1991 the forgoten year
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EstronHawkKing
Well-Known Member
As much as I love the Rose Bowl, we were lucky not to have gone back there in 92. That Washington team was off the charts awesome. It would have been another Rose Bowl loss if we had. I always felt that we should have been in the Cotton Bowl that year, not the Holiday.
The Big LeHAWKski
Well-Known Member
Hayden knew enough that when it's 3rd & 7 you don't throw a well-covered 3 yard out pattern and cause our punter to break a sweat before halftime.
... DO YOU HEAR ME HCFL??!
(HCFL = Head-coach for Life)
EstronHawkKing
Well-Known Member
Matt Rogers was the QB
99topdawg
Well-Known Member
That season, Leroy Smith may have had as dominant of a game and season as an Iowa defender has ever had. He had 14 tackles and 5 sacks in a win at Ohio State. He finished the season with a Big Ten record (still owns the record) 18 sacks. He was, obviously, the Big Ten Defensive POY and a consensus 1st team All-American. A name that has been kind of forgotten, unfortunately.
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Hawkalum2002
Well-Known Member
That was a great year although a pretty easy schedule with only the Michigan loss. That's why when folks compare Ferentz to Fry "major" bowl games, things aren't apples to apples. 1991 would be a BCS level bowl now, but only got the Holiday then. 2015 went to the Rose Bowl but would've been either Holiday or Copper Bowl in 1991 as the second or third team. Of course a B10 title game plays into those outcomes as well. If we play Michigan again in a 1991 B10 title game, maybe we win and play in a Rose Bowl. If 2015 doesn't have to play a title game, they probably do earn the same Rose Bowl at 8-0.
99topdawg
Well-Known Member
I agree with this, but would also like to add that comparing their records in bowl games is not fair either. If the 2015 team, for example, would have gotten to play in the Holiday or Copper Bowl, it would have been a much easier game than the Stanford game. Last year, the Big Ten got a team in the playoffs, the Cotton, the Rose, and the Orange Bowls. With those teams already picked for bowls, this brought Iowa up the pecking order way farther than they deserved and had to play way up in competition, where, as you mentioned, Fry's teams had to play down in competition (which sucked too). By no means am I trying to knock what Fry did, more trying to defend Ferentz or simply state facts to add to your post of how it is difficult to compare the two when it comes to bowl games.
guffus
Well-Known Member
I graduated in 1990 so I was not there, but since it had only been a year since I left, I remember being able to visualize so clearly every building he went to during his shooting rampage.
What a waste. Who thinks, well now I should kill everybody involved in the process of giving me a bad grade?
I remember the Iowa football team wore the all black helmets the Saturday after the shooting. That was such a sad and confusing week.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
HF was interesting. I remember when no one saw this coming. At the Big 10 media day when asked about his team he said something like, "We're going to be a fine football team". They were coming off a stretch of mediocrity including 5-6 in 89 and 6-4-1 in 88. That 88 team was so close to being really good with the 4 losses by 22 points and 11 of them in one game to a decent IU team. That year the prevent D really caused issues.
I do think Fry gets credit where it shouldn't be. KF throws intermediate passes over the middle much more than Fry did. Fry threw over the top or to the sidelines and had a punishing up the middle running game. He was actually quite risk adverse.
I hated the prevent defense which I think is what prevented him from being way above KF. 3rd down shovel passes and draw plays were prominent. Lot's of TE passing.
I do think Fry gets credit where it shouldn't be. KF throws intermediate passes over the middle much more than Fry did. Fry threw over the top or to the sidelines and had a punishing up the middle running game. He was actually quite risk adverse.
I hated the prevent defense which I think is what prevented him from being way above KF. 3rd down shovel passes and draw plays were prominent. Lot's of TE passing.
False on one account. 1991 was the first year of the Big 10 having a bowl tie in with any bowl other than the Rose Bowl. The agreement with the Holiday bowl was year one they get the second place team, subsequent years the third place team. If that deal wasn't inked by the conference, Iowa would have been a Fiesta Bowl team or Cotton Bowl team. Iowa was handcuffed, but did speak with the Big Ten office to see if there was anything that could be done....there wasn't so it was off to the Holiday Bowl.
Love me some Danan Hughes. He was a heck of an athlete. I was just a kid back then and didn't understand much about football. They ran a lot of traps and had guards pulling a lot on counters. Just a totally different way of running the ball then what they do now it's fun to watch. I don't see why Iowa (and more schools) don't try mixing a little bit of everything into their offenses. Why does everything have to be so cut and dry? I understand the brains of the coaches and players only have so much room in them for plays and what not but there's just so much room for teams to be unpredictable with their play calling. I wish Iowa wasn't so predictable so often I guess is my groaning point... Hopefully BF changes that
That was a bizarre, yet great season. Only season of my lifetime when Iowa only lost 1 game. Fantastic defensive team.
That Michigan game is still one of my all time least favorites. They blocked a punt to take a 7-0 lead and Iowa scored 3 TDs to take an 18-7 lead. Skillet missed a PAT and Fry started chasing points and failed on two 2 point conversions. Then Michigan running game just took off. Iowa could not stop them on the ground and ended losing by 20 points at home. That team was so much better than that performance.
The Illinois game was a fantastic defensive effort in the 2nd half. That was actually a good Illinois team but their wheels fell off after that game.
The defensive battle against Ohio St when Smith dominated
And then the bowl game against BYU where the defensive gave up a lot of passing yards but held them to only 13 points but the offense only generated 13 themselves. Should have been 14 but Skillet missed another PAT.
That Michigan game is still one of my all time least favorites. They blocked a punt to take a 7-0 lead and Iowa scored 3 TDs to take an 18-7 lead. Skillet missed a PAT and Fry started chasing points and failed on two 2 point conversions. Then Michigan running game just took off. Iowa could not stop them on the ground and ended losing by 20 points at home. That team was so much better than that performance.
The Illinois game was a fantastic defensive effort in the 2nd half. That was actually a good Illinois team but their wheels fell off after that game.
The defensive battle against Ohio St when Smith dominated
And then the bowl game against BYU where the defensive gave up a lot of passing yards but held them to only 13 points but the offense only generated 13 themselves. Should have been 14 but Skillet missed another PAT.
HawkGold
Well-Known Member
he had a knee injury and missed two games I think.
EstronHawkKing
Well-Known Member
It was the day after Halloween. Me an a buddy went down to the bars Halloween night, I remember it raining that night and turning into snow. Then on November 1st it all went down. I remember some girl in my dorm was so happy because classes were cancelled, I was like people just died you bimbo. I also remember the live televised news conferences as well. Feels like it was 70 years ago.
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