First off, this post is mostly for me so that I can get the rancid taste of that game out of my mouth. However, in order to do so, I have to make the comments I'm going to make.
That was embarrassing. The Stanford game was one thing--they had Christian McCaffery!--but even in the Rose Bowl Iowa didn't play this sloppy or undisciplined. This was TaxSlayer Bowl bad. Really, really, really bad. When your offensive and defensive lines get whipped like that then you have to just wonder about how much the team wanted this game. They didn't quit, but they sure as hell played scared to lose, which is completely unacceptable.
I said after the Miami of Ohio game that I was worried about Iowa being able to stop the run against teams like Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, and Nebraska. I didn't realize I was going to need to add the Bisons to that list. Some people called me out and said run defense was fine. Other than Jewell and Johnson, it isn't. Not having Jordan Lomax, Nate Meier, or Cole Fisher is turning out to be huge.
Turnovers. Poor ball handling. Missed blocks. Dropped passes. Critical penalties. Missed tackles. Failure to shed blocks. Horrible execution all around. No passion. Idiotic offensive play calling with 3:40 seconds left (Iowa hadn't been able to run all day -- except for that 62 yard burst from Daniels that got called back because of, you guessed it, a penalty).
CJ Beatherd wasn't terrible in the second half, mostly because WRs dropped passes and the line couldn't protect. Nathan Stanley may have outplayed him with only three snaps. Of course, the offense was barely on the field the second half.
The Bison played an impressively mistake-free game, well-coached, well-executed, passionate, hustling, tough, hungry. They deserved to win. The score was not indicative of how badly they beat Iowa. Because I'm a Hawkeye fan I desperately wanted the Bison to miss that last second FG, but if they had it would have been a travesty of justice. They just flat-out played better, were coached better, and wanted it more.
I know the Bison are good and all that, but getting "Out-Big-Tenned" by them is infuriating. How does a team not line up to play through four quarters? It was almost as if they expected the Bison to roll over like the Cyclones did. Instead, the Hawkeyes looked like Iowa State out there which is humiliating. I'm not insulting the Hawkeyes by comparing them to the Cyclones; the team insulted Hawkeye tradition by playing like the Cyclones!
Okay, I think I got it out of my system. That team should be glad I'm not their coach this week. They'd be running hills with 100-pound bags of sand strapped to their back until they puked so much that they had to go to the hospital to get rehydrated.
Now for endless cocktails to forget that crap ever happened.
That was embarrassing. The Stanford game was one thing--they had Christian McCaffery!--but even in the Rose Bowl Iowa didn't play this sloppy or undisciplined. This was TaxSlayer Bowl bad. Really, really, really bad. When your offensive and defensive lines get whipped like that then you have to just wonder about how much the team wanted this game. They didn't quit, but they sure as hell played scared to lose, which is completely unacceptable.
I said after the Miami of Ohio game that I was worried about Iowa being able to stop the run against teams like Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, and Nebraska. I didn't realize I was going to need to add the Bisons to that list. Some people called me out and said run defense was fine. Other than Jewell and Johnson, it isn't. Not having Jordan Lomax, Nate Meier, or Cole Fisher is turning out to be huge.
Turnovers. Poor ball handling. Missed blocks. Dropped passes. Critical penalties. Missed tackles. Failure to shed blocks. Horrible execution all around. No passion. Idiotic offensive play calling with 3:40 seconds left (Iowa hadn't been able to run all day -- except for that 62 yard burst from Daniels that got called back because of, you guessed it, a penalty).
CJ Beatherd wasn't terrible in the second half, mostly because WRs dropped passes and the line couldn't protect. Nathan Stanley may have outplayed him with only three snaps. Of course, the offense was barely on the field the second half.
The Bison played an impressively mistake-free game, well-coached, well-executed, passionate, hustling, tough, hungry. They deserved to win. The score was not indicative of how badly they beat Iowa. Because I'm a Hawkeye fan I desperately wanted the Bison to miss that last second FG, but if they had it would have been a travesty of justice. They just flat-out played better, were coached better, and wanted it more.
I know the Bison are good and all that, but getting "Out-Big-Tenned" by them is infuriating. How does a team not line up to play through four quarters? It was almost as if they expected the Bison to roll over like the Cyclones did. Instead, the Hawkeyes looked like Iowa State out there which is humiliating. I'm not insulting the Hawkeyes by comparing them to the Cyclones; the team insulted Hawkeye tradition by playing like the Cyclones!
Okay, I think I got it out of my system. That team should be glad I'm not their coach this week. They'd be running hills with 100-pound bags of sand strapped to their back until they puked so much that they had to go to the hospital to get rehydrated.
Now for endless cocktails to forget that crap ever happened.
