Here is next season's schedule and what we lose

hawkdrummer1 said:
WOTC, I love ya man but come on. Those plays didn't happen and they didn't happen for a reason. We weren't good enough. Every season there are a handfull of plays that could swing things one way of the other hypothetically.

Next year could be brutal...The only sure wins on the schedule are 2 of the 3 non-cons, Rutgers and Illinois. Maybe throw Minnesota in and that's 5. (though we know KFz likes to drop one he shouldn't every year)

The middle of our O line was suspect this year and next year we have their backups?! If there's one thing a KFz team can't win without...it's a solid offensive line. We do have young talent coming up at other positions....but without an offensive line it's gonna be rely on Phil Parker's D to hold everybody under 14.

I'd love to share your optimism, but today...I'm not seeing it.
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We won't be 6-6. But this team has critical breakdowns at the worst possible times. Like, the critical turning points that decide games. Killer penalties, like Eppy's roughing the passer, which wasn't overly egregeous but egregeous enough to draw the flag. Hesse, who was our most consistent defender for two months but now loses edge contain at the worst times. Like the 4th and 2 play.

We are making the kinds of mental mistakes not associated with vintage Ferentz teams and they are costing us games. We are losing games the way we used to win them. Now we have to find a way to bounce back and should have plenty of motivation for Northwestern, even if some fans don't.
 
ClintonIAfan said:
I will make my official prediction this summer, but at this time I don’t see any reason not to pick 12-0. There is no team on the schedule that Iowa can’t beat.
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Correct, until they play the games.

And we already know what your official prediction will be, and what will be the cause of the blame for the game we lose.
 
Fryowa said:
They need to start recruiting and developing CBs who can play man coverage in the Big Ten which is, wether people want to believe it or not, changing to pass-first offense.

You can have the best DL in the world but if you don’t blitz more often than not and have guys who can stay with receivers, your goose is cooked.

Just to be clear, Im under no illusion that we will. We are Iowa and 5-4 in conference is how we roll.
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Overall I agree with you, I like a defense that changes things up a fair amount to keep young QBs and offenses guessing. I know the players like the coaches but I bet they would like to blitz a little more or zone blitz dropping a D lineman in short coverage and bringing 5 rushers.

I disagree in that We just had Desmond King and Josh Jackson make great Corner play for 4 years. We dont always have lock down corners but usually pretty good. The hawk defense shut down Knox and the PU running game pretty well so I wish Parker would have brought some blitz up the middle and on the edges a little more.

AJ was getting some pressure but at the same time Blough was releasing the ball quick and high to a spot to let his receivers run under it. Not sure why we dont do that more often as you can throw a bomb after only 2 seconds of drop back.
 
ClintonIAfan said:
I will make my official prediction this summer, but at this time I don’t see any reason not to pick 12-0. There is no team on the schedule that Iowa can’t beat.
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It'll be like eagerly waiting for the new Street & Smith CFB magazine to hit the newstands back in the day!
 
uihawk82 said:
AJ was getting some pressure but at the same time Blough was releasing the ball quick and high to a spot to let his receivers run under it. Not sure why we dont do that more often as you can throw a bomb after only 2 seconds of drop back.
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Again, your DL doesn’t mean much if your coners are consistently beat and give up deep routes. All a qb needs to do is take the snap and launch it to whoever you’re picking on that particular game. Moss is the guy they can pick on. With a team like Purdue if they give Moss help, guess what? You’re giving up a defender with both Knox and Moore on the field, and Blough can run if he needs to.

Get two serviceable corners on the field, and all of a sudden you can steer their defense into a smaller window instead of them imposing their will on you. I’ll take two lockdown corners over our D-Line any day. The Big Ten isn’t up the gut football anymore.

As far as Jackson and King, the rest of their corner help were weak sauce comparatively and King/Jackson made their job easier because they had a better idea where the ball was going (away from King/Jackson). Our weakness is showing now that we don’t have a good cornerback. Mabin made a pro team but 1) that’s not always indicative of results in college and 2) he got burned a LOT and gave up a bunch of huge plays. Again, he was helped greatly by Desmond King being on the field.
 
8-4 or 9-3, just like this season. I believe the squad will be improved but the schedule is tougher too. Could surprise, or could disappoint. Just like this season and most KF squads.
 
lightning1 said:
Polosek is not getting it done with the OL. People can point to whatever they want but when we need to grind out a few 1st downs on the ground to close out games we are leading in, we have not been able to get it done. OL and WR are our weakest position groups. WR has always been a weak position group for KF but that's hardly ever been the case with the OL. Until recently. This could be the 3rd year in a row that we haven't had an OL drafted. That hasn't happened since KF first 3 seasons (99-2001).
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I don’t think you can criticize the OL without criticizing KF. There really hasn’t been much of change in our YPC rushing and our pass blocking maybe has been better with Polasek. We haven’t been good at generating a rushing offense for 10 years. It’s ironic but true.
 
lightning1 said:
I never claimed this team was garbage. If we had better OL play, we probably would be 9-0. If's and buts were candy and nuts....if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle....
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Culture has changed, dude. Your aunt doesn’t have to have balls to be your uncle. She just has to feel like she’s your uncle.

