About that coach at Iowa
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Denverhawk1
Well-Known Member
That's a fine article.
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
I have a couple of issues with the piece about the "fanbase expectations" as I think we all expect more now with the money that has gone into facilities. The days of the bubble are gone...our facilities and the money we spend on the "administration" of the Football program has caught up and is on par with the best in the B10 and country. The expectations should be elevated from here.
There was one missing piece that should have been brought up and that's the fact that Ferentz puts players in the NFL. He's in the top 3 in the B10 if I remember correctly over the past 10 years or so. That's impressive when you consider recruiting rankings among those three schools.
There was one missing piece that should have been brought up and that's the fact that Ferentz puts players in the NFL. He's in the top 3 in the B10 if I remember correctly over the past 10 years or so. That's impressive when you consider recruiting rankings among those three schools.
hawkdrummer1
Well-Known Member
I think we're setting up for a heck of a run 2018-2021...something similar to 2002-2004... then Kirk steps down but remains in some sort of supportive role, Brian moves to HC (assuming his offense has been a successful upgrade), Polasek moves up to OC and we're looking for/developing a new DC (maybe LeVar Woods) as Parker will likely be next.
BigD
Well-Known Member
I second the motion!!!!!!!!!!!
While the list of accomplishments and comparisons to programs like Tennessee or Nebraska might sound impressive. I think we can all agree that one prize remains unrealized coming into this season. In case you don't know what I am talking about its a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
Considering the same 9 or 10 schools have won it every season since he arrived at Iowa I am not gonna hold that fact against him too harshly.
I agree, and I would add a non-shared Big 10 Championship. The frustration I feel as a fan is that we can't turn some of those good seasons into great recruiting seasons.
hawkdrummer1
Well-Known Member
It's a pretty small club... interesting stats here. I picked a random period of time (50 years as it covers Hayden and KFz's tenure) and came up with 23 teams that have "claimed" a NC. In most of those years there were multiple teams listed (before there was an official NC game and it was poll designated)
EDIT: curiously enough, if you shorten it to 40 years (roughly the time of Hayden and Kirk's tenure at Iowa) it's still 23 teams. The last 20 years, 13 teams. During Kirk and Hayden's tenure only 2 Big Ten teams have won it, Ohio St and Michigan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_football_national_championships_in_NCAA_Division_I_FBS
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InGoodCo
Well-Known Member
exactly... 50 years of CFB and 23 teams have titles... but hey Kirk Ferentz is why Iowa doesn't have there's.
I'm not old enough to remember the 80's or early 90's Hawkeyes, but I can only think of 1 and half teams that were legit National Championship contenders. I think the 2009 team could have competed with Texas or Alabama if Stanzi didn't get hurt and the 2002 team was really good although I don't think they could have hung with Miami, Ohio State (w/ Clarett), or Georgia, and obviously USC that year. It sucks to say, but barring a large shift in the college football landscape, I don't think I'll see the Iowa Hawkeyes win a national championship in my lifetime.
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
I'll go on record about winning a National Championship at Iowa...that I think it can be done. I think over the past few years, we have seen an uptick in the caliber of player coming in on the OL and DL...and the depth that's building. That's where Iowa wins games. Now, if you want to compete for a national title, we need to continue to bring on a few guys like AJ (I know right now, it's just potential) in every class. Teams who win the way Iowa plays, need a pass rush that gets there with four...and gets there consistently fast.
Where Iowa needs to improve is at the WR position period. You have to have guys that can flat out beat the guy across from them with speed and strength. We haven't had that competitive advantage since McNutt and DJK...and that wasn't a huge advantage mind you. I'm telling you, having a game breaker that requires doubles, changes the looks for the TEs and improves the running game. Demond Powell was the last receiver we had that scared anyone...and he was a part time guy. If I was KF, I'd put a team on this task full time...recruiting game breakers...we need one to take the next step.
We are also going to need upgrades at Safety although I think we have a few young players that have great potential. I honestly feel we could compete if we upgrade those skill positions.
