I don't necessarily disagree, but I also wouldn't necessarily be looking forward to watching Iowa be eviscerated on national TV in the BTCG. Would you?
Tuesdays With Torbee: Is Wisconsin a "must-win?"
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Again NONE of these Pac schools has been consistently good for a long stretch. Over the last decade Iowa has a better record the three of those 4 teams, hell maybe even USC, and thats with them playing in the Pac. I just don't see making a statement that Iowa will NEVER be able to compete. That makes NO sense. We are going to have a coaching change, sooner, rather then later. Its going o happen. People here seem convinced its going to be an upgrade. If thats true, the who knows what the ceiling is......
Must win? Nah.
Referendum? Maybe. Depends where your mindset is on Kirk and Brian at the moment.
Given the lack of good teams on the schedule, it is the last chance, at least in the regular season, to match up against a decent team. Even a close loss with the offense showing up with something like 225 yards and 2 TDs would be a positive step.
Referendum? Maybe. Depends where your mindset is on Kirk and Brian at the moment.
Given the lack of good teams on the schedule, it is the last chance, at least in the regular season, to match up against a decent team. Even a close loss with the offense showing up with something like 225 yards and 2 TDs would be a positive step.
Yes, we have been. Under the current circumstances with our current regime and the quickly changing landscape of college football do you feel it’s the same now? Do you think if we continue to play our current style of football we can consistently play with any of these top 6-7 teams anymore? Look at our last few games against Ohio St, Michigan (twice) and Penn St. USC while having a horrific defense will always average 40 pts a game under Riley, no matter who the QB is. The Pac 12 schools are now upgrading with money and prestige. We have the potential to stay a top program with the right coach. Great fanbase, great stadium and a pretty good 45 year history. But it’s not going to happen with the current coaches. Just my opinion.
Hopefully that three seasons actually means January of 2024.
Your just making my point. Your earlier post said, "after this year we'll never compete for a title again". Based on what? Will it be harder? Probably, but Never? As I said, we WILL have a coaching change, and its probably going to be fairly soon. Maybe not in the next year, but shortly. The consensus here is we CAN get the right guy. Okay then we should be able to compete with all the things you posted in your last statement, right? Even if USC becomes a big dog, doesn't mean their going to stay there either, long term. As for the other three Pac schools, they've had some good years, and some damn mediocre ones. As I already stated, the last decade NONE of those teams has won more then Iowa, and AGAIN Kirk's not going to be here for ever, so only time will tell. I'll just say this, when Iowa hired Fry I'll bet NO one thought we'd be competing for B1G titles, and the same in 1999 when some guy named Kirk got the job, and yet by 2002 were top 3 ranked and had a shot to play for a national title. Who knows what the next chapter will be......
I agree as Nebraska v. Wisconsin is at Camp Randall. While I can also see Minnesota coming up with a victory over one of Iowa or Wisconsin, I think it is unlikely that Minnesota will beat both of them this season. They will have Wisconsin at home but must play the Hawks in Iowa city.
Honestly. People getting so worked up about us having to beat highly ranked teams in the future B1G, saying we never will compete with them is ridiculous. We've been doing it for the better part of 45 years at a decent clip. We can all think of several big wins against top 5-10 teams over even just the last decade or so.
That's why the next hire is so important.
Wiscys schedule is arguably weaker than ours. They have 1 tough crossover. And it's OSU at home. Iowa has to win this game to win the west.by:Tory Brecht•about 1 hour•
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Photo by Jeffrey Becker, USA TODAY Sports.
Iowa’s upcoming game against the Wisconsin Badgers inside a hostile Camp Randall isn’t a “must-win” by any conventional metric. It may, however, fit in that category in terms of fan goodwill.
Despite its 5-1 record and two-game winning streak engineered by flawed-but-game backup quarterback Deacon Hill, a large contingent of the black and gold fan base remains agitated, irritable and dissatisfied.
