How many wins will it take to win the Legends Division?

DP5555

DP5555

Well-Known Member
Okay so I went for a jog last night and listened to Chuck Long and Austen Arnaud on the Monday Quarterback radio broadcast. Chuck Long said he thinks Iowa has a legitimate shot at going 8-4. Which is pretty cool because that's what I predicted before the season started :).

Anyways, Chuck's comments got me thinking... Let's just say Iowa did finish with 8 wins as Chuck suggested. Since they are 4-1 right now that would mean a 5-3 record in the division. The Big Ten Legends Division this year is as wide open division as there is in college football in my opinion. There isn't a single team who has looked dominant since the start of the season. Michigan started out strong, but they are starting to show they aren't invincible. Nebraska's defense has been about as tough as paper. Michigan State's offense continues to trip over itself. Northwestern doesn't seem to be the well rounded team it was last year.

So with all of that said, how many wins do you guys and gals think will be enough to win the Legends division this year? In 2012 Nebraska won the Division by going 7-1. Michigan finished 2nd at 6-2, and Northwestern was 3rd at 5-3.

If I had to guess this year I would predict that 6-2 will be enough to win it, and it could very well come down to a tiebreaker scenario. I would say Michigan State has the easiest route to 6-2 if their offense can start to improve because they don't have to play Ohio State, Penn State, or Wisconsin. I think Nebraska's match-up this week with Illinois will tell us a lot about what direction they are headed in because the Illini are proving they can light up the scoreboard and Nebby's defense could be in trouble.

I still realize I am incredibly biased, but after absorbing all of this information I don't think it's totally unrealistic to say that Iowa has a chance to shock a lot of people. They'll need to keep improving, but that's what Ferentz teams are known for. It's a great sign that the offensive line is opening up big holes this early in the season. If they can stay healthy they could be in rare form come late October early November. If Rudock can continue to play beyond his years and some wide receivers start to emerge who knows? Obviously health will play a big role.

Anyways, I'm very excited to see how the next few weeks turn out. The game against Sparty on Saturday will be a big one.
 
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I think the only chance Iowa would have to win the division (and it's still a long shot) would be to win the head to head matchups against Michigan State, Michigan and Nebraska. I don't think Northwestern will make it through the conference season with fewer than 3 losses, so winning against them isn't a requirement. Their schedule isn't setting up very well for them. I'd guess they could go 5-3 but most likely 4-4.

That Nebraska game is looking more and more interesting as the season goes along. Iowa is improving on BOTH sides of the ball, while Nebraska has made ZERO progress through their first 4 games towards finding a defense.

Here is what Iowa must do:

Wins: MSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Purdue and either Northwestern or Wisconsin



Tall task if you ask me, but possible. I remember the 2004 season vividly. Anything is possible.
 
DP5555 said:
Okay so I went for a jog last night and listened to Chuck Long and Austen Arnaud on the Monday Quarterback radio broadcast. Chuck Long said he thinks Iowa has a legitimate shot at going 8-4. Which is pretty cool because that's what I predicted before the season started :)....
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Hawks could loose to tOSU, Whisky and the Boilermakers and would go to Indy w/ your 8-4 record. IIRC it's the head to head games in the division that really count.
 
The advantage Iowa has is that the games against MSU, NW and Wisc. So there is only one remaining road game in the division. This will help in the head to head match ups. Start by winning the home games and they are well on their way.
 
INTIMIDATORHawk said:
Who ****** in your Cheerios this morning? lol
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Nobody but lets get serious here. We have won four games, and I would argue all four have come against competition that is sub-par at best. All four had really crappy offenses or at least they were one dimensional on the run. Our one loss came against a team that could run and throw and even ISU started to expose us late in the game. Had they started chucking the ball earlier that game would have been in serious question. MSU is another run first team and Purdue is just god awful so I don't worry about them as much and getting to six wins. But all the other teams we will face are much more balanced or even pass leveraged and when we play them, we will see just how bad our defensive backs are in coverage.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but...

