Defending Iowa's program

B

blubberhawk

Well-Known Member
I was sickened by the loss last weekend like everyone else. I dislike the peaks and valleys of the program as much as anyone.
However, I am getting tired of the " we are barely as good as the Northwestern program or Minnesota, etc."
If you look at Iowa football, one season at a time, there are seasons when other programs have better years. If you look at the big picture and analyze the programs by how they have performed over the last 20 years or so, Iowa looks pretty good.
Iowa has 5 top ten finishes since 2002. Only OSU with 10 has more from the BIG. USC, Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, LSU and Oregon have more than Iowa but that is it. Texas also has 5. Pretty damn select company there.

Teams are often judged by how they perform in Bowl games: Iowa has been very respectable over the years.
Iowa is 14-14-1
Northwestern is 2-10
MSU is 11-15
Minnesota is 6-12 - Iowa has as many bowl wins in the last 15 years as Minnesota has in their history)
Michigan is 21-23
Wisc. is 13-14
ISU is 3-9
So go ahead and be pissed off about losses but stop comparing our program to the Minnesotas and Northwesterns of the world. Going forward, we should expect more from Ferentz and this coaching staff. Iowa football facilities, etc. are as good as any. No excuses anymore. Recruit!
 
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Great stats for sure, I agree that this program is very strong. They have had 35 years of mostly winning football. The program now is stronger and more consistent than it has ever been. Before that there were great years but a lot of gaps in the middle. Knipe, Jones and Evy all had a few great teams. Bull and Anderson each had a good year also. Never has the program been this strong for so long. I for one am so happy to be a Hawkeye fan in these years.
 
Would agree, the program is very strong, and has been for a sometime, and will continue being a strong program. Iowa football is a top 25 program, and has been for a long time!
 
I wonder what it would take to move from the Top-25 program all time status into a consistent Top-10 program status, or if that is even possible? We have seen programs like Oregon and Baylor make that leap (temporarily, at least), but it seems like some corners were cut in the process. Would you say Michigan State has made the leap to a consistent top-10 team, or are they just in an upswing right now?
 
CP87 said:
I wonder what it would take to move from the Top-25 program all time status into a consistent Top-10 program status, or if that is even possible? We have seen programs like Oregon and Baylor make that leap (temporarily, at least), but it seems like some corners were cut in the process. Would you say Michigan State has made the leap to a consistent top-10 team, or are they just in an upswing right now?
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A new coach.
 
Not just any new coach, though. If people think just any replacement-level coach can come in here and replicate what Coach Ferentz has done, I will strongly disagree with that. On the flip-side, Ferentz clearly has not been able to elevate them to a consistent top-10 level. I am sure there are elite coaches who could (Saban, Urban Meyer, to name a couple). Is there hope that Iowa will land and keep a coach like that someday?
 
CP87 said:
Not just any new coach, though. If people think just any replacement-level coach can come in here and replicate what Coach Ferentz has done, I will strongly disagree with that. On the flip-side, Ferentz clearly has not been able to elevate them to a consistent top-10 level. I am sure there are elite coaches who could (Saban, Urban Meyer, to name a couple). Is there hope that Iowa will land and keep a coach like that someday?
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So allow one of these elite coaches to come into Iowa City and Dirty it up enough to win for 2/3 years only to high tail it to another gig in year 4 and leave the Program in Shambles once they are done.. To that I say NO THANKS!!
 
CP87 said:
Not just any new coach, though. If people think just any replacement-level coach can come in here and replicate what Coach Ferentz has done, I will strongly disagree with that. On the flip-side, Ferentz clearly has not been able to elevate them to a consistent top-10 level. I am sure there are elite coaches who could (Saban, Urban Meyer, to name a couple). Is there hope that Iowa will land and keep a coach like that someday?
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Yeah Brian is next in line Barta has us covered a couple more sympathy years for Kirk (Gary feels bad his NFL aspirations didn't pan out) and then Brian takes over and we win a national title in 3 years max with nothing but top 10's until the NFL steals him away.
 
