Upon Further Review
Mike Zierath | Staff writer
The Iowa run game is a topic in this weeks Upon Futher Review.
Just when you think you’ve got something figured out, you don’t.
How many of you realize that half of the preseason top 25 is no longer ranked. Half! Okay, not half, 12. Close enough. Polls are a necessary evil in college football. They tell us who’s good and who isn’t. They give us hope. As long as your team appears on the ranking, they make you feel good. All they really do is create conversation. They are just for fun and, more often than not, they aren’t worth the paper they are written on, obviously.
The other thing they do is help create one of the greatest entertainment environments on the entire face of the planet. It would, I dare say, rival that of Soccer in Europe. College Football fans are as diehard as European Football fans in my opinion. They have the tradition, the pomp and circumstance, the game day environment and the camaraderie that allows all of us to become one. Has anyone ever forgotten the first time they walked into the bowl of their favorite college football stadium, found their seat and watched their favorite team play and win? Or lose…..either way, I doubt they have. I haven’t. It was at Camp Randall, much like Torbee. I didn’t have to convert though, I was always a Hawkeye living in Badgerville.
College Football has become a weekly playoff. It isn’t about playing a 16 game schedule, finishing 8-8, making the playoffs and finding a way to roll through those same playoffs and win a Super Bowl. It’s about winning the week, which allows you to be in the conversation the following week. College Football was great before the College Football Playoff format was introduced to the fans, but now, it’s what makes college football so much more interesting than any professional sport available to us on a daily basis. I know not everyone will agree with that, but I like to keep things simple. And in my simple mind, that’s how it works.
Quick review:
The best team in the land beat their eastern rival like a boy with beating his drum. Alabama put their foot on the gas, and then put their foot on the throat, of Tennessee, and ended their chances at being Cinderella. Just like they have so many others the past seven years. Now comes their next conquest, the Aggies of Texas A&M. My sleeper team in the SEC. A team that has balance, has a formidable offensive line, speed and will beat nearly all other opponents that come before them. But not this week. Not against the Saban led dynasty that the Tide have become. I will say this, the loser still has a shot at making it to the CFP.
The ACC just about had an upset. I got the opportunity to watch this play out while I watched the Hawkeyes allow Purdue back into the contest they so securely had in hand. Clemson never had anything in hand. Matter of fact, if the NC State kicker hadn’t missed his second field goal as time ran out, Clemson would be in the group of one loss teams that proliferate the college football landscape. North Carolina coming back after being beaten by Virginia Tech was a nice surprise. Speaking of Virginia Tech, they wouldn’t know a silver platter if you handed them one. Heck, they were holding one, all they had to do was take care of business, and they couldn’t. Louisville is back in action this week against a very solid NC State. I think the Cardinals take care of the Wolfpack.
The Big 12 championship will go through Morgantown, WV. That’s right. The Mountaineers are undefeated. TCU comes to town this weekend. W. Virginia has found a way to play some defense, which is missing in most Big 12 towns. Baylor and Oklahoma still have to go to, and come out of Morgantown as well. The one that comes out unscathed will likely be the Big 12 Champion.
The Apple Cup might actually mean something this year. For those of you who don’t know what that is, well, look it up. It’s as big as Iowa vs ISU, Oklahoma vs OSU, FSU vs Florida and UCLA vs USC. In the Pacific Northwest, it’s huge. The Huskies have the upper hand in the Pac 12 North right now, but if the Cougs continue to take care of business like they have the last four weeks, the Apple Cup will mean something. In the South, the dragon woke up. That dragon lives in Los Angeles, and I’m not referring to the Dodgers……The USC Trojans are playing with a purpose. They still have to catch and surpass Utah, but they have looked more like the them we thought they would be.
