Duck Hunt at Kinnick Slaughter...Fly High, Hawks

[HawkPowerlifter]

Even if they call that good, I don't like Iowa's chances in OT. We were outmatched physically up front by a mile. Gotta play a 100% clean game to beat Oregon. We all knew that going in and the chances weren't good for mistake-free football. The frustrating part was it was all self-inflicted stuff. It'd be different if the mistakes were forced but they weren't This game went about how I expected it to. They kept it close but got beat by a better football team with more size and athleticism. Going by the amount of money they spend and the resources they have, the Hawks punched above their weight.

Definitely. It really comes down to what you spoke of. While frustrating in some aspects due to the self-inflicted mistakes, I was still proud how we battled all game and to see the offense march 93 yards for the go ahead touchdown was awesome. Kinnick exploded when Gronk crossed the goal line.

I also love having Big E Langston pumping the crowd up. On a miserable day I thought the crowd showed up and showed out.

 

[Fryowa]

Definitely. It really comes down to what you spoke of. While frustrating in some aspects due to the self-inflicted mistakes, I was still proud how we battled all game and to see the offense march 93 yards for the go ahead touchdown was awesome. Kinnick exploded when Gronk crossed the goal line.

I also love having Big E Langston pumping the crowd up. On a miserable day I thought the crowd showed up and showed out.

I was colder at that game than I was in 19 degree weather at the nebraska game last year. Give me 19 degrees over 38 degrees and rain any day lol.

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

Kirk doesn't have what it takes to win big games anymore. End of story.

Just stop. In the Hawks glory years under Kirk, there were still coin flip games.

Somehow Kirk had what it takes back in '09 when Hunter and Binns blocked consecutive field goal attempts against UNI? But he just puckered up Saturday, the long snapper sensed it, and he sailed those two snaps long because of it? You can make similar analogies from any number of moments in Kirk's best seasons at Iowa and with this years ISU, Indiana and Oregon games. Coin flips.

This one stings, but overall I find the current state of the program so much more enjoyable than the recent past.

There was absolutely zero path to victory against elite teams back then. We all knew exactly how things would end. But with a nice tip of the hat to Goetz and some donors, Kirk adjusted. The Hawkeyes have a competent offensive coordinator and a resilient, tough SOB at QB who is athletic and resourceful enough to find ways to move the ball. Even in the fourth quarter against elite defenses.

The Hawks didn't play a clean enough game to win. But they more than had their chance. They wouldn't have had a chance in recent years.

 

[Grady]

This was my response to the same in the other thread:

"Adding another defender at the LOS would simply have put us in a position to be hit over the top with play-action, and Phil knew it.

Our defensive line, perhaps other than Llewellyn, was completely dominated yesterday. Oregon quickly figured out that they could control our linemen with single blockers, freeing up the remaining linemen to get to the second level over and over and over. Once we lost the ability to two-gap, Sharar and Montgomery had no chance, leaving the DBs to make the tackles 8 yards down the field.

The talent gap was just too much to overcome. Perhaps if we had four Aaron Graves, but we don't.

That said, even when the opportunity in the gap was there, several of our defensive players repeatedly missed tackles that should have been made. That's the thing that will bother Phil the most."

No doubt, there's a little 'pick your poison' involved.

But listen to Lanning's postgame press conference: he said it was clear after their 1st possession they were going to have trouble throwing the ball the way they wanted. Oregon this year is a run-first team anyway, and when they experienced the weather conditions -- and an early INT -- they realized to win the game they were going to have to run the ball.

And you make my point for me: by only having 4 down Dlinemen, it allowed their 5th Olineman to get to the 2nd level. Take away that opportunity and their running game wouldn't have been nearly as effective.

Saying there was a 'talent gap' between the OR o-line and Iowa's d-line is bs IMO. Put those 5 Olinemen vs 5 Iowa Dlinemen and it would have been damn near a draw. It certainly doesn't result in 260+ yds against that Dline, guaranteed. There wasn't a 'talent gap', there was a 'numbers gap'. Versus average teams, Iowa's 4 DLinemen can slow down the run by themselves; it quickly became apparent vs OR they couldn't, yet Parker refused to make the in-game adjustment. That's on him.

Remember, Oregon was down, what, 2-3 starting WRs? They wanted to run the ball. All week long leading up to the game Iowa's defenders said they wanted to make Oregon's offense 'one dimensional'. I believe they could have done that, but Parker didn't make the necessary adjustments to give them a chance.

I'm much more empathetic to Parker's dilemma when it comes to trying to preserve a lead late in the game. Vs Indiana he lost because he brought the house blitz on 3rd and 10; Vs Oregon he sat back in the basic D and gave up the winning drive and FG.

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

No doubt, there's a little 'pick your poison' involved.

But listen to Lanning's postgame press conference: he said it was clear after their 1st possession they were going to have trouble throwing the ball the way they wanted. Oregon this year is a run-first team anyway, and when they experienced the weather conditions -- and an early INT -- they realized to win the game they were going to have to run the ball.

And you make my point for me: by only having 4 down Dlinemen, it allowed their 5th Olineman to get to the 2nd level. Take away that opportunity and their running game wouldn't have been nearly as effective.

Saying there was a 'talent gap' between the OR o-line and Iowa's d-line is bs IMO. Put those 5 Olinemen vs 5 Iowa Dlinemen and it would have been damn near a draw. It certainly doesn't result in 260+ yds against that Dline, guaranteed. There wasn't a 'talent gap', there was a 'numbers gap'. Versus average teams, Iowa's 4 DLinemen can slow down the run by themselves; it quickly became apparent vs OR they couldn't, yet Parker refused to make the in-game adjustment. That's on him.

Remember, Oregon was down, what, 2-3 starting WRs? They wanted to run the ball. All week long leading up to the game Iowa's defenders said they wanted to make Oregon's offense 'one dimensional'. I believe they could have done that, but Parker didn't make the necessary adjustments to give them a chance.

I'm much more empathetic to Parker's dilemma when it comes to trying to preserve a lead late in the game. Vs Indiana he lost because he brought the house blitz on 3rd and 10; Vs Oregon he sat back in the basic D and gave up the winning drive and FG.

Five defensive lineman? Regardless of what Lanning said, he would have had an absolute field day against that scheme.

I'm assuming that you would take out one of the LBs. That would force Phil to play single-high safety and man coverage, with one LB and safety to cover the TEs and RBs out of the backfield, AND spy the QB.

That would be a disaster, IMO, but feel free to email Phil and get his thoughts.

 

[Grady]

Five defensive lineman? Regardless of what Lanning said, he would have had an absolute field day against that scheme.

I'm assuming that you would take out one of the LBs. That would force Phil to play single-high safety and man coverage, with one LB and safety to cover the TEs and RBs out of the backfield, AND spy the QB.

That would be a disaster, IMO, but feel free to email Phil and get his thoughts.

Well, you certainly couldn't spy the QB, and it wouldn't have had to be done on every play, but Lanning is smart enough to know -- and his OLinemen are good enough -- that 5 vs 4 is a mismatch. And continuing to allow that mismatch and not changing things up is well....choose your adjective. Lots of teams play single-high safety, and Iowa's Corners are experienced and talented enough. I suspect Phil would do things differently if he had a 'do over', cause there's no way he was satisfied with allowing 260+ plus on the ground.

Remember, this was a very good Oregon Oline, but not overwhelming. Huge, yes, but they were held to a modest 159/yds average per game on the ground by Penn St., Indiana, & Wisconsin.