I feel like trans-gaming those losses into wins. We’re 9-0 cuz I feel like we are.
 
hwk23 said:
I don’t think you can criticize the OL without criticizing KF. There really hasn’t been much of change in our YPC rushing and our pass blocking maybe has been better with Polasek. We haven’t been good at generating a rushing offense for 10 years. It’s ironic but true.
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I think if you read my post, you'll see where I singled KF out for criticism.
 
DDThompson said:
Culture has changed, dude. Your aunt doesn’t have to have balls to be your uncle. She just has to feel like she’s your uncle.

I feel like trans-gaming those losses into wins. We’re 9-0 cuz I feel like we are.
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I am not in sales. But that sounds like a classic sales technique. Make the customer feel like they've already bought your product and they will.

This is what the PJ Flecks of the world are doing. Trying to get seventeen and eighteen years old kids to fall for the schtick. When they're twenty one and can see what they fell for they are stuck unless they decide to transfer and sit.
 
The only player I’m worried about losing is Fant. Again, when Fant, Hockenson and B Smith are in the game they are very good targets for Stanley and it shows statistically. There’s a big difference statistically when we have Easley, ISM and Groeneweg out there (any 2 or all 3) with only Hockenson. They just don’t matchup against the back 7 of good teams like PSU.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
6-6...really. LOL. You realize we are a few plays away from being undefeated and we have 17 of 21 starters back next year. Banwart started yesterday. Paulson played too. Kallenberger played in the first game and did very, very well for a freshman. Our OL has protected very well all year. Losing Reynolds and Render hurts, but Banwart will slide into the center role and you have four or five guys sitting in the wings on the OL. We will be fine there.

On defense...we are going to be much better. True freshmen corners...are going to make a leap with another offseason and they will be more physical. Hooker and Stone on the back end will be fine. I really think Stone is going to have some competition from Ojemudia moving to safety, Craddieth, and others. At LB, we are stacked...Welsh and Colbert are already very good and have improved so much. Neiman comes back...Jones is back...and then you have the freshmen...Benson and Doyle. The DL is going to be very, very good and better than this year...with more size. AJ, A. Nelson, and Golston all come back...plus Lattimore. Nixon, Shannon and Linderbaum will all be very good.

Tough schedule...but I find it hard to believe we lose any home games. Won't happen. ISU...is improved...but with our defense being better next year...more experienced...hard to believe they are going to score more points. Our entire skill position set is back.

10-2 is the worst I see.
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10-2 you have to be on drugs.
 
deanvogs said:
One other thing. We are an eyelash from being 9-0 right now. Every close game has broken the other teams way. It is what it is, but this team isn't garbage just because they throw a pick at the 3 yard line vs Penn St. and Iowa gets hit with 25 yards of penalties in the last few minutes vs Purdue.

People get way to high and way to low on some of these things. These things usually balance out. You usually win a couple close games and you lose a couple close games. Iowa has lost every one of them so far, we need to not lose any more close ones the rest of the way.
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I think it was 35 yards in penalties.

And yes this year is the opposite of 2015 when bounces went our way, weird plays went our way (wisky fumbling on the 3 yard line), and we got off to good starts had 2 score leads in the 2nd half and answered on offense becasue of gutty players like CJ, Kittle and K-Coble, canzeri, Wadley and Daniels, and a tough but not great offensive line, and vandeberg emerged on the other side to compliment T Smith.

2015 is like a once in a century storm and to pick KF Iowa teams to win 10-12 games a season is pushing it.

The team this year is just making too many errors also besides skill and athletic errors.

I really like the players on this team like almost all teams. It gets a fan invested in the hawks. I have to say I jumped out of my chair a couple times late in the game on the penalty calls. But after seeing Brents call it was correct just dont be obvious.
 
hwk23 said:
The only player I’m worried about losing is Fant. Again, when Fant, Hockenson and B Smith are in the game they are very good targets for Stanley and it shows statistically. There’s a big difference statistically when we have Easley, ISM and Groeneweg out there (any 2 or all 3) with only Hockenson. They just don’t matchup against the back 7 of good teams like PSU.
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Fant is gone. There is no question about that. The coaches already know this.
 
It's clear to me that we will beat Illinois this year and go at least 7-5. We won't win either of the other 2 games unless we are up by 10 or more with 6 minutes left in the game. You can provide excuses of why we lost such as bad officiating or a couple of bad breaks, but the truth is we can't stop a team in the final minutes and we can't maintain a drive in critical situations. It's just not in our DNA. Next year we will be lucky to be 6-6. ISU is getting better, Purdue is getting better, Nebraska is getting better as the season has gone along. We stay the same, play the same - good but not great.
 
vork22 said:
10-2 you have to be on drugs.
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Expectations.

If KF has expectations going into 2019 he will shit the bed and go 7-5. If there are no expectations and they fly under the radar I could easily see a 10-2 season.. Everytime you think you had enough of the Ferentz era, he pulls out one of those seasons.
 
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