Dienhart: Iowa builds season to remember

Why? Because you didn't understand it? The constant complainers, of which you typically fall into that category, consistently fail to look at the big picture. When you look at the history of Iowa football Kirk's Iowa teams overachieve more often than not. It's as simple as that.
Hmmmmm...15 season. 5 good years (2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009), 5 mediocre years (2001, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2013), and 5 terrible years (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2012). So that's 10 out of 15 years that have either been mediocre or terrible. All accomplished with one of the most profitable athletic departments and largest athletic budgets in the nation. Yeah, he sure is Captain Overachiever.
 
Hmmmmm...15 season. 5 good years (2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009), 5 mediocre years (2001, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2013), and 5 terrible years (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2012). So that's 10 out of 15 years that have either been mediocre or terrible. All accomplished with one of the most profitable athletic departments and largest athletic budgets in the nation. Yeah, he sure is Captain Overachiever.


This doesn't even illicit a response. There's no point in debating with someone who can't have some perspective on how difficult it can be to maintain a high level of success over a long period of time at a University like Iowa. I'm not going to waste my time because I won't change your mind, and you sure as hell won't change mine.
 
DP5555, that was one heck of a weird analogy. You went from a chick, to Roseanne, to a super model with a mole on her foot.

:D

All in a days work :)

For some reason I tried thinking of a famous ugly chick and Roseanne was the first one that came to mind. Sorry Tom Arnold... I know you're a Hawk. If you're creepin around here I didn't mean to hate on your old woman.
 
This season so far is fair. A win over Nebby will make it good, and a bowl win makes it a great season for me. I tire of the little ol' Iowa argument from those defending Kirk. I do like the job he has done this year, but I just can't see a coach having to rebuild a program three times under his tenure. If the effort is put in to resurrect the program, the same effort should keep it there!
 
Hmmmmm...15 season. 5 good years (2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009), 5 mediocre years (2001, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2013), and 5 terrible years (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2012). So that's 10 out of 15 years that have either been mediocre or terrible. All accomplished with one of the most profitable athletic departments and largest athletic budgets in the nation. Yeah, he sure is Captain Overachiever.

I typically avoid name-calling on here, but this post deserves it.....Dude, you're an idiot!

First off, years with a B1G championship aren't just "good" seasons, they are freaking OUTSTANDING seasons. Considering the fact that we have a grand total of 10 B1G titles in the 117 year history of the B1G, I'd say those qualify as more than just "good" years. In addition, any year that we can win a Rose, Orange, Sugar or Fiesta bowl game is also an OUTSTANDING year, considering we've won a total of 3 (two Rose and one Orange) in the entire history of our existence. So, this is the REAL breakdown of Ferentz's seasons:

Outstanding Seasons - 2002 (B1G title & Orange Bowl berth), 2004 (B1G title and beat LSU in Cap One Bowl), 2009 (finished 2nd in B1G and won Orange Bowl), 2003 (finished 5-3 in B1G, crushed an SEC team in bowl game to finish with 10 wins), 2008 (finished 5-3 in B1G, beat a top 5 PSU team and crushed SEC team in Outback Bowl to finish with 9 wins)

Good Seasons - 2001 (brought team back to respectability and won first bowl game since 1996), 2005 (finished 5-3 in B1G and nearly beat a Florida team in Outback Bowl that would go on to win NC in 2006), 2010 (didn't meet expectations, but still finished with 8 wins and a win over a top 10 Missouri team)

Mediocre Seasons - 2007 (finished 4-4 in B1G but lost out on getting to bowl), 2011 (finished 4-4 in B1G, but lost big in bowl game)

Bad Seasons - 2006 (lost 6 straight to end the year and was labeled "fat cats" by their head coach), 2012 (lost 6 straight to end the year for first losing regular season in 12 years)

Anyone who tries to pin the first 2 years of the rebuilding effort on KF is simply trolling. Those were Hayden's players. Our starting OL that year avg'd something like 250lbs.

So in reality, KF has had 5 outstanding seasons, 3 good seasons, 2 mediocre seasons and 2 bad seasons. If we beat Nebraska and win the bowl game, we'd have finished 5-3 in conference with a bowl win and that would qualify as an outstanding season as well.
 
