1997 Season vs 2014 Season

[HawkWT]

1997: Sherman, Banks, and Dwight returning, high expectations, fell apart down the stretch.
2014: Scherff, Davis, and down field receiving threats. High expectations, fell apart from one week to the next.

Hayden Fry only coached one, disappointing season after that. Trend for Ferentz to follow?

 

[okeefe4prez]

1997: Sherman, Banks, and Dwight returning, high expectations, fell apart down the stretch.
2014: Scherff, Davis, and down field receiving threats. High expectations, fell apart from one week to the next.

Hayden Fry only coached one, disappointing season after that. Trend for Ferentz to follow?

Who had high expectations? I called 7-5 going in. Others did as well. Only folks with little sense of history thought this was a 10 win team. This is nowhere near '97, '05 or '10 on the disappointment meter.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

I thought about 8-4 this year given the schedule, and Iowa's past performances under KF but 7-5 didn't surprise me given the way things have been.

1997 was a totally different season.. That was a good team and IIRC (am I wrong?) I thought Sherman went down with injury and Iowa lost a couple tight games with the backup that they likely would otherwise have won (Wisconsin & NW). A probable 9-2 season turned into 7-4 and Iowa lost the bowl game, too. Their other losses were @OSU and a close one @Michigan (who won it all that year). Totally disappointing, but different causes to the underperformance. At least, that's the way I recall it.

This year was just very "meh" from start to finish and there never was much for high expectations, not on a national level anyway.

 

[Sooby]

2010 is the still the biggest disappointment, but the Orange Bowl the previous season and the bowl win over #12 Missouri, helped soften that season.

2014 is the biggest disappointment, because of the schedule and the way the team looked on the field.
The 1997 team looked strong in all games, except the Ohio State game.
The 2014 team lost to a 2-10 Iowa State and barely escaped Ball State.

 

[HawkWT]

Who had high expectations? I called 7-5 going in. Others did as well. Only folks with little sense of history thought this was a 10 win team. This is nowhere near '97, '05 or '10 on the disappointment meter.

True, the talent at the skill positions wasn't to the caliber of the the '97. However, there are 2 first round picks and the softest schedule Iowa has had in decades. I believe the majority of fans and "experts" had much higher expectations than 7-5.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

True, the talent at the skill positions wasn't to the caliber of the the '97. However, there are 2 first round picks and the softest schedule Iowa has had in decades. I believe the majority of fans and "experts" had much higher expectations than 7-5.

I know I did. But what I *thought* would happen was somewhere around 8-4 regardless of what I feel we should be able to EXPECT with a schedule like this.

Okeefe will point out that we were stupid to expect better than 7-5, but therein lies the problem: If you can't realistically expect better than 7-5 with the easiest schedule we'll ever see in this league, then that speaks volumes about the state of the program.

 

[eveningnewsteam]

The 97 team would have beat the 14 team down, bad. The talent level isnt why people were optimistic about the 14 season it was the dog **** schedule. Everyone knew Iowa was mediocre, but the schedule was set where a mediocre team could possibly navigate through and get to Indy.

 

[imported_ankle23]

one of the problems with the '97 season is that they couldn't sustain drives - when they scored it was a 'big play'. so the defense never got off the field, so to speak. yes, that was a disappointing season.

 

[okeefe4prez]

I know I did. But what I *thought* would happen was somewhere around 8-4 regardless of what I feel we should be able to EXPECT with a schedule like this.

Okeefe will point out that we were stupid to expect better than 7-5, but therein lies the problem: If you can't realistically expect better than 7-5 with the easiest schedule we'll ever see in this league, then that speaks volumes about the state of the program.

I would never accuse anyone of being stupid, just overly optimistic based on what we knew we would have at LB and QB. Based on the schedule you had to assume roughly a 9-3 floor, but then you need the Ferentz inexplicable loss adjuster of two games, which gets you to 7-5. Most folks forget that adjuster.

 

[HawkWT]

I know I did. But what I *thought* would happen was somewhere around 8-4 regardless of what I feel we should be able to EXPECT with a schedule like this.

Okeefe will point out that we were stupid to expect better than 7-5, but therein lies the problem: If you can't realistically expect better than 7-5 with the easiest schedule we'll ever see in this league, then that speaks volumes about the state of the program.

Good point, maybe it's smart to never expect more than 7 wins. That way I won't be heading back to Des Moines every Saturday (Friday) with my head in my hands.

 

[PJHawk]

2010 is the still the biggest disappointment....The 1997 team looked strong in all games, except the Ohio State game.

The '97 Sun Bowl was a disaster - other than a Randy Reiners late TD you will be hard pressed to find a worse Iowa offensive performance.