The Road To Indianapolis

[mrF6n6]

the last time Iowa beat Indiana... they went to Indianapolis.
Indiana has 2 big wins over Virginia and Rutgers...
I've heard that Indiana played Ohio State very well.... despite giving up 49 points.

so far this season, I really like what I am seeing from this Iowa Hawkeye football team... with the exemption of all the mistakes they are making... I suspect they will improve in this area and blossom into a great football team... but they have to prove it at Indiana.

like Dallas Clark said... "there are some dudes on this team"
and he's right... all the pieces are there.
talent is not an issue with this team.

whats interesting is... Wisconsin is playing at Michigan this weekend.
I'm not high on Harbaugh.... however... he's not a bad coach... and this is not a bad team...
imo, they have a chance to pull off a miracle win against Wisconsin.

consider this fact:
there are 2 undefeated teams in the Big Ten East...
Michigan is one of them.
they are in a great position to have a special season.
regardless of what happens beyond the Wisconsin game... they have a big opportunity in front of them to do something really memorable.

Michigan did lose to Wisconsin last year.... and have lost 3 of the last 4 games against them...
but... they did beat Wisconsin 2 years ago.... so there is hope... there is a possibility.
-----------
lets say Michigan does pull off the miracle win against Wisconsin...
and Iowa pulls off a big victory against Indiana...

that would put both Iowa and Wisconsin at 1 loss a piece.
now... what will make it very interesting and very exciting moving forward is the fact that Wisconsin has to play at Northwestern
at Penn State
and at Purdue

of those 3 games... even though its very unlikely... there remains a slim possibility that Wisconsin has a slip up....

and if Wisconsin should slip up just one more time... that would put Iowa in Prime Position to win the West.

it would be a miracle of miracles... but I believe in miracles.

 

[Hawkfan_in_GoopherLand]

the last time Iowa beat Indiana... they went to Indianapolis.
Indiana has 2 big wins over Virginia and Rutgers...
I've heard that Indiana played Ohio State very well.... despite giving up 49 points.

so far this season, I really like what I am seeing from this Iowa Hawkeye football team... with the exemption of all the mistakes they are making... I suspect they will improve in this area and blossom into a great football team... but they have to prove it at Indiana.

like Dallas Clark said... "there are some dudes on this team"
and he's right... all the pieces are there.
talent is not an issue with this team.

whats interesting is... Wisconsin is playing at Michigan this weekend.
I'm not high on Harbaugh.... however... he's not a bad coach... and this is not a bad team...
imo, they have a chance to pull off a miracle win against Wisconsin.

consider this fact:
there are 2 undefeated teams in the Big Ten East...
Michigan is one of them.
they are in a great position to have a special season.
regardless of what happens beyond the Wisconsin game... they have a big opportunity in front of them to do something really memorable.

Michigan did lose to Wisconsin last year.... and have lost 3 of the last 4 games against them...
but... they did beat Wisconsin 2 years ago.... so there is hope... there is a possibility.
-----------
lets say Michigan does pull off the miracle win against Wisconsin...
and Iowa pulls off a big victory against Indiana...

that would put both Iowa and Wisconsin at 1 loss a piece.
now... what will make it very interesting and very exciting moving forward is the fact that Wisconsin has to play at Northwestern
at Penn State
and at Purdue

of those 3 games... even though its very unlikely... there remains a slim possibility that Wisconsin has a slip up....

and if Wisconsin should slip up just one more time... that would put Iowa in Prime Position to win the West.

it would be a miracle of miracles... but I believe in miracles.

I stopped reading when you said Michigan was undefeated this season. Then you said them beating Wisconsin would be a miracle....come on man

 

[tvandam]

Michigan beating Wisconsin is far from a miracle. Michigan only loss is to Notre Dame which is on a path to the CFP

 

[MeetTheFerentz]

Someone went with the double shot of espresso this morning.

 

[DodgerHawki]

I stopped reading when you said Michigan was undefeated this season. Then you said them beating Wisconsin would be a miracle....come on man

Yes it is commonly a miracle when a team favored by 8 points -- playing at home -- ends up winning the game. Do you believe in miracles?

 

[SDHawkDoc]

scUM can beat wisky. And it would not be a big upset.
Although that would give the Hawks a shot, it won't be enough. wisky is very unlikely to lose more than 2 league games. Iowa is likely to lose at least 2. Unless there's some sort of bizzaro tiebreaker with Iowa getting a nod in a three way tie at the top, Hawks won't be playing in indy this year.

 

[ANYCHawk]

I think you take 80 to 74

 

[Kaiser_Soze]

UM is an 8 pt fave last I looked, so hardly be a miracle if they beat WI. Would be expected. WI could lose 2-3 games this year. They are not that good. I expect UM to beat them rather handily.

 

[SconnieAlum]

Wisconsin is not good. I think the wheels come off for them and Iowa wins the west.

Michigan over Wisconsin as a miracle? Gtfo

 

[H4wkfan4life]

I don't understand people thinking about heading to the championship game and then worrying about getting a "big" win vs IN.
I realize we've seen Iowa lose games they shouldn't and win game they shouldn't many times, but cmon.
If this is a team worthy of going to the championship, then IN shouldn't be a problem for them.....