Does tiebreakers go:
Overall conference record
Division record
Head to head
Overall record
BCS ranking
 
It could happen. I said 7-5 up to 9-3 if we have one of those years where we get the breaks. So far I would say we have got our share of them. We are due. The last couple years we havent got any. Still wonder how we will do against a QB that can really throw the ball
 
Hawkfromnorwalk said:
Nobody but lets get serious here. We have won four games, and I would argue all four have come against competition that is sub-par at best. All four had really crappy offenses or at least they were one dimensional on the run. Our one loss came against a team that could run and throw and even ISU started to expose us late in the game. Had they started chucking the ball earlier that game would have been in serious question. MSU is another run first team and Purdue is just god awful so I don't worry about them as much and getting to six wins. But all the other teams we will face are much more balanced or even pass leveraged and when we play them, we will see just how bad our defensive backs are in coverage.
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Come on HFN you're better than this garbage that I bolded... Iowa DOMINATED ISU. Someone must have wizzed in your cereal this morning. ISU made a late little run because the defense got soft and Lowery missed a tackle. They were "chucking" the ball earlier it just didn't do them any good. That game could have gone on for 10 more quarters and the TD ratio would have favored Iowa by at least 3:1.

I think everyone is aware that the wins Iowa has have been against some pretty bad teams. However, I think most people would also agree that the team is much further along development wise than most people thought they would be coming into the season.

Rudock: Better than most people thought.
Offensive line: As good or better than most people thought although they have had small streaks of poor play.
Running Back: As good as expected
Wide Receivers: Probably about what people expected, but it seems like a couple players are emerging

Defensive line: Most definitely better than people thought
Linebackers: Coming into the season this was Iowa's best position, and right now they've probably performed better than expected.
D-Backs: Shaky at best. This is the one position that one could argue is worse than expected.

Special teams: Solid FG kicking by Meyer, some poor coverage on kick returns and a bad fake punt conversion once again. Overall it's been steady, but there are a few things that need cleaned up.

Like I said, overall they appear to be further along than almost anyone expected them to be outside of Hawknick. Is that gonna be enough to win them 4 more games? No, they will need to continue to improve in order to accomplish that, but it's far from decided as you seem to suggest. The Big Ten is not near as good as some expected this year either so that helps raise the chances.
 
Hawkfromnorwalk said:
Nobody but lets get serious here. We have won four games, and I would argue all four have come against competition that is sub-par at best. All four had really crappy offenses or at least they were one dimensional on the run. Our one loss came against a team that could run and throw and even ISU started to expose us late in the game. Had they started chucking the ball earlier that game would have been in serious question. MSU is another run first team and Purdue is just god awful so I don't worry about them as much and getting to six wins. But all the other teams we will face are much more balanced or even pass leveraged and when we play them, we will see just how bad our defensive backs are in coverage.
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I agree with this and I wish more people would see it. It's fine to be happy with getting to four wins, but these teams we've beaten have been really bad. Yes, you are supposed to beat these bad teams, but only one of those games was out of reach. Every other game has come down to final posessions late in 4th Quarter.

I hope this team can keep improving, specifically the DL and WR. We need to pressure the QB, which will help our CBs. We need our WR to catch the ball and make plays, which will extend drives....and more importantly put points on the board.

Our offense still struggles to put the ball in the end zone. Against OSU, NW, WI, NE....we cannot expect to see the same lousy offenses that we've gotten used to. All of those teams can run and pass, and some are stronger in the passing game.

We luck out with a bad MSU offense coming in, and it's supposed to be real windy on Saturday, thus negating the passing game even more. But after MSU....I think we'll see the real Iowa defense.....which will be a lot of breakdowns in passing.

There is always a chance we can win the division.....it's just a small one.
 
I think Nebraska takes it as they have the best offense in the division. Their D has struggled and they will lose a couple but I think Michigan and Northwestern have more flaws. Iowa can be right in the thick of the race if they continue to play D the way they have and run the ball.
 
DBAHawkFan said:
I agree with this and I wish more people would see it. It's fine to be happy with getting to four wins, but these teams we've beaten have been really bad. Yes, you are supposed to beat these bad teams, but only one of those games was out of reach. Every other game has come down to final posessions late in 4th Quarter.

