The D was exposed.
- Thread starter TonyTheTiger.1865
- Start date
While true that I did my undergrad and grad work at ISU, I have had kids graduate from both universities, and my son is finishing his last semester for undergrad at Iowa this fall. Not trying to be a troll, but follow both schools sports. My daughter played club soccer at Iowa, not D1, but they still travelled to play other schools and had a coach.
The guy who kicked the fumble out of bounds had nothing else to do except anticipate a fumble, he wasn't in the play. He saw his teammate make the tackle and kept running to help him up or something. The play was not over, he assumed it was over. Hell, last week we had 4 guys surrounding a muffed punt and they couldn't recover it. They aren't looking for it. The bullies of the big ten look like the Keystone Cops the first two weeks.
The record books don't care about your opinion of the schedule.
For those of us that do 1st grade math, it was 0-92 in the games I'm assuming you're referring to. Which means nothing other than 0-3.
It will get real ugly playing USC? Like when Iowa beat them 49-24 last time they played? Iowa will beat both Washington and UCLA this season. Hit me up if you care to wager against that
Do you ever have moments in your life when you aren't an asshole?
Making a conference championship game is a better season than not making it. Period. I guarantee you every member of the team feels this way.
As a result of making the title game at 10-2, you are going to play two more top notch opponents than the 9-3 team that didn't make the title game.
Again, I can guarantee the members of the team value a season in which they made the conference championship game more than a season in which they didn't. That's all that matters
Can’t always rely on the D all the time but X got wasted or was wasted on that play JHC
I do not agree with your assertion that making the conference championship is ALWAYS a better season than not making it, and I laid out facts to support it. You only offered up your opinion.
While players would rather make the title game than not (and I never said otherwise) when you look at a finished season’s results as a whole, playing in the conference championship game does not ALWAYS equate to a better season when compared to other seasons. Were the 2021 and 2023 teams “better” than the 2019 team? I think not.
That’s my opinion. Yours is different. Neither one can be “proven”.
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We don't get to decide what's important to the team.
And nobody was talking about better teams, just better seasons.
But since you brought it up, I'll take any team throughout time, and across sports, that has made the conference championship game, vs a like-era team that did not make the conference championship game, and roll with my chances
A few things that's been picked up on since the game last Saturday:
-Iowa's back 7 has a tendency to get a little overconfident at times, particularly Nwankpa, and that's part of what led to the 75 yd score. It was a double move by Noel, and Higgins was right that he should've shucked him more and that he flattened out once Noel made his first move.
Nwankpa then got caught flattening out as the safety on the second move, and Noel burned him.
If Nwankpa doesn't bite, because he thought Noel was breaking in and wanted to challenge him, then it becomes a jump ball at best.
Nwankpa got benched because he is taking too many chances like that, and it finally cost them.
-The one thing that hopefully doesn't stem from this is that the defense gets ultra cautious now, like we did on a couple drives after that, giving extra cushion to their receivers which allowed ISU to drive for the FG that made it 19-17.
They have to stay confident in their ability to make plays....but within the structure of the defense. You don't want your defense to start second-guessing itself, because that's definitely when the turnovers finally stop getting forced.
-Now for some IF's...........if T.J. Hall doesn't try to catch the ball, it gets broken up and ISU either has to go for it on 4th down, or settle for a FG on their first TD. Higgins basically took the ball away from him as they were falling down. That goes back to the overconfidence I was talking about.
IF Iowa plays a zone, instead of a man on the Noel wheel route, at the very least it doesn't go for 30 yards and allow them to kick a FG. We oddly went Man there and as we know, Castro just made a bad read on the play.
If Iowa plays zone (Cover 3 most likely), then that wheel route has to come with expected corner/safety help over the top, and we either are there to make the tackle, or perhaps even break up or pick the pass.
That is something I'll address about Phil right now.
-Phil, for as great as he is as a DC, can be got by opposing offenses. We've seen it numerous times throughout the last 3/4 years. 2021 Purdue, Michigan (granted......) and at the end of the Citrus Bowl against Kentucky. 2022 against Michigan (granted), down the stretch against Ohio State (granted.......) and against Nebraska (though injuries didn't help). 2023 against Penn State was just bad on both sides. The defense hadn't quite gelled yet with some of the new players, including Nick Jackson at LB, who you could tell was still learning some of his responsibilities in Norm's scheme. Just because you make plays, doesn't mean you aren't also making mistakes.....................just sayin, sports fans.
And of course there's the bowl game against Tennessee. Granted the offense was a no-call, no-show but the defense still got burned numerous times by Tennessee's athletes and their future star QB Wannahockaluggee (or something like that)............
When Phil's defense gets got....they stay "got", and there's little that Phil can do in terms of adjustments to flip the script.
That ended up being the case in the 2nd half against Iowa State. We got overconfident and they knew that, and burned us on it. We stopped getting to Becht with our pass rush, whether we were blitzing or not. We were giving up the sideline out routes and comebacks when that is THE most likely place a team will go against Phil's defense to get the ball out quickly against our pass rush and to keep their QB clean.
And this was especially egregious on their final drive, when all we needed to DO was protect the sidelines....which is why zone was the better play, than man coverage.
ISU figured out Phil's tendencies and our back 7's overconfidence and tendencies and exploited them at the right times, and we didn't have the foresight to adjust or expect that ourselves. You can give credit to Iowa State......but I don't want to.
This is the one reservation I have with Phil's defense when you try to argue Iowa's chances against anyone they could potentially face IF they did actually make a CFP.
