrestling has seen a renaissance over the past two years, reclaiming wrestling's #1 ranking and winning national titles. They've done so by recruiting studs from Pennsylvania and transfers and by taking advantage of lax redshirt rules to have an entire roster filled with 5th and 6th year guys. Out-of-state recruiting has stalled and once the 6th year superstars exit, look for Penn State, with its wealth of in-state talent, to reclaim the top of the wrestling world for years to come.

Joey Labas Will Not Throw a Pass at Iowa - Despite the media's recent push to prop up Labas as cause for optimism & to deflect from criticism of Iowa's offense, the fact remains that the guy was 4th string behind one of the worst QBs in the Ferentz era, and Ferentz openly mocked the 3rd string guy at the end of the season. It would be impossible for Labas to somehow pass up two "experienced starters" in 2022, regardless of his skill level. That's a given at Iowa. But looking ahead to 2023, assuming Alex Padilla waits around for a 5th year (apparently his preferred transfer destinations recommended that he stay put), Joey will still be left holding a clip board until 2024. In this day and age, no one sticks around that long if they think they can play elsewhere. Bring on the next scout team legend.

Iowa Women's Basketball Will Remain Boring - It's politically correct to express fake interest in women's basketball now that Iowa has a nationally ranked program with a women's superstar. It's expected to nod your head when the adoring local media (and even some NBA player tweets) say "Caitlin Clark is a top NIL draw, and a transcendental player, regardless of gender." While I'm a firm believer that Clark can score a ton of points (she leads the nation at 26 points per game), I have to ask how many "fans" actually watch her play? I've seen parts of 2 or 3 recent games, and each time I was blown away by the number of bricks the best player in women's basketball puts up (Clark has taken 119 3s and made just 27 of them, which is a Connor McCaffery-esque 22%). Most of her points are scored from the free throw line, which doesn't make for exciting bball. In terms of attendance, 6,000 fans are attending Iowa women's games. I suppose that's good for women's basketball, but when you are talking NIL, isn't it all about advertising? Typically the more visibility leads to higher marketability and people aren't watching these games.

Brian Ferentz Will Receive a Substantial Raise - It's no secret that Iowa ranked 123rd this year in total offense and that teams with far better offenses fired their offensive coordinators after the season. I'm not going to pile on by saying the guy should be fired. But what most won't hear about is that Kirk will give him an automatic pay raise in the offseason exceeding the average household income in the state of Iowa...for his performance. Those who say life's not fair don't coach for their dad.
Maybe - No - Duh - No - No - Don't Know. You're somehow proud of these predictions?
 
I haven't been a fan of this Iowalaw fella....I just get a little weirded out by the whole 3rd person schtick. That said....he hit on enough of his predictions that I will in fact tune in to the 2023 edition when it's released.

I'll call a moron a moron when they are in fact clearly a moron. I'll also give kudos when a guy, in my opinion, nails it. Well done Law.
 
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