Every game we win is like another rung on a ladder to nowhere

[uihawk82]

I'm

I think Michigan beats them. I also think Penn State beats them. I also think Northwestern could beat them...if Thorson plays like he did yesterday. You have to outscore Wisconsin...but if Hornibrook is inconsistent...your chances go way up.

ball.

The hawks almost have to win out but if what you say above happens and jNW keeps winning like they seem to do once in awhile when they get on a roll then jNW will put themselves in the title hunt with only 1 loss so far.

The hawks definitely cannot lose again against the West and must beat IU. The game this week is extremely important.

 

[uihawk82]

That damned Wisconsin choke job so early has taken all the drama from this season

Totally disagree except there is an extreme amount of urgency for Iowa to win about every remaining game.

If Hornibrook has lackluster games Wisky can lose two or three.

Just the fact that the hawks could win on Black Friday and put pressure on Wisky is a great thing.

I am hoping Hankins at least gets back as he has a hand injury.

 

[lightning1]

The run game was indeed shit. Minnesota obviously sold out in practice to stop it. That has been the smart money for years. That said the passing game was unstoppable unless we stopped ourselves. We ran frequently even when it wasn't working much because we had confidence to convert on the 3rd and longs. Plus all of our arm chair QB's should very well know that you simply must run the ball to keep a defense honest. You can't pass on every down or the DL will eat your QB and the picks will rain from the sky.

All in all we played this game the right way. Offense handled their business. The burden is actually now on the defense. The defense needs to tighten up. They face the 2nd most dangerous offense of the season next week on the road. If the defense doesn't tighten up the zone coverage Indiana will score 42. At least they don't have a defense and scoring 48 on them like Minnesota is a realistic outcome. I'm booking next week as a old fashioned barn burner.

It's hard to call the run game "shit" when Minn was loading the box like they were. They should have passed on every down. Minn knew that KF would continue to run the ball, regardless and he did. It's stupid to continue to do what the other team expects you to do. It might get you wins against the Minns of the world but it won't get you wins against Wisconsin or PSU. These are the lessons we've learned, that KF hasn't.

 

[ModebaSan]

I agree we gave away the Wisconsin game, but we cant let it stay in our heads. The players turned the page and so must we. The Minnesota game was a good road win. Despite the injuries, we gotta stay the course. I know injuries are a part of the game. Hankins and Ojemudia should return next week. Playing nickel most of the game will only make playing against Indiana better. We still have Welch and Colbert in the LB ranks. Not sure if Wade brought anything to the table, but playing Hooker as a hybrid safety/linebacker worked well as he was in on a lot of plays. I hate to say it, but these injuries may be a blessing in disguise. It forces KF to play guys that wouldnt normally see the field. This will only lead to more experienced depth continuing forward and beyond. I look at this season as every win this year is just icing on the cake. We are still fairly young across the board. Next year we should be favored in the B1G West.

 

[Adam]

It's hard to call the run game "shit" when Minn was loading the box like they were. They should have passed on every down. Minn knew that KF would continue to run the ball, regardless and he did. It's stupid to continue to do what the other team expects you to do. It might get you wins against the Minns of the world but it won't get you wins against Wisconsin or PSU. These are the lessons we've learned, that KF hasn't.

I'm sorry but I contest what you have "learned". There is zero recipe for winning by only throwing the football. You have to run occasionally. We may have ran the ball about 5 or 6 times too many in my opinion. That is completely aided by 20/20 hindsight.

P.S. Iowa is used to running the ball into loaded boxes. Our blockers weren't getting to the second level blocks on 70% of our run plays. Minnesota is not exactly Alabama on defense. We needed to execute better in the run game. Maybe "shit" is too harsh, but it was lackluster at best.

 

[lightning1]

I'm sorry but I contest what you have "learned". There is zero recipe for winning by only throwing the football. You have to run occasionally. We may have ran the ball about 5 or 6 times too many in my opinion. That is completely aided by 20/20 hindsight.

P.S. Iowa is used to running the ball into loaded boxes. Our blockers weren't getting to the second level blocks on 70% of our run plays. Minnesota is not exactly Alabama on defense. We needed to execute better in the run game. Maybe "shit" is too harsh, but it was lackluster at best.

Not against that defense. We score 60+ pts if they abandon the 40 runs for 2.5 yards per carry. It's not rocket science. Running the ball into loaded boxes will get this team 2 or 3 more losses on this season. Mark my words.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Or, maybe we don't give away the WUs game and we're now alone in first place at 2-0 and 5-0 overall. Maybe we're in the top 15. We didn't get beat by WUs, we out played them but gave them the win. If WUs had beaten, then, I agree, water under the bridge. But that isn't what happened. Last season's ass-whoopin' by WUs...yeah, water under the bridge. This years loss, not water under the bridge.

There are countless examples of teams who bounce back from crushing losses and go on to have great seasons. I brought up Michigan 1985, who actually finished that year ranked higher than us after all the bowls played out. Look at our 2009 team who was ranked #4 in the country and got a quick 10-0 lead on jNW. They had national championship aspirations if Stanzi stays healthy. We may have had the best defense in the country that year. They kept slugging and won the Orange Bowl.

Crushing losses are a part of sports, and life. How one deals with them can go a long way toward revealing their true colors.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Not against that defense. We score 60+ pts if they abandon the 40 runs for 2.5 yards per carry. It's not rocket science. Running the ball into loaded boxes will get this team 2 or 3 more losses on this season. Mark my words.

I pointed it out in two live game posts. Yesterday's game should have been the Nebraska beatdown 2.0. We gifted them two TD's by shooting ourselves in the damn foot. That's what has to stop and is uncharacteristic of a Ferentz team. We a history of making those plays and giving our offense the short field. Not the other way around.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Nah. But it made it more difficult. Gotta keep winning. Wisky wont win out.

I'll be nervous for next week. Indiana will be a tougher matchup.

Excellent point. We have NEVER played well over there, sans one blowout in the Shonn Greene era. That includes Kirk's best teams, Hayden, all the way down the line. Every game comes down to the wire or is a loss. Remember Devon Mitchell's game saving tackle at the one yard line in 1982? How about 2010, when their receiver dropped would would have been a game winning TD. Antwaan Randle El used Iowa games as his personal highlight reel, as well as his NFL audition.

I expect a tough game.

 

[hawkinn3]

If that is your opinion, feel free to crawl back into your cellar until next year.

Each and everyone of our remaining games is important. If the players had the weak spine that your crybaby post suggests we would be an also ran and we could enter every season with zero hope of winning a B1G championship.

I bet you own a lot of clothes with a camo pattern.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

I'm in the court that the jury is still out on Wisconsin. Let's see how they do this week. I hope Gary is back for Michigan. Here is the thing...if Hornibrook plays the way he did yesterday against Iowa, Iowa wins that game even with the mistakes. Hornibrook is terribly inconsistent...just ask BYU..he just threw it well against us for some reason.

Wisconsin had punted on 7 or 9 drives to the point they went on the long drive at the end of the game to beat us. Do you think Michigan's defense is better than ours? Well, I kind of do. It's in the big house...Michigan's offensive line is playing better...and Wisconsin's defense is very very suspect.

I think Michigan beats them. I also think Penn State beats them. I also think Northwestern could beat them...if Thorson plays like he did yesterday. You have to outscore Wisconsin...but if Hornibrook is inconsistent...your chances go way up.

To think the season is over is ridiculous. If it was Wisconsin last year...fine...I'm with you. This defense is no where near that defense...and now they have guys hurt all over that defense.

The problem I have is that, the way Iowa is playing (huge turnovers) I don't think they can run the table on their schedule. Our linebackers are a problem and we are playing two true freshmen at corner (although I loved the way they competed yesterday). Can it come together...well it better this week, because Indiana is better than Minnesota, on both sides of the ball.

I also think Wisconsin could have some trouble at Purdue. Wisconsin has a chance to lose to Michigan, Penn St, Northwestern, and Purdue.

But, like you said, Iowa has a number of landmines as well.

 

[Adam]

I bet you own a lot of clothes with a camo pattern.

Lol I assume you own a few pair of shoes with velcro straps.

 

[Adam]

Not against that defense. We score 60+ pts if they abandon the 40 runs for 2.5 yards per carry. It's not rocket science. Running the ball into loaded boxes will get this team 2 or 3 more losses on this season. Mark my words.

Lol that's a bold prediction (sarcasm). If we don't run the ball efficiently then we will lose all but 1 of our remaining games. Again you can't pass only. No team in history has made that work and no team ever will. They stacked and we threw just enough to win comfortably. More teams now will question the idea to sell out for the run.

Please explain your desire to score 60+ points against Minnesota? Would that make you feel better? Would you swell with pride that Iowa trounces inferior teams to show up in the big games and struggle to put up more than 21? Seriously what in the F is the difference dude? We beat Minnesota like a drum and it never really was a contest. Still gotta complain.

 

[lightning1]

Lol that's a bold prediction (sarcasm). If we don't run the ball efficiently then we will lose all but 1 of our remaining games. Again you can't pass only. No team in history has made that work and no team ever will. They stacked and we threw just enough to win comfortably. More teams now will question the idea to sell out for the run.

Please explain your desire to score 60+ points against Minnesota? Would that make you feel better? Would you swell with pride that Iowa trounces inferior teams to show up in the big games and struggle to put up more than 21? Seriously what in the F is the difference dude? We beat Minnesota like a drum and it never really was a contest. Still gotta complain.

stubborn stupidity = 2 or 3 more losses. Book it.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Lol that's a bold prediction (sarcasm). If we don't run the ball efficiently then we will lose all but 1 of our remaining games. Again you can't pass only. No team in history has made that work and no team ever will. They stacked and we threw just enough to win comfortably. More teams now will question the idea to sell out for the run.

Please explain your desire to score 60+ points against Minnesota? Would that make you feel better? Would you swell with pride that Iowa trounces inferior teams to show up in the big games and struggle to put up more than 21? Seriously what in the F is the difference dude? We beat Minnesota like a drum and it never really was a contest. Still gotta complain.

He explained, in a post to me, that the offense was encouraging.
His concern is that we stayed on script too long instead of taking what was obviously there, and that runs into a stacked box against better teams will lead to multiple losses. Doesnt sound like bitching to me. Read the posts.

BTW, read the live game threads. Everytime something worked, some posters were lamenting why we didn't try that against Wisconsin.

Minnesota isn't Wisconsin.

Changing gears, and I haven't seen this mentioned much. Hooker, playing in his hometown, had a beast of a game. He was everywhere. We may need him even more next week pending the state of our LB's.

Edit: There was one point where that game became closer to a contest than it needed to. But ISM took care of that quickly with an excellent kickoff return. We eventually scored. If we go three and out there at 31-24 and give the goofs the ball back with momentum then it becomes dangerously close to being a contest.

 

[uihawk82]

I'm sorry but I contest what you have "learned". There is zero recipe for winning by only throwing the football. You have to run occasionally. We may have ran the ball about 5 or 6 times too many in my opinion. That is completely aided by 20/20 hindsight.

P.S. Iowa is used to running the ball into loaded boxes. Our blockers weren't getting to the second level blocks on 70% of our run plays. Minnesota is not exactly Alabama on defense. We needed to execute better in the run game. Maybe "shit" is too harsh, but it was lackluster at best.

And you can never tell how much a defensive line is holding blockers.

We all know how much jNW's offensive line has been holding since the mid 90's and last week the Michigan coaches were giving an earful to the refs about jNW's Dee linemen doing the same trying to keep Michigan's pulling guards from getting into the hole.

And guess what Jimmy Harbaugh got one if not two holding calls against jNW Dee line.

 

[DMLadyhawk]

That damned Wisconsin choke job so early has taken all the drama from this season

Well, I am for playing the rest of the games and seeing what happens.

 

[EstronHawkKing]

I hope Michigan kicks the f-ing crap out of wisconsin next Saturday!

 

[SpiderRico]

A chance at an 11-1 season and a NY6 bowl isn’t “nowhere”. I’m pissed as much as anyone about the gift we gave Wisky...but we’ve still got a shot at a special-type season.

 

[lightning1]

He explained, in a post to me, that the offense was encouraging.
His concern is that we stayed on script too long instead of taking what was obviously there, and that runs into a stacked box against better teams will lead to multiple losses. Doesnt sound like bitching to me. Read the posts.

BTW, read the live game threads. Everytime something worked, some posters were lamenting why we didn't try that against Wisconsin.

Minnesota isn't Wisconsin.

Changing gears, and I haven't seen this mentioned much. Hooker, playing in his hometown, had a beast of a game. He was everywhere. We may need him even more next week pending the state of our LB's.

Edit: There was one point where that game became closer to a contest than it needed to. But ISM took care of that quickly with an excellent kickoff return. We eventually scored. If we go three and out there at 31-24 and give the goofs the ball back with momentum then it becomes dangerously close to being a contest.

He's not objective enough to actually read the posts.