CP87 said:
I wonder what it would take to move from the Top-25 program all time status into a consistent Top-10 program status, or if that is even possible? We have seen programs like Oregon and Baylor make that leap (temporarily, at least), but it seems like some corners were cut in the process. Would you say Michigan State has made the leap to a consistent top-10 team, or are they just in an upswing right now?
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I think it would take a few specific things to align:

1. A young, aggressive coach who has strong Iowa ties. Not just that he played here. He loves Iowa and its his dream job. Basically Iowa's version of Pat Fitzgerald. There has to be a loyalty that will keep the bond strong when NFL and other colleges call. It can't be loyalty by money alone.

2. Facilities would have to be upgraded every 3-5 years, at the cost of several million dollars each time, to ensure that Iowa always has the very best. They would have to blow away the competition here. Toe the line of NCAA rules to give the football team the best training and living quarters possible. Basically almost give them their own private university to train, work, and hang out. And facilities are like the arms race. You need to constantly adding/upgrading. If you're not, your losing.

3. They would have to have someone on the staff who can recruit and develop QBs and WRs and pay them like a HC to keep them here. With the rules of today's football, those are the two most important positions on the team. And Iowa rarely has playmakers at either spot.
 
blubberhawk said:
I was sickened by the loss last weekend like everyone else. I dislike the peaks and valleys of the program as much as anyone.
However, I am getting tired of the " we are barely as good as the Northwestern program or Minnesota, etc."
If you look at Iowa football, one season at a time, there are seasons when other programs have better years. If you look at the big picture and analyze the programs by how they have performed over the last 20 years or so, Iowa looks pretty good.
Iowa has 5 top ten finishes since 2002. Only OSU with 10 has more from the BIG. USC, Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, LSU and Oregon have more than Iowa but that is it. Texas also has 5. Pretty damn select company there.

Teams are often judged by how they perform in Bowl games: Iowa has been very respectable over the years.
Iowa is 14-14-1
Northwestern is 2-10
MSU is 11-15
Minnesota is 6-12 - Iowa has as many bowl wins in the last 15 years as Minnesota has in their history)
Michigan is 21-23
Wisc. is 13-14
ISU is 3-9
So go ahead and be pissed off about losses but stop comparing our program to the Minnesotas and Northwesterns of the world. Going forward, we should expect more from Ferentz and this coaching staff. Iowa football facilities, etc. are as good as any. No excuses anymore. Recruit!
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Nicely stated and backed up by data.
 
CP87 said:
I wonder what it would take to move from the Top-25 program all time status into a consistent Top-10 program status, or if that is even possible? We have seen programs like Oregon and Baylor make that leap (temporarily, at least), but it seems like some corners were cut in the process. Would you say Michigan State has made the leap to a consistent top-10 team, or are they just in an upswing right now?
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I think more consistent recruiting to get players that maybe don't need so long to develop before Ferentz game ready. I think when Iowa has to rebuild the lines is where we see a gap in years as far as record goes.
 
How many teams are only like 9 or 10 games above .500 going back to 2010? That isn't "Strong" when discounting cupcakes, some of which have been L's. It certainly isn't weak either.

What the issues with me are:

1. He disses the state. Paraphrased....We can't recruit because we are in Iowa.
2. He coaches conservatively. If you are Alabama then maybe that works..
3. He doesn't want to make adjustments.
4. His teams don't seem prepared for injuries.
5. There is no excuse in losing to ISU so often.
6. No way he doesn't have more than average bad losses.
7. Iowa is not a top 25 program going back to 2010.
8. 2 recent bowls have been total embarrassments.1 is unusual at that level.
9. His style flies in the face of his predecessor.
10. Fry's ups and downs are directly related to having to replace assistants who went on to successful HC careers. KF doesn't have that problem.
 
Bluesman said:
A new coach.
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You might just trying to be funny, but be careful what you wish for. This isn't Alabama or Ohio State which have tons of $$ and can pretty much recruit themselves. You have to have the right kind of style and personality at Iowa and understand the recruiting limitations and landscape where recruiting locally. It's just not that simple. Yea, Urban Myer or Nick Saban would probably succeed if they came here but would they come, probably not.
 
CP87 said:
I wonder what it would take to move from the Top-25 program all time status into a consistent Top-10 program status, or if that is even possible? We have seen programs like Oregon and Baylor make that leap (temporarily, at least), but it seems like some corners were cut in the process. Would you say Michigan State has made the leap to a consistent top-10 team, or are they just in an upswing right now?
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Baylor??? Shit Iowa has had more Top 10 finishes since 2000 than Baylor's had in its HISTORY..

