I'm always optimistic about the upcoming season of football. It's a mental illness.
Serious question: Optimism about any Hawkeye sports this coming year?
- Thread starter tweeterhawk
- Start date
Yeah ... some folks seem to forget that we still have Phil Parker ... and we had surprisingly large number of guys choose to use their covid-year. This D ought to be quite-strong.The defense should be outstanding. The offensive scheme seems as though it will change, and maybe drastically, and I’m willing to wait and see if the starting QB doesn’t get injured. They should be pretty good, but sure, there is no reason for optimism.
The question, as always, will be whether the O can carry their weight.
The punting game ought to take a step back this year ... but special teams is rarely a liability for us.
There's no reason to think that Iowa won't be competitive in the B1G this year in football.
For me, these are the success metrics for the Big 4 sports:
1. Football - Now that we've moved to an expanded playoff format, success should be defined by making the playoffs once every four years. I don't give a rip about how many wins, division/conference titles, etc. Just make the playoffs. Given that metric, and given the defense we've got returning and assuming Cade can stay healthy, I think we can make the playoffs this year, which would make for a successful year.
2. Men's Basketball - It's all about the NCAA tournament. Again, I don't care about "top half conference finishes" or any other BS made up metric that makes Fran look good. Make the tournament and make some noise. Unlike the football playoffs, though, success shouldn't be defined by just making the tournament (mainly due to being easier to make the NCAA Tournament than the CFP), but by making some noise occassionally. For me, success is making the Tournament 3 out of every 4 years and a Sweet 16 once every 4 years. Given that metric, I don't see any chance whatsoever of a successful year.
3. Women's Basketball - I have the same definition of success for the women as I do the men....especially now that there's alot more parity in women's basketball than their used to be. Success for this year will depend on what kind of transfer portal pickups we get. If we get 1 or 2 nice additions, then I think making the Sweet 16 is definitely within reach, which would make for a successful year.
4. Wrestling - Given our pedigree, success should be defined by multiple individual national champs and being in the top 2 at the NCAAs.....within striking distance of Penn State.....not getting our asses handed to us. Given that, I'm not sure we're in the running for a successful season next year.
1. Football - Now that we've moved to an expanded playoff format, success should be defined by making the playoffs once every four years. I don't give a rip about how many wins, division/conference titles, etc. Just make the playoffs. Given that metric, and given the defense we've got returning and assuming Cade can stay healthy, I think we can make the playoffs this year, which would make for a successful year.
2. Men's Basketball - It's all about the NCAA tournament. Again, I don't care about "top half conference finishes" or any other BS made up metric that makes Fran look good. Make the tournament and make some noise. Unlike the football playoffs, though, success shouldn't be defined by just making the tournament (mainly due to being easier to make the NCAA Tournament than the CFP), but by making some noise occassionally. For me, success is making the Tournament 3 out of every 4 years and a Sweet 16 once every 4 years. Given that metric, I don't see any chance whatsoever of a successful year.
3. Women's Basketball - I have the same definition of success for the women as I do the men....especially now that there's alot more parity in women's basketball than their used to be. Success for this year will depend on what kind of transfer portal pickups we get. If we get 1 or 2 nice additions, then I think making the Sweet 16 is definitely within reach, which would make for a successful year.
4. Wrestling - Given our pedigree, success should be defined by multiple individual national champs and being in the top 2 at the NCAAs.....within striking distance of Penn State.....not getting our asses handed to us. Given that, I'm not sure we're in the running for a successful season next year.
Women’s hoops basically has to fall back, but I’ve seen a lot of commentary about being “back to not making tournaments”. This was Bluder’s 24th season and she’s made 18 tournaments (plus would have in 2020). They were a #2 seed that made the Elite 8 in 2019. They’ve been a 6 seed or higher in 8 of the last 10 tournaments (and would have been in 2020). I think they’ll compete in the B1G, earn a solid seed and have a very good shot at a Sweet 16 or deeper run.
Four Big Ten Tournament Championship games and 4 NCAA berths the last decade, won the 'ship two of the last four years, won NCAA tournament games those two years, and were a high seed for the first time last season. Only lost one key player. Looks good right now.
Wbb got great portal help. We will again be a factor. Freshman get experience and 25 we get 5 star Deal, 4 star Houston and maybe brynn and skinner that are too playersThe defense should be outstanding. The offensive scheme seems as though it will change, and maybe drastically, and I’m willing to wait and see if the starting QB doesn’t get injured. They should be pretty good, but sure, there is no reason for optimism.
Men’s basketball almost always exceeds expectations, then ruins it in March. I wouldn’t count them out, but Lucy will probably pull that football.
