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The national media has a hard time with Iowa…

cmhawks99

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Jul 23, 2002
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And have for several years. Seemingly basketball and football both. I don’t like giving fuel to the local message board critics but the reality is they are a very, very tough team to understand.

Kirk Ferentz and staff are highly thought of and appreciated among all circles yet we notoriously piss down our legs a couple times a year. Now to be fair that’s not just an “Iowa thing” but I’ve noticed over the last several years they really struggle to pick Iowa to win the west…

If I understood the article I just read correctly. Iowa got the third most votes behind Wisconsin and Minnesota. And I get it, I’m not upset about it. But I assure you Minnesota doesn’t have more talent than we do and I’d be shocked if Wisconsin did!

Which always leaves us in this very weird; highly respected, yet never really counted on place in the college football landscape.

It’s quite bizarre to listen to broadcasts and hear them routinely rave about Iowa and their staff, yet Wisconsin with quarterback issues & Minnesota with quarterback issues are the favorites over them to win the West!

It’s super strange to be a fan of this team! Even this year I’ve been a little nervous because we’ve heaped so much praise on them and they’ve got a lot of individual and team defensive accolades. Yet at the same point in time are barely in the top 25 in most polls… Which should bode well for us but… It’s strange, very strange!
 
Some of Minnesota being placed above Iowa may boil down to the perception of strength of schedule. Iowa getting Michigan and @OSU for crossovers, rodents playing @ MSU and @ PSU, and getting Ibrahim back. That being said, I think Iowa has a better chance of splitting Michigan and @ OSU than the rodents do @ Sparty and @PSU. And to say nothing of the fact Iowa gets Wisconsin at home, where Minny goes to Madison, and a salty Wisconsin team over being denied the B1G Championship appearance at their hands last year.
 
I know the offense needs a lot of work, but we got to have a more solid defense against Purdue. They Tecmo bowl us with their offense. It is maddening knowing what we have and how they usually play.

Yes complete defensive breakdowns against Purdue multiple times. Really hard to understand and yet Purdue like us then goes along and pisses away games against somebody else just like Wisconsin has started to do themselves…very very weird
 
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There is a very sizeable talent gap between Wisconsin and Iowa. Using the talent composite for 2021 there is a bigger talent gap between Wisconsin and Iowa than between Iowa and Rutgers.

I use a very simple formula, how many players are you putting in the NFL. Iowa last I knew was in the top 15 or 18 in the country and getting more talented by the year
 
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Watching Charlie Jones torch us for 9 catches, 170 yards, and 3 TDs is really going to sting.
David Bell was great and all, but it’s like PP used one of his paid vacation days and checked out the night before. Bell had no business being as wide open as he was.

That was easily the most poorly-planned and poorly-executed game of 2021. Even more so than the Michigan laugher.
 
Yes complete defensive breakdowns against Purdue multiple times. Really hard to understand and yet Purdue like us then goes along and pisses away games against somebody else just like Wisconsin has started to do themselves…very very weird

To me it’s as simple as Brohm being one of the very few coaches who is willing to scratch where it itches and take the short passes the Iowa defense is willing to allow. Most coaches and offenses aren’t that patient.
 
I know the offense needs a lot of work, but we got to have a more solid defense against Purdue. They Tecmo bowl us with their offense. It is maddening knowing what we have and how they usually play.
Yet they and those others seemingly only end up scoring 24-27 pts. You can't let the offense off the hook just because we've grown to not expect much from that side of the ball.
 
Wisconsin has had a better running game and a little bit better offensive line than us. Everything else is a mirror image of Iowa.

Agreed! With that said as long as this defense comes ready to play and they typically do. This will be a very good season!

It will completely depend on how opportunistic we are and how much our offensive line and running game has improved!
 
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2-8 vs WI the past 10 meetings. That is why.
Really then why to many of these polls have Minny ahead of Iowa? One I saw had is fifth or 6th in the WEST and going 4-5 in BIG play! Ridiculous. The guy said our defense would be GOOD again. Seriously? Good? You think....
 
And have for several years. Seemingly basketball and football both. I don’t like giving fuel to the local message board critics but the reality is they are a very, very tough team to understand.

Kirk Ferentz and staff are highly thought of and appreciated among all circles yet we notoriously piss down our legs a couple times a year. Now to be fair that’s not just an “Iowa thing” but I’ve noticed over the last several years they really struggle to pick Iowa to win the west…

If I understood the article I just read correctly. Iowa got the third most votes behind Wisconsin and Minnesota. And I get it, I’m not upset about it. But I assure you Minnesota doesn’t have more talent than we do and I’d be shocked if Wisconsin did!

Which always leaves us in this very weird; highly respected, yet never really counted on place in the college football landscape.

It’s quite bizarre to listen to broadcasts and hear them routinely rave about Iowa and their staff, yet Wisconsin with quarterback issues & Minnesota with quarterback issues are the favorites over them to win the West!

It’s super strange to be a fan of this team! Even this year I’ve been a little nervous because we’ve heaped so much praise on them and they’ve got a lot of individual and team defensive accolades. Yet at the same point in time are barely in the top 25 in most polls… Which should bode well for us but… It’s strange, very strange!
Wisconsin has a little more talent then Iowa. They recruit a little better and have had a few more players drafted. In my view losing to Wisconsin 5-6 times out of 10 is forgivable, 2-8 is unacceptable.
Losing to NW and Purdue has been maddening because we typically have the better roster.