The old cliché states winning cures all ills, but in Iowa City at least, winning ugly doesn’t.
Although Iowa never really looked as if it might lose to Purdue last week, a late offensive stall out, some questionable play calling on third-and-short and a quick strike touchdown from the Boilermakers made the 20-14 victory feel more precarious than it needed to be.
It didn’t help that Hill, in his first start, was erratic and uncomfortable most of the day. It also didn’t help that wide receivers caught a total of zero balls (although they were targeted seven times, or on one-third of Hill’s attempts.) The offense, statistically, was better and the running game was – dare we say it – a legitimate weapon. But enough warts remain to keep Iowa fans cagey and skeptical.
I believe the only way to truly get fans back on board is for the Hawkeyes to find a way to win against the last remaining good team on its schedule this weekend. Win in Madison – ugly or not – control your Big 10 Championship Game destiny and the bandwagon will start filling up again.
It’s a tall, but not impossible task.
Iowa has won two out of its last three games against the Badgers, including last year’s relatively comfortable 24-10 victory inside Kinnick Stadium.
Over those three games, the Badgers have averaged just over 14 points a game. Iowa, by contrast, has averaged just under 13 points in those three tilts.
The path to victory, as it has been over the past several offensively challenged seasons, is to claw out an early lead, then use a suffocating defense and killer special teams to secure the win. Iowa could not achieve this against an uber-talented Penn State team, but I believe Wisconsin talent-wise is much closer to the Hawkeyes.
Lost in the hand wringing over Deacon Hill’s bad day and a handful of missed scoring attempts against Purdue is that Iowa shored up a couple prior weaknesses.
A defensive line that couldn’t generate sacks across its first five games pummeled the Boilermakers’ quarterback six times. The running game got on track with 181 yards highlighted by Kaleb Johnson’s impressive 8.6 yards per carry – and that was into a stacked box because of the passing game woes.
Wisconsin’s defense will present a much bigger challenge than Purdue’s, but if Iowa can get production on the ground, it can find a way to put up points. What must change is Iowa’s third-down production. The Hawkeyes were a woeful 3 of 13 on third down last Saturday. If the Hawkeyes don’t find a way to convert a few more against Bucky, a win will be very difficult to achieve.
Iowa’s last road game in Happy Valley was an unmitigated disaster and did much to set the sour tone that is lingering in the fan base, despite wins piling up. It doesn’t help that both the Michigan State and Purdue games were uncomfortable, white-knuckle affairs at times.
Unfortunately, nearly every Iowa-Wisconsin game plays out as an uncomfortable, white-knuckle affair and there is no reason to believe that won’t once again be the case this Saturday in Madison.
What will be tested is this Iowa team’s resiliency. Thus far, outside of one rainy night in Pennsylvania, this patchwork team has shown the heart and grit to grind out ugly wins.
Do that again this coming Saturday and the heat on the coaching staff will be significantly turned down. If the Hawkeyes flail and fail on offense and drop this game in ugly fashion, the heat will be turned way, way up.
Saturday against Wisconsin may not be a must-win. However, it needs to be competitive and somehow show that Iowa’s relatively gaudy record isn’t fraudulent. The opportunity exists for the Hawkeyes to shift the negative narrative. Here’s hoping they find that path on the road.
Follow me on Twitter @ToryBrecht and the 12 Saturdays Podcast @12Saturdays.
The game last year has nothing to do with this year. #1 Graham Mertz is gone, literally single handedly lost that game. Wisconsin comes in ranking 28th on rushing yards allowed per game, Iowa in at 56th. Passing yards per game, Wisky in at 99th , while Iowa comes in at 29th.
Iowa will absolutely have to get Eric All going early for them to stand a chance at this game. The passing game will have to open up a bit, so hopefully the early game jitters are shaken off from the Hilldozer.
Iowa will absolutely have to get Eric All going early for them to stand a chance at this game. The passing game will have to open up a bit, so hopefully the early game jitters are shaken off from the Hilldozer.
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