Women’s, I don’t know what to tell you if you expect them to be a perennial Final Four team.
Wrestling will undoubtedly be better, but they won’t win it, so that will be a disappointment.
You’re not wrong, and they will probably still be really good, but the top teams have an entire roster those girls. UCONN had more 4 and 5 star players than that injured and on the bench.
Final Fours may happen, but expecting them is a recipe for disappointment. Maybe Iowa becomes a blue blood, but they aren’t there yet.
You’re so dumb I don’t even know what to say anymore.
Now add Olsen to this and they are going to be a really good team.
Not expecting another FF run (Olsen is a great get, but she's not CC. No one is), but I do think Iowa will easily be good enough to get into the 2nd weekend next season for sure.
The sellouts and momentum at CHA for Iowa WBB next fall/winter will continue. Should be at least a top 20 team. No huge drop off with Olsen, a salty bunch of returnees, a top 10 recruiting class coming in, an offense-friendly system and a great culture fostered by Bluder, Jensen & Co.
I am a bit optimistic about football from the standpoint of Lester and crossing my fingers Cade can stay healthy. Looking forward to see what our new offense looks like from a schematic standpoint. If we play Kirk ball my optimism is flushed down the toilet.
The offense needs to show signs of life this fall or it's the beginning of the end for Kirk. 20 points a game will get them 9+ wins this fall.
Lucy Olsen may have something to say about this.
Lucy Olsen is every bit the player Paige Bueckers is. Compare their stats and then realize that Paige has 5 star talent all around her that teams couldn't just focus on her compared to Olsen who was the ONLY scoring option on her team and still put up the stats she did. I'm really looking forward to watching her play next year!
You for real on this? I'll post this again.
South Carolina = 14 of 15 five star recruits on the roster
Iowa = 1 of 15 five star recruits on the roster
The fact that Iowa was able to make that 2 year run, even with CC, is absolutely incredible given the talent discrepancy. You're way off base.
Iowa will slide some but adding Lucy Olsen, the 3rd leading scorer in the nation last year, will help considerably.
May I suggest finding something different to do with your time. Or just follow teams that almost always win so you don't have to whine about having no optimism or worse, having to deal with losses. You're welcome.
All I can say Is that Franwich deserves less and Bluder more. I am evaluating job offers away from the Hawkeye state but if I am still in the "corridor" I'd gladly watch the ladies. Men, umm no.
Not sure how anybody can't still be excited about this 2 year run of making the National championship game in womens basketball. Picking up Olsen yesterday was huge. Her, Stuelke and Affolter plus the incoming Freshman is enough to keep us a top 25 team and hopes of making a sweet 16 run again next year. Plus, Bluder's style of ball is just fun to watch. I'll admit I watched less mens basketball this year than I have in years. And while Iowa football has always been it for me I'll admit it just makes me angry now watching what we call an offense. The whole punting is winning thing is an actual embarrassment. What made the women's team so special obviously was Clark but also the fact that Bluder was smart enough to let her go and play free. I honestly can't watch another year of 12-10 and 9-6 games in football. Winning or not.
Hard to believe why some people watch sports at all isn’t it?
I look for football to be a push with a just slightly better offense and slightly worse defense.
Women’s basketball is looking great! Nice transfer pick up in Olsen and a solid nucleus returning. Blunder has built a culture of success.
I’m an outlier and very optimistic about men’s basketball. Love the top four of Freeman, Sandfort, Dix and Harding. I like the transfer pick up, just what we needed. How good we are will depend on the development of depth, but I see talent there.
Wrestling seems like same old same old.
Women’s basketball is looking great! Nice transfer pick up in Olsen and a solid nucleus returning. Blunder has built a culture of success.
I’m an outlier and very optimistic about men’s basketball. Love the top four of Freeman, Sandfort, Dix and Harding. I like the transfer pick up, just what we needed. How good we are will depend on the development of depth, but I see talent there.
Wrestling seems like same old same old.
I too look for at least a slightly better offense in football. On defense when I think we might take a bit of a step back, Phil proves me wrong.
Ditto on women's basketball.
Men's bball....I do like the players you mentioned and the guard we picked up looks like a good fit. My pessimism with the team is really with the coach and his style of play. Sure, I love the points but our defense is so bad that ANY game where our offense might struggle spells doom. We have had some REALLY good players go through here the past 5 to 7 years and not a bunch to show for it. To me that is coaching and Fran is not going to change.
Wrestling....needs a face lift if we want to start taking titles again.
Can’t be on wrestling….for many years, we were told by the football fans who were also huge wrestling fans than Tom B doesn’t accept mediocrity…
People really are stupid and say the absolute dumbest shit!
