Do you really believe the Hawks are good enough to be a playoff team?

Put it this way: Iowa is certainly one of the 4 best teams in the B1G. IMHO, the B1G is the best "top-half" conference in college football (who cares if the $ECs 12th-best team can beat the B1Gs 12th-best team? NEITHER is relevant to the bowl or CFP landscape). This makes Iowa a relevant topic for the CFP as long as Iowa keeps winning.

If we win the B1G West AND win the B1G CG AND are undefeated, how can you NOT say Iowa is a "playoff team". The question becomes more relevant if we win the West and B1G CG and are NOT undefeated, or if we win it all, but the B1G East rep is NOT undefeated.

Right now, we are as relevant to the discussion as any team out there, but I would have to say there are eight or ten teams in the same boat. That's not too surprising in Week 9. Come Week 12/13, it's a more pertinent question.
 
I haven't seen a single team all year that hasn't looked beatable. So if Iowa ends up going 12-0, sure, I think they are good enough to be in the playoff if they beat OSU. OSU is looking a lot better with Barrett at QB but they've had their close calls this year too. Elite defense can keep any team in any game they play and Iowa certainly has that again. I also think CJB is good enough to give us a chance in games we would've had no business being in if he wasn't the QB. Really wish Drew Ott was available and I'd feel really good about Iowa's ability to shut down Elliott and Barrett in the Big Ten Championship game.
 
ColoradoHAWKEYE said:
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So yes, I think by the end of the next 5 weeks, if healthy, we "could" compete with essentially anybody...however, we do matchup better vs some teams than others. No one team is dominant thus far this year and I believe they all are beatable.

Are we the type of team that would win against some of the "perceived " top teams 8 times out of 10? No, but I think it would be fair to say 4 or 5 times we would...those are good enough odds to be in the picture...again, time will tell.
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Agreed.

I really only see two, maybe 3, "unanimous" playoff teams by the time it really matters - 'Bama, OSU and, toss-up between LSU and Clemson. As for the 4th spot, strategically (I am both elated and shocked I typed that), mentally and, above all else, healthy, I DO believe Hawks can compete with anyone in any given game (especially with some extra time to prepare). So, yes, they can be "good enough" to be a playoff team but they'd be a distant 4th seed, along with about 4 others.
 
It's pretty damn simple. If we make it to the Big Ten Championship and win than yes we are, if we lose than no we weren't.
 
mopkins said:
I don't think they're a CFP quality team, but I think they would beat a Memphis and could hang with a Stanford/Michigan State type team. I think a high flying offense like Baylor or TCU would make Iowa look foolish...as would a stacked team like Alabama or Ole Miss (see Tennessee last year).

But thats why you play the games. If Iowa could somehow beat Ohio State, then why couldn't they beat other teams? Iowa has a really good running game that would give any team fits...yes any team.
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I'm going to wait until Baylor or TCU plays somebody and the next few weeks will tell us a lot about them. Iowa St. shut Baylor down pretty well the 2nd half and made Baylor punt more times than they have in any other game. I don't know if Baylor had their backup players in or what. Also, Baylor lost their starting QB so will see how the backup does.
 
I could eaisly see the Pac 12 and Big 12 beating each other up. If that happens and ND loses again, an undefeated Iowa would actually end up fighting with Clemson for the 2 seed. How awesome would it be to play them in the first round?
 
tm3308 said:
I don't think this team is THAT good, and honestly, I think I would rather go to the Rose Bowl and play a team like Stanford. Getting owned in a playoff game doesn't help recruiting as much as a competitive game/victory in the Rose Bowl would. Win the Rose Bowl, and the national media basically has to eat crow and admit they were wrong about Iowa. Get blown out in a playoff game, and all you'll hear is "We told you so." Not the kind of message I'd want recruits to hear.
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Getting a chance to play in the playoff doesn't come around every-other-year for teams like Iowa compared to others. I think you grab that opportunity when it comes along. It's not going to hurt recruiting when you come out as one of the top 4 teams and get invited to the playoff system. Iowa already gets 75% of their recruits as 3 stars. What, if they get blown out Iowa's now going to get a majority of 2 stars, get real. It can only go up with a team that recruits like Iowa. Why back away from a challenge and set the bar lower. Doesn't make sense, especially when that opportunity doesn't come around all too much.

To me, I think the Rose Bowl has lost much of it's luster since the implementation of the BCS & now playoff. It's not the same as it was in the 1980's.
 
tm3308 said:
I don't think this team is THAT good, and honestly, I think I would rather go to the Rose Bowl and play a team like Stanford. Getting owned in a playoff game doesn't help recruiting as much as a competitive game/victory in the Rose Bowl would. Win the Rose Bowl, and the national media basically has to eat crow and admit they were wrong about Iowa. Get blown out in a playoff game, and all you'll hear is "We told you so." Not the kind of message I'd want recruits to hear.
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Also, If Iowa went on to play Stanford in the Rose Bowl and beat them or beat them pretty well, what personally would you be thinking. You'd probably be thinking "Damn, what would we have done in the playoffs? or Iowa should have been in the playoffs.". Personally, that question of what Iowa would have done would eat at me for years down the road. What if. I'd rather be thrown in the mix with a chance even though may end up getting blown out. And there is no way a blown out loss would make a school like Iowa's recruiting suffer. It's isn't like they are pulling in 5* & a ton of 4* recruits now.
 