I typically avoid name-calling on here, but this post deserves it.....Dude, you're an idiot!First off, years with a B1G championship aren't just "good" seasons, they are freaking OUTSTANDING seasons. Considering the fact that we have a grand total of 10 B1G titles in the 117 year history of the B1G, I'd say those qualify as more than just "good" years. In addition, any year that we can win a Rose, Orange, Sugar or Fiesta bowl game is also an OUTSTANDING year, considering we've won a total of 3 (two Rose and one Orange) in the entire history of our existence. So, this is the REAL breakdown of Ferentz's seasons:Outstanding Seasons - 2002 (B1G title & Orange Bowl berth), 2004 (B1G title and beat LSU in Cap One Bowl), 2009 (finished 2nd in B1G and won Orange Bowl), 2003 (finished 5-3 in B1G, crushed an SEC team in bowl game to finish with 10 wins), 2008 (finished 5-3 in B1G, beat a top 5 PSU team and crushed SEC team in Outback Bowl to finish with 9 wins)Good Seasons - 2001 (brought team back to respectability and won first bowl game since 1996), 2005 (finished 5-3 in B1G and nearly beat a Florida team in Outback Bowl that would go on to win NC in 2006), 2010 (didn't meet expectations, but still finished with 8 wins and a win over a top 10 Missouri team)Mediocre Seasons - 2007 (finished 4-4 in B1G but lost out on getting to bowl), 2011 (finished 4-4 in B1G, but lost big in bowl game)Bad Seasons - 2006 (lost 6 straight to end the year and was labeled "fat cats" by their head coach), 2012 (lost 6 straight to end the year for first losing regular season in 12 years)Anyone who tries to pin the first 2 years of the rebuilding effort on KF is simply trolling. Those were Hayden's players. Our starting OL that year avg'd something like 250lbs.So in reality, KF has had 5 outstanding seasons, 3 good seasons, 2 mediocre seasons and 2 bad seasons. If we beat Nebraska and win the bowl game, we'd have finished 5-3 in conference with a bowl win and that would qualify as an outstanding season as well.
LOL at 2001, 2005, and 2010 being considered good seasons. Way too many close losses those years, many of them to bad teams. Even 2008 was disappointing in that regard. If you honestly call 2005 and 2010 "good" seasons, two of the most disappointing years in recent Iowa memory, then you're twice as stupid as I already think you are.
 
LOL at 2001, 2005, and 2010 being considered good seasons. Way too many close losses those years, many of them to bad teams. Even 2008 was disappointing in that regard. If you honestly call 2005 and 2010 "good" seasons, two of the most disappointing years in recent Iowa memory, then you're twice as stupid as I already think you are.

Go back in the history of iowa football and tell me how many 5-3 seasons or better weve had in the big 10 and how many 7 or 8 win seasons weve had. Then tell me those werent good years. If you still cant say it, then youre just trolling and obviously a Nebraska fan.
 
Go back in the history of iowa football and tell me how many 5-3 seasons or better weve had in the big 10 and how many 7 or 8 win seasons weve had. Then tell me those werent good years. If you still cant say it, then youre just trolling and obviously a Nebraska fan.
We've had quite a few of them in the last 30 years, and no, 7 wins is not considered a good year by just about anyone. That's why Iowa is considered a mediocre football program by the entire rest of the country. Even our own coach admits that in just about every single press conference and interview that he has ever done.
 
From 2002-2013 Iowa is top 25 in wins (#22) Even with a 4-8 season. So say all you want about how many bad seasons that Iowa has had under Kirk they are still a top 25 program over a ten year period. That's pretty impressive at Iowa. They are only 4 wins behind Nebraska and one win behind Michigan during that period.

They are also 4th in the Big ten in wins during that time.
Even if you go over a five year period from 2008-2013 they are 4th in the big ten in wins.
 
We've had quite a few of them in the last 30 years, and no, 7 wins is not considered a good year by just about anyone. That's why Iowa is considered a mediocre football program by the entire rest of the country. Even our own coach admits that in just about every single press conference and interview that he has ever done.

