13, 14, 16, 17

[NCHawker]

I don't know about you, but looking back, these teams all seemed about the same. As time goes by, these seasons blend together. A few things stand out.

Beating Nebraska has been a nice part of this. And of course that reminds me of the end of the 13 (oops I meant 14) season and the fan meltdown. The wins over OSU and Michigan will always be memorable.

Good defense, so so offense

Iowa seems to be moving forward and improving skill positions bit by bit.

Here's to a break out season in 18.

 

[GoHawks24]

I like your optimism. I feel good about the recruiting class coming in. I feel like our defensive line will be a FORCE for the next few seasons. However, I worry about our back 7, especially if Josh Jackson jumps to the NFL early, which I see as very likely. The defense may give up quite a bit next year, so hopefully (not going to hold my breath) Brian decides to let Stanley be the man and win some games for us, instead of being stubborn and trying to establish the run against consistently stacked 8 and 9-man boxes. The schedule gets quite a bit easier so that's a plus.

 

[guffus]

I have some decent memories of 2013

Iowa actually tried a more up-tempo offense with Rudock at QB.

The Iowa defense rolled out the Raider package at mid-season and it worked great.

After Iowa getting burned again with a fake punt against MSU early in the season, Iowa finally exercised its fake kick demons by finally stopping a fake punt against Nebraska.

Iowa beat Michigan on super cold day in November after being down by 2 TD's at halftime.

 

[guffus]

The thing I remember about 2014 is that with 2 weeks left, the west was wide open where Wisc, Iowa, Neb, and Minn all could have won the division by going 2-0 in their last 2 weeks. Iowa of course went 0-2 and finished 4th.

 

[guffus]

2016 will be remembered for beating Michigan at Kinnick on a last second FG, and losing to NDSU at Kinnick on a last second FG.

 

[guffus]

I think the key difference is how each team finished.

The 2013 and 2016 teams finished strong and got bumped up to the Outback bowl.

The 2014 team just tanked downed the stretch which led to the TaxSlayer disaster which led to some of the off-season changes that led to 2015.

The 2017 team had 2 good games and 2 bad games down the stretch. The jury is still out on 2017.

 

[BVHawk95]

As much as I loved watching Weisman hammer poor fools into submission, the most overlooked thing those teams were missing was a true running back. Weisman, for all his positive traits, simply could not make the cuts and redirection moves needed in a zone scheme. Many times we saw a 2nd or 3rd and short, where there would be quick penetration in the backfield that would immediately shut the play down, whether or not they actually tackled Weisman. Wadley, Canzeri, and to a lesser extent, Daniels, could make those cuts, and I'd argue that's why we saw the explosion in run game success in '15 and '16.

 

[uihawk82]

As much as I loved watching Weisman hammer poor fools into submission, the most overlooked thing those teams were missing was a true running back. Weisman, for all his positive traits, simply could not make the cuts and redirection moves needed in a zone scheme. Many times we saw a 2nd or 3rd and short, where there would be quick penetration in the backfield that would immediately shut the play down, whether or not they actually tackled Weisman. Wadley, Canzeri, and to a lesser extent, Daniels, could make those cuts, and I'd argue that's why we saw the explosion in run game success in '15 and '16.

Yes, totally agree with the Weisman idea. It was fine to have Weisman at tailback when there were injuries and in short yardage but I think the team and Weisman would have been better off if he was mostly at fullback. He is a great hawk and I will never forget the beatdown he put on Nebby's defense in 2013 but I think the faster, shiftier backs at tailback on first and second downs with Weisman and others at fullback would have been a better mix giving the potential for more big gains on early downs.

 

[uihawk82]

I don't know about you, but looking back, these teams all seemed about the same. As time goes by, these seasons blend together. A few things stand out.

Beating Nebraska has been a nice part of this. And of course that reminds me of the end of the 13 (oops I meant 14) season and the fan meltdown. The wins over OSU and Michigan will always be memorable.

Good defense, so so offense

Iowa seems to be moving forward and improving skill positions bit by bit.

Here's to a break out season in 18.

Interesting to look back and compare the teams. 2013 had so many unknowns after the 2012 debacle but Rudock played well, it was tough opening loss, and the hawks got better. 2014, what can we all say again, except to say what is wrong with playing two qbs???? CJB played well when he got the chance and then he just got totally shutout/sidelined the last 4-5 games, weird and then the collapse against Nebby after 2 17 point leads with Rudock having two turnovers in the first half inside Nebby's red zone basically. That Nebby game should have been the 2nd beatdown by Iowa in the series but when the offense went stale in the 2nd half KF was just so stubborn with his QB. Crazy. 2015 great, 2016 and 2017 back to the formula of losing and playing down to teams and playing great when the underdog. scratch your head