Where Iowa needs to improve is at the WR position period. You have to have guys that can flat out beat the guy across from them with speed and strength. We haven't had that competitive advantage since McNutt and DJK...and that wasn't a huge advantage mind you. I'm telling you, having a game breaker that requires doubles, changes the looks for the TEs and improves the running game. Demond Powell was the last receiver we had that scared anyone...and he was a part time guy. If I was KF, I'd put a team on this task full time...recruiting game breakers...we need one to take the next step.
We are also going to need upgrades at Safety although I think we have a few young players that have great potential. I honestly feel we could compete if we upgrade those skill positions.
I disagree with your assessment of that 2002 team, I think that at the end of the year, USC was the best team in the nation. And I will argue until the day that I die that Iowa would have beaten Ohio State, had they met. I base that solely on: OSU vs NW 27-16, Iowa vs NW 62-10, OSU vs PSU at OSU 13-7, Iowa 42-35 at PSU, OSU vs Michigan 14-9 at home, Iowa vs Mich at Michigan 34-9. Other common opponents it was pretty close, but Iowa was as good as, or better than that Buckeye team. And had Iowa not pissed the bed against ISU, it would have been them playing Miami for the NC.
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I disagree with USC being the best team at the end of the year. Although Miami lost, I think they were the best team that year and really shot themselves in the foot with turnovers vs. Ohio State. And no, Ohio State didn't win just because of a flag, but that's a discussion for another time.
Lets look at the 2003 and 2004 NFL draft as to why I don't think USC wasn't the best team at the end of the year. Miami had 8 players drafted in 2003 including 4 1st rounders and another 9 guys drafted in 2004 with 6 guys drafted in the 1st round. That's 17 future pros that played huge roles on the 2002-03 Hurricanes. Lets compare that to USC who had 5 guys drafted in 2003 and 5 more drafted in 2004. That's nothing to snicker at, but that pales in comparison to what the Hurricane's had stocked in their cupboard. Hell, even Ohio State had 5 guys drafted in 2003 and followed that up with a whopping 14 guys drafted in 2004 so I'd argue that Ohio State even had more talent at that particular time than the Trojans.
I think your comparisons of opponents in regards to Iowa and Ohio State in 2002 does hold some water, but I wouldn't dismiss that Ohio State team entirely. Ohio State would have easily been the best defense Iowa played all year. They only gave up 20 points or more 1 time in regulation and that was the first game of the year. They also held 6 opponents to single digit scoring including Purdue, Penn State (which Iowa couldn't do), and Michigan (which Iowa did). They also smacked Pac 10 Champion Washington State 25-7. I think Iowa could have beaten Ohio State in 2002, but I certainly wouldn't have bet on it.
atomicblue224
Well-Known Member
Hell, I wasn't old enough to remember Iowa having 4 National Championships. As I look down the link I see Nebraska winning NC 4 times in the rows or something? I must have been in coma or something. Maybe my old brain farts too much of lately.
HawkPowerlifter
Well-Known Member
I had criticisms of KF over the years, but for the most part, I think he is a great coach. Often times, the saying, "Iowa does more with less than most teams," has been said and sometimes used as a crutch. I do think KF and staff have began to make changes to adapt their style to what is needed to compete.
The first step was becoming much more aggressive with recruiting. I think they have attempted to play to the strengths of the program such as facilities and prepping young men for the NFL. I think the next few years will be critical to see what direction the program goes.
I do think we can compete at the national championship level. Whether we can sustain that level will be interesting. I'm liking what we are doing with our recruiting. That is a start.
The first step was becoming much more aggressive with recruiting. I think they have attempted to play to the strengths of the program such as facilities and prepping young men for the NFL. I think the next few years will be critical to see what direction the program goes.
I do think we can compete at the national championship level. Whether we can sustain that level will be interesting. I'm liking what we are doing with our recruiting. That is a start.
QB is such an important position and USC had the best. It really doesn't matter if we were the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best team in the nation that year bit we were definitely one of those 3. I do think that by the end of the year we were considerably better than OSU tho. We just had the worst match up possible against USC. The best passer in the nation against our freshmen cornerbacks.