The Big Ten West is still up for grabs. Nebraska continues to win with Touchdown Tommy. Wisconsin looks like a team that has run the tough part of the schedule and could win out. Iowa is still searching for an identity. With the Badgers invading Iowa City this weekend, it comes down to an elimination game of sorts. Win and you are still in. Lose, well, you’re playing for pride if you lose. The East is a two horse race and will likely come down to the last weekend of the Big Ten season. There will be a huge build up if both Michigan and OSU are still undefeated when they meet, which goes without saying.
My CFP Final four, if it were today: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington. No change from last week. Louisville and Michigan are still the teams with the inside track of somehow joining that club.
Can we discuss the Iowa game for a second? I’ve seen some very good analogy about what it is going to take for Iowa to win. People aren’t wrong in what they believe. Run the ball, control the clock, eliminate turnovers, basically, play Iowa football. On defense, Iowa is going to have to do all those things that Wisconsin will be trying to do. Stop the run, control first and second down and create turnovers. Do those six things and Iowa probably wins the game.
If Wisconsin can take away first and second down, putting Iowa in 3rd and long, Iowa has no proven commodity to throw the ball to. On top of that, Wisconsin will be blitzing all day, which Iowa has struggled with at times this season. Guys, and Gals, Iowa has not shown that they can handle this kind of pressure from a good football team yet this year. I don’t anticipate that they will handle it on Saturday either.
That’s not to say that Iowa hasn’t shown signs of coming around. They have been able to formulate a run game, even with a patchwork offensive line most of the season. They have not, however, with the exception of one game, put together what I would consider a complete game. Today, PFF came out with a poll today that showed Iowa had the #1 offensive line in the country. I don’t agree, but I don’t have to. They have metrics they use that tell them that the product they have seen on the field for Iowa is the best in the country. As I stated in that thread, I prefer to remind folks that there is another measuring stick that can be used as well. It’s called the Joe Moore award. Remember Joe Moore? You youngsters probably don’t, but, many that have been around here know that he was a very important coach and mentor in the life of our head coach and is where he developed his passion for coaching the position we are talking about. I’m not sure of all the details, but suffice to say, Coach Ferentz held Coach Moore in very high esteem. The highest. He was deeply saddened when his friend and mentor passed away. Anyway, they created an annual award that goes to the best offensive line in the country each year. Last year was its first. Alabama won that award. Iowa was a finalist. With the experience Iowa had coming back, they were the front runner for the award this year. Right now, they aren’t even in the conversation among the analysts over there, all of which are former college/pro offensive lineman, that grade the play of a pool of teams that they are responsible for watching all year. What have they seen that caused them to begin looking elsewhere?
Inconsistency is probably the first thing. Much of that comes from Iowa’s inability to put the same guys on the field together due to injuries. We always hear that a good line will develop the continuity required to act as one. How can you do that when the best five haven’t been together longer than a couple games over the course of the first seven. Back to my simple mind……..they can’t. And haven’t. They’ve been serviceable, almost impressive, considering what they’ve been through. Heck, if I’m Brian Ferentz, I’m proud of what they’ve done. They have probably exceeded expectations, considering. But that doesn’t make them the #1 line in the country. It’s a nice little recognition though. Maybe it gives them the confidence to keep moving it forward and they can become exactly what we’d all like them to be, what PFF says they already are.
Unfortunately, they are about to run into a big, human buzz saw. It isn’t Paul Bunyan, but I think they own his Axe. The Badgers, who I really didn’t give any credit to before the season started, are playing some of the best ball I’ve seen them play, even while losing. That defense is stout! Their running game is a good one. I’m really pretty sure they will exploit Iowa’s inability to be anything but one-dimensional, and this week, it’s gonna hurt. I’m flying there right now, to see it all unfold in person.
I hope I’m wrong, because I don’t like Bucky. But, I do respect what they do. It’s like looking in a mirror when these two get together. They are just doing it better through the first half of the season than the Hawkeyes are.
So much more to talk about, like Saban and Ferentz having the same coaching philosophies. The Big 12 deciding not to move towards expansion and how Mr. Brian Kelly has lost the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, completely. Maybe PJ Fleck’s phone will ring when that job opens up! Maybe next week.
