Will you be satisfied with 6 or 7 wins this year?

[Tacticalhawk]

The Hawkeyes might surprise some people this year. Wadley will be getting a lot more carries. A fresh face at QB. Let's face it. As much as we love CJ he didn't have the year we hoped for last year. The passing game was abysmal. But now GD is gone. Defense should be pretty stout. OL should be stout. No, I won't be satisfied with 7 wins. But who the heck knows with the Hawkeyes.

Yes how under rated do you have to rate the award winning offense line with all starters coming back with a running back who almost went pro early at 6 wins. No way! They knew we could only run last year and we beat Michigan as a one dimensional team!

 

[Lone Clone]

Satisfaction is not something that takes 'x' number of wins. For me it's looking at all the factors including the schedule that go into each season and then evaluating the quality of the play and effort of the team.

This season I think the team could play quality football but end up scrambling to get to 6 wins. The potential schedule quality on paper is as tough as it has been in years in my opinion. We have arguably 2 of the top 6 teams potentially at home and we play well against neither so that's two automatic losses right there. Yes we used to beat PSU but that was under Jo Pa... since his departure they have trucked us the last 3 times. We have beaten OSU like 2-3 times in 40 years and they are one of the most talented teams in the nation under Meyer every year. With 2 auto losses that means you have to go 8-2 or 9-1 against the rest of a tough schedule ---- right!

Then the non-con is sneaky tough with Wyoming and at ISU to open the season. I expect to lose at ISU this year but the question is by how much? They will be much improved and this is an absolute must win for them under a new coach and with a bowl game bid on the line. No way they are losing this one. Wyoming could easily be a loss as they are a bowl team with a stud QB. We also have road games at Wisconsin, Northwestern, Nebraska and MSU. We do not know yet if MSU bounces back? Could lose most if not all of these. Taking care of the others including Minny at home will be key and we are known to drop one against teams like this.

Yes 6 wins is about right to me and Vegas is smart putting it at 6.5.

Iowa is not an absolutely must win for ISU this year. UNI is, but Iowa is not.

 

[kceasthawk]

Discussing your points on D, I like Anthony Nelson a lot but not Matt Nelson as much. A Nelson creates pressure and is disruptive. Hesse is solid but not overwhelming. Matt Nelson is slow. I do agree that 5 star AJ could make an impact but at the same time there will be an adjustment for him as a true freshman. I do not want to expect too much too early from him this season.

On the interior is where I think we could potentially have issues as in my opinion we lost the top player on last year's defense in Jaleel. I really like the true sophomore Lattimore from Detroit but he's green. Bazata is a glue guy and eats blocks but is not a huge impact player.

At linebacker we have 3 seniors with an impact player in Josey. I do not think Neimann or Bower played all that well last year. Neimann played well the year before but has seemed to regress since the late season concussion the year before. Bower tries hard but makes few impact plays.

The main contributors in the front 7 includes 2 impact players in Josey & A Nelson, solid players in Hesse & Bazata, so-so guys in Neimann, Bower & Matt Nelson and good potential / wild cards in Lattimore & AJ. Is that really enough?

The secondary includes the young corner Manny Rumgumba who looked great starting with Michigan but broke his collarbone late in the season. Miles Taylor has experience but played poorly last year. The Gervase kid may replace Synder who was decent in the run game but poor in coverage. That leaves multiple guys to fill the other corner with Jackson probably getting first crack. Rungamba is the headliner but not sure the rest of this is outstanding.

A lot in our fan base see this is a great D but there's some concerns with this group. Losing Jaleel and King will be felt early. Again we have to play well early ... do not have time to figure things out with this schedule.

On the DL keep an eye out for Huellet and Reiff. Coaches have really been talking up Reiff. Still a little small at about 260, but like past Hawks, Klug, and King, constant motor, and excellent quicks. Huellet was the talk last year before he got injured in fall camp, they had him in the depth chart as one of the top four DT's. Both could play important roles this season. Coach Wallace is very high on Jones and Welch. He see's him pushing Hocaday for that Mike spot behind Josey.

 

[Franisdaman]

Iowa has won 6 or fewer games 3 times since 2001 (16 years) - they were 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2 of those years we won 6 games.

Size it up however you want, but betting the under of a 6.5 is probably a bad bet.

I am hoping for at least 8 wins; it could be 9 with a win at Nebby.

Its early but this is how i see it (8-4, 5-4):

W Wyoming
W @ISU
W N Texas
L PSU
W @ MSU
W Illinois
W @ N'western
W Minnesota
L Ohio State
L @ Wisky
W Purdue
L @ Nebby

• SEP 2 (SAT) 11 A.M.
  VS WYOMING (FRYFEST)
  IOWA CITY, IA
  TV: BTN
• 
  
  SEP 9 (SAT) 11 A.M.
  AT IOWA STATE (IOWA CORN CY-HAWK SERIES)
  AMES, IA
  TV: ESPN OR ESPN2
• 
  
  SEP 16 (SAT) 2:30 P.M.
  VS NORTH TEXAS
  IOWA CITY, IA
  TV: ESPN2
• 
  
  SEP 23 (SAT) TBD
  BIG TENVS PENN STATE
  IOWA CITY, IA
  
  
• 
  
  SEP 30 (SAT) TBD
  BIG TENAT MICHIGAN STATE
  EAST LANSING, MI
  
  
• 
  
  OCT 7 (SAT) 11 A.M.
  BIG TENVS ILLINOIS (HOMECOMING)
  IOWA CITY, IA
  TV: TBA
• 
  
  OCT 21 (SAT) TBD
  BIG TENATNORTHWESTERN
  EVANSTON, IL
  
  
• 
  
  OCT 28 (SAT) TBD
  BIG TENVS MINNESOTA (FLOYD OF ROSEDALE)
  IOWA CITY, IA
  
  
• 
  
  NOV 4 (SAT) TBD
  BIG TENVS OHIO STATE
  IOWA CITY, IA
  
  
• 
  
  NOV 11 (SAT) TBD
  BIG TENAT WISCONSIN (HEARTLAND TROPHY)
  MADISON, WI
  
  
• 
  
  NOV 18 (SAT) TBD
  BIG TENVS PURDUE
  IOWA CITY, IA
  
  
• 
  
  NOV 24 (FRI) 3 P.M.
  BIG TENAT NEBRASKA (HY-VEE HEROES GAME)
  LINCOLN, NE
  TV: FS1

 

[ChosenChildren]

7 works for me if it is the right seven. We need to win 3 of those trophy games.....

 

[Franisdaman]

7 works for me if it is the right seven. We need to win 3 of those trophy games.....

i still think 8 wins is do-able and 9 is possible

 

[HawkeyeinOmaha]

You called it arrogant. Through that you implied that it's an opinion I shouldn't hold.

Personally I think that the most important indicator of a college team's success is the quarterback. In a Nathan Stanley v. Tanner Lee battle I give the edge to Lee because he's had two years of starting experience at Tulane and a year on top of that to get acquainted with the team during his transfer. Making the transition from "dual-threat" Tommy who shouldn't have been playing QB all along, to a pro-style, (hopefully) NFL-potential player in Tanner Lee with experience under his belt will make all the difference. But that's just my opinion.

LOL!

 

[Franisdaman]

LOL!

what page did you find this thread on?