Hoping For Better Bowl Than This Projection



It is way too early to be talking bowl preferences. After losing to ISU at home the hawks could run into some major trouble getting wins.

I hope not and still think the hawks can be a powerful winning team if they get clicking.

If they play 60 minutes like the last half of Pitt game they can beat a lot of teams.
 


Gotta take care of business and not lose to the likes of a lowly Iowa State.

It begins with starting a QB who can get things done.
 


Bowl projections this time of year are complete folly.

Only concerned with PurWho? at this time. And, tbh, still a little irked about the isu game.:mad:
 


It is way too early to be talking bowl preferences. After losing to ISU at home the hawks could run into some major trouble getting wins.

I hope not and still think the hawks can be a powerful winning team if they get clicking.

If they play 60 minutes like the last half of Pitt game they can beat a lot of teams.

Like. If they play 60 minutes like they played the second half against Pitt, they could win out or at worst drop one or two, which would be a 9 win floor. Of course, if they play like they played the first 14 quarters of football this season, they will probably eek out one or two more wins max (Purdue, Illinois and Northwestern would be the only contenders for us to beat).
 


Like. If they play 60 minutes like they played the second half against Pitt, they could win out or at worst drop one or two, which would be a 9 win floor. Of course, if they play like they played the first 14 quarters of football this season, they will probably eek out one or two more wins max (Purdue, Illinois and Northwestern would be the only contenders for us to beat).

Four games into the season, and we have no idea what we've got for a team.
 


We have seen the potential. I'll probably feel better once the Hawks win a game by more than one possession.

Ferentz has said time and again that this is a really good group of players. Doesn't sound like he thinks there is any type of "fat cat" mentality within the program. The schedule is woefully easy (bad), but Iowa has a chance to be 6-0 in the BIG going into the Wisconsin game if they play like they did in the 2nd Half vs Pitt. Minnesota had me worried early in the season, but they have big time problems with their passing game. I think Iowa wins that one on the road. I wasn't so sure a couple weeks ago.
 




Four games into the season, and we have no idea what we've got for a team.

this is the correct answer. it feels like a 7-5/8-4 team, but would anybody be shocked if iowa won 6 in a row. We will know by time the Indiana/Maryland swing is over where iowa is headed.
 


this is the correct answer. it feels like a 7-5/8-4 team, but would anybody be shocked if iowa won 6 in a row. We will know by time the Indiana/Maryland swing is over where iowa is headed.

It's happened before, but I don't look for that to happen. It's more likely that Iowa drops another game that it shouldn't, IMO. It usually happens from year to year, and this year is no exception (ISU).

I would say that IF Iowa continues to resemble the team we saw in the second half of the Pitt game, then reeling off 6 in a row seems pretty likely. I just want to see it happen for more than 2 quarters before I start feeling too confident. After a bad loss it's "just one game", but the same can be said for a good win. Let's sustain it!

Also, I'm not sure which QB will be getting most of the playing time in coming weeks, either.
 


Nearly every Iowa game is a one possession win/loss. The few that aren't, the games were still close in the 4th Q and either we or the other team pulls away with a FG or another score to put it out of reach.

So with that being said, we absolutely could run off a bunch of wins and contend. Same with dropping a bunch of games because of our style of play.

Purdue, IL, MN are really bad teams. Indiana always gives us fits and they definitely have the firepower to blow us out if our offense is still a mess. Not sure about Maryland, but it's on the road.

We could finish as bad as 6 wins, or still get to 9 or 10. You just don't know with this team. But we do know a majority of the games will be close.
 




So with that being said, we absolutely could run off a bunch of wins and contend. Same with dropping a bunch of games because of our style of play.


We could finish as bad as 6 wins, or still get to 9 or 10. You just don't know with this team. But we do know a majority of the games will be close.

Historically, we tend to lose a lot more of the close games than we win.
 


Right now Iowa could be described as Jekyll and Hyde. While it looks like it hinges on who the qb is, I think Jake needs more confidence in the deep ball. It seems to me that KF drains a qb's confidence on all throws over 10 yards. Jake's regression from last year is eerily similar to James Vandenberg from his junior to senior year. While Jake will not ever have the arm of CJ he can throw it thirty to forty yards downfield. I said last year I liked CJ as the qb because I thought he brought more swagger to the position and more leadership skill with his attitude and body language. I think we can win with either qb as long as each can use the whole playbook without the pressure of being pulled for not using the KF safety net.
 




Like. If they play 60 minutes like they played the second half against Pitt, they could win out or at worst drop one or two, which would be a 9 win floor. Of course, if they play like they played the first 14 quarters of football this season, they will probably eek out one or two more wins max (Purdue, Illinois and Northwestern would be the only contenders for us to beat).

I was thinking about this, too and was looking at which teams need to lose for us to make the playoffs. Then my question was, if we make the playoffs, will there be a bowl charter to the semis, finals, or both? Anyone?
 


I was thinking about this, too and was looking at which teams need to lose for us to make the playoffs. Then my question was, if we make the playoffs, will there be a bowl charter to the semis, finals, or both? Anyone?


What?? I hope this post is laced with totally dripping sarcasm at the fact that how can the hawks ever ever get the cred to get to the finals when they stub their toes against teams like ISU, Central Mich, etc.

90% of the hawk fans knew we would blow one game in Sept.

I was almost positive we would have 1 september loss.

I have always said this coaching staff is good for one or two losses a year.
 


I think the Pinstripe bowl would be fun. Not saying I want that this year (hope we are better). But NYC during the holiday season certainly provides some different/more interesting activities than Florida bowls.

There are tons of direct flights to NYC. Great food, museums, entertainment. And get to watch the Hawks play at Yankee stadium. I'd rather travel to this bowl then screw around in Jacksonville.

I like that Big Ten has tried to place to less prestigious bowls in destination cities. No need to visit El Paso, Shreveport, Jacksonville, or the like to watch the Hawks play in a lower tier bowl.
 


Pinstripe would be ok in a year when we did not have this soft schedule...one time in NYC would be ok. But, this year, we need to do better, like maybe the Holiday Bowl in San Diego.

Too early to draw real conclusions.

Our defense gave up a lot of yards on the ground vs Pitt. I fear that Wisky and Nebby will run thru our defense also. That is why we need the offense to be productive.
 


When you play good teams you need an offense and a defense to play well. Anemic performance from either one leads to a loss. When you play pud teams like we do in the conference preseason games, we can get away with it. The QB has one heck of an influence on how the offense goes, and the defense as well, esp with our vanilla schemes.
 




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