to be honest, the critcism was that the 2015 couldn't score if it had to. that was literally borne out to be true when the level of competition improved and the stakes got higher.
I thought the 2015 criticism was that Iowa didn't play anybody good. They skipped OSU, MSU, PSU, and Mich in the regular season. All they had to do was get by Wisc and NW, decent but not great teams.
He wins when he has a lot of pro horses. He doesn't when he doesn't. It's as simple as that. 02-04 and 08-09 had pros too, and they won. Recruiting matters.