And NO MSU has made it? are you being serious?


You asked if its even possible? Well Based on the 2 programs you listed above than Iowa's been there done that TWICE! In the late 50's and again in the early 2000's...
 
While I agree with everything in the initial post to me the past is nothing more than the past. I don't necessarily care about historically being a top 25 program, I want to see that we remain such. We are currently having more success then, and beating, those programs and I want it to remain that way. We can only move forward. That said, I'd love to work our way into the realm of those programs consistently finishing in the top 10 year in and year out.
 
Xerxes said:
I think it would take a few specific things to align:

1. A young, aggressive coach who has strong Iowa ties. Not just that he played here. He loves Iowa and its his dream job. Basically Iowa's version of Pat Fitzgerald. There has to be a loyalty that will keep the bond strong when NFL and other colleges call. It can't be loyalty by money alone.

2. Facilities would have to be upgraded every 3-5 years, at the cost of several million dollars each time, to ensure that Iowa always has the very best. They would have to blow away the competition here. Toe the line of NCAA rules to give the football team the best training and living quarters possible. Basically almost give them their own private university to train, work, and hang out. And facilities are like the arms race. You need to constantly adding/upgrading. If you're not, your losing.

3. They would have to have someone on the staff who can recruit and develop QBs and WRs and pay them like a HC to keep them here. With the rules of today's football, those are the two most important positions on the team. And Iowa rarely has playmakers at either spot.
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I think this is excellent analysis.
 
HawkPrdatr40 said:
Baylor??? Shit Iowa has had more Top 10 finishes since 2000 than Baylor's had in its HISTORY..

And NO MSU has made it? are you being serious?


You asked if its even possible? Well Based on the 2 programs you listed above than Iowa's been there done that TWICE! In the late 50's and again in the early 2000's...
Click to expand...

I see your points. With regards to Baylor and Oregon, I was trying to say it looked like they had ascended to a constant top-10 level that could be sustained, but since it was revealed that their coaches had been a little shady, they seem to have fallen out of that class.

Regarding MSU, it seems to me that they have elevated themselves above Iowa over the last 5 years. Perhaps it is cyclical, and it will swing back soon (like the Iowa high of the early 2000s)? I was hoping to get others opinions on that, so thanks for providing yours.
 
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blubberhawk said:
I was sickened by the loss last weekend like everyone else. I dislike the peaks and valleys of the program as much as anyone.
However, I am getting tired of the " we are barely as good as the Northwestern program or Minnesota, etc."
If you look at Iowa football, one season at a time, there are seasons when other programs have better years. If you look at the big picture and analyze the programs by how they have performed over the last 20 years or so, Iowa looks pretty good.
Iowa has 5 top ten finishes since 2002. Only OSU with 10 has more from the BIG. USC, Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, LSU and Oregon have more than Iowa but that is it. Texas also has 5. Pretty damn select company there.

Teams are often judged by how they perform in Bowl games: Iowa has been very respectable over the years.
Iowa is 14-14-1
Northwestern is 2-10
MSU is 11-15
Minnesota is 6-12 - Iowa has as many bowl wins in the last 15 years as Minnesota has in their history)
Michigan is 21-23
Wisc. is 13-14
ISU is 3-9
So go ahead and be pissed off about losses but stop comparing our program to the Minnesotas and Northwesterns of the world. Going forward, we should expect more from Ferentz and this coaching staff. Iowa football facilities, etc. are as good as any. No excuses anymore. Recruit!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the perspective. I needed that.... Sometimes the short sighted frustrations can get to me. Losing sucked last week but your dead on. Iowa has a lot to be proud of and I saw Tom Lemmings recruiting show yesterday. He was really high on our class. He even mentioned he didn't think Iowa was done pulling in a few more good ones. I think the rest of this year is going to be huge. If Iowa can finish strong and look good in their bowl game the recruiting class will stay together and hopefully it'll just spring board them going forward. Now next yr we'll have a true Soph at QB it looks like so there may be some growing pains there. But I still think they should do well.
 
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