Really? The entire rest of the country, huh? As has been pointed out, we are in the top 25 in wins over the last 12 years. I didn't realize that was mediocre. Nor did I realize that being in the Top 4 in the B1G in wins was "mediocre"?

7 wins in the regular season, by any program other than the "blue bloods", should be considered a good season. 7 wins in 12 games is a winning percentage of .583. Pretty damn good percentage in my book.

But calling a 7 win season "good" doesn't correlate into "satisfaction". None of our coaches and most of our fan base aren't "satisfied" with 7 wins....because ultimately the goal is to win all of them. But that doesn't take away from the fact that winning nearly 60% of the games you play isn't considered "good".
 
Why? Because you didn't understand it? The constant complainers, of which you typically fall into that category, consistently fail to look at the big picture. When you look at the history of Iowa football Kirk's Iowa teams overachieve more often than not. It's as simple as that. Now I understand getting greedy. Every single one of us wants more. I want more. I would love to see KF take the Hawks to higher levels of achievement. However, in my opinion there's a big difference between wanting more and expecting more. You're only setting yourself up for failure if you are expecting something to happen that never has. I'm happy with the kind of person Kirk is, and by and large I'm happy with what he gets out of his teams.

I will admit I've seen a more positive tone to some of your posts lately. Out of all the posters who tend to me more negative I think you manage to stay pretty reasonable.

I'm curious as to what you consider overachieving and underachieving?

Is 2008 overachieving because Iowa was coming off a no-bowl season and little was expected prior to the season. Or is it underachieving because all 11 starting defensive players made at least a practice roster at some point. Its RB was a Doak Walker winner and 1st team AA. Two TEs playing in the NFL, one of the best OLs in school history, a QB that made an NFL roster for 3 years. Outside of Penn St, Iowa easily had more talent on the field then every team it played and quite frankly probably has produced more NFL players from that roster than Penn St did with theirs. Yet Iowa still lost 4 games that year.

Is 2002 overachieving? Iowa was coming off a 7-5 season. Not much was expected prior to 2002. Nobody was predicting 10 wins! But they beat Penn St & pounded Michigan on the road. Or was it underachieving? They had more talent on the field than every team they played except for USC who blasted them off the field, lost to a team with a losing record at home, and came within an eye lash of losing 2 others.

Is 2009 overachieving? Iowa was coming off a 4 loss season and had lost its best player and some good defensive players. Or was it underachieving? Once again QB who made the NFL, two of the best WRs in the Ferentz era, NFL TE, 2 1st round picks on the OL. Great players at all 3 levels on defense. 4 guys from this team were good enough to skip their SR season to go to the NFL. They had more talent then every team they played but lost 2 games.

How about 2001? They were coming two losing seasons for crying out loud. Of course it was overachieving! But wait, once again, the talent on the field was greater or at least equal to every team they played except Michigan, yet Iowa lost 5 games.

Looking forward to your response.
 
I'm curious as to what you consider overachieving and underachieving?

Is 2008 overachieving because Iowa was coming off a no-bowl season and little was expected prior to the season. Or is it underachieving because all 11 starting defensive players made at least a practice roster at some point. Its RB was a Doak Walker winner and 1st team AA. Two TEs playing in the NFL, one of the best OLs in school history, a QB that made an NFL roster for 3 years. Outside of Penn St, Iowa easily had more talent on the field then every team it played and quite frankly probably has produced more NFL players from that roster than Penn St did with theirs. Yet Iowa still lost 4 games that year.

Is 2002 overachieving? Iowa was coming off a 7-5 season. Not much was expected prior to 2002. Nobody was predicting 10 wins! But they beat Penn St & pounded Michigan on the road. Or was it underachieving? They had more talent on the field than every team they played except for USC who blasted them off the field, lost to a team with a losing record at home, and came within an eye lash of losing 2 others.

Is 2009 overachieving? Iowa was coming off a 4 loss season and had lost its best player and some good defensive players. Or was it underachieving? Once again QB who made the NFL, two of the best WRs in the Ferentz era, NFL TE, 2 1st round picks on the OL. Great players at all 3 levels on defense. 4 guys from this team were good enough to skip their SR season to go to the NFL. They had more talent then every team they played but lost 2 games.