It was not that amazing…. You believe your attitude of the program is indicative of how apathetic the dan base is & just another attempt by you to throw shade at something you supposedly love….
But “your” thoughts and opinions aren’t indicative of much.
THAT is what is amazing 🤪
The title of the thread is how optimistic are you about Hawkeye sports this year. And it seems he’s with the majority of the people that are not optimistic about football. You’ve become a big women’s bball fan. Not only were we good, but we were fun. It was must see TV for the last 2 years. It’s ok to not like what’s happened to the football team offensively the last few years. The coaches son was fired because of it. We all love Iowa and our teams but watching total ineptitude on one side of the ball for a few years now and looking at what we have makes me not optimistic. It’s OK. He said still watch. But you’ve even said it’s hard. Quit trying to convince people to feel how you feel. You’re optimistic that’s ok as well.
Look you’re a good dude, but I have my own thoughts and agendas on here just like anybody else does….
I’m gonna ask you what you think the number one problem with society is… You can answer later and I’m going to tell you what I think it is right now.
Disingenuous people who have an Inability to empathize and understand the totality of how bad things actually could be and then how good they actually might already be, and then temper their expectations from there…
People who say they’d like the football team more if they just scored more, the wins aren’t important are liars….
There is no one on this board that would be super excited after 5 seasons of 6-6/7-5, where we average 50 points a game, it’s just a lie
Hence Men’s b-ball…..
As a result, they lie to themselves because they’re super passionate about what they “believe”, they think it’s easy, all KF has to do is turn a switch and now we have a better offense and now we're winning even more games…
Smarter people than them, know it’s Not a given.
And I’ll confess if and when we get to that point where we’re scoring 40-50 points a game and winning less games I will be here to remind him how “fun it is”….
I know you don’t like this attitude, but quite frankly, the one thing about the football team. I absolutely love. Is that defense and for those of you that can’t see far enough ahead to know this, once KF is gone that “Famous“ defense is gone…..
And I’ll be sad….
But I’ll be OK…,sometimes life does indeed give people what they’re asking for and it generally isn’t what they were thinking….🤓
The WBB season wouldn’t have been fun without the wins….😉
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Well, BF is gone and I liked a lot of what Lester had to say at his introduction. That right there is enough to give me a glimmer of hope that the offense could possibly improve.
I don't expect miracles overnight, but if the offense could get out of rankings in the 130s nationally and just get back into the double digits, that would do for a start.
So yeah, I'm more optimistic about this upcoming season than I had been for the previous couple. That's cautious optimism, though.
I don't expect miracles overnight, but if the offense could get out of rankings in the 130s nationally and just get back into the double digits, that would do for a start.
So yeah, I'm more optimistic about this upcoming season than I had been for the previous couple. That's cautious optimism, though.
Not sure what you mean by being disingenuous? Who’s being disingenuous? It seems the majority of people are not optimistic about football. We ended the season in a bowl game playing possibly as bad a game as I’ve seen Iowa play since Kirk got here. We struggled almost the entire season to get 1st downs. We’re good on one side of the ball and laughably bad on the other. Maybe it gets better. I’m not counting on it.
This is the thing people seem to miss with CC and why i do think she’s the GOAT
Look at the teams she beat. Yes they didn’t get over the hump two years in a row but what Iowa accomplished is almost unheard of in the women’s game.
UCONN, LSU, South Carolina…..these are teams that just steamroll the competition. Iowa beat all of them over the last two years….and in the tourney.
These teams are 5* across their roster. Iowa is middle of the pack for recruiting rankings. It’s not like Lisa became a much better coach. What changed was CC
If Iowa could have had a little more support on offense they probably really scare or beat SC. It was going to take CC going for 70 points to win that game. Even Jordan has elite level talent in college and pros
CC carried more weight than any player of her talent
Hilarious that you accuse people of being disingenuous and then post this crap.
There’s not a single person on this board who has claimed that completely changing up the program and going all-in on offense and scoring 50 points a game would fix everything. The biggest frustration from the entire Iowa fan base is that Iowa wasted three seasons of elite defense and special teams by fielding a complete dog sh*t Offense, not allowing them to compete with the elite teams like they should’ve been able to. If they had put up just a below average offense and not a nonexistent offense, they probably would have won some memorable high-level games. Instead, they didn’t, and were embarrassed in most of them. Add to that the fact that KF unapologetically had his dumba$$ kid in charge of said offense, adding to the frustration.
Enough of this sanctimonious act of yours. Your perspective is not nearly as superior to everyone else’s as you think it is.
