Hawks not close to Natty Champ caliber

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uihawk82

Well-Known Member
Face it. I watched clemson but not the second game. ND is damn good and they got manhandled. Clemson loses an all american DTackle and they say his replacement is like the #15 ranked NFL draft number for that position, a non starter. Their wideouts are awesome, they have a great QB with enough wheels to extend plays and pick up key yardage. Superb RBs.

#11 for Clemson was a former safety and now lbkr at about 230 lbs, 6'2"ish and the announcers said he runs a 4.3. Venebles is a crazy good DC and he had #11 spying on QB Book and totally took Notre Dames run game away. Book did little in the run game and their backs did little. And to play a Spy on a QB in a game you have to have 10 other great players.

Iowa has talent, they have enough talent to win the West, even win a Big 10 Champ. But they do not have the talent to beat current teams loaded like Clemson and Bama unless it was a 1 in a 100 stars perfectly aligned combination of Iowa playing perfect and the other team making crazy mistakes. That can happen but the chances are very minimal.

And the worst part of it is the Hawks would have to beat a Clemson in the Semi then beat a Bama type team in the Champ game. That makes it 1 in a 100 times 1 in a 100 or about 1 in 10,000 chance of happening. Ouch.

Tremendous difference in speed and power with these teams. Geez Auburn had 3 receivers on the field at one time who were faster than Rondell Moore of Purdue. How would we cover them?

I hope one day the stars align and we see the hawks in the final four and then at least in the Champ Game.
 
Yeah I noticed a power difference as well.
I noticed it more against Oklahoma, but the top teams are absolutely brutal in the trenches. I don't know how many times I saw someone get knocked on their arse or just thrown to the side like a rag doll.
Plus their backs seemed to grab a lower gear upon contact, and just plow forward.

We have done better at recruiting for awhile now and that helps, but it's like they have a totally different commitment to the game as a team than almost every other team out there.
 
I do not see any Big Ten team other than Ohio State able to compete for the NC. The demographics into the future do not support the ability to compete. The school population in the states making up the conference is dropping and along with that comes declining HS football population. The decline in college enrollment is being felt in higher ed.

Along with the declining population factor is the constitution of the population. If you look at the roster of Alabama, Georgia or Clemson it is primarily young black men. Those are two southern states with significant black populations. If you are going to compete you have to be able to recruit in the southeast part of the country. A very difficult task at a place like Iowa.

The present college conferences are relics of the past with some recent modifications. They are not reflective of the demographic changes since they were formed. The values held by conferences vary greatly. The Big Ten Universities were once known as public ivys and members were screened for academic reasons. Other conferences were formed pretty much for athletic reasons only.
 
Well the good news to what the OP is saying is neither are the rest of the schools out there... I get what he's saying. The gap between the top 2 schools and the rest of the country was on full display last night.
One of the best the BIG has to offer in Michigan took their lumps in what was basically a road game for them with however many starters they had sititng out I think it was 4 of them. We'll see how OSU does..

Iowa couldn't hang with Bama or Clemson. I don't think that's breaking news right now it's pretty much a given.
 
I’d like the know when you ever thought they could or how this is such a surprise to you all of the sudden. The hawks have been on national stage against elite college football power house teams a few times in recent decades and never once came close. USC, Stanford Rose Bowl, the late 90’s Nebraska teams. Until Iowa plays a national out of conference game at 7 pm ABC, or a week one neutral site against an elite program and wins them the national brand we think Iowa has will actually come true. Iowa is a very respected team in a upper half conference. If you think it is anything more than that you have hawkeye blinders on and aren’t thinking like the rest of the nation thinks. I know we want and hope and wish it were more but until Iowa consistently wins big out of conference games it won’t change. And sorry the outback bowl isn’t considered one of those games.
 
I think Iowa is 3/4 of the way there the past 3 years.. Certain aspects are that caliber. Put in a Brad Banks into the mix and land a legit rb and wr....and a punter and the Hawks would be better than OU and ND. The latter 2 just aren't that good and shouldn't be on the stage.