No, not right now, maybe not at all this year. That said, if we can get better and play clean, stay healthy....I believe we are in very limited company.

We don't have the overall talent level of any of the other teams in the top 5-15. That fact alone will make any kind of 10,11,12 win team all the more impressive.

Keep winning, let's find out! Start with a solid game on Sat.

How unbelievably awesome is it that this can even be a discussion, 7 games in? Pretty damnnn awesome.
 
tm3308 said:
I don't think this team is THAT good, and honestly, I think I would rather go to the Rose Bowl and play a team like Stanford. Getting owned in a playoff game doesn't help recruiting as much as a competitive game/victory in the Rose Bowl would. Win the Rose Bowl, and the national media basically has to eat crow and admit they were wrong about Iowa. Get blown out in a playoff game, and all you'll hear is "We told you so." Not the kind of message I'd want recruits to hear.
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Tork, you have been hanging around Clowntown too long if this is your attitude. I will say that I wouldn't be unhappy if we lose and go to the Rose.....but if I had a choice, I would choose the playoffs 100 times out of 100. Who cares if we get blown out. Oregon blew out Flordia St., and OSU blew out Oregon in the playoffs last year.
 
It's a nice question to ask considering what a lot of people thought before the season started.I think the media are slow to jump on board because we weren't suppose to be this good.If we can stay healthy the remainder of the season and keep getting better then yes we could be the Cinderella team and smash the party.Go Hawks
 
Just to add to the discussion I think the weakness for the Hawks comes at 2 positions... DE and WR

With Ott out, we lose our best pass rusher. Meier has the heart of a lion but he's still undersized and with Hesse filling in for Ott we become undersized at both positions and I wouldn't call either a great speed rusher.

Having T Smith back certainly helps. I'd still like to see the freshman Smith get more snaps. I think having him on the field is no worse than having Hillyer and offers the huge upside of getting him the experience. Vandeberg had some big games early but he has quieted down as of late.

Overall these 2 units I would say are probably the weaknesses of the team.
 
It has been a great season, with potential to become even better, but I'd be pretty nervous watching the Hawks play a top team. Wisconsin and Northwestern were nice wins, but their quarterbacks this season aren't exactly Heisman quality. I'm afraid someone like Connor Cook might carve up Iowa's D. Ohio St. and some other top teams are loaded with talent and speed, as always, and I don't know if Iowa's 2- and 3-stars can keep up.
 
Do I really and truly believe that Iowa is one of the 4 best teams in the country? Not really, but they do seem Top 10-15 for sure. I say this mainly because I think their WR's aren't a very strong group, so the offense may be a bit limited with a deep threat. Also their passing D seems a little vulnerable. Too many 3rd and 4th and longs have been converted.

That said, maybe it doesn't matter as long as you can win games with your strengths, like rushing D, good QB play and a good running game.

If Iowa can find a way to run the table, then I think they deserve to be there, regardless of whether they have bona fide Top 4 talent or not. Big IF, though. The conference title game will be tough, especially if OSU awaits.
 
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As has been said by others, if we are 13-0-yes! The Big Ten will have a representative in the CFP, the Pac 12 may not. We may not have as much talent as other teams but we are better team than most.
 
hawkeyewx said:
It has been a great season, with potential to become even better, but I'd be pretty nervous watching the Hawks play a top team. Wisconsin and Northwestern were nice wins, but their quarterbacks this season aren't exactly Heisman quality. I'm afraid someone like Connor Cook might carve up Iowa's D. Ohio St. and some other top teams are loaded with talent and speed, as always, and I don't know if Iowa's 2- and 3-stars can keep up.
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The one big thing that I think that's hobbles our Hawks is the lack of team speed. I went to the Tax Slayer bowl last season, and the difference in speed between the Hawks and Vols was mind boggling! Speed is the one big factor that's not going to work in our favor against the big boys. Take away the speed factor, and I think our Hawks can matchup and play with anyone.
 
2002 and 2009? Yes.
We don't have that dominant OL and QB, like we had in 2002.
2009, we had balance, and NFL talent scattered throughout.

This year, we barely beat Pitt, Wisconsin and Iowa State.
but good teams, know how to win the close games.

Are we top 25? I'd say yes, based on the OL, QB, depth at RB and defense.
Are we top 15? Maybe, but that's all the higher I would go.
 
We're a Drew Ott and NFL caliber wide receiver away from being elite.

If Beat Hard had that kid from Pitt to throw to, Katie bar the door.
 
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