Mike Zierath | Staff writer
The Iowa run game is a topic in this weeks Upon Futher Review.
Just when you think you’ve got something figured out, you don’t.
How many of you realize that half of the preseason top 25 is no longer ranked. Half! Okay, not half, 12. Close enough. Polls are a necessary evil in college football. They tell us who’s good and who isn’t. They give us hope. As long as your team appears on the ranking, they make you feel good. All they really do is create conversation. They are just for fun and, more often than not, they aren’t worth the paper they are written on, obviously.
The other thing they do is help create one of the greatest entertainment environments on the entire face of the planet. It would, I dare say, rival that of Soccer in Europe. College Football fans are as diehard as European Football fans in my opinion. They have the tradition, the pomp and circumstance, the game day environment and the camaraderie that allows all of us to become one. Has anyone ever forgotten the first time they walked into the bowl of their favorite college football stadium, found their seat and watched their favorite team play and win? Or lose…..either way, I doubt they have. I haven’t. It was at Camp Randall, much like Torbee. I didn’t have to convert though, I was always a Hawkeye living in Badgerville.
College Football has become a weekly playoff. It isn’t about playing a 16 game schedule, finishing 8-8, making the playoffs and finding a way to roll through those same playoffs and win a Super Bowl. It’s about winning the week, which allows you to be in the conversation the following week. College Football was great before the College Football Playoff format was introduced to the fans, but now, it’s what makes college football so much more interesting than any professional sport available to us on a daily basis. I know not everyone will agree with that, but I like to keep things simple. And in my simple mind, that’s how it works.
Quick review:
The best team in the land beat their eastern rival like a boy with beating his drum. Alabama put their foot on the gas, and then put their foot on the throat, of Tennessee, and ended their chances at being Cinderella. Just like they have so many others the past seven years. Now comes their next conquest, the Aggies of Texas A&M. My sleeper team in the SEC. A team that has balance, has a formidable offensive line, speed and will beat nearly all other opponents that come before them. But not this week. Not against the Saban led dynasty that the Tide have become. I will say this, the loser still has a shot at making it to the CFP.
The ACC just about had an upset. I got the opportunity to watch this play out while I watched the Hawkeyes allow Purdue back into the contest they so securely had in hand. Clemson never had anything in hand. Matter of fact, if the NC State kicker hadn’t missed his second field goal as time ran out, Clemson would be in the group of one loss teams that proliferate the college football landscape. North Carolina coming back after being beaten by Virginia Tech was a nice surprise. Speaking of Virginia Tech, they wouldn’t know a silver platter if you handed them one. Heck, they were holding one, all they had to do was take care of business, and they couldn’t. Louisville is back in action this week against a very solid NC State. I think the Cardinals take care of the Wolfpack.
The Big 12 championship will go through Morgantown, WV. That’s right. The Mountaineers are undefeated. TCU comes to town this weekend. W. Virginia has found a way to play some defense, which is missing in most Big 12 towns. Baylor and Oklahoma still have to go to, and come out of Morgantown as well. The one that comes out unscathed will likely be the Big 12 Champion.
The Apple Cup might actually mean something this year. For those of you who don’t know what that is, well, look it up. It’s as big as Iowa vs ISU, Oklahoma vs OSU, FSU vs Florida and UCLA vs USC. In the Pacific Northwest, it’s huge. The Huskies have the upper hand in the Pac 12 North right now, but if the Cougs continue to take care of business like they have the last four weeks, the Apple Cup will mean something. In the South, the dragon woke up. That dragon lives in Los Angeles, and I’m not referring to the Dodgers……The USC Trojans are playing with a purpose. They still have to catch and surpass Utah, but they have looked more like the them we thought they would be.