On the flip side winning 7 in a row against Minnesota and Nebraska is very impressive and mitigates the loses to NW and Purdue.
 
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Yet they and those others seemingly only end up scoring 24-27 pts. You can't let the offense off the hook just because we've grown to not expect much from that side of the ball.
Purdue scored 24 points last game. Petras and the Iowa offense were brutal that day. Gained a grand total of 271 yards with 4 turnovers, all interceptions by Petras. He had a QBR of 18. Gave up 4 sacks and 8 TFL's.
 
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Purdue scored 24 points last game. Petras and the Iowa offense were brutal that day. Gained a grand total of 271 yards with 4 turnovers, all interceptions by Petras. He had a QBR of 18. Gave up 4 sacks and 8 TFL's.
That's just what I mean. Yet Phil still gets roasted, while everyone is just so used to our horrible offensive play that it hardly rates a comment.
 
A big difference is that Brohm normally has 2-4 quarterbacks on his sideline that have been as good and normally better than anyone Iowa has. Also, running a sophisticated offense with able playcallers seems to matter.
 
And have for several years. Seemingly basketball and football both. I don’t like giving fuel to the local message board critics but the reality is they are a very, very tough team to understand.

Kirk Ferentz and staff are highly thought of and appreciated among all circles yet we notoriously piss down our legs a couple times a year. Now to be fair that’s not just an “Iowa thing” but I’ve noticed over the last several years they really struggle to pick Iowa to win the west…

If I understood the article I just read correctly. Iowa got the third most votes behind Wisconsin and Minnesota. And I get it, I’m not upset about it. But I assure you Minnesota doesn’t have more talent than we do and I’d be shocked if Wisconsin did!

Which always leaves us in this very weird; highly respected, yet never really counted on place in the college football landscape.

It’s quite bizarre to listen to broadcasts and hear them routinely rave about Iowa and their staff, yet Wisconsin with quarterback issues & Minnesota with quarterback issues are the favorites over them to win the West!

It’s super strange to be a fan of this team! Even this year I’ve been a little nervous because we’ve heaped so much praise on them and they’ve got a lot of individual and team defensive accolades. Yet at the same point in time are barely in the top 25 in most polls… Which should bode well for us but… It’s strange, very strange!
We have major issues with our Offensive offense. A fairly chronic thing.
 
They scored 24 points and Petras threw 4 picks.

And they fumbled through the end zone from the 1 yard line.
464 yards offense
24 first downs
Bell 240 yds receiving
O'Connell was 30-40 for 375
They had a 9:40 TOP advantage.
Iowa had zero answers for anything Purdue did. Three different QBs moved the ball for them.

And Bell had his way all three games against Iowa.
 
And have for several years. Seemingly basketball and football both. I don’t like giving fuel to the local message board critics but the reality is they are a very, very tough team to understand.

Kirk Ferentz and staff are highly thought of and appreciated among all circles yet we notoriously piss down our legs a couple times a year. Now to be fair that’s not just an “Iowa thing” but I’ve noticed over the last several years they really struggle to pick Iowa to win the west…

If I understood the article I just read correctly. Iowa got the third most votes behind Wisconsin and Minnesota. And I get it, I’m not upset about it. But I assure you Minnesota doesn’t have more talent than we do and I’d be shocked if Wisconsin did!

Which always leaves us in this very weird; highly respected, yet never really counted on place in the college football landscape.

It’s quite bizarre to listen to broadcasts and hear them routinely rave about Iowa and their staff, yet Wisconsin with quarterback issues & Minnesota with quarterback issues are the favorites over them to win the West!

It’s super strange to be a fan of this team! Even this year I’ve been a little nervous because we’ve heaped so much praise on them and they’ve got a lot of individual and team defensive accolades. Yet at the same point in time are barely in the top 25 in most polls… Which should bode well for us but… It’s strange, very strange!
I’d pick the same way this year if I was a member of the media- schedule. Since I’m not, I expect us to win every game until proven otherwise.

however it shapes up, ya can almost be certain going into the final weeks it will be wispy/Iowa/+1 other….same as it always is
 
And they fumbled through the end zone from the 1 yard line.
464 yards offense
24 first downs
Bell 240 yds receiving
O'Connell was 30-40 for 375
They had a 9:40 TOP advantage.
Iowa had zero answers for anything Purdue did. Three different QBs moved the ball for them.

And Bell had his way all three games against Iowa.
Iowa prides itself on “bend don’t break defense” Offense was pathetic that day.
 
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Purdue scored 24 points last game. Petras and the Iowa offense were brutal that day. Gained a grand total of 271 yards with 4 turnovers, all interceptions by Petras. He had a QBR of 18. Gave up 4 sacks and 8 TFL's.
Giving Michigan a blue print for how to use its superior Edge rusher to kill Iowa.

0 interceptions and it would have been a much closer game.
 
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Purdue scored 24 points last game. Petras and the Iowa offense were brutal that day. Gained a grand total of 271 yards with 4 turnovers, all interceptions by Petras. He had a QBR of 18. Gave up 4 sacks and 8 TFL's.
Agreed but it’s maddening when no one could cover David Bell.
 
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