How about 2001? They were coming two losing seasons for crying out loud. Of course it was overachieving! But wait, once again, the talent on the field was greater or at least equal to every team they played except Michigan, yet Iowa lost 5 games.

Looking forward to your response.

Who recruited, developed and coached the NFL talent you are referring to in your post?

Looking forward to your response.
 
Actually KF system works when he gets good recruiting classes and finds enough diamonds in the rough. We struggle when we have numerous departures in the program and the % of guys that don't turn out are our biggest issue. Now recruiting in college is at least 50% if not more of what makes you successful. Recruiting is a KF responsibility the buck stops at the top. So, when you see no name programs out recruiting him that's a problem and BIG problem. My biggest issue with KF is he thinks his "system" particularly on game day should work regardless of talent....it doesn't and you only have to look as far as all the MAC teams and Indiana's of the world that have beaten him over the past 4-5 seasons.
 
This season so far is fair. A win over Nebby will make it good, and a bowl win makes it a great season for me. /QUOTE]

I am with you. I want to see a team and staff that can finish.
It would also go a long way, if we could get it really rolling in all three areas for the entire game. One game left to do it!!!!!!
It would go a long way for the fans as well as the bowl selection committee. Not to mention momentum.
 
I'm curious as to what you consider overachieving and underachieving?

Is 2008 overachieving because Iowa was coming off a no-bowl season and little was expected prior to the season. Or is it underachieving because all 11 starting defensive players made at least a practice roster at some point. Its RB was a Doak Walker winner and 1st team AA. Two TEs playing in the NFL, one of the best OLs in school history, a QB that made an NFL roster for 3 years. Outside of Penn St, Iowa easily had more talent on the field then every team it played and quite frankly probably has produced more NFL players from that roster than Penn St did with theirs. Yet Iowa still lost 4 games that year.

Is 2002 overachieving? Iowa was coming off a 7-5 season. Not much was expected prior to 2002. Nobody was predicting 10 wins! But they beat Penn St & pounded Michigan on the road. Or was it underachieving? They had more talent on the field than every team they played except for USC who blasted them off the field, lost to a team with a losing record at home, and came within an eye lash of losing 2 others.

Is 2009 overachieving? Iowa was coming off a 4 loss season and had lost its best player and some good defensive players. Or was it underachieving? Once again QB who made the NFL, two of the best WRs in the Ferentz era, NFL TE, 2 1st round picks on the OL. Great players at all 3 levels on defense. 4 guys from this team were good enough to skip their SR season to go to the NFL. They had more talent then every team they played but lost 2 games.

How about 2001? They were coming two losing seasons for crying out loud. Of course it was overachieving! But wait, once again, the talent on the field was greater or at least equal to every team they played except Michigan, yet Iowa lost 5 games.

Looking forward to your response.

Revisionist history is funny. The overachieving moniker comes more so from the expectations coming into the season. With that in mind, those seasons could certainly be called overachieving. Especially when you have a young and inexperienced QB (2008/2009-which you pointed to as a "strength").

Between 2008-2010 Iowa lost 11 games by a total of 40 points (22 total points between '08 & '09 and six losses). There is a fine line between overachieving and underachieving.
 
Really? The entire rest of the country, huh? As has been pointed out, we are in the top 25 in wins over the last 12 years. I didn't realize that was mediocre. Nor did I realize that being in the Top 4 in the B1G in wins was "mediocre"?

7 wins in the regular season, by any program other than the "blue bloods", should be considered a good season. 7 wins in 12 games is a winning percentage of .583. Pretty damn good percentage in my book.

But calling a 7 win season "good" doesn't correlate into "satisfaction". None of our coaches and most of our fan base aren't "satisfied" with 7 wins....because ultimately the goal is to win all of them. But that doesn't take away from the fact that winning nearly 60% of the games you play isn't considered "good".

^^this is true, 7-8 wins is good. And that Hawk32 dude is wacked out as he must think Iowa should win 9-12 games each year.

I would love to see the hawks avg 9 wins a year but a 75% winning percentage is hard to accomplish unless you are a blue blood.
 
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