The Big Ten West is still up for grabs. Nebraska continues to win with Touchdown Tommy. Wisconsin looks like a team that has run the tough part of the schedule and could win out. Iowa is still searching for an identity. With the Badgers invading Iowa City this weekend, it comes down to an elimination game of sorts. Win and you are still in. Lose, well, you’re playing for pride if you lose. The East is a two horse race and will likely come down to the last weekend of the Big Ten season. There will be a huge build up if both Michigan and OSU are still undefeated when they meet, which goes without saying.
My CFP Final four, if it were today: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington. No change from last week. Louisville and Michigan are still the teams with the inside track of somehow joining that club.
Can we discuss the Iowa game for a second? I’ve seen some very good analogy about what it is going to take for Iowa to win. People aren’t wrong in what they believe. Run the ball, control the clock, eliminate turnovers, basically, play Iowa football. On defense, Iowa is going to have to do all those things that Wisconsin will be trying to do. Stop the run, control first and second down and create turnovers. Do those six things and Iowa probably wins the game.
If Wisconsin can take away first and second down, putting Iowa in 3rd and long, Iowa has no proven commodity to throw the ball to. On top of that, Wisconsin will be blitzing all day, which Iowa has struggled with at times this season. Guys, and Gals, Iowa has not shown that they can handle this kind of pressure from a good football team yet this year. I don’t anticipate that they will handle it on Saturday either.
That’s not to say that Iowa hasn’t shown signs of coming around. They have been able to formulate a run game, even with a patchwork offensive line most of the season. They have not, however, with the exception of one game, put together what I would consider a complete game. Today, PFF came out with a poll today that showed Iowa had the #1 offensive line in the country. I don’t agree, but I don’t have to. They have metrics they use that tell them that the product they have seen on the field for Iowa is the best in the country. As I stated in that thread, I prefer to remind folks that there is another measuring stick that can be used as well. It’s called the Joe Moore award. Remember Joe Moore? You youngsters probably don’t, but, many that have been around here know that he was a very important coach and mentor in the life of our head coach and is where he developed his passion for coaching the position we are talking about. I’m not sure of all the details, but suffice to say, Coach Ferentz held Coach Moore in very high esteem. The highest. He was deeply saddened when his friend and mentor passed away. Anyway, they created an annual award that goes to the best offensive line in the country each year. Last year was its first. Alabama won that award. Iowa was a finalist. With the experience Iowa had coming back, they were the front runner for the award this year. Right now, they aren’t even in the conversation among the analysts over there, all of which are former college/pro offensive lineman, that grade the play of a pool of teams that they are responsible for watching all year. What have they seen that caused them to begin looking elsewhere?
Inconsistency is probably the first thing. Much of that comes from Iowa’s inability to put the same guys on the field together due to injuries. We always hear that a good line will develop the continuity required to act as one. How can you do that when the best five haven’t been together longer than a couple games over the course of the first seven. Back to my simple mind……..they can’t. And haven’t. They’ve been serviceable, almost impressive, considering what they’ve been through. Heck, if I’m Brian Ferentz, I’m proud of what they’ve done. They have probably exceeded expectations, considering. But that doesn’t make them the #1 line in the country. It’s a nice little recognition though. Maybe it gives them the confidence to keep moving it forward and they can become exactly what we’d all like them to be, what PFF says they already are.
Unfortunately, they are about to run into a big, human buzz saw. It isn’t Paul Bunyan, but I think they own his Axe. The Badgers, who I really didn’t give any credit to before the season started, are playing some of the best ball I’ve seen them play, even while losing. That defense is stout! Their running game is a good one. I’m really pretty sure they will exploit Iowa’s inability to be anything but one-dimensional, and this week, it’s gonna hurt. I’m flying there right now, to see it all unfold in person.
I hope I’m wrong, because I don’t like Bucky. But, I do respect what they do. It’s like looking in a mirror when these two get together. They are just doing it better through the first half of the season than the Hawkeyes are.
So much more to talk about, like Saban and Ferentz having the same coaching philosophies. The Big 12 deciding not to move towards expansion and how Mr. Brian Kelly has lost the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, completely. Maybe PJ Fleck’s phone will ring when that job opens up! Maybe next week.