 

[Hawkfan_in_GoopherLand]

I don't understand people thinking about heading to the championship game and then worrying about getting a "big" win vs IN.
I realize we've seen Iowa lose games they shouldn't and win game they shouldn't many times, but cmon.
If this is a team worthy of going to the championship, then IN shouldn't be a problem for them.....

Was Indiana a problem in 2015?
Was Indiana a problem in 2009?

 

[o2bahawk]

I stopped reading when he said Indiana has two big wins - one of which he claimed was Rutgers

 

[tvandam]

I stopped reading when he said Indiana has two big wins - one of which he claimed was Rutgers

LOL I skipped over that part

 

[iahawks10]

Was Indiana a problem in 2015?
Was Indiana a problem in 2009?

I was at both of those games and neither were easy to say the least.

2009: IU was up 21-7 at the half and Stanzi had what felt like 25 INTs. Tyler Sash took a 90+ yd INT back to the house for what was described as “trick or treat Iowa City!!!” One of the most memorable plays I’ll ever see simply because of its timing of the game and who made it. Iowa finally got its act together and opened up the play book to DJK and McNutt. They went on to cruise 42-24. Oddly, of that 2009 season, the IU game is one of the most memorable behind G Tech and MSU.

2015: Iowa controlled the game, but really never put it away. Hawks were even down at one point until taking the lead back, right before half. Beathard’s leap for the goal line was awesome, but possibly a half inch from being a touchback. The Hawk fans were loud on IU’s final drive and the “Let’s go Hawks” chant leaving the stadium echoed loudly through Memorial Stadium. It was pretty amazing.

Iowa and Indiana always seem to have some great games. Antwan Randle-El can rot in hell too.

 

[Pepperman]

Antwan Randle-El can rot in hell too.

Preach, brother. This was a great sermon with the proper ending that I quoted above.

 

[DodgerHawki]

scUM can beat wisky. And it would not be a big upset.
Although that would give the Hawks a shot, it won't be enough. wisky is very unlikely to lose more than 2 league games. Iowa is likely to lose at least 2. Unless there's some sort of bizzaro tiebreaker with Iowa getting a nod in a three way tie at the top, Hawks won't be playing in indy this year.

It's a long shot. For kicks and giggles, if Iowa wins every game but @PSU and goes 7-2, that would mean Wisconsin would have to lose 3 of their road games (at Michigan, at Northwestern, @ Penn State and @ Purdue. Or if not lose 3, then lose 2 of them and have a 3-way tie with say Northwestern at 7-2. It's not out of the realm of possibility of that happening. NU is 2-1 in league, and will be favored in all games other than home vs. Wisconsin and at Iowa.

 

[hexumhawk]

I think Michigan wins this weekend. I just dont think Wisky is that good, we had our shot to beat them and blew it so our own fault.

Think at IU is going to be a tough one; I think we are better but we have to play the game and show up ready to go.

 

[HawkIDrummer]

Voted No. This team won't win in Happy Valley and Wisconsin isn't gonna lose 3 more.

 

[iahawks10]

I think Michigan wins this weekend. I just dont think Wisky is that good, we had our shot to beat them and blew it so our own fault.

Think at IU is going to be a tough one; I think we are better but we have to play the game and show up ready to go.

Wisconsin out Iowa’d Iowa. Played mistake free football and took advantage of the other teams miscues. The similarities between the two programs is scary.

 

[markfromj]

I think Wisconsin loses twice but we don’t run the table.

 

[H4wkfan4life]

Was Indiana a problem in 2015?
Was Indiana a problem in 2009?

what do 2 games 3 and 9 years ago have to do with a game this weekend?
and what do they have to do with talk about playing in a championship but being afraid of IN? If we aren't good enough to beat them, we have no business in the championship game.

 

[iowa12]

I’ll make this easy. If iowa somehow gets out of indy with a win, the new yrs bowl game will deliver kf an ass whooping...Stanford style. Have fun with the pillow fighting before that

 

[H4wkfan4life]

I’ll make this easy. If iowa somehow gets out of indy with a win, the new yrs bowl game will deliver kf an ass whooping...Stanford style. Have fun with the pillow fighting before that

Sweet, so we just need to win saturday and we're guaranteed a new years bowl! Awesome!

 

[Dick Rambone]

Iowa is beat up in the secondary and Indiana is pretty good throwing the ball. Iowa always seems to lose a game or two a year they are favored and have more talent, I don't see Iowa beating both Indiana and Maryland , but boy I hope they do. Penn State game would be a biggy then , really big.

 

[Hawktimism]

I’ll make this easy. If iowa somehow gets out of indy with a win, the new yrs bowl game will deliver kf an ass whooping...Stanford style. Have fun with the pillow fighting before that

Gosh you bastards are salty about 0-5. Byyyyyyyyyyeeeee

 

[Hawktimism]

I don't know if Iowa can or will run the table. But I think they could... and I think if they do they will go to Indy, because Wisconsin isn't beating Mich or PSU. Wisconsin is not that good. If Iowa runs the table... they will have proven they belong in the conversation.