I hope this team can keep improving, specifically the DL and WR. We need to pressure the QB, which will help our CBs. We need our WR to catch the ball and make plays, which will extend drives....and more importantly put points on the board.

Our offense still struggles to put the ball in the end zone. Against OSU, NW, WI, NE....we cannot expect to see the same lousy offenses that we've gotten used to. All of those teams can run and pass, and some are stronger in the passing game.

We luck out with a bad MSU offense coming in, and it's supposed to be real windy on Saturday, thus negating the passing game even more. But after MSU....I think we'll see the real Iowa defense.....which will be a lot of breakdowns in passing.

There is always a chance we can win the division.....it's just a small one.
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First off... Lets just say the ISU game was the only loss that came down to the final 4th qtr possessions. Mizzou St wasn't even close. Outside of a pick 6, and one drive for MizzSt, that game wasn't even close. We out gained them 3-1 and should've had plenty more points. Same with the minny game. The score were no indication of how close it was. We should've beaten them by 30+.

I think the secondary is improving each game, so the suggestion that after MSU things will go to poo poo is off. King is getting much better than he was early in the year when he was forced into action. Lomax will be back soon as well (which will provide depth). Lowdermilk is playing quite well, and I would have to think some of his missed assignments early in the year came from lack of experience. Lowery is a playmaker, and Miller is greatly improved from last years version of #5.

IMO, our chance of taking the division is better than "small".
 
Chuck Long does a radio show with Austin Arnaud? If I were him, I wouldn't settle for Arnaud, I'd want Sage Rosenfels or better.
 
Sorry I'm just not going to start talking big until I see what our defense does against teams that are more efficient than a high school team at passing.
 
If your wanting a Iowa, team that blows teams out I dont think its going to happen much this year. Every game will be tough and probley come doan to the 4th qt. Just the way it is. Keep winning Hawks
DBAHawkFan said:
I agree with this and I wish more people would see it. It's fine to be happy with getting to four wins, but these teams we've beaten have been really bad. Yes, you are supposed to beat these bad teams, but only one of those games was out of reach. Every other game has come down to final posessions late in 4th Quarter.

I hope this team can keep improving, specifically the DL and WR. We need to pressure the QB, which will help our CBs. We need our WR to catch the ball and make plays, which will extend drives....and more importantly put points on the board.

Our offense still struggles to put the ball in the end zone. Against OSU, NW, WI, NE....we cannot expect to see the same lousy offenses that we've gotten used to. All of those teams can run and pass, and some are stronger in the passing game.

We luck out with a bad MSU offense coming in, and it's supposed to be real windy on Saturday, thus negating the passing game even more. But after MSU....I think we'll see the real Iowa defense.....which will be a lot of breakdowns in passing.

There is always a chance we can win the division.....it's just a small one.
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Legends is wide open, but only because there is not a clear leader. Whoever wins it will get the opportunity to get steamrolled in Indy by OSU. I do think Michigan wins it as they have the most talent at QB and they will hit their stride, then Debbie 2nd, jNW 3rd, Iowa 4th (by the tiebreaker loss to jNW), MSU, then the Rodents in last place. Anything could happen! Lloyd Christmas sez there's a chance...
 
DBAHawkFan said:
I agree with this and I wish more people would see it. It's fine to be happy with getting to four wins, but these teams we've beaten have been really bad. Yes, you are supposed to beat these bad teams, but only one of those games was out of reach. Every other game has come down to final posessions late in 4th Quarter.

I hope this team can keep improving, specifically the DL and WR. We need to pressure the QB, which will help our CBs. We need our WR to catch the ball and make plays, which will extend drives....and more importantly put points on the board.

Our offense still struggles to put the ball in the end zone. Against OSU, NW, WI, NE....we cannot expect to see the same lousy offenses that we've gotten used to. All of those teams can run and pass, and some are stronger in the passing game.

We luck out with a bad MSU offense coming in, and it's supposed to be real windy on Saturday, thus negating the passing game even more. But after MSU....I think we'll see the real Iowa defense.....which will be a lot of breakdowns in passing.

There is always a chance we can win the division.....it's just a small one.
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So up to this point it's just been the fake Iowa defense playing?
 
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