The better teams will figure out Phil's defense and their tendencies , and then what.........more 35-0 and 42-3 routes in big games?
Yes, we need more of an offense (duh.....), but Iowa will never have an offense capable of winning a shootout with an Alabama or a Georgia or a Texas or peak Michigan and Ohio State. They have to be able to maintain their elite level of defensive play regardless of competition, and play the chess game that inevitably ensues in these high-level contests so that they/Phil don't end up "getting got" and Iowa goes from "so you're telling me there's a chance".........to 2016 Rose Bowl.
Point being, that's the learning experience this ISU game needs to serve as.......................and I wish Phil and staff all the best of luck in doing that and figuring it out, which would be the first time in recorded human history, and a sign that maybe Iowa actually could win a goddamn national f***ing championship, instead of just winning enough games to keep @eyesofhawk satisfied.
-Iowa's back 7 has a tendency to get a little overconfident at times, particularly Nwankpa, and that's part of what led to the 75 yd score. It was a double move by Noel, and Higgins was right that he should've shucked him more and that he flattened out once Noel made his first move.
Nwankpa then got caught flattening out as the safety on the second move, and Noel burned him.
If Nwankpa doesn't bite, because he thought Noel was breaking in and wanted to challenge him, then it becomes a jump ball at best.
Nwankpa got benched because he is taking too many chances like that, and it finally cost them.
-The one thing that hopefully doesn't stem from this is that the defense gets ultra cautious now, like we did on a couple drives after that, giving extra cushion to their receivers which allowed ISU to drive for the FG that made it 19-17.
They have to stay confident in their ability to make plays....but within the structure of the defense. You don't want your defense to start second-guessing itself, because that's definitely when the turnovers finally stop getting forced.
-Now for some IF's...........if T.J. Hall doesn't try to catch the ball, it gets broken up and ISU either has to go for it on 4th down, or settle for a FG on their first TD. Higgins basically took the ball away from him as they were falling down. That goes back to the overconfidence I was talking about.
IF Iowa plays a zone, instead of a man on the Noel wheel route, at the very least it doesn't go for 30 yards and allow them to kick a FG. We oddly went Man there and as we know, Castro just made a bad read on the play.
If Iowa plays zone (Cover 3 most likely), then that wheel route has to come with expected corner/safety help over the top, and we either are there to make the tackle, or perhaps even break up or pick the pass.
That is something I'll address about Phil right now.
-Phil, for as great as he is as a DC, can be got by opposing offenses. We've seen it numerous times throughout the last 3/4 years. 2021 Purdue, Michigan (granted......) and at the end of the Citrus Bowl against Kentucky. 2022 against Michigan (granted), down the stretch against Ohio State (granted.......) and against Nebraska (though injuries didn't help). 2023 against Penn State was just bad on both sides. The defense hadn't quite gelled yet with some of the new players, including Nick Jackson at LB, who you could tell was still learning some of his responsibilities in Norm's scheme. Just because you make plays, doesn't mean you aren't also making mistakes.....................just sayin, sports fans.
And of course there's the bowl game against Tennessee. Granted the offense was a no-call, no-show but the defense still got burned numerous times by Tennessee's athletes and their future star QB Wannahockaluggee (or something like that)............
When Phil's defense gets got....they stay "got", and there's little that Phil can do in terms of adjustments to flip the script.
That ended up being the case in the 2nd half against Iowa State. We got overconfident and they knew that, and burned us on it. We stopped getting to Becht with our pass rush, whether we were blitzing or not. We were giving up the sideline out routes and comebacks when that is THE most likely place a team will go against Phil's defense to get the ball out quickly against our pass rush and to keep their QB clean.
And this was especially egregious on their final drive, when all we needed to DO was protect the sidelines....which is why zone was the better play, than man coverage.
ISU figured out Phil's tendencies and our back 7's overconfidence and tendencies and exploited them at the right times, and we didn't have the foresight to adjust or expect that ourselves. You can give credit to Iowa State......but I don't want to.
This is the one reservation I have with Phil's defense when you try to argue Iowa's chances against anyone they could potentially face IF they did actually make a CFP.
The better teams will figure out Phil's defense and their tendencies , and then what.........more 35-0 and 42-3 routes in big games?
Yes, we need more of an offense (duh.....), but Iowa will never have an offense capable of winning a shootout with an Alabama or a Georgia or a Texas or peak Michigan and Ohio State. They have to be able to maintain their elite level of defensive play regardless of competition, and play the chess game that inevitably ensues in these high-level contests so that they/Phil don't end up "getting got" and Iowa goes from "so you're telling me there's a chance".........to 2016 Rose Bowl.
Point being, that's the learning experience this ISU game needs to serve as.......................and I wish Phil and staff all the best of luck in doing that and figuring it out, which would be the first time in recorded human history, and a sign that maybe Iowa actually could win a goddamn national f***ing championship, instead of just winning enough games to keep @eyesofhawk satisfied.
That’s right…you don’t get to decide what’s important to the team, like you did in post #88.
I inadvertently typed season instead of team. So sue me. I still maintain 2019 was a better season than 2021 and 2023. You don’t agree and that’s fine. Doesn’t mean you are right. But I’m sure you will pretend you are.
They needed one more 1st down and the running backs didn't try to gain yards. They fell down in the backfield. Any Iowa fan if being honest knew our defense would not stop a game winning FG drive.
Before the season started PP said that the secondary was his biggest concern. I agree with him.