 

[BioHawk]

Wisconsin will lose this weekend. I won't start thinking about plans for Indianapolis unless Iowa doesn't lose again and beats Penn State. Wisconsin also plays Penn State so the possibility does exist for 2 more losses on Wisconsin's schedule. But we have to take care of business ourselves.

 

[Gridiron24]

Our only road to Indy is if Wisconsin loses to Penn State & Michigan, and we win out. A loss to Penn State eliminates us in the West, too, because of the tiebreaker with Wisconsin.

 

[SlabHawk]

I posted this in the lounge. Really only path that Iowa now gets to Indy is if they finish with one less loss than Wisconsin. They lose most (if not all) tie-breakers...

Iowa 7 - 2 (if losses were to Wisconsin and Penn St)
Northwestern 7 - 2 (if losses were to Michigan and Iowa)
Wisconsin 7 - 2 (if losses were to Northwestern and either Penn St or Michigan)

BIG TEN TIE BREAKER RULES:
The following procedure will determine the representative from each division in the event of a tie:

(a) If two teams are tied, the winner of the game between the two tied teams shall be the representative.

In this scenario, move to b) as they all beat each other

(b) If three or more teams are tied, steps 1 through 8 will be followed until a determination is made. If only two teams remain tied after any step (or sub-step), the winner of the game between the two tied teams shall be the representative. If three or more teams remain tied after any step, move to next step in tiebreaker with remaining tied teams.

1. The records of the three tied teams will be compared against each other. = SAME (7 - 2)

2. The records of the three tied teams will be compared within their division. = SAME (5 - 1)

3. The records of the three teams will be compared against the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish (4, 5, 6, and 7). = SAME (4 - 0)
(a) When arriving at a group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team's record against the collective tied teams as a group, rather than record against the individual teams.

4. The records of the three teams will be compared against all common conference opponents.
Scenario 1:
Northwestern would have beaten MSU and Rutgers, lost to Michigan
Wisconsin would have beaten Michigan, Rutgers, lost to Penn St
Iowa would have beaten Indiana, Maryland, lost to Penn St
NW is eliminated in this scenario as it lost to Michigan, who Wisconsin beat. Tiebreaker reverts back to head to head which had WI beating Iowa. WI goes to Indy.

Scenario 2:
Northwestern beats MSU and Rutgers, lost to Michigan
Wisconsin beats Penn St, Rutgers, loses to Michigan
Iowa beats Indiana, Maryland, loses to Penn St
Iowa is eliminated as it lost to Penn St but Wisconsin beat them. Northwestern goes to Indy as the tiebreaker reverts back to head to head (NW beat WI).

Scenario 3: - Iowa Beats Penn St but loses to a different east foe
Northwestern beats MSU and Rutgers, lost to Michigan
Wisconsin beats Michigan, Rutgers, loses to Penn St
Iowa beats Penn St, Maryland, loses to Indiana
Would Iowa go to Indy since it is 1 - 0 against common opponents? NW and WI are 1 - 1? Not sure about that since there isn't 1 common opponent of ALL 3 teams.

Scenario 4:
Purdue is the only other team that could likely even challenge 7 - 2 but I see no realistic way Iowa goes with a 3 way tie of WI, Iowa, and Purdue either due to that head to head loss to WI. Either Iowa or Purdue would have 2 Big Ten West losses at that point which eliminates one of them, reverting back to head to head with Wisconsin.

5. The best cumulative conference winning percentage of non-divisional opponents.
(a) Example: East 1 non-divisional opponents are 20-7, East 2 non-divisional opponents are 19-8, East 3 non-divisional opponents are 14-13 - East 1 would be the representative.
Iowa would likely lose this one due to Maryland and Indiana's end of the year big ten record, even if Rutgers loses all 9, Michigan and Penn St as opponents probably give Wisconsin the nod here too.
6. The records of the three teams will be compared against the highest placed non-divisional teams in their division order of finish (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7).

(a) When arriving at a group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team's record against the collective tied teams as a group, rather than record against the individual teams.

(b) When comparing records against a single team or a group of teams, the record will prevail, even if the number of games played against the team or group are unequal (i.e. 1-0 is better than 0-0, 2-0 is better than 1-0, etc.)

7. The team with the best overall winning percentage [excluding exempted games] shall be the representative.

8. The representative will be chosen by random draw.

Moral of the story, Hawks just win and it will be a nice January trip.

 

[Ray Kinsella]

Preach, brother. This was a great sermon with the proper ending that I quoted above.

Saw him play in 2001 when Iowa won 42-28. I think he was the greatest college player I've seen play in person, at least as far as Iowa opponents are concerned.

 

[Harbinger273]

This team is going to show what's it's safe of again on the road this week. Won't be easy, but we certainly can win this game. I also think we are more than capable of beating Maryland at home and everyone other team. A lot depends on how our hodgepodge LB corps can perform sans 2 starters.