KF would never be coaching like hell up 34-0.
 
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The talent in the Midwest will never compare to the amount of talent in the south. Right now the $EC is head and shoulders above everyone else right now, as they should be since they are basically a semi-pro league. The only other team outside the $EC playing at that level is Clemson. I hope they knock Alabama out.
 
HawkGold said:
I think Iowa is 3/4 or the way there the past 3 years.. Certain aspects are that caliber. Put in a Brad Banks into the mix and land a legit rb and wr....and a punter and the Hawks would be better than OU and ND. The latter 2 just aren't that good and shouldn't be on the stage.

KF would never be coaching like hell up 34-0.
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Lol. First of all, you named about half the team. Secondly, if you truly believe this, has anyone broke the news to you about Santa? So far off, not even close. What part of, we beat only one p5 team with a winning record don’t you understand?
 
wkeehawk said:
I’d like the know when you ever thought they could or how this is such a surprise to you all of the sudden. The hawks have been on national stage against elite college football power house teams a few times in recent decades and never once came close. USC, Stanford Rose Bowl, the late 90’s Nebraska teams. Until Iowa plays a national out of conference game at 7 pm ABC, or a week one neutral site against an elite program and wins them the national brand we think Iowa has will actually come true. Iowa is a very respected team in a upper half conference. If you think it is anything more than that you have hawkeye blinders on and aren’t thinking like the rest of the nation thinks. I know we want and hope and wish it were more but until Iowa consistently wins big out of conference games it won’t change. And sorry the outback bowl isn’t considered one of those games.
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it is not a surprise to me but there are posters on HN or other sites who think a few upgrades will let us contend for natty champs. i just said it out loud that we are pretty far behind bama and Clemson.

i think the hawks can beat OU because they dont have a strong defense. beating ND this year would be a 20% proposition .

but iowa can beat anyone in the Big 10. we may see another 2015 type season soon where the hawks finish it by winning the Conf Champ game.

but getting by both and I say BOTH a Clemson and bama back to back is a far reach.
 
oldhawk12 said:
Lol. First of all, you named about half the team. Secondly, if you truly believe this, has anyone broke the news to you about Santa? So far off, not even close. What part of, we beat only one p5 team with a winning record don’t you understand?
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No I didnt. We've had those ingredients in the past and not that long ago.

Just saying it's not that far away as one might think. The overall interior speed is capapable. The edges on D certainly have been. Put Banks and Wadley together with 1 legit wr and there it is. Plus a non board of regents punter.

Did you pass math?
 
The bottom line is that kf doesn’t truly try to compete nationally. If he did, he would play outside town in September, run a read option offense like the rest of college football, recruit running backs and receivers from the deep south instead of walk on receivers from South Dakota. He would also get speedy linebackers from the south. He’d drop his wierd obsession with tight end collecting and fullbacks and focus on what moves the needle in college. QBs, speedy backs and receivers. The goal should be to score as quickly as possible not grind possessions like 1970s NFL. Ferentz tries to coach like he’s in the league but he isn’t. He needs to coach the college game and worry about wins now and quit worrying about draft picks
 
This thread makes me think back to that 2015 season, where Iowa was within inches of winning the BTC and being a playoff team. That was probably Iowa's best team since Brad Banks yet they lost and then turned around and got smoked in the Rose Bowl. The mighty Michigan State champions went on and got smoked by Alabama in the playoffs.

Outside of the occasional Ohio State team the Big Ten just doesn't have what it takes to compete for the NC. There is a huge talent gap between the $EC and the rest of college football right now and I don't ever see that changing.
 
HawkGold said:
No I didnt. We've had those ingredients in the past and not that long ago.

Just saying it's not that far away as one might think. The overall interior speed is capapable. The edges on D certainly have been. Put Banks and Wadley together with 1 legit wr and there it is. Plus a non board of regents punter.

Did you pass math?
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Even if the aunt had male characteristics, we’d still have Ferentz coaching them and that’s